Friday Encounter: Burn the Goat!

A bit of a belated Christmas special for this week's Friday Encounter. It's designed to have the PCs come upon it while traveling on the road, but with some tweaks could work for a settlement they're stationed in already. The encounter is themed around the real-life phenomena of the Gavle goat, and thus is well-suited to coincide with Midwinter or another winter holiday, but it would work just as well as a local festival on any date.

Burn the Goat!

Background

Centuries ago, the town of Gevalia was terrorized by a ferocious demon by the name of Degdrolan, who devoured the livestock, blighted the crops, and set fire to the peoples' homes for no reason but spite for mortals. No weapon forged could harm the demon, so the people were forced to make a grim bargain in order to spare themselvs his ire. Each year, before the coming of Midwinter, the people would sacrifice a goat in the town square so that the demon's bloodlust would be sated, and they would know another year of peace.

Many years have passed since that date, and the story has been forgotten by all but the most learned of sages. But the tradition continued. At first, it was customary for the people to spill the blood of a live goat in the town square - and this continued for generations after the people forgot why they were doing such a thing. But in more recent years, a new tradition grew in its place. Inspired by the sacrifices, the town's two most prominent guilds - the Brotherhood of Merry Merchants and the League of Free Brewers - would each compete to build a massive goat sculpture from straw, striving to outdo the other in size and majesty.

Every year since this tradition began, however, one or both of the goats has been burned down before Midwinter - whether from strife between the rival guilds, mere accident, or the mischief of wayward youths. By sheer coincidence, this practice has successfully kept Degdrolan at bay even long after the people forgot about him - after all, the contract between him and the town never stated that a real goat would have to be sacrificed. However, it is precisely because of how the story has fallen into obscurity that the officials are striving to stamp out the tradition of goat-burning. And if they're successful, they may be in for a rude awakening...

The Encounter

The PCs should arrive in Gevalia around two or three days before Midwinter. If you're using this encounter in a town they're already in, you can foreshadow things by having the goats be built over time in the background, or just have them be erected overnight. In any case, anyone going to the town square will undoubtedly notice the two towering straw goats built there - the Merry Merchants' goat is 40 feet tall, while the Free Brewers' is 35 feet.

Asking around, they'll hear about how the two guilds have competed to build a bigger goat every year for Midwinter, but no one really knows why. They're traded wins from year to year, and it's always been a matter of fierce competition between them. For as long as anyone can remember, however, both goats have never survived until midnight on Midwinter's Eve; someone always burns one or both of them down. The guilds are on especially high alert this year, and they have both offered substantial sums to the town guard to stand in defense of their goat. The guards feel it's a tiresome job, and would rather be at home enjoying the festivities with their families - some even feel that there's no point in protecting the goats because burning them down has become a tradition of its own at this point.

The goats are a point of pride for their respective guilds, and the PCs will likely hear of the heated rivalry between the two of them. If they pursue this lead, they may encounter Sidsel Raskova, the guildmistress of the Merry Merchants, and Jorstein Goransson, the guildmaster of the Free Brewers. Sidsel, true to her guild's name, is a jovial woman who loves the Midwinter festivities, while Jorstein is a more dour and serious man who wants only to ensure that his guild will succeed - but both of them show no affection for their rivals, and both suspect that they are plotting to burn down each other's goat. 

They may also run into Askold, the local delinquent - a youth of about 17 who leads a gang of miscreants who enjoy commiting acts of petty theft and vandalism. The gang openly claims to have burned down several goats in the past years, and considers it a badge of honor.

Lastly, there is Erland Kravitz, the burgomaster. He was elected to his position last year under a promise to clean up the town's image by cracking down on crime, and he in particular has no love for the tradition of goat-burning, believing it a disgrace to Voltan that the people expect arson to happen every year. He has no interest in playing to politics between the guilds; he only wants to make sure no goat gets burned this year, under any circumstances.

None of these characters know anything about the town's deal with Degdrolan - the people of Gevalia have long buried this, not wanting to admit to dealing with demons even if it was for their own safety. However, there is a convent devoted to Mimir, the god of knowledge, in the town, which boasts an extensive library (and also is open to shelter any travelers who can't afford a stay at the inn). Researching the history of Gevalia or its traditions at this library will reveal a record of the story in an old dusty tome.

Further Developments

Depending on how the PCs go about this encounter, they may ally with either of the guilds, Askold's gang, or the burgomaster, or they may act independently. Both of the guilds want to burn down the other's goat, but they also both know that the other guild is sponsoring the guards to watch their own. However, they realize they may be able to pin the blame on strange adventurers and escape scrutiny. If the party gets in the good graces of either guild, they will offer to pay the PCs with 50 GP each, plus one uncommon magic item for the group (choose something suited to the party, or to a character who could use one) if they are successful at burning down the other guild's goat. They will also help them escape town should they run afoul of the law.

Askold and his gang don't care about the guilds - all they want is to amuse themselves and cause mischief. At an hour before midnight, Askold intends to hide in an alleyway facing the town square with a bow and flaming arrows, which he will then fire into the goats. If the PCs agree to help him distract the guards (and not tell anyone's parents), he promises to make them official members of his gang. While the youths are a collection of orphans and unsupervised delinquents with no experience in combat to assist the party with and will not leave the town, they have picked up a good deal of rumors and know of routes to treasure or other points of interest in the area that they will only share with fellow gang members. Askold will also offer the PCs free access to his cache of stolen mead bottles, hidden under a cornerstone at the old barn on the outskirts of town the gang uses as a clubhouse.

Finally, if the PCs side with Erland and are successful at preventing any goats from being burned, the burgomaster will thank them for their aid and invite them to an official banquet, where they will each receive 100 GP and a magic item suited to their class and character, as well as having the opportunity to meet several important figures in the town and make allies of them. However, in the middle of the banquet, Degdrolan will manifest in the town square, angry that he did not receive his tribute for the year. Degdrolan has the stats of a glabrezu; a hulking demon with a shaggy coat and a face like a horned grinning skull. Just as he did years ago, he will attempt to lay waste to the town and devour anything in his path if not stopped.

Hexmas: The Gingerbread Village

It's been a while since I posted anything on this blog. Part of that is because I haven't had the time or energy to write much, and part of it is that I've run through the material I had prepared for ongoing projects like The Saga of the Ortegids and don't have anything to fill the spots I would ordinarily be using for that content. Regrettably, this means that I've been behind the curve on the blogosphere, and that means it was only just now that I discovered Hexmas, Prismatic Wasteland's challenge to make a community-sourced Christmas-themed hexcrawl. That means that I'm jumping in far later than I would like to be doing so, and up against the deadline

But I like the idea, dammit, and I'll be damned if I'm going to let an opportunity like this pass me by. A couple years ago, I made a post about how there is a glaring lack of Christmas-themed adventures inspired by E.T.A. Hoffman's The Nutcracker and the Mouse King, and this gives me the perfect excuse. I was going to do a different post today, but that can wait.

The Gingerbread Village

North: House of the Kringles

Northwest: The Grumpus

West: Candy Cane Forest

Nestled at the foot of a snow-crested mountain, amidst a grove of pines, there lies a village of gingerbread. The modest settlement is ringed by a fence of candy canes (harvested from the forest to the west), and the buildings are made from gingerbread, decorated in peppermints and frosting. The people of this village, too, belong to a race of gingerbread folk, small in stature and similar in form to the domiciles they inhabit. The gingerbread folk are usually quiet and content to bide their time peacefully, but recently, their tranquility has been threatened by the coming of a threat from the mountain - the man-eating giant Sweettooth.

The village is a simple and self-sufficient one. Most buildings are modest family homes, but there is an inn, the Royal Icing, that will shelter travelers and offer them a stiff pint of the local specialty, ginger ale. Besides the inn, the most conspicuous building in town is the house of the mayor, Mr. Adrak, a luxurious gingerbread mansion that sits amidst a garden of candy canes and gumdrops the size of trees and bushes.

Or, at least, it was, before Sweettooth last struck about two days ago, smashing the roof under a giant rock and carrying away a few of Adrak's servants. Now, the roof of the mansion is caved in, and gingerbread men are working around the clock to clear away debris and stick the roof back together using icing. The mansion has been vacated since the attack, and Adrak is now staying at the inn while he waits for his home to be repaired. His demeanor has grown bitter since the attack (even if his flavor hasn't), and he demands that something must be done about Sweettooth before any other gingerbread men are lost!

If the PCs enquire about Sweettooth, the townspeople will direct them toward the house of the town doctor, Dr. Kolobok. The doctor is currently tending to Adrak's butler, Sir Peppercake, a well-mannered gingerbread man with a handlebar mustache made of icing who was in the mansion when Sweettooth attacked but was lucky enough to escape with his life. Alas, Dr. Kolobok only knows how to treat gingerbread folk, and has no understanding of the physiology of flesh-and-blood people. He will not be able to heal or cure any ailments the PCs face, but will find them quite interesting.

If the party seeks an audience with Sir Peppercake, he will describe his terrifying encounter with the giant, who grabbed three gingerbread men and a gingerbread maid and mercilessly devoured them in front of him! Peppercake only managed to escape the attack because one of his legs broke off in Sweettooth's grasp. The doctor managed to bake him a new leg and attached it with icing, but he's been resting it before he returns to work. Despite his master's fiery temper, Peppercake doesn't have any ill will toward Sweettooth, and believes the giant is only motivated by hunger - he just wishes he would stay away from the town in his pursuit of satiating himself.

The gingerbread folk have the stats of halflings. However, since they're made of gingerbread, they're more fragile than if they were made of flesh. Attacks made against them score critical hits on a roll to hit of 15-20.

The gingerbread folk know that Sweettooth lives in a cave at the top of the mountain. If the PCs make the ascent, they will discover that a ravenous giant indeed lives there. Sweettooth has the stats of an hill giant, and has an insatiable hunger for candy and sweets. If the PCs are openly carrying any sweets, or have any gingerbread folk or similar creatures accompanying them, he will attack on sight, trying to grab the sweets and run off with his bounty. He will not attack any creatures who do not have sweets on their person, and finds them boring and uninteresting. If he is denied sweets, he cries and pounds the walls, demanding the party share their treats with him.

What the gingerbread folk do not realize is that Sweettooth is not a full-grown giant! He is, in fact, the bratty son of a family of frost giants who dwell atop the mountain. His parents, Longtooth and Sharptooth, are disinterested in disciplining the boy and pay him no heed, focused only on decorating their cave for the coming winter festivities. They will, however, come to Sweettooth's aid if the child is harmed, throwing rocks at any intruders to try and drive them away from the cave.

If Sweettooth is dealt with, the gingerbread folk will be grateful and offer the PCs a free stay at the Royal Icing whenever they are in town, with plenty of ginger ale on the house. They will also offer the forge the PCs weapons of their choice made of candy glass - on a critical hit, the weapons explode and deal an additional die of damage to all creatures in 15 feet of the target due to the showering of candy shrapnel. If this happens, the weapons are destroyed, but the gingerbread folk will be happy to make replacements. It takes 1d4 days for a candy glass weapon to be completed.

Merry Hexmas!

Midwinter

Of all the holidays in the Lunar Lands, those of the Wheel of the Year - the four solstices and equinoxes, and the four Cross-Quarter Days at the midpoint between each - are the most prominent, celebrated by just about every region. Due to their association with the changing of the seasons and the waxing and waning of daylight, these dates are important markers of the calendar that farmers make their plans by. But of all the holidays, perhaps the most favored of all is Midwinter, the winter solstice.

As I understand, it's the rarest dish in all the land.

For practical reasons, the longest night of the year makes for a time of celebration - when it's cold and dark, and the ground outside is hard, barren, and covered in snow, there is little work to be done, and the hearts and minds of many turn to hearth and home, finding company in family. Many Midwinter traditions sprung up to give people something to do over the long night, and in turn, the closeness the occasion brings to family and friends has led to Midwinter becoming known as a time to celebrate kinship and unity. Many hold feasts and gatherings, which may be as modest as gathering the family under one roof to partake in their company over a warm meal or as lavish as a grand banquet, often times held by feudal lords and open to all of their vassals (at these feasts, a boar's head is the traditional centerpiece). During this time, songs may be sung, games may be played, and gifts may be exchanged to give thanks for love and loyalty.

However, as the longest of the nights, Midwinter also marks the division between one year and the next in the calendar of the Lunar Lands. While the years are commonly numbered by the Vardessian Emperor in power at the time, a new year officially starts at midnight on Midwinter. Due to the use of a lunar calendar, and due to the fact that the solstice does not always match up with the twelth new moon, this often gives rise to an intercalary period which, in some places, sees the festivities continue for up to a full week.

In the cults of various gods - and in other faiths entirely - Midwinter marks the occasion of many important rites to ensure prosperity in the coming year. The high priests of all the major cults oversee grand sacrifices on this date, often accompanied by the local monarch (if applicable) to emphasize the importance of their rule. Of course, many local temples bring offerings of their own, as do homes and families across the land, and Midwinter feasts often include a portion of the main course set aside for the gods (either burnt separately or merely in the form of a dedication). These feasts and sacrifices are often the occasion on which oaths are sworn, with vassals affirming their loyalty to their liege in the next year, and those who intend to make great quests or journeys pledging to do so at this time. So too, Midwinter is a popular time for divination, with many seeking out oracles and soothsayers to predict what the next year will bring in their lives.

Of course, the boundaries between this year and the next are not only important to mortals. The liminal nature of Midwinter means that it is one occasion on which the boundaries between this world and others are weaker, and thus, magic is stronger - but not quite as reliable or predictable as on Samhain or Beltane. It also means that otherworldly beings are free to roam the world at this time, which has inspired many folk customs...and can be a danger to the unwary.

Evergreen plants, like pine trees, holly, and mistletoe, are associated with Midwinter for their ability to thrive through the cold, with many hoping their own fortunes will similarly last the winter. It is common to see both settlements and individuals lay garlands of evergreen and erect trees, which may be decorated for the occasion with candles and ornaments. So too, Midwinter, like Samhain, often sees people going wassailing from house to house singing songs and sharing in food and drink with the inhabitants. However, there are all sorts of local traditions revolving around Midwinter, and just about every region has their own customs.

Special Rules

Midwinter takes place on the winter solstice, typically either the Twenty-First or Twenty-Second of Oakmoon (analogous to December 21st-22nd, or the twenty-first or twenty-second day after the twelth new moon of the world's lunar calendar). From this date to the next new moon, the spirit of peace and harmony pervades the air. If you are using a reaction table, add or subtract 1 from all reaction rolls during this time (whichever makes positive reactions more likely).

Local Midwinter Traditions (d20)

All of these are real Christmas traditions.

1. In this region, people catch or buy a live carp several days before Midwinter and raise it in their bathtub before eating it on Midwinter's Eve.

2. In this town, two rival guilds both erect a massive straw goat in the leadup to Midwinter, competing to see who can make the largest. A separate, though illegal, tradition has arisen of trying to burn down one or both goats before Midwinter.

3. People in this region observe a peculiar form of wassailing, covering themselves in a sheet and holding a puppet made from a horse skull as they go from door to door engaging the residents of each home in a duel of rhymes. If the guisers win, they must be given food and drink.

4. In this region, people burn a log in their hearth continuously through Midwinter so that demons cannot enter the home through the chimney.

5. In this region, people place offerings of food on their doorsteps through the night on Midwinter's Eve so that spirits passing through can eat them (and hopefully be appeased so they will not bring misfortune).

6. In this village, people hide a vulgar figurine somewhere in town on Midwinter's Eve. Whoever can find the figure the next day will have good luck in the coming year. Local clergy find the practice disgusting, but the locals refuse to change.

7. In this region, two men in the garb of a bishop and a Swordbrother (more on these guys in another post - think Landsknechts) walk the streets on the night of Midwinter's Eve, asking any children they find if they pray. If they do, the bishop gives them toys and candies; if they don't, the Swordbrother whips them with a stick.

8. The arrival of Midwinter in this region is announced by the blowing of a large wooden horn at the stroke of midnight.

9. In this town, elaborate public plays are performed in the town square on Midwinter, with no expenses spared in spectacle or costume.

10. One of the streets in this town is set aside as a marketplace in the days leading up to Midwinter, with many stalls selling gifts, candies, and mulled wine.

11. In this region, it is customary for the local lord to switch places with a slave or servant for one day on Midwinter.

12. In this region, on the night of Midwinter's Eve, a mock battle is staged between two groups of citizens, one of them dressed as demons with the other group beating them with sticks, to represent the expulsion of ill fortune for the new year.

13. In this region, nobles appoint a randomly-chosen villager to preside over the Midwinter feast. They are encouraged to promote drunkenness and disruptive behavior.

14. In this region, the night of Midwinter's Eve marks a parade in which the townspeople don grotesque masks and walk the streets to scare off evil spirits. 

15. In this region, a loaf of bread is baked for Midwinter dinner in which the dough is slashed open and the seeds of various crops are inserted. Whichever seeds rise the highest when the bread bakes, those crops will see the most bountiful harvest next year.

16. In this town, a tree branch is thrown on a bonfire on Midwinter and the townspeople take turns poking it with sticks. The more embers are produced when the branch is poked, the more luck that person will receive in the new year.

17. In this village, the townspeople place a number of candles in their windows equal to the number of children in the household on the nights leading up to Midwinter so that generous spirits will know how many gifts to bring. More practically, this also helps light the way for miners who must head to work before sunrise.

18. In this village, on Midwinter, a procession goes through the town square leading a large basilisk puppet, which then performs a speech announcing the sins of all the townspeople.

19. In this town, on Midwinter, the local lord is brought to the town square and seated on a throne, where an official appointed by the townspeople as the Abbot of the People addresses them on the concerns of the common folk.

20. The Midwinter feast in this region includes a dish (such as a loaf of bread, cake, or soup) that contains a single coin or nut. Whoever's portion has the trinket will have good luck in the coming year.

Friday Encounter: How the Korred Stole Midwinter

Art by Boudicca

This encounter is best suited for when the PCs are on the road, though it could be used if they happen to be in a small town close to a mountainous area for an extended period of time. If you are keeping track of in-game time, it should be used in the winter, preferrably in the days leading up to an important winter holiday (especially one that celebrates values of giving and generosity). In the Lunar Lands, this would be Midwinter, which takes place on the winter solstice, but feel free to adjust the details to fit your setting.

The encounter is, of course, a homage to How the Grinch Stole Christmas. Keep in mind that familiarity with the story may make the optimal solution to the scenario too obvious - if you think this will be a problem, you may want to play down the Seuss references at your discretion.

Background

Midwinter is an important holiday across the land, with almost every community having their own traditions. During the harsh winter months, and the longest night of the year, such celebrations bolster morale and keep families together when everyone is holed up inside and the snow blankets the fields. But sometimes, these traditions hold more practical purposes. As one of the days where the boundaries between this world and realms beyond is weakened, Midwinter provides opportunities for magic to creep into everyday life - and not always for the better. To that end, some holiday rituals are practiced to repel otherworldly influence and protect people against its threats.

For the village of Werdorf, this is especially important. The village sits at the foot of the imposing Mount Fladenbrot, at the top of which dwells Geisel, a korred. This fey spirit would like nothing better than to terrorize the town and work mischief, but every Midwinter, the townspeople hold a great ceremony to keep him at bay for the next year. This has only come to harden Geisel's heart and make him desire revenge on the town below, but thanks to the spell, he is unable to enter the village, save for a short window of time toward the year's end before the next ceremony can be completed.

That is, until he got a terrible idea. If he was to disrupt the ceremony, he would be able to wreak havoc all he pleased. And when strangers come to town, he sees just the opportunity he needs...

The Encounter

Ideally, the party should arrive in Werdorf about two or three days prior to Midwinter. There, they will discover the townspeople hard at work decorating for the occasion, hanging greens and baubles from the doorways and rooftops and erecting a towering fir in the town square. Notably, the fence that surrounds the village is covered in iron horseshoes. If they ask around, they will be directed to Boris, the town headman, who can explain the story:

As long as everyone has known, Geisel the korred has dwelled in the caverns of Mount Fladenbrot, and his power waxes as the nights grow longer and the year grows to a close. Long ago, the greedy creature entered the town one Midwinter, where he stole all of its food and wealth, set the animals loose, and caused the crops to fail. Ever since, the townspeople hold a great feast on Midwinter, sacrificing a wether to the god Torvald to ensure the village stays warded against him for another year. The horseshoes on the fences are to turn away the fair folk so that Geisel doesn't interfere as the people prepare for the celebrations. No one knows why Geisel has such spite for the townspeople; perhaps his heart is simply too full of malice.

Boris will happily invite the PCs to participate in the ceremony, and directs them to the inn if they need a place to stay until the time comes. In the inn, they will run into Thurl, a deep-voiced local minstrel who can be found entertaining a crowd of children by performing a song cursing Geisel with many colorful insults. If the PCs are in need of healing, Boris can also point them toward Theo Zoice, the town doctor, who can mend their wounds.

If the PCs stay in Werdorf - ideally over the next day - they will hear the grinding of wheels against the road. Investigating the noise, they will find an old man in a shabby, patched cloak, hobbling along at the side of a donkey pulling a cart just outside the fence. The man claims to be an itinerant tinker, but one who has fallen upon hard times, and he barely has enough ore to sustain his craft. He points to one of the horseshoes along the fence and asks if he can have it to melt down (he will not touch it himself, insisting it be placed in his cart).

The "tinker" is, of course, Geisel in disguise, and the "donkey" is really his pet blink dog. The two are out looking to compromise the ward on the village so that he can slip in on the night of Midwinter's Eve and steal the food and decorations needed for the feast. If the PCs show suspicion, Geisel will firmly deny any knowledge of the story and implore them to have mercy on a poor man. He will thank them greatly for any aid they provide and continue down the road.

If Boris learns of the missing horseshoe, he will be aghast, fearing for the safety of his people (it has been generations since their traditions began, and he has never seen Geisel attack anyone, but he doesn't want to take his chances). If he sees that the PCs look armed or capable, he will implore they storm Mount Fladenbrot and deal with the korred before anyone comes to harm!

Further Developments

If the horseshoe was removed from the fence, Geisel and his blink dog will descend on the village at midnight on Midwinter's Eve, stealing the food for the feast and any garlands and ornaments from the town, even carrying away the tree in the town square. When the townspeople discover the theft the next day, Boris will demand the PCs take up arms against Geisel in retaliation - if the rituals won't work, the korred must be expelled by force!

Should the party attack Geisel's home with open hostility, he will harry them from the top of the mountain, throwing rocks at them and sending his blink dog to attack them as they ascend the slopes. If the PCs make it to the top of the mountain, he has two ropes woven from his hair that are placed by the entrance to his cave, and a third inside, and will command them to ensnare any intruders while he attacks them. If he is dispatched, the party can find a hoard of 3d10x10 GP's worth of gold and jewels, plus a hat of disguise, within his lair.

If, on the other hand, the party comes without weapons drawn, or if they showed him an act of generosity (for instance, offering money or resources of their own, rather than the horseshoe, when he met them in disguise), the korred will be more friendly. He will relate that he always felt left out of the town's Midwinter celebrations and just wanted to be a part of them - but, of course, the fair folk have very different ideas of celebration than humans, and the devastation he wreaked on the town was merely his way of getting in the holiday spirit. Ever since then, however, he grew bitter from how he was spurned by the townspeople and sought revenge.

If the PCs can convince Geisel to leave the village in peace and for Boris to let him in on Midwinter to share in the celebration, peace will be made between the korred and the people of Werdorf. He will join in the feast and even perform the sacrifice of the wether. At the end of the night, due to the spell, he will be forced to return to his mountain for the next year, but he wouldn't want to deny the people of their merriment, and looks forward to joining in again next year. Before he leaves, however, he will give out gifts for everyone in the town, including the PCs.

Each PC should receive a magic item suited to their character and class (use your judgment; you know your players better than I do). Furthermore, the party will have made an ally of Geisel, and he will be willing to lend his aid if called upon in the future.

We Need More Nutcracker Adventures

We're closing in on Christmas time again - and if you look around the TRPG community, you're bound to stumble over more than a few queries from people looking for advice on Christmas-themed adventures and encounters to send their players on to celebrate the season. And more often than not, the first thing anyone is going to recommend is Krampus - either encouraging the DMs to make use of the concept themselves, or taking their pick from a sea of Krampus-themed modules out there.

The Aquabats episode can stay, though.

Look, I get it. I can see why Krampus became such a popular choice. For a lot of people, fighting monsters is a key part of D&D, and there aren't many other notable Christmas monsters out there. But the oversaturation of Krampus has made him completely lose any appeal to me. In the last couple of years, Krampus has gone from being a fun bit of trivia to being one of the things about Christmas that everyone knows, and that more people have done something with than I can count. He's played out. He isn't fun and new and exciting any more, and hasn't been for years. Surely there are other sources we can draw from to create a scenario with an unmistakably Christmas feel that still wouldn't be out of place at the tabletop.

As a matter of fact, there's one in particular that's worth a look. The Nutcracker and the Mouse King, by E.T.A. Hoffmann.

Raise your hands. What do you know about the story of the Nutcracker? Well, there's a Nutcracker in it. He's given to the protagonist by Herr Drosselmeyer and fights the Mouse King. There's a Sugarplum Fairy involved in there somewhere. The music goes "da da da da DA DA dadada," you know the one. A lot of people are familiar with the iconography of the Nutcracker story, but can anyone tell me what actually happens in it?

No? Didn't think so.

Did you know that the Mouse King has seven heads, for one? Yeah, that's a detail from the original book that gets left out a lot - and it's theorized that it may be a reference to the phenomenon of rat kings, so that's one evocative image to draw on.

Did you know that the Nutcracker wages a nightly war between the toys and the invading mice, who want to eat all the candy and chew up the toys in the house?

Did you know that there's a kingdom of dolls that the Nutcracker rules over, with forests of sweets, gates made of sugared almonds, gingerbread men who suffer from toothaches, and a castle made of marzipan (under repairs because a giant named Sweettooth ate part of the roof)? 

Did you know there's a subplot about the Nutcracker having to find a sword that can slay the Mouse King (this, by the way, is solved by having the protagonist's brother give him a sword from one of his toy soldiers, who he punishes for not fighting the mice earlier by "forbidding them from playing the Hussar's March for a year;" no word on whether or not they listen)?

Did you know that three chapters (that's about one-fifth of the book, for reference) are devoted to the origin of the Nutcracker, and it's begging to be mined for inspiration?

See, as the story goes, it all began when Lady Mouserinks, the Mouse Queen (just go with it) led an army of mice to eat the fat that was supposed to be used for a sausage at a king's banquet. In response, Herr Drosselmeyer - who happens to be the court inventor - made traps for the mice, killing the children of the Mouse Queen. This, incidentally, is how mousetraps were invented.

In response, the Mouse Queen - who apparently commands great magical powers despite being, by all accounts, the size of an ordinary mouse (you'll see what I mean later) - placed a curse on the princess to turn her into a nutcracker. According to the court astrologer, this curse could only be lifted by having her consume the magical nut Crackatook, after it was opened by the teeth of a man who had never in his life shaved or worn boots, who must then close his eyes and take seven steps backward. You know, ritual stuff.

Despite the court searching the world for years (which includes meeting the King of Dates, the Prince of Almonds, and "the Society of Natural Sciences in Squirrelton"), they can't find the nut, nor a man who suits the requirements, until Herr Drosselmeyer heads home to Nuremburg, where it turns out that his cousin, a puppet-maker, has the nut (he found it when he got in a fight with a nut seller who was blocking his door, and a cart ran over his bag of nuts in the commotion, breaking all but one). The king promises his daughter's hand in marriage to whoever can crack the nut, but everyone who tries breaks their teeth on it - except for Herr Drosselmeyer's nephew, who happens to have never shaved or worn boots. He manages to crack the nut, but after handing it to the princess and lifting her curse, he takes the required seven steps backward with his eyes closed...and, with his seventh step, squashes the Mouse Queen. Who goes on to sing this.

Oh, Crackatook, hard nut, now I must die,

Hee hee, pee pee.

Nutcracker, young man, you too will die.

My seven-crowned son will avenge my death,

And take from you your living breath.

Oh, life, so vibrant and red, I - squeak!

I am very mature.

Anyway, with her dying breath, the Mouse Queen places a curse on the nephew that turns him into a nutcracker - the same one given by Herr Drosselmeyer to his goddaughter - and ever since, the Mouse King has been out for revenge for his mother's death!

Let's recap. The story of the Nutcracker is full of strange monsters, curses, magic items, bizarre locations, rituals, fantastic races, and grand quests...in other words, the perfect material for a campaign! Don't just take my word for it, give it a look yourself.

I'd love to see people do more with the Nutcracker when it comes to Christmas-themed modules. In fact, I've been workshopping one of my own based on the story. I can't promise a release date any time in particular - real life gets in the way, you know the drill - but I think there's plenty in the story that can be mined for a hexcrawl. Watch this space!

In the meantime, though, this week's Friday Encounter will carry on the Christmas spirit, drawing inspiration from another famous Christmas story. And there's more holiday fun on the horizon!