Using Holidays in Your Game

The holiday season is always a frantic time of year. The tone and feel of it is almost palpable in the air. The lights, the music, the general festivities all add to the holiday magic. This magic should be reflected in our games, allowing our table personas to partake in the holiday cheer.

Use a holiday to add tone and create small events around your game. While they don’t need to be the focus of your adventure, the seasons are changing and background NPCs are likely reacting to the upcoming holidays. Add some descriptions of the celebrated holiday by describing the dress of some of the local shops. Change up the descriptions of your favorite shops and markets to reflect the holiday. Local traditions are always a plus. Ask yourself, “how does this culture celebrate?”

Frame an adventure around the holiday. One of the most memorable holidays, for me, was a post-modern game around a Halloween scavenger hunt. The characters had to go through the scavenger hunt in order to secure invites to a masquerade event that was taking place later that evening (which for story reasons we had to attend). The scavenger hunt was themed and so was the masquerade, it was an enjoyable insert into the game.

Use the holiday for foreshadowing. Privateer Press made an effective use of this in their Witchfire Trilogy adventure. In the first act, the game’s events culminated on the longest night of the year. It was a big celebration, and the chaos that it would cause was instrumental in the villain’s plans. Planning your arc with the holiday as the climax may lead to some memorable scenes for your players and a point of reference with the holiday.

Run a one off, non-canon session. Maybe Santa Claus has actually raised a gingerbread army to run amok and you are the only people that can stop him. Or there is one toy left at a department store down town. You and your party must fight your way through traffic, the crowds, and the ninjas that are trying to stop you, all to save Christmas.

Obviously, we are Christmas/Hanukkah/Kwanza/Capitalism Day-centric this time of year, the ideas can be applied to any major holiday, even ones that you make up. Next time you run, consider making up your own holiday, possibly celebrating drinking, and watch the magic of the season unfold.