With the dawn of tomorrow comes a day of festivities for most of us in the USA. A day where we might celebrate our independence by eating meat cooked over fire with our friends and family, to be followed by shooting off gunpowder in a brilliant display across the evening skies. Although the rituals vary from region to region, even community to community the day is still the same in all the ways that matter.
I was thinking about this as I did some shopping and realized just how much of this should be in a roleplaying campaign. How often do we make holidays that are special to one country? If the pcs travel from one edge of the continent to another, how much of the world is really interacted with on a personal level? I know that in the Forgotten Realms that in the older books there are religious and calendar holidays, however I wonder how many GMs bother to use these.
How difficult might it be to stop an evil force with no magic in a city that is celebrating a day of peace and has declared that all fighting is illegal? Or needing to purchase the ingredients to an important spell on a day where all shops are to be closed for a religious holiday? Or perhaps just interject some humor into the session with a day dedicated to jugglers and mimes and the party needs to infiltrate and find a contact.
In our world there are many fascinating customs and holidays that may never effect us unless we travel there at the right time. Mardi Gras, the running of the bulls, the ninja parade, easter egg hunts – what might these look like in a fantasy world and how might the pcs choose to deal with them?
So while you eat your burger and watch the fireworks, take a moment to imagine what your favorite character would think of this day.
