EN5ider Magazine for D&D

Another Year Passed

Added 2018-02-12 17:13:01 +0000 UTC

Every setting needs traditions and celebrations, but these vary widely by culture. This article helps you to randomly flesh out your setting's New Year traditions, birthday celebrations, the effects of growing old, and how the changing years affect NPCs. For example:

The New Year is a powerful, mystical time. Costumes and masks are worn to hide from or scare away malevolent spirits that might bring bad luck. Similarly, treats are left on windowsills, on doorframes, and in pantries to appease fey tricksters.
Every year, on the minute of your birth, you have a prophetic vision. This vision gives you a glimpse of where you will be the next year at this exact same time. The vision lasts exactly 1 minute, and while it isn’t always perfectly clear, what little you can remember from year to year it is uncannily accurate.
Forgetfulness is becoming a serious problem for you. Retrieving an item from a pack, drawing a weapon, or otherwise readying an item is always an action. Remembering where any item not in your pack is takes a number of actions equal to the number of age categories you have advanced past adulthood.
There’s been a dark omen recently, and the (non-player) character is at the center of it. They might not even be aware of the omen itself, but a growing sense of dread has been following them everywhere. The omen might foretell something personal, or it might be a symptom of a larger problem in the future with them at the center.

By Michael McCarthy; illustrated by Tamara Cvetkovic.