Needfest
This frigid seven-day period marks the transition from one calendar year to another, and is usually accounted as the start of the new year. Merchants typically complete their annual bookkeeping during Sunsebb, just prior to this week, figuring the taxes they owe for the year past as soon as spring comes (Growfest). Some guildmembers labor in their halls and shops, producing new goods of wood, cloth, and metal to sell in the coming year. All such work ceases during Needfest.
All seven days of Needfest are public holidays in Greyhawk; this is a time to celebrate life when the weather is most miserable. Food stored away after harvest is brought out for grand dinners and all entertainment establishments are full to bursting. Each noble of Greyhawk invites his vassals and servants to dinner one night during this week, and charitable gifts of food and drink are common at such parties. The news and gossip of the year is reviewed and rehashed, and plans are laid for the coming year. Overindulgence and merrymaking are the rule. Some middle-class and noble citizens have a tradition of decorating their homes with yellow candles, boughs of evergreen branches (symbolizing the triumph of life through hard times), and even magical lights and ornaments. Daytime displays of harmless illusion/phantasm spells are held at the High and Low Markets in the Free City, drawing many spectators.
Needfest is not a religious celebration per se, but local religions take note of it nonetheless. Special services are held at many churches and temples, complete with singing, music, sermons, and feasts to which the priests and their helpers invite all parishioners. The religions of Rao, Pelor, and St. Cuthbert banded together after the _ Greyhawk Wars to feed the refugees that flooded the city; this began a new practice that seems to have caught on. On Godsday (the 4th of Needfest), hundreds of small loaves of bread are distributed from booths at the Low Market to needy citizens from the Old City, who stand in a long line along the Processional from the Black Gate to get this bounty. The booths are operated by minor priests of the three religions involved, with the stoutly armed faithful of St. Cuthbert providing security and ensuring that everyone behaves. A smaller but similar event is held below Wharfgate for the destitute residents of Shack Town.
The clergies of Heironeous, Pholtus, and Trithereon do not participate, but they attempt to perform good deeds (or lawful deeds, for the former two) each day during this week. However, the great rivalries between the clergies of Pholtus and Trithereon, and between those of St. Cuthbert and Pholtus, provide unintended and lively antics for Greyhawk’s citizens to view, as the clerics of these faiths argue with each other and even fall to blows if their “good deeds” conflict in any possible way. Regrettably, Greyhawk’s citizens often cheer on such fights and make bets on the outcome.
The evening of Needfest Godsday is also known as Midwinter Night. On this night, Needfest 4th, only aquamarine Celene is visible in the sky, as Luna is new. For this reason, Midwinter Night is also called Handmaiden’s Glory or the Dim Night. This is a holy night for priests of Celestian, who conduct all-night services of moonwatching and stargazing on the grounds around the Grey College Observatory. Magical adjustments to the weather are sometimes made to ensure good viewing, though the temperature is always left cold enough to prevent widespread melting of snow and thus flooding. This tinkering with weather angers the few local druids, who consider this night holy and gather at the StoneRing outside the city’s Druid’s Gate for chanting, prayer, and other services.
The height of the midwinter celebration is Needfest 7th, the Feast of Fools. This is held from 5 P.M. to midnight, precisely timed by clocks and magic on that Freeday. The Feast of Fools is thought to have been established as a holiday by Zagig Yragerne, the city’s most famous Lord Mayor (now a demigod, Zagyg the Mad Archmage), but evidence suggests it is much older than that, perhaps dating back to the days when the city was brought into the Great Kingdom, around 1 CY.
During the Feast of Fools, the theme of reversal is explored: The high is made low, and the low is made high. The Lord Mayor and the Directing Oligarchy, wearing dunce’s caps and straitjackets, troop into the Old City in a ragged line, heading down alleys and streets through the Slum and Thieves’ Quarters. They stop to hear the words of simpletons and idiots along the way, listening sagely as crowds jeer and cheer them on. It is generally understood that any attack on these gentlemen will be swiftly detected and repulsed by the many thieves who are guildmemberts in the city, who are thick in the crowds but nondescript in appearance. The much feared Guild of Assassins is also said to be out in force on this night, providing an extra level of security.
This invisible protection was breached only once in recent years, in 589 CY when a beggar attempted to assassinate Nerof Gasgal with a poisoned needle. Carmen Halmaster, a Director from Greyhawk’s Union of Merchants and Traders (and secretly a member of the Thieves’ Guild) was struck instead. The assassin was swiftly pinned down and taken away; no word of his fate was ever released. Halmaster, who appeared to be dying, was healed on the spot by a cleric who was traveling with the Director's silent bodyguards just in case his services were needed. To his credit, the pale and shaken Halmaster insisted on continuing in the parade with aid from other Directors, to the thunderous approval of the crowd, though he seemed to have great trouble walking.
Elsewhere in the city during the Feast of Fools, madness reigns. Thieves secretly leave small bags of coins (always copper) for former victims and the.poor to find. Warriors beg children to save them from unseen monsters. Rangers claim to be lost, and paladins loudly challenge puppets to single combat. Judges and senior officials in the Courts of Justice are stood on the docks and tried by lowly clerks and messengers for absurd crimes, after which they are (briefly) jailed. The sages and tutors of Grey College, the University of Magical Arts, and other schools sit in the audience as their most inexperienced students happily regale them with nonsense. Even the clergy of churches and temples take part in this event, though the actual rites vary according to the religion practiced. Priests of Rao are addressed by fools and maniacs. Clerics of Heironeous listen to tales of heroism and sacrifice told by known liars and cowards. Members of the Order of St. Cuthbert listen to any religious advice offered by those of other faiths and appear completely won over, smacking themselves on the forehead for having been so misguided before.
All of this silliness is overseen by The Fool, the most talented bard or jester in the city, who gains this very honorable appointment by vote of the Directing Oligarchy. For the seven hours of the Feast, The Fool is lord of the city. Whatever The Fool orders is done, though these directives (like everything else that goes on in the city at this time) must be governed by a carefully designed logic of paradox. Nothing that threatens the security of Greyhawk, injures any citizen, destroys property, involves physical violence, and so on is allowed. The Feast of Fools is meant to be completely in fun, with no later regrets; even The Fool must be careful not to do something dangerous or stupid. A “stupid” act in this case is anything that might offend someone so much that The Fool will be very sorry about it later. (Angering the Lord Mayor is considered “very stupid;” angering Glodreddi Bakkanin, the Inspector of Taxes, or Vesparian Lafanel, rumored to be the Guildmaster of Assassins, is plainly the act of a genuine madman.)
All citizens of Greyhawk are expected to take part in the evening's wild events, acting precisely the opposite of their normal behavior. Brightly colored and bizarre clothing is the norm, the crazier the better. The stories of mock “adventures” and lunacy that go on during this time are enjoyed for years to come. The birth rate soars around Brewfest of the next year. To refuse to participate in the fun is a serious breach of etiquette, and anyone who shows a lack of humor on the topic immediately draws the attention of all nearby merrymakers, who mercilessly hound the spoilsport with practical jokes and snide comments long after Needfest is over. Foreigners are allowed some leeway in partictpating, but even they are expected to make a show of silliness in harmless ways. (A smile and a goofy costume go a long way.)
Only three groups are said to act as they always do during the Feast of Fools: the carefree priests of Olidammara, who encourage revelry with music and song; druids, who have no sense of humor about even pretending to dislike nature or balance, and thus avoid the city for the evening; and the Guild of Assassins. Assassins simply stay out of sight or disguise themselves as other people, usually foreigners or beggars, and carry on like everyone else around them — unless a situation develops requiring their usual services.
An exception to the holiday spirit of Needfest is required of the Lord Mayor and Directing Oligarchy, who hold their first quarterly meeting with all foreign ambassadors to the city at the Lord Mayor’s Palace in High Quarter on Needfest Ist. This directors-and-diplomats meeting might continue for days if many important matters are being covered or a city emergency arises. These meetings can be tense affairs, though usually all present try to restrain themselves and discuss their concerns in a civilized manner. The Lord Mayor meets privately with the Directors after the ambassadors depart. The Oligarchy normally meets on every Starday during the year to address business relevant only to themselves, the City, and the Domain. Some ambassadors meet with the Directors more often (even monthly), particularly those from the Urnst states, Nyrond, Furyondy, and Veluna.
Needfest 4th is also the day when the yearly Grand Administrative Council is held. The Lord Mayor and the Directing Oligarchy fortify themselves for a long meeting at the Lord Mayor’s Palace with the nearly two dozen petty nobles created (for tax purposes) by Glodreddi Bakkanin beginning back in 584 Cy. Only the dinner held after the meeting brings the Directors any relief from the boredom and irritation of listening to the reports and requests of these self-important minor nobles who have little real political power.
Needfest’s spirit of festiveness was spoiled in 585 cy by a drunken brawl in Shack Town, in which a mob of jobless, angry Greyhawkers was incited to attack poor Tenha ‘refugees. Thirty-two died, all of them Tenha; many more were injured on both sides. Some of the social damage was repaired by the good-natured churches of Greyhawk; Nerof Gasgal, the Lord Mayor, later arranged for many homeless Tenha to be resettled in the Domain on their own farms. Needfest has rarely been celebrated right outside Greyhawk’s city walls, but along the riverfront and in Shack Town, it has passed with little notice since that dreadful year. Only the bread distribution below Wharfgate, conducted by well-protected clergy on Godsday, marks the occasion. The Rhennee alone mark Needfest, but with their own peculiar customs. Rhennee in the city during the Feast of Fools usually pretend to live in the city as normal citizens, addressing’ everyone by familiar (and incorrect) names with friendly smiles.
On the 1st of Fireseek, immediately following Needfest, the first quarterly Grand Council of Greyhawk Guilds meets at “City Hall,” which is the nickname given to the Lord Mayor’s Palace. All the city’s guildmasters must meet with the Directing Oligarchy, else send deputies in their place if they absolutely cannot be there. Elmshire holds the whole week of Needfest as a public holiday as well, celebrating very much as Greyhawk does with feasting, drinking, dancing, gift-giving, decorating, and revelry — though without the Feast of Fools. Elmshire, almost completely made up of extended families with huge burrow-home farms, has no impoverished or homeless population to speak of, but those families less well off than others are provided for by neighbors.
Hardby marks the occasion with music, cheer, bright magical lights, the excessive consumption of spirited drinks, and the usual widespread fistfights between sailors, dock workers, soldiers, and anyone who wants to join in. The Gynarch appears in public on Freeday at noon to walk through the town, followed by her family, servants, and guards. She is not present to be made fun of, however, as some visiting Greyhawkers have discovered to their great sorrow. She talks to townsfolk, inspects units of Mountaineer Militia and Hardby Marines from Greyhawk, confers with priests and foreign merchants, and grants 10 petitions chosen from the many submitted to her earlier in the week by townsfolk or soldiers. The militiamen and marines who once regarded her as a powerless figurehead now cheer her appearance as loudly as any townsperson, and have started to respect and listen to her in ways that would alarm the Directing Oligarchy in Greyhawk, which most certainly meant to put her under their thumb.
Narwell sees much singing, dancing, and drinking during Needfest, but without the glitter seen elsewhere. The good cheer is often forced because the townsfolk do not trust one another, and food and drink are not shared. The major local event is the Frostbite Run on Freeday, in which contestants clad only in loincloths and boots race around the town walls three times, cheered on by screaming, maniacal citizens. The winner gets a small kettle of gold coins. Gambling and cheap ale are the order of the day throughout the city on this Freeday, with violence and murder often the result. By this time of winter, everyone has cabin fever and can’t wait for caravan traffic to start in the spring.
Safeton has little celebration of Needfest. The week is not taken as a holiday, and few decorations or smiles are seen. Family gatherings and church meetings are held on some evenings, but these are rare. Drinking is heavier than usual here during Needfest, though it is always heavy. People often gaze southward with grim expressions, clearly thinking about raids from the Orcish Empire that come in the spring. The town is quiet except around the ale houses. Few ships come to dock, but they attract much attention when they do.
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