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The Gift Bearer was once again filled with the spirit of the season and decided to leave another gift that our free members can enjoy as well! 

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Today we have a winter/new year celebration that you can add to your upcoming holiday games. Those of you who have been with us since our 5e days will probably recognize Firstdawn, but we've converted the festival activities to Cypher for our newer folks to also enjoy. If you're interested in the 5e pdf, you can find it here.

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~ Jess
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Day Fifteen - Lore

Setting: Quaseloth

Genre(s): Fantasy

Firstdawn: The Festival of Spirit

“On this day of Firstdawn, I feel my heart jump at the thought of the songs, the celebrations, of the fellowship that we become a part of! Children run to and fro under the glow of the star crystals, darting from decorated houses to hang painted grables on trees outside. Families gather by the hearth between festivities, making gifts and preparing for feasts. In all of our actions, we celebrate the gods and heroes who have led us to this new year. Truly we capture the spirit of the first day!”

-Maliim Remoure, Poet of High Lirren

Firstdawn is a festival celebrating the coming of the new year and the good of the Aeonian Spirit, the raw energy of creation that flows throughout the universe and energizes the beings of the material realm. It’s a day to celebrate the heroes who have taken that spark from the Aeonian Spirit and turned it into something grand. And it is a day to honor those gods who have blessed the people and kept the realms safe for mortals.

A Month of Reflection

Although Firstdawn itself is only celebrated one day—the day believed to mark the start of all creation—the entire month leading up to the festival is often a whirlwind of activity. Around hamlets, villages, and cities, people begin hanging decorations and ornaments as soon as they can. Blue and orange star crystals are gathered from the caves where they grow and hung on trees and windowsills, left to catch the moonlight and give off their soft glow during the long nights. Wreaths wound from branches of grablenut trees are hung on the thresholds of homes and businesses, the normally brown, stippled surfaces of the nuts painted in bright festive colors by friends and family members of those within.

People shop, bake, and make crafts in preparation for the holiday at the month’s end, but despite all of the celebratory hustle and bustle, the month of Firstdawn is truly a time of reflection and gratitude. As they settle into the depths of winter and with the bulk of the season’s work behind them, most take it as an opportunity to rest and acknowledge their family and friends by playing, telling stories of heroism and adventure, and treating themselves to the quality time that they may miss throughout the rest of year.

The Eve of Firstdawn

The night before Firstdawn a new slew of activities begins, as people prepare themselves for the ceremony of gifting the following day. Everyone takes the presents that they have bought or crafted and places them in carved wooden boxes, colorful silk wraps, or simple burlap bags, all wrapped in elaborately knotted strings and bows. The knots are the most important part of the practice, representing the stages of life through feast and famine, as well as the heroes’ struggle as they safeguard the lands. It’s an acknowledgment that, no matter how hard things may seem in the moment, there are always gifts to be found in the end and that for those willing to fight and allow the Aeonian Spirit to ignite the spark within, great rewards await. Although the knots themselves represent something truly deep and meaningful, many people take this as the perfect opportunity to tease those that they love. It’s not uncommon for a friend or cousin to devise a series of knots meant only to confuse and frustrate the unfortunate recipient of their gift.

As night falls on the Eve of Firstdawn, the heads of every household clean their house from top to bottom, making sure that everything is perfect for the following day and that all of the woes and stresses from the year before do not follow their family into the year to come. After the cleaning and final preparations are done, everyone settles by the hearth and enjoys a hot and soothing cup of Firstdawn tea, known in some areas of the continent as crimson tea. A seasonal delicacy, Firstdawn tea is crimson in color and naturally soothes any aches, pains, and anxieties that the drinker may have, allowing them to wake up on the dawn of the new year feeling completely rested and thoroughly rejuvenated.

A New Year Dawns

On the morning of Firstdawn, family and friends gather together to perform the ceremony of gifting and enjoy the traditional breakfast of cold meats, bread rolls, and boiled eggs. Before the day’s festivities begin, the head of the household gives the customary Firstdawn toast, saluting the heroes of the land and giving thanks to the gods that have watched over them. After the opening ceremonies of the day, the entire community comes together for games and competitions. Sleigh racing is most common, or chariot racing in areas where snow isn’t available, but there’s a variety of activities to keep spirits high and to bring the community together. As the day progresses, food and ale flow freely, and in the evening the closing ceremony of Firstdawn begins.

The Hero’s Fight is the traditional end to Firstdawn. Everyone gathers together for wrestling and sparring matches meant to celebrate and honor the heroes of the land. Bards play songs celebrating the great deeds of champions of legend and of local adventurers alike, and children run and play, having their own mock fights while mimicking those they admire. Once the fights are done and the ribbons and commendations have been handed out, everyone goes home happy and feeling completely prepared to face whatever the year ahead may bring. For they have shared in the courage of heroes and felt the renewal that the Aeonian Spirit brings with Firstdawn.

The Firstdawn Toast

The following is a traditional Firstdawn toast, as told by Empiric Lord Crougan Lasteel of the DackTerran Empire:

You must dance and celebrate, my people. The Aeonian Spirit of Firstdawn is upon us and life begins again. Let us hold our glasses high for our heroes, for life, and for goodness. Tonight the Aeonian Spirit is at its highest and our sparks are strengthened with it. We live another year and begin a new chance to change our lives and the lives of others. For this was the day we were given life, the first day of existence. For all of us who came before, for all now, and for all of those who will follow, this is the first dawn!

Festival Activities

Although the essence of Firstdawn is one of giving and self-reflection, there’s also an air of friendly competition that flows through all of the various activities and games that accompany the festival. Whether it’s the hanging of decorations or the final Hero’s Fight, folks can’t help but test themselves against their friends and neighbors in the spirit of fun and community.

Below are a few of the typical festivities that can be enjoyed during Firstdawn celebrations.

Bardic Blitz

A highlight of more metropolitan celebrations, the bardic blitz is a friendly competition that pits talented musicians against one another in an attempt to win over the affection of the crowd through their festive melodies. Although it can be hosted on its own center stage in a city square or parade grounds, the bardic blitz is normally held in a large canvas tent directly in the heart of the other festivities where it can draw the biggest crowds.

The bardic blitz takes place over 3 turns. In each turn, participating PCs must succeed on a music task against their opponent. The participant who wins 2 of the 3 turns is declared the winner of that round and moves on to the next round and a new opponent. The participant still standing in the final round is declared the winner of the competition. The number of total participants determines the number of rounds in the bardic blitz, although the average length is 5 rounds.

During their turn, a participant may attempt to garner extra favor from the crowd by attempting to sway them with their innate charm, dance moves, or some other means of hyping the crowd. Attempting to sway the crowd is a difficulty level 4 task. On a success, the participant’s hyping provides an additional +3 to their music roll.

Grablenut Hunt

A simple holiday activity, the grablenut hunt has become a staple tradition in a majority of Firstdawn celebrations around the continent by virtue of its beloved place among the grandparents and elders of communities. On the Eve of Firstdawn, a grablenut is selected and painted—both to camouflage its presence and distinguish it from the other decorative grablenuts on display—and hidden somewhere in the boundaries of the town, where it waits to be found before the Heroe’s Fight signifies the end of Firstdawn. Whoever is able to find the special grablenut before the festivities end is presented with a special gift and the envy of their peers.

Before the start of any Firstdawn activities, the GM rolls a d20 and records the result. As participants search for the special grablenut, the first one to roll the GM’s recorded result on their d20 finds the grablenut and wins the grablenut hunt.

Firstdawn Bake-Off

The creating and consuming of sumptuous baked goods is a staple of the entire month of Firstdawn, but many generous folks producing the various cakes, pies, and cookies are simply using the time to test and perfect the dessert recipes that they plan to enter into the Firstdawn bake-off. During the bake-off, contestants present their prized recipe to a panel of judges who determine who the winner of that season’s contest will be based on the technical ability, taste, and presentation of the holiday dish.

PCs participating in the Firstdawn bake-off make 3 separate rolls. The first determines their technical ability creating the bake, the second determines the bake’s taste, and the third determines the presentation of their bake. If the participating PC has a skill, ability, asset, or other effect that would normally ease their attempt at the task at hand, they may add 3 to their roll for each step reduction (+3 for one step, +6 for two steps, and so on). After adding their 3 scores together, take the average to find the score of the participant’s dish. The participant with the highest score has prepared the dish most pleasing to the judges and wins the bake-off.

Participants may attempt to enhance their score through magic or trickery. Attempting to enhance a dish through the use of magic without being mundanely detected is a difficulty level 4 Intellect task. On a success, the participant receives a +5 bonus to their overall score. On a failure, they are disqualified from the competition. Attempting to sabotage an opponent without being discovered by the competition is a difficulty level 4 task. On a success, the target of the participant’s sabotage receives a -5 bonus to their overall score. On a failure, the particpant is disqualified from the competition.

The Hero’s Fight

The Hero’s Fight is the most important Firstdawn festival activity and the only one that is central to the celebration itself. Those who partake in the event spar with one another voraciously, until an opponent either gives up or can no longer continue the match. Everyone parts the Hero’s Fight as friends, whether they were the recipient of a ribbon or a whipping, ready to start the next phase of their season off right.

The Hero’s Fight is always between 2 participants. The event proceeds exactly as normal combat, with the following exceptions:

• Weapons are not allowed.
• If a participant makes a roll of a 20, they immediately knock out their opponent.

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