Needfest and the Feast of Fools

The full seven days of Needfest is a public holiday, and in the deepest of mid-winter the people of the city celebrate and make merry, eating and drinking their fill. Entertainment establishments of all kinds are full to the bursting point during this great collective blow-out. ln addition to general and excessive self-indulgence, the last night of Needfest-the first day before the months are counted in the calendar once again-is very special. This is the Feast of Fools, which begins at the stroke of 5 P.M. and ends at midnight.

During this time. the high is made low and the low is made high. For example:

Nerof Gasgal and the Directors troop the Old City wearing dunce's caps and straitjackets, pausing to hear the learned words of idiots and simpletons among the crowds who cheer them along their way.

In the courthouses, the Judges and senior officials are placed m the dock and their humble clerks and messenger boys enact the roles of the learned, trying the judges for absurd crimes such as conspiring to urinate m the river.

The sages and tutors of the University sit along the benches of the lecture halls while the stupidest students in their classes regale them with nonsense.

Priestly rites vary: among priests of Rao, for example, maniacs and idiots are invited to address the senior priests and reason is stood upon its head; intake of alcohol is excessive and it is even whispered that ladies of dubious virtue attend the priests in the evening hours (but this may be a scurrilous rumor). Priests of Heironeous seek for known cowards to lecture the holy men on their exploits in slaying dragons, giants, and worse. Priests of Olidammara behave much as usual.

Above all this towers the figure of The Fool. The Fool is usually the most talented bard or jester within the city; he is appointed by the Directors, and this post is a very honorable one. For the seven hours of the Feast, The Fool is King. What he says goes, but he too is bound by a careful logic of paradox which infiltrates the whole business.

Nothing which jeopardizes the safety of the city is permitted. Nothing which in volves physical violence, destruction of property, or the like is permitted. The Feast of Fools is predicated on pretense and fun, but even The Fool must be care ful about how far he carries things. Commanding Nerof Gasgal to be the rear end of a pantomime horse is acceptable. Put ting him in the stocks-technically allowed-would be a stupid act as opposed to a foolish one (Nerof reigns for the rest of the year and may have a long memory).

Some NPCs who stand pompously on their dignity do not participate, but this results in a loss of face with their peers. Foreigners are expected to enter into the spirit of things, but are not expected to debase themselves. For example, a paladin may reasonably be expected to dance with an ugly old crone from Old City and treat her decorously and even flirt as if with a comely young maiden, if this does not violate any precept of the paladin's religion; the paladin would not be expected to degrade himself in any manner. Foreigners may not always understand such subtleties, so Greyhawkers make allowances, but a failure to enter the spirit of the Feast of Fools is very bad form indeed.

With the world turned upside down like this, there are many adventure and encounter possibilities for a wily DM to embroil PCs in. Perhaps some real villainy is going on, and the PCs have to deal with it while accepting the role-play limitations of the Feast-a superb challenge to a skilled player. An NPC may be kidnapped during the revelry and the PCs asked to help, or the PCs be commanded by The Fool to perform some absurd quest, such as finding a pearl in the sewers-of course, a pearl must be there, but in the spirit of things this should be symbolic or punnish-for example, a girl named Pearl who has hidden in the tunnels from the wrath of her father, who refuses to allow her to marry an impoverished young man. The PCs have to find their Pearl and find a way to bring her the happiness she seeks-perhaps her beau has no money, but knows of some secret unclaimed treasure cache. If the PCs can find her, and find that treasure (providing their own money will not do), they will gain an esteemed reputation among Greyhawkers, and their deeds will be discussed for years to come at the Feast of Fools. Adventures using symbolic, allegorical, or romantic logic are strongly commended for this unique festival day.