Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 mieorabloodsong Jan 19, 2010 21:23:35	So I was looking into creating festivals for my world, and I was wondering if anyone had any good ideas.  So far I've come up with a few ideas, but I wanted to have a festival for each god (Avandra, Asmodeous, Bahamut, Bane, Correlon, Erathis, Gruumsh, Ioun, Kord, Lolth, Melora, Moradin, Pelor, Raven Queen, Sehanine, Tiamat, Torog, Vecna, and Zehir)  I figured that not all places would celebrate all festivals, like a city dedicated to Bahamut and Erathis would probably not be too big into Tiamat's festival.  So far I have: Summer Solstice- middle of summer- longest day of they year- celebrated by worshipers of Pelor by having a feast in his honor.  No man can be cruel to another on the Summer solstice, it is a time of mercy and forgivness. Winter Solstice- middle of winter- longest night of the year- celebrated by worshipers of the Raven Queen who abstain from eating for the night, and stay awake.  Once the dawn breaks they show a play based on the Raven Queen gaining dominion over winter. Festival of Masks- autumn- celebrated for 4 nights (only when moon is out) by followers of Sehanine, all wear masks that cover their entire faces.  Removing the mask is not allowed.  On the fourth night it is said if someone kisses their true love they will live long happy lives together. Please give me any other ideas, even for gods I have already done, I'd love any input.  Thanks in advance!
#2 nurgan_the_drunked Jan 20, 2010 10:02:04	Hey, some nice ideas here (masquerades are very Sehanine). Remember that as well as the festivals of the gods, they'll be festivals of the time of year: Winter festivals tend to be times to be with family, 'cos noone wants to go outside, and Corellon's festival will be a celebration of spring as well as a festival of Correllon. If you can match the two, you're golden. Raven Queen definitely feels like it should be a time of remembrance. Not necessarily sad, but a sort of universal wake. As for festivals to the evil gods, they may not be about praising them precisely. They may be rites to stave away foul natures, or festivals where you embody the opposite trait just to show you're not in service of a dark power. Perhaps an anti- festival where people work against the edicts to disprove or dispel the gods power over them. Such a festival for Tiamat would be a day where wealthy men made a show of charity, and people made a point of apologising and forgiving slights against their neighbors. (There might also be shady figures on the hillsides steepling their fingers and cackling that they'll destroy you all, but it's not what  most people think about. Maybe the association gets lost in the midst of time....) To my mind Correllon's festival (spring equinox) would contain a wild dance and singsong where people would hang garlands of their favourite flowers and enjoy the spring air. New songs would be played and new stories told from those who've practiced through the quieter winter and would display them to a large audience. Moradin's festival would be a time to look back on the last year and see what you've accomplished. It's also a time to take pride in your family and those around you who've done great things in the year. This is often turned into "drink lots of beer and boast loudly" because , hey, that's what dwarves do, right. I think this would happen a bit before the Autumn equinox, once the harvest has been brought in.
#3 mieorabloodsong Jan 20, 2010 11:27:26	Thanks, thats a good idea for the evil gods!  I was having trouble with the evil gods, like Zehir, but that should really help.
#4 obdormio Jan 20, 2010 11:53:26	I have a list of major festivals in my campaign, but I haven't fleshed them out very much beyond this. Not all of them are dedicated to a specific god, and some are aimed at several. Their names aren't in English originally, so these quick translations will not be brilliant...   New Year - celebrated on the winter solstice, a basic festival of lights and hope for the year to come, that sort of thing. First Peace - celebrated not long after the new year, a marking of the end of the Dawn War. Mainly remembered by the gods and learned sages at this point. The Growing - the first day of spring, a celebration focused on Melora and Corellon, marking nature's rebirth after winter. The Festival of Making - a three day celebration in the spring, dedicated to Moradin and to craftsmanship. People exchange gifts. The Spring Wetting - the blessings of Avandra ritually bestowed in the form of holy water sprinkled on people and possessions. Corellonuil - the spring equinox. Like Nurgan said, wild dances and garlands. Slightly inspired by the bacchanalia, as in my campaign, Corellon is also the god of wine. Changing - the faithful of Avandra take steps and make promises to bring about change in their lives and in the world. Ar ronníad (The division) - a fey day of mourning, commemorating the split of the elven races. The first day of summer - basically a wholesale rip-off of Beltane, aimed bot at Pelor and Melora. Council Day - a day dedicated to Erathis, on the day that the city council of the world's first city met during the Dawn War. Midsummer - a day dedicated to Pelor, based on Scandinavian midsummer celebrations. Feast of the Dragon - commemorating Bahamut's victory over Tiamat. Feast of the Moon - on the first full moon after the first day of autumn. Sehanine's largest festival, very much a carnival affair. Harvest Festival - on the autumnal equinox, dedicated primarily to Pelor and Sehanine and secondarily Melora, Erathis and Corellon. The Blade Cleansing - a day dedicated to Kord, with ritual purification of weapons and warriors, followed by sports and competitions. The Raven Wake - on the first day of winter. More of a solemn day-of-the-dead-kind of thing than a celebration, three guesses as to who the god honoured is. Shadow Reading - towards the end of the year, a day of prophecy honouring Ioun and attempting to divine the things to come in the next year. There's also some sort of marking of the leap days, which occur every eight year, but I haven't figured out what it is yet.
#5 nurgan_the_drunked Jan 20, 2010 11:56:03	One other option with evil gods is to have a pantomime- parody of their aspect to appease them: don't actually embody their values, but appears vaguely like you do. A festival of Gruumsh might then involve daubing yourself up in red dye, and hitting one another with red strips of cloth, with the principle that Gruumsh, not being that Mr. Observant, will see a battlefield massacre and feel placated with your celebrations.
#6 mieorabloodsong Jan 20, 2010 13:27:06	Thanks for all of your ideas!  I've fleshed out my list of festivals, although I still need to come up with names that are less terrible for a few.  In case anyone wants to know, here is my list of festivals: Shadow Wake- First day of winter- raven queen’s day of sorrow for all who have fallen in the past year Festival of Making- winter- Moradin’s 3 day festival, hang out with family, exchange gifts (works of craftsmanship) Winter Solstice-winter- Lolth’s festival, kind of like opposite day, everything anyone says is untrue.  Lolth hears all the lies and is pleased. Feast of the Dragon- Winter-  Pantomime of Bahamut beating Tiamat, general hearings for the public The Knowing-spring, beginning of- day of foretelling, Ioun’s followers make predictions about the coming year.  Many people have their fortunes told.  Children born on this day are prophets. Thunder’s Day-Spring- Kord’s day, usually stormy.  Army recruiting day in many places, has a small feast with friends (NOT family) Spring Equinox-spring equinox- a wild dance and singsong where people would hang garlands of their favorite flowers and enjoy the spring air. New songs would be played and new stories told from those who've practiced through the quieter winter and would display them to a large audience.  Beautiful displays of magic Day of Trees-spring- Most people have picnics in the woods, but are careful not to harm any.  True followers of Melora and barbarian tribes send their young out on spirit quests. The Raze- summer- a prepicked building is burned to the ground, along with straw people to appease Gruumsh.  King’s Day-Summer- think the Feast of Fools, to show that Asmodeus does not rule over the nobles of that land.  Role reversal Summer Solstice- middle of summer- longest day of they year- celebrated by worshipers of Pelor by having a feast in his honor.  No man can be cruel to another on the Summer solstice; it is a time of mercy and forgiveness.  Also the anti-Zehir festival, there can be no dark on this day. The Changing- Last day of summer- along with the changing of leaves people promise to change.  This is the proper day for new ventures to start out.  Also has a ‘mop fair’ for finding new hires. Avandra Dragon’s Feast-autumn- A bank holiday, people sit home and count their coins before going about their daily activities, supposed to ward of chromatic dragons.  Sometimes involves a sacrifice to a dragon. Tournament-Autumn- rather than waging real war those who do not follow bane hold a tournament, including jousting, sword fights, etc. Festival of Masks- autumn- celebrated for 4 nights (only when moon is out) by followers of Sehanine, all wear masks that cover their entire faces.  Removing the mask is not allowed.  On the fourth night it is said if someone kisses their true love they will live long happy lives together. Harvest Festival-End of autumn- Pelor, Sehanine, big feast, fun times had by all. Founding Day- depends on the city- celebrated by followers of Erathis on the day a city was founded.  Formal procession, normally when the council starts if a city has a council Torog and Vecna don’t really have festivals, or if they do no one knows when they are celebrated (except for the cults who follow them)
#7 josh-hill Jan 21, 2010 12:29:46	sounds great. love those ideas. just remember that different countries and even villages probably will have slightly varying ways of celebrating. think of how many ways christmas is celebrated. some may worship a god, some may fear it. it will be different depending where you are.
#8 Bamboo Jan 28, 2010 20:49:06	I like it!  And I used some of them for my own! Check them out here:  pandamanslair.blogspot.com/
#9 mieorabloodsong Jan 29, 2010 8:31:32	awesome! glad to have helped.  I also like your idea for the Day of Chains, I might just have to snag that one.
#10 MWSAber Jan 29, 2010 12:33:33	This could be a localized festival: memory-alpha.org/en/wiki/Festival
#11 Bamboo Jan 29, 2010 20:20:31	awesome! glad to have helped.  I also like your idea for the Day of Chains, I might just have to snag that one. Coo!  Please do!
#12 mathius78 Jan 31, 2010 19:42:45	All of this is great and adds detail to you world.  I love this stuff but if your players are like mine you will need to make the festival personal important.  Great for hooks Great for setting Great as deadline not great as simple event Make the outcome of the festival important.