Holiday/Christmas themed gaming?

insubordinate polyhedral · December 01, 2019, 10:29:01 AM

Do you do it? Ways to pass family meetup time or excuses to get friends together? Is it gonzo, evil elves messing with Santa's toys? Serious hero's journey stuff? One-shots, short campaigns, anything long-running?

Any games/campaigns/themes/MacGuffins you especially love?

Gonna steal one of Spinachcat's plays and just throw a bunch of prompt questions at you guys.

Crawford Tillinghast · December 01, 2019, 10:59:58 AM

I've given a lot of thought to a more mature (as opposed to "adult") St. Nick campaign, but haven't been able to come up with a viable enemy.
Scrooge? Just some dude who got so caught up in his business that he forgot what a social life was.
The Grinch? Just some hermit who didn't like 24/7 racket (I can relate!)
Silas Barnaby? An old coot looking for a trophy wife.
Krampus? Looking at the legend, I think Krampus gets a bad rap. He's not looking for naughty children to put in the sack and carry off; he's looking for naughty girls to carry back to his place for the holidays, and put in the sack!

Chainsaw · December 01, 2019, 12:42:19 PM

For D&D, one can't go wrong with The Kringle Castle Invaders.

Shawn Driscoll · December 01, 2019, 02:01:49 PM

Is it even a thing still in the Far Future?

Omega · December 03, 2019, 11:50:53 AM

There is the old "Feast of the Gobbler" module for I believe 3e. I'd have to dig it out.
Update: It is indeed a 3e module. From Necromancer games.

Wayyyyyyyy the hell back in an early issue of Polyhedron there was a Christmas themed mini-module wherein an installation tries to give out gifts with some old holiday product delivery robots. Said couriers get shot up by trigger happy locals so the AI keeps upgrading the "reindeer", flying sleigh and "Santa" with offensive and defensive gear so it can do its job.

Probably a few hiding in various issues of Dungeon.

Razor 007 · December 03, 2019, 02:04:10 PM

See Krampus in Pathfinder Bestiary 6.

Crawford Tillinghast · December 03, 2019, 03:27:27 PM

Quote from: Omega;1115546There is the old "Feast of the Gobbler" module for I believe 3e. I'd have to dig it out.
Update: It is indeed a 3e module. From Necromancer games.

Wayyyyyyyy the hell back in an early issue of Polyhedron there was a Christmas themed mini-module wherein an installation tries to give out gifts with some old holiday product delivery robots. Said couriers get shot up by trigger happy locals so the AI keeps upgrading the "reindeer", flying sleigh and "Santa" with offensive and defensive gear so it can do its job.

Probably a few hiding in various issues of Dungeon.

Another blast from the past: White Dwarf 72 Sleigh Wars. A Car Wars variant where the players are various Santas tasked with delivering their special presents while stopping any other deliveries. Beware the Xmaschet Missile!

Crawford Tillinghast · December 03, 2019, 03:44:38 PM

For DCC:
Old God's Return: I enjoyed this one, but I've always wondered what happened to the Hyperborean gods between Eibon scampering off to Saturn, and the final victory of the ice. Now we know.

Trials of the Toymakers: Interesting, but not really useful to me. The people responsible for keeping the seasons moving have all died off: Fortunately, there is a village of elves nearby...

I haven't read Avalanche Lords, Twilight of the Solstice, or Home for the Holideath, so I can't say what they are like.

If you're looking for something a bit more twee: Adventures in Bayhaven - Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy.

Bedrockbrendan · December 04, 2019, 08:01:53 AM

I like running Halloween adventures but can't stand Christmas adventures

HappyDaze · December 04, 2019, 08:28:54 AM

Quote from: BedrockBrendan;1115604I like running Halloween adventures but can't stand Christmas adventures

Yeah... I can't think of a single Hallmark/Lifetime movie that I'd want to sit through if it was converted into an adventure.

RandyB · December 04, 2019, 08:47:13 AM

Quote from: BedrockBrendan;1115604I like running Halloween adventures but can't stand Christmas adventures

Quote from: HappyDaze;1115606Yeah... I can't think of a single Hallmark/Lifetime movie that I'd want to sit through if it was converted into an adventure.

Die Hard is the best Christmas movie of all time.

Steven Mitchell · December 04, 2019, 08:52:48 AM

I don't enjoy holiday-themed adventures at all, either running or playing them. For any holidays. Heck, there a lot of non-holiday themes I can't stand either.

Bedrockbrendan · December 04, 2019, 08:56:23 AM

Quote from: RandyB;1115607Die Hard is the best Christmas movie of all time.

A Die Hard adventure would be really gameable. Can't argue with that.

Jager Fury · December 04, 2019, 09:10:00 AM

[URL=https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/295780/Santapocalypse?term=santapo?affiliate_id=414579]Santapocalypse [/URL]is up and available for sale on Drive Thru. P&P tactical war game. Ridiculously cheap, I put some decent effort into this little project

Zalman · December 04, 2019, 03:35:57 PM

I participated in a Christmas one-off that was lots of fun. We were told to bring a "10th-Level (Santa's) Elf". Weapons included Louisville Sluggers and Superballs. The plot involved Santa being waylaid by a bunch of Drow while delivering toys, and our job was to rescue Santa and save Christmas. We fought a bunch of Drow at Timmy's house, along with a slew of animated toys -- everything from toy soldiers in tanks to a stuffed Barney.