The Brownies Celebrated Still, by Palmer Cox

The Festival of Fair Dreams

In the city surrounding Meriden Castle, there is a festival each year on the birthday of the sleeping princess.

Fireworks bloom in the night sky.

The commoners dance, and laugh, and share the meager bounty of their crops.

Actors play at grand tales of heroes and their noble quests.

Fortune Tellers tell bright lies, and whisper dark truths.

All so the princess may have fair dreams, and think well of the land that goes on without her.

For in 60 years, not once has she awoken.

Background

The king is growing old, and without a proper heir the nobles are beginning to size up their allies and formulate their own claims to the throne. Hostilities and plots abound during the night's festivities.

The Princess was cursed into a deep sleep 60 years ago. Though none know the origin of the curse, there is a prophecy that if the broken crown of her father is repaired and placed upon her brow, she will awaken. She has not aged in the 60 years, and young men still go off looking for the crown to free the princess from her dread slumber and claim her hand-and the kingdom-for themselves. 

Duke Everett of the Golden Mountains has the strongest claim due to his immense wealth, strong army, and fortified mountain city. He's overly confident in this, however, and doesn't actually expect the other nobles to resort to villainy. Everett is a jolly and generous soul, and very quick to laugh. He has a bit of a paunch, and a well trimmed mustache that is beginning to turn grey.

Duke Cherwell of Bracken Bay controls the ocean ports, and believes he could starve out Everett if it came to war. His massive armies can't eat gold. Even so, it would be helpful if Everett himself weren't in the way. Cherwell is ambitious and quick-witted. His broad shoulders fill his modest but well-made suits perfectly.

Duchess Tephra of the Highlands rules most of the central region of Meridia. She has no interest in claiming the throne, but will not sit back and let the other nobles take her land, thus she prepares for the worst. She is grim, serious, and dedicated to the common people. She appears tall, thin, and stately.

Duke Venris of the Grendel Woods is tired of his low position near the monster and fae-infested forests. He will gladly take any opportunity to raise himself up, even if it means stepping on the backs of others. He tends to be quite tired and nervous. His face is wrinkled and his hair is beginning to thin.

A Strong Start

The various members of the party find themselves in Meriden City during the festivities. You may describe the attractions and competitions, and ask the players what draws their characters' attention.

If a player finds nothing interesting, or whenever you find appropriate, you may roll a random encounter for them to notice.

Each character should have enough time to participate in 2 major activities or competitions, or a few more if the group is having fun. 

After some time, move to the The Escape.

Festival Attractions

Captured fairies from the Grendel Woods. They pout and make faces at those who come to look at them. The carnie displaying them is selling small vials of Fairy Dust (A fake cure-all for whatever problems you have, bad teeth, bad sight, aching joints, indigestion, etc.) for 1 Silver Piece each. Fairies never forget a favor.

Fireworks. Put on by a dwarf from below the Golden Mountains. They're normally not seen by anyone, and this one doesn't like being looked at. His name is Borlo. He's an outcast, accused of mismanaging a mining team resulting in 3 deaths. After the escape he can be found drinking in the local tavern, the Purring Bear, where he will gladly tell anyone who comes near to shove off, unless he's bought a drink. If he is bought a drink, he'll sit with you and tell you everything, but the real story isn't his fault. It wasn't a bad vein, it wasn't poorly managed. They dug into a dragon's lair.

Bed Races. A group of peasants have rigged up various wagons to look like noble beds in honor of the sleeping princess. The beds are judged based on presentation and speed. They will soon be raced down a hill while being ridden by their various owners. 

This year's design winner is Mr. Devin of Swineford, who has built a brilliant mockery of a 4-poster bed in bright pink. He refuses to tell anyone how he dyed so much fabric such a lovely shade. It's also drenched in perfume, but there's a distinctly unpleasant undertone to the scent. 

While the pink 4-poster has won for beauty, it is destined to crash into a mess at the bottom, leaving the speed award to Ms. Havelock of Witherton, who opted for a small but elegant design loaded down with rocks and only a light cushion of straw on top. The nobility shun this event, but tolerate it due to the long-winded speeches given before and after about the good-health and awakening of the princess.

A Tame Wyvern is tied to a pole, and stalks back and forth menacingly. Despite the exhibitor's insistence that the beast is tame and won't attack, he carries a whip with stinging barbs on the end to keep the beast in line. Also see The Escape. 

Various Carnival Games. Most are 1 Copper Piece per try, and offer small awards: stuffed bears, carved wooden necklaces, river-polished stones, a ticket to a play later in the night, etc. There's a "crown the princess" ring toss, bottle-tower ball throwing, hammer swinging, etc, etc. There are also all manner of baked goods and flowers available for a copper a piece. Unfortunately the smell of baked goods mixes with the scents of various live animals and their droppings. Pony rides are a silver piece each.

Competitions

All around the festival grounds, various posters and criers declare the starting time for a wide variety of competitions. Rumors abound that Duke Cherwell is observing the archery tournament, Duchess Tephra is personally sponsoring a peculiar tactical wargame, and the King himself is quite excited about watching the fencers.

Entering a competition costs 1 GP. During each round of the competition, a character must test their most relevant ability, and describe how they make use of it.

Winning a single round earns 1 GP unless otherwise stated, winning 3 in a row without losing earns the prize. As soon as a character loses a round, they are out of the competition, having been bested by another.

If 2 characters both make it to the 3rd round of a competition, they each must roll to determine their score. A character's score is equal to their Ability Score - a d20 roll. The character with the highest score wins. For example, if Gerta has a Might of 16 and rolls a 2, her score is 14.

Contests of Might

• Stump Toss 
• Burly men, and a few women, are taking turns throwing a stump as far as they can. 
• Prize: a large, beautifully crafted steel axe, as a Greatsword 
• King of the Log 
• A tall log is erected in the middle of a pond, folk are climbing it and attempting to shove each-other off. 
• Prize: A silver crown designed to look like the one of legend. Worth 25 GP
• Wrestling
• Competitors square off with one another and attempt to toss their opponent out of a ring. 
• Prize: A silver belt buckle declaring you a Champion, worth 20 GP

Contests of Grace

• Archery 
• Prize: An arrow with a silver tip. It flies back to your hand when you whistle, if you're wearing the attuned ring. Donated by Duke Cherwell of Bracken Bay, who would like to speak with the winner, specifically about dealing with a few difficult criminals troubling the communities around Bracken Castle. Cherwell needs a hit-man.
• Fencing 
• Though mainly the sport of the nobility, commoners are not barred from entering on festival nights.
• Prize: a jeweled rapier (d8, light) worth 30 GP, and the notice of King Meridian, who enjoys watching the fights. Back in the day, he was quite the fencer himself. Come to breakfast tomorrow? The king is worried about the nobles. He may be old, but he can smell trouble. Venris is a rat, but Cherwell is a viper. He doesn't have a plan, but knows much about the country. If someone impresses him, he might reveal that Duchess Tephra found a fragment of the crown in an old tomb beneath her lands, but she nearly died doing so. She still has it for safe keeping.
• Footraces 
• There is no cost for running in the footraces. 
• This year the old King has donated a fine pair of shoes to the victor.
• Prize: an excellent pair of shoes, +5' move speed.

Contests of Wit

• Rhyme Battle 
• Competitors take turns at making witty and offensive rhymes about their opponent.
• Tests gain a +2 Bonus if the player actually makes a rhyme at the table.
• Prize: a Gold-trimmed ram's horn worth 20 GP.
• Chess 
• Prize: A solid silver and ebony chess set worth 45 GP.
• Wargames
• Miniature battalions are set up on a replica hillside. 
• Prize: An imitation military commander's hat worth 15 GP, and an invitation from Duchess Tephra of the Highlands to have dinner with herself. She needs a good military thinker. Someone who can be a few steps ahead of her enemies. She fears a war if the king passes, and she would keep the people safe, if possible.

Contests of Will 

• Poker 
• Each successful round earns the player 1d4 GP
• Prize: 1d4x10 GP and a deck of gilded playing cards.
• The Hot Coals
• Walking across the hot coals barefoot is an impossible feat for most, whose courage fails before they even set foot on the coals. 
• Characters take 1d2 damage for each attempt. 
• Prize: A gem-encrusted goblet worth 75 GP
• Bull-teasing
• The trick is to stand there with your red flag waving about, and hold your ground until the last moment.
• Characters take 1d6 damage on a critical failure.
• Prize: A gold-trimmed red cape worth 40 GP, and a steak dinner provided by the Purring Bear tavern.

Random Encounters:

1. A very well-dressed 12 year old girl is playing a ball-toss game to win a fake stuffed bear. She keeps missing, and keeps paying real gold pieces to try again. A sign hanging above states that the price is a copper for 3 throws. The man managing this booth hasn't bothered to tell her this, and she's used to paying gold for nice things. Her name is Priscinda Everett, daughter of Lord Everett of the Golden Mountain, and she's quite stubborn about winning the bear.
2. A frantic woman is checking the face of every little girl she comes across, especially those with bright blonde hair. She is Emilie, Priscinda Everett's care-taker, and she lost track of the girl at the fairy exhibit. See Encounter 1.
3. A pick-pocket attempts to steal something from a player. They must test Wit. On a failure, they realize something's wrong, but the pickpocket has a 20' lead. They may attempt 3 different things to catch the thief. On 2 failures the thief gets away. On 2 successes, they catch the thief. 
4. A Fortune Teller grabs your hand, she looks up at you from wrinkled eyes and blinks twice. "There is something odd about you." She says. The fortune teller is just trying to swindle the character out of their money. 2-in-6 actually has a prophecy, some helpful clue for later in the campaign.
5. You overhear hushed words from a tent, and look in to see a man with thinning hair and wrinkles complaining about "fairies and goblins". The man is dressed in a noble's garb, and is speaking with some very rough looking folks. This is Duke Veris of the Grendel Wood, the men are bandits discussing the terms of a bribe for attacking Duke Everett's wagon on their return journey tomorrow.
6. You pass by a tent filled with various adventurers, over the entrance is a banner entitled Crown Hunters' Guild. Inside, adventurers swap rumors about the local regions and where the pieces of the shattered crown might hide. The going rumor is that the pieces lay (roll a d4): 1 within a dragon's hoard in the Golden Mountains, 2: in a wizard's tower somewhere on the coast, 3: in a dungeon deep beneath the roots of the Grendel wood, or 4: somewhere in the ancient tombs of the highlands, though Duchess Tephra has strictly outlawed adventurers unsealing those.

The Escape

At some point during the night, the Wyvern on display will break its bond and run loose. With its clipped wing, it can't just fly away, so it will fight through commoners, performers, and anything else in its way to get out of the festival.

Captured Wyvern: AC (16) HD 4 (18 HP), 1 Bite (+4, 1d6), 1 Tail (+4, 1d6, The poison has been removed), Move 30', Morale 10

Everyone in the city can hear the screaming, and word quickly spreads of a monster raging through the streets.

If the party does nothing, the beast escapes but kills 3d6 innocents along the way.

Anyone who does help to calm or kill the beast will be summoned by Duke Venris, who has procured a map to the resting place of one of the shards of the broken crown, deep within a dungeon in the Grendel Woods. He promises wealth, glory, and a celebration to put the current one to shame, if the party retrieves the crown for him.

Design Notes

I'm writing up a module for a GLoGhack I've just about finished called Goblin Tales. The intention was to put together a simple ruleset with a bunch of fairytale style classes, and then set them loose on the unsuspecting countryside.

This quickly turned into a bit of a political mess. The princess is cursed, the king is dying, the nobles are plotting, and the monsters are coming out.

In order to introduce all those bits and pieces, I think a festival is in order

The amazing thing about a festival, from a gameplay perspective, is that just about every major faction and region can be introduced in a single evening of play. The players' mental maps are quickly broadened with names like "The Grendel Woods" and "The Golden Mountains". Celebrations, ceremonies, and stories quickly reveal the lore of the world, and players can form relationships that will help them to pursue their own goals later.

Better than meeting in a tavern? I'll let you decide.