D30 Rituals of Winter

December 21, 2017

Praise the D30, cyclopean chthonic orb, grandest of the dice. Accept this offering of rituals, and blessed be thy rolls.

This table has weird winter-flavored customs, celebrations and rituals for pagans or cultures with remnants of ancient beliefs.

Results are in order of escalating weirdness. Depending on what you want, use the following:

d10 for fairly mundane/realistic results

d20 for weird results

d30 for trauma, fear and sacrifice

Should you enjoy this table, I have others...

Rituals of Spring

Rituals of Summer
Rituals of Autumn

d30 Rituals of Winter

1	A massive conflagration of whole trees in the town square to drive away blizzards
2	Flaming arrows are launched into fields of dead crops each morning as the sun rises
3	Fires may be fed only with the fat and dung of animals
4	A fire is lit each night on a frozen lake
5	A decorative braided rope made from human hair, animal hyde and natural fibers is hung from every entryway. The wealthy incorporate wire made from precious metals.
6	Folk gather together and howl as wolves in a wild choir
7	The community leaves its settlement for a fortnight to reside in an ancient holy place
8	All visitors and outsiders are shunned and treated as evil spirits in disguise
9	Paper lanterns are crafted and saved for a starless night, when they are released to float towards the sky
10	Casks of nectar fermented since spring are opened and used to baptize the young
11	Everyone must wear clothing woven from grass and wheat for a week
12	A great hunt is held for the fur of a winter fox. The one who claims it is granted a request by the local lord.
13	Mirrors and sheets of polished metal are used to reflect the rays of the sun onto a carved statue of a folk hero or holy person and adjusted so that it is illuminated at all times
14	A heavy stone sledge bearing a lantern is pulled around the settlement by an ox and cart day and night for a month to represent the sun
15	Elaborate natural murals made of natural dye and frozen snow are erected in the town square.
16	Songs are sung from dawn until dusk: by the young in the morning, women at midday, and men as the daylight dies
17	Those who seek blessings meditate through the night exposed to the elements and in the nude
18	A great feast is held during which everyone gorges themselves before fasting and resting in solitude for a full week with the help of powerful sedative drugs
19	Bodies of those who died on solstices past are exhumed to witness the setting of the winter sun.
20	Recitation of poetry by a bard for two days and nights, fighting sleep and exhaustion by self-flagellation.
21	One out of every twenty people are selected for exile and exchanged with a neighboring settlement until the next solstice.
22	All idols and statues are buried beneath the earth and snow until the spring thaw
23	A mass wedding of 7 maidens and 8 men at dusk on the solstice. The unchosen man is sacrificed. Smaller settlements pick up and leave to join larger ones to take part in the ceremony.
24	Mothers offer their milk each night at the outskirts of town to appease the wild and keep it at bay
25	Animals are elevated to civil office for 3 days and their edicts interpreted by the holy people of the community.
26	Traveling minstrels arrive, performing dark dramas of the underworld. At the end of winter, none remember their visit except the children
27	Offerings of coins are left tied inside the bloody hides of small animals as gifts to the beasts and demons of the darkness
28	Groups of children beat runt animals to death to be fed to their littermates
29	Drowning of a child by dropping them through the ice of a nearby frozen river or lake
30	A brigade of watchmen roam the community at night in search of winter demons. They are welcome in every home and their will is law.