Posted by Tar December 24th 2023, 8:04pm
Happy Holidays! This is a guide to what your characters can experience this holiday season. We're unable to host a proper event this year, but are providing a dice game and scene prompt by way of an in-character gift exchange. We encourage you to host your own roleplay within the festivities by having your characters run a stall or feature - all manner of merchants, entertainers, and artisans are invited!
Thornmouth has had a long history of cold, but mostly wet winters. There is snow high in the mountain ranges, but generally speaking the central region sees mostly rain. In past years however, the kingdom has apparently earned the good will - or at least interest - of a powerful fae lord named Lord Sealgair. A rather mysterious man, he appears unannounced to bring with him snowfall for the season. When his power reaches its peak and the nights get bitterly cold and the snow deep, he calls for the hunt to begin: a challenge for hunters to fell him in animal form and earn a prize for their efforts. The winner is heralded as an ambassador of goodwill, given a place of honor in the feast that follows the end of The Winter Hunt.
In past years Lord Sealgair has taken the form of a great white stag and asked hunters to take up their bows or spears to fell him - this year he is showing the mischievous nature of fae and taking the form of a large white grouse! A harder to find creature in the snow and foliage, hunters without experience in hunting game birds may find themselves blindsided (the fact he is taking a new form will not be revealed until he calls for the hunt following the coldest night). The winner shall receive a prize related to the weapon they use - not necessarily a weapon in the same class, but potentially an accessory or even enchanted projectile such as an arrow, stone, or spearhead. Sealgair will state an allowance for all projectile based weapons as well as the use of nets.
This event will be held on the 27th! It will primarily be a dice rolling contest, with posts not not necessary. In order to keep the event moving, it is recommended that those who do wish to write to keep posts brief until the winning roll calls for closing posts.
The Cold Moon Banquet grows larger every year! The festival turned holiday has gradually begun to take on a more concrete shape, with certain practices turning towards tradition as practices beloved by the populace are brought back each year.
It is a huge festival that merchants and artisans now spend preparing for weeks in advance, taking up the entirety of the market district for its duration from dawn to dawn. They begin setting up immediately upon conclusion of the hunt. There are merchant stalls, games, entertainers of all kinds, and above all food - for the festivities are much like a fair, but called a banquet first.
Your Characters Can Expect:
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Happy Holidays! This is a guide to what your characters can experience this holiday season. We're unable to host a proper event this year, but are providing a dice game and scene prompt by way of an in-character gift exchange. We encourage you to host your own roleplay within the festivities by having your characters run a stall or feature - all manner of merchants, entertainers, and artisans are invited!
THE WINTER HUNT
DECEMBER 27th
DECEMBER 27th
Quote:
When he feels the time is right, during the coldest night of the year Sealgair (Shall-ah-garr) will take on the form of a magnificent white stag and call for the hunt to begin. It is a contest of the finest archers in the capital city to find and βkillβ Sealgair first. The victor will receive a magnificent prize and be heralded as an ambassador helping to close the divide between the mundane and the magical. The dragon sightings drop dramatically in the weeks before his appearance and similarly marking the season, lizards find places to rest and many birds head southwest.
Thornmouth has had a long history of cold, but mostly wet winters. There is snow high in the mountain ranges, but generally speaking the central region sees mostly rain. In past years however, the kingdom has apparently earned the good will - or at least interest - of a powerful fae lord named Lord Sealgair. A rather mysterious man, he appears unannounced to bring with him snowfall for the season. When his power reaches its peak and the nights get bitterly cold and the snow deep, he calls for the hunt to begin: a challenge for hunters to fell him in animal form and earn a prize for their efforts. The winner is heralded as an ambassador of goodwill, given a place of honor in the feast that follows the end of The Winter Hunt.
DICE ROLL EVENT:
In past years Lord Sealgair has taken the form of a great white stag and asked hunters to take up their bows or spears to fell him - this year he is showing the mischievous nature of fae and taking the form of a large white grouse! A harder to find creature in the snow and foliage, hunters without experience in hunting game birds may find themselves blindsided (the fact he is taking a new form will not be revealed until he calls for the hunt following the coldest night). The winner shall receive a prize related to the weapon they use - not necessarily a weapon in the same class, but potentially an accessory or even enchanted projectile such as an arrow, stone, or spearhead. Sealgair will state an allowance for all projectile based weapons as well as the use of nets.
This event will be held on the 27th! It will primarily be a dice rolling contest, with posts not not necessary. In order to keep the event moving, it is recommended that those who do wish to write to keep posts brief until the winning roll calls for closing posts.
Rules:
- A channel specifically for this contest will be opened up the morning of Wednesday the 27th.
- All who wish to join are welcome to write an opening post with their roll of a 2d20 (within the channel rather than #bot-spam), but encouraged to keep it brief. It may be wise to write one ahead of time in preparation.
- The first die is to track Lord Sealgair despite his trickery, the second is to βkillβ Lord Sealgair. If you fail the first roll you cannot use the second roll at all and Sealgair gets away!
Tracking: Must roll 15 or higher.
Killing: Must roll 20 or higher. - There is only one character per person allowed for this event.
- A maximum modifier of +2 is granted for skilled hunters.
- You may roll once every 4 hours.
- If no one manages to kill him within the span of two days, no one wins! Oh no! The Cold Moon Banquet will be held regardless.
THE COLD MOON BANQUET
DECEMBER 29TH
DECEMBER 29TH
Quote:
What was once a much smaller festival for a more summer based people has changed in response to the presence of the winter lord. It occurs after the conclusion of Lord Sealgairβs annual contests (on the coldest night of the year) and accompanying heavy snows.
It is a newer tradition intended to appease the fae lord as well as symbolically lend the protective moon Custodi power through celebration. It is an enormous feast that takes up the city center and runs from dawn until midnight, even then sometimes carrying on into the next day. This festival includes a gift exchange with a twist that encourages citizens to get to know one another better. All merchants with licenses are encouraged to set up stalls to sell their wares!
There are no decorated tree customs in Thornmouth, but many lanterns are made to light the nights and welcome the spirits. These lanterns are often made from from 'winter gourds' that come in shades of white, blue, and green - these curious pumpkins are also made into a variety of warm dishes. The vegetation that must be cut back for the protection of the city are turned into wreaths, but no more than that is taken. There is a great deal of moon symbolism to be found rather than that of the sun - these are not a people as concerned with its return, for their winters are short and have typically always been more wet than cold. They are more concerned with maintaining the balance between the mundane and magical, paying tribute to each moon respectively depending on cultural beliefs (it is the far east that focuses more upon festivals of the sun).
It is a newer tradition intended to appease the fae lord as well as symbolically lend the protective moon Custodi power through celebration. It is an enormous feast that takes up the city center and runs from dawn until midnight, even then sometimes carrying on into the next day. This festival includes a gift exchange with a twist that encourages citizens to get to know one another better. All merchants with licenses are encouraged to set up stalls to sell their wares!
There are no decorated tree customs in Thornmouth, but many lanterns are made to light the nights and welcome the spirits. These lanterns are often made from from 'winter gourds' that come in shades of white, blue, and green - these curious pumpkins are also made into a variety of warm dishes. The vegetation that must be cut back for the protection of the city are turned into wreaths, but no more than that is taken. There is a great deal of moon symbolism to be found rather than that of the sun - these are not a people as concerned with its return, for their winters are short and have typically always been more wet than cold. They are more concerned with maintaining the balance between the mundane and magical, paying tribute to each moon respectively depending on cultural beliefs (it is the far east that focuses more upon festivals of the sun).
The Cold Moon Banquet grows larger every year! The festival turned holiday has gradually begun to take on a more concrete shape, with certain practices turning towards tradition as practices beloved by the populace are brought back each year.
It is a huge festival that merchants and artisans now spend preparing for weeks in advance, taking up the entirety of the market district for its duration from dawn to dawn. They begin setting up immediately upon conclusion of the hunt. There are merchant stalls, games, entertainers of all kinds, and above all food - for the festivities are much like a fair, but called a banquet first.
Your Characters Can Expect:
- A great feast, with free food for the hungry.
- A day of clear skies, but still bitterly cold weather.
- A lot of lunar imagery and practices meant to appease the fae.
- Snow Gourds: in the form of both food and lighting! There will be plenty of squash based lanterns and plenty of pies, roast seeds, and soup to be had. The local variety of cold weather pumpkins come in shades of white, blue, and green.
- Beer and Warm Cider
- A surprise gift exchange with a twist! See below for more details.
- A perhaps less than pleasant time for lunar shifters: a full Aetheros moon is coming, but at least you can be well fed before thenβ¦! In recognition of the fact that a Super Aetheros moon rises the next day, some merchants have created specialty items to aid shifters.
Banquet Gifting Tradition
- This tradition started with the idea of introducing strangers through an act of blind generosity: one goes in for the fun of working out the clues and meeting someone new, not for the expectation of getting something back better than they gave.
- The gift exchange must be signed up for in advance, from the start of the Winter Hunt to the morning of the Cold Moon Banquet. However, we're giving you more time than that OOC! If you wish to enter your character(s) into the gift exchange, please fill out the following form by Friday:
- While this exchange is intended as a scene prompt, we do not want anyone to feel pressured to roleplay with whomever theyβre matched up with - having a scene based on this is entirely up to you! We're hoping it will be just as fun to discuss what characters received and how they reacted in #rp-discussion.
- A character provides a generic gift and a list of clues on how to be identified and found. While these clues are intended to be easy to solve, that doesn't mean they have to be...
- Your gift for another is delivered with those clues!
- The recipient must then use those clues to find their exchange partner.
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