How to Role-play a New Year

I’m not sure about you, but I have never given much thought as to how Players and NPCs might react to the new year in their culture. Many traditions in our own world have vastly different views about the new year and, this gives many options for fantasy settings.

One option is that the the NPCs in the current area celebrate the new year as a symbol of new possibilities opening up. They may perform dances or other ceremonies representing their aspirations for the coming year.

Another possibility is that townspeople hold celebration for all that has happened during the past year. They may offer food and gold to the gods or priests. Or they may hold prayer services of thanksgiving.

NPCs my be in distress over what may come in the following cycle. They may perform sacrifices (including human, elven, or whatever) to gods in hopes that the deities wil l smile upon them. They may perform "sympathetic magic" in an effort to stave off ill fortune. They may even hire seers to predict whether the coming will be pleasant or full of despair.

NPCs may fear that the death of a year could cause the death of their world. This fear may lead them to perform sacrifices of animals or sentient beings as an exchange for the world’s life. They may hold prayer services to plead with the gods to protect the world. Or they may just live in fear.

It could be that there is nothing special about the new year for the culture that the PCs encounter at the new year. This would be especially true in worlds or climates where there are no distinct seasons; the NPCs may not perceive a beginning or end to the year and, instead of cycles, view life as one continuous existence.

Keep in mind that each culture may celebrate the new year at different times as well. Some may view the new year when the trees start to bud again. Others may believe that the new year starts on the solstice. Still others may look for some mystical sign and each year may be a vastly different length ranging from a couple of months to 100 solar years.

I hope these suggestions give you ideas of how to incorporate new years into your own campaigns. If you have any other suggestions, please feel free to post them here.