Introduction #

“No way you believe in that. You’re, like, a full-grown adult and those are kids’ stories. OLD kids’ stories. Every thousand years, for one day the gods walk among the mortals, and so on and so forth. It’s ridiculous, and you’re going to feel ridiculous when—”

There’s a faint, pleasant scent on the breeze and the word ambrosia on your tongue. You inhale sharply and the world seems cleaner, brighter. It’s early morning in Mirna, and the sun rising over the water carries with it a new luster and a deep calm. From your hilltop vantage, you can see the crowd approaching the shore as it recedes and divides as if cut with a butter knife, making way for the goddess of the waters to stride ashore and into the arms of her people.

Even from here, you can sense her radiance and power, and you feel its blessing wash over your heart. A dozen of the people from the shore levitate and soar over the ocean, over the town, over you. A dazzling array of colors shine atop the buildings through every soul. A loud, booming song erupts through the air, and the most joyful cheer you’ve ever felt crosses the hills and rolls across the land. The festival has begun.

“I would apologize for doubting, but I know I am already forgiven.”

And it is true. You find you have an endless capacity for forgiveness.

Time to Celebrate #

IMMORTAL FESTIVAL is a short sidequest adventure setting for characters of any level. It was designed to be system-neutral, but while I was writing, I was thinking about CAIRN by Yochai Gal, PILGRIMS OF MISFORTUNE by Nate Treme, with a bit of THE VANILLA GAME by Jared Sinclair in there, too. The title was generated using Chris Bissette’s Random Adventure Title Generator and the module was written for submission to their Random Adventure Jam on itch.io. As this is the Markdown version, it has no artwork, but the art in the Physical edition is all from Old Book Illustrations and is in the public domain.

Writing and layout by Jason Wardell, October 2021. Revised for Markdown October 2022. Neat.

The Festival #

Every 1,000 years, the astral and umbral converge with the realm of mortals for one day, granting corporeality to the ageless and divine power to the faithful.

It is a time of communion and celebration, but also of deep politic among the immortals as they secure their following and interact directly with their worshipers—the only opportunity they will have to do so under normal circumstances for the next millennium.

Anyone who wishes to partake in the festival may do so and gain access to a single divine power. It has admittedly been a while since the last one, so the extent to which these are known to mortals will vary.

1. All deities—including death—partake in the festival, putting mortality on hold for a short while, though only the naïve believe this puts all beings on an equal footing.
2. Anything created by divine power will vanish when the power does. Manifest a mountain of gold if you wish; it will not be there in the morning.
3. Some choose to partake in violence without lingering consequence, but it is their choice to do so. Any use of divine power to negate an individual’s autonomy and consent is a taboo of the highest order, reviled by gods and mortals alike.
4. Powers are fleeting, but memories can last a lifetime. Some lifetimes are very, very long.

When the Festival begins, all may accept or decline their boon within the same instant. A boon connects the mortal to a heavenly domain and grants one divine power in addition to the functional immortality during the Festival.

Domain #

A Domain reflects an affinity, and should be treated as a situational boon. It gives an advantage to any action involving that aspect. Whenever a roll is made related to a Domain during the Festival, roll twice and take the better result.

Power #

A Power is a specific action one may take with no restriction during the Festival. It is to be interpreted in whatever way is the most ludicrous, exciting, or divine.

The Catch #

It is early in the day when you are approached for the first time. The presence of the divine is uncanny. Soothing and terrifying. Awesome and horrible. It emboldens you and sends you into an internal cowardly panic.

And that’s before They speak:

“Clearly you are individuals who have mettled in affairs outside of your ken. I’s printed on your souls, plain as can be, and may I say—not all of it irreproachable… Might we have a word?”

Yes, sure. You can do a favor for a god.

Your Assistance is Requested #

Roll a d3 to determine if you are called by a major, standard, or minor deity. A major deity embodies a single domain, a standard is a mix of two, and a minor’s divinity is spread between three. More powerful deities have larger followings.

1. All of the bakers started celebrating too early and neglected to deliver the deity’s post-Festival gift baskets.
2. One high priest convinced their congregation to decline the boon. The divinity is peeved at the priest, but doesn’t want the trusting followers to miss out on the celebration.
3. There are dozens of historians frantically taking notes on the Festival, but not one has approached this deity. They don’t want Their role in the Festival to be minimized in the forthcoming millennium!
4. Revelers are getting out of hand and embarrassing the deity.
5. A timeless rivalry between deities (approximately opposite domain(s) for the rival) erupts into a vicious prank war every Festival, and this deity is tired of losing.
6. The deity wants to schedule a meet and greet with Their most devoted followers, but they’re nowhere to be found.
7. Someone or something has crashed through the deity’s temple. They are incensed and demand retribution.
8. Out of booze! How could a deity run out of booze? People are starting to lose faith over it, and that will not do.
9. The local temple commissioned a portrait of the deity, and it’s not exactly flattering.
10. So embarrassing—the deity neglected to invite the descendants of Their greatest champion from the last Festival, and now they’re boosting the standing of another out of spite.
11. Let the games begin! The deity needs a singular champion to represent Them at the icosathlon. That person will lose their Festival power, but can be aided by others.
12. Last Festival, the deity was gifted a spontaneous performance by a talented bard, and would be delighted to hear it again. Even an approximation would suffice.
13. There’s been a violent clash between two rival factions at the center of the sea. The disruptive waves threaten to wash away the deity’s extravagant picnic.
14. All day long, the deity has sat and listened to the woes and pleas of Their people, but lord does it get old. They want to sneak away, but need help doing so.
15. Two deities have made a wager as to who can amass the most followers over the course of the festival without directly intervening, themselves.
16. There was a mix-up at the printing press. The deity’s mass-produced holy tome has an incorrect paper weight, and nobody wants to take a copy.
17. The post-Festival cleanup is going to be a nightmare, and the deity feels some guilt about it. Any work to facilitate would be appreciated.
18. It’s a cook-off! The deity has a notorious appetite and is eager to see what new dishes can be prepared by divinely-inspired mortals.
19. The deity has a favored scribe collective that makes superior writing implements, but they are spread out around the world celebrating.
20. After laying low during the last Festival, the deity is ready to again be worshiped in the realm of mortals. They need someone to register Their temple with the town record keeper immediately, but the notorious wait times are even worse today.

The Gods Must Be Lazy #

Time flies, teleports, and speaks with plants, but it catches up all too quickly. Every in-game hour, there is a 1 in 6 chance another deity will come to entreat assistance.

An unsavory question: would you rather decline assistance to a deity or fail Them?

Upon completion of a task, one may opt to switch their domain to one of those from their new patron. This domain affiliation boon will remain after the Festival concludes, but deities of the abandoned domains may not be so magnanimous.