Greetings!

Holidays, Ren Faires" and Festivals of various kinds can all be very interesting and fun for a campaign. I regularly include them in my Thandor campaigns, and in fact, I keep a special notebook that has different world regions, detailing different holidays, faires, and festivals throughout a given year that are sponsored in the particular region.

I have used such holidays, faires, and festivals to great effect in the campaign, and are always lots of fun! Such colorful and vibrant occasions provide opportunities for the Player Characters to gain campaign lore, and enjoy immersion within the milieu. In addition, a full range of downtime activities and goals are on tap for the Player Characters to pursue with enthusiasm. Exotic foods, strange, foreign music, new kinds of drinks, dancing, as well as entire shopping lists of exotic and foreign goods and items to see and purchase are available. Of course, such events are also excellent occasions for pushing various social agendas and relationships between different characters, as well as making new friends! *Laughing*

I laugh because I have a ironic sense of humour and also frustration with recent WOTC modules where all this kind of stuff is promoted, but fully coordinated within the module text to jack your mouth open, and pump you with political jello. I have included these elements in my campaign for many years--with zero political jello. I just run them straight, as they are, as appropriate for the region, religion, or culture.

While all of this can be very fun and entertaining, and also interesting from a social standpoint as well as a lore perspective and immersion, I also spice such events up with opportunities for drama, adventures, and chomping teeth and blood. *Laughing*

How have you used such events in your campaign? Have you developed special events in your campaign world? Are there special festivals that *your Players* have become especially fond of? In contrast, are there some absolutely wicked, dark festivals full of debauchery and degeneracy that your players love to hate?

Semper Fidelis,

SHARK 

I use Holidays and Festivals.  I think it is a good way to build upon and/or introduce elements to the setting.

forgot the blog I read it on, but it suggested using them to introduce, establish or expand lore about the history of the world etc.

It stuck to me, and I do my best to use them in that fashion.

Holidays, festivals and such can add quite a bit of depth and lore to a campaign. They can also serve as a backdrop to some seriously dangerous adventure also. I remember running The Jingling Mordo Circus from Dungeon magazine issue #7. There are some seriously dangerous NPCs in that adventure. There is also nothing wrong with keeping such events light, and providing players opportunities to meet NPCs that can become good sources of influence or information.