Holiday Gaming: A Gift for All Seasons

Whether you are hiding from scary or making merry, holidays around the tabletop create memorable gaming experiences. Centering a session, arc, or campaign around ceremony and celebration is an immediate connection to the world’s lore. Offering players a chance at unique quests, stories, and loot entices them to come back for next year's outing.   There is also the fun of making themed games for real-world holidays. Remember: it’s okay to be ridiculous. From a GM’s perspective, it's a chance to bring some of your wild ideas to life. Unleash snowmen that throw ice grenades and two-headed yetis in matching Santa caps. Give creatures off-the-wall abilities you won't pull out for the rest of the year. Be creative and encourage outside-the-box thinking.   Also, why not use this time to play tabletop games? Bicker over territorial disputes with your local rule’s lawyer instead of political affiliations with your drunk uncle. Instill a sense of holiday camaraderie and cheer in yourself and others. Have the characters been riding a little too high? A somber mourning of loss can bring them back to reality. Has your group been suffering lately? A jovial celebration of the season could lift both their in and out-of-game spirits.

When to Use Them

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Ceremony is the root of holiday traditions, ranging from celebratory events to somber moments of reflection and prayer. Some include tasks meant to ward off sinister forces, or others serve as acts of personal penance. When starting a new session or campaign, consider the season. Beginning during the New Year or the cusp of summer helps establish the tone and lets you plot ahead to better understand what events are approaching.   Holidays allow for different, limited-time changes to familiar places and situations. Starting an adventure in a tavern is a well-known cliche. Doing so during Caldus changes the scene; now cold and without light, the town huddles around the only heat source. When you approach the fire, you’re welcomed by the devout, with expectations of a tithe.   Don’t feel restricted to follow a traditional calendar. Events like birthdays, anniversaries, or personal milestones offer the same opportunities for storytelling and work well when you need a stage for a specific event. They highlight world lore, bring focus to a particular character or god, and change the status quo. Use them to introduce gatherings, to create stakes, or to completely alter the tone of a region. A wild celebration in a normally somber town upends expectations and creates a memorable contrast.   This of course is speaking of in-game holidays. When an Earth holiday rolls around, take the chance to theme your next game around it. Interjecting a bit of real-world malarky into your regular session is a great way to celebrate. It’s also an excuse to spend the holidays with friends and family you might not otherwise see.  

• Is Christmas here? Then Satan Claws is coming to town.
• Enjoy a good sesh? For April 20th, let’s Roll420.
• Player having a birthday? It's an in-game surprise party!
• Halloween? Candy monsters to be eaten upon defeat, and of course costumes.

The biggest boon to using holidays is how it makes the world feel like a living, breathing place your characters get to experience. A single celebration can bring a setting to life, whether it is joyous, macabre, or entirely unorthodox.   Holidays stack on top of what already exists to provide a fresh perspective. Their evolution reflects how cultures grow, adding complexity and realism. When including a holiday, consider what it represents. Are you exploring themes of life, death, or the passage of time? Does it highlight the changing seasons or connect players to the lore? Some holidays last a single day, while others span weeks, creating opportunities for ongoing storytelling.   They highlight the quirks and values of a region through rituals. For example, goblins celebrating All Goblins Day gain benefits tied to their feasts, reflecting their culture and beliefs.   We covered the use of music in gaming back in October with our article "Sound Between the Spaces," and it holds true for holiday games as well. Winter sounds, eerie tones for spooky holidays, and festive ambiance enhance the experience without adding complexity. Curating a playlist will get you in the mood just as much as your players.

The How

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Crafting holiday-themed elements doesn’t have to be daunting. Consider reskinning existing content, or, if you are up for it, creating something entirely new. The key is to match the tone and purpose of the holiday with mechanics and stories that resonate.   The Quick Fix
The simple answer is you can reskin anything into something else of the desired flavor with ease.  

• Creatures. A giant garbed in gay apparel throws balls of ice instead of stone, and on collision, freezing shrapnel bursts in a 10-foot radius.
• Items. The Holy Avenger becomes the Winter Avenger, granting resistance to cold and sparkles with festive lights.
• Celebration. Christmas becomes Winterfest. Halloween becomes the Spirit Festival.

  Building From Scratch
We always encourage creating your personal flavor of fun. While building from nothing is more time-consuming, it is also more rewarding. Developing folklore for your holidays will inspire. What does it mean to the world and its people?  

• Holidays. Come up with special occasions that are unique to your campaigns. Mark the passing of a deity like a global frat party or as an annual purge.
 
• Player Involvement. Tie the holiday to a character’s backstory or goals. Characters of faith can be easily drawn into important events and rituals. Same with those tied to nature and the solstices. A character raised by goblins will have a unique insight into All Goblins Day compared to their companions. In the end, the goal is to create an immersive shared experience between you and your players.
 
• Dynamic Challenges. Introduce scenarios that only come into play on rare occasions. Obstacles you can’t encounter any other time of the year. An event triggered by a the world's fair, an evil fey coming for the children, or visiting Erimata during the Wanderlust Excursions when every inn is filled to the brim with vacationing halflings.
 
• Creatures. Choose specific superstitions to embody. The weirder the better. Now turn those into abilities for monster stat blocks.
 
• Example: Rimpsmeat and the Gobble Goat. Bad kids are turned into goats when eaten by the Gobble Goat and go through True Polymorph.
 
• Items. Create something meaningful to those who celebrate, and steep their lore in the season it represents. Artifacts and magic items tied to the local traditions are integral to the observation of the holiday. Use them as quest hooks and rewards.
 
• Example: Whacking Day. Can’t beat the snakes away without your Whacking Stick.

Wrapping Up the Present

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Holiday-themed games can happen year-round. A town's fire festival might draw adventurers into unexpected intrigue, or an autumn ritual could reveal the secrets of a forgotten curse. These events offer opportunities to immerse players in your world and create stories that leave a lasting impression.   In the spirit of sharing, we’ve prepared some gifts. Every Friday in December, alongside our regular From the Village Vault releases, we’ll be giving out a seasonal adventure for free. These stories center around one of Dromaria’s most infamous holidays, Nobbletot.   The fey creature Rimpsmeat and his Gobble Goat companion roam the land, taking bad children and turning them into goats to expand his flock. With these adventures, you can experience a Dromarian tradition for yourself and bring it to your table.   Consider taking this time to craft a holiday game that becomes a gift for your players. Whether through joyous celebration or dark intrigue, use the season to create something unforgettable and let your imagination run wild.