There is a bit of folklore that I want to try to incorporate into my game, but I'm not sure how and more importantly how to involve the players.

The story is that Gwyn son of Nudd and Gwythyr son of Greidol, two great kings of Faerie, fought over the Lady Creiddylad, and the Pendragon settled the feud by sending the lady home to her father and commanding the two lords to fight each other every May Day until Judgement Day, and the winner on Judgement Day would win the lady's hand. (Your basic summer vs winter mythology.) As it happens, there is a real life folk tradition in the area where I've set my game that every May Day they have a battle between the Green Man and Winter.

My nascent thought is that a new priest is trying to stop what he takes to be this pagan folk practice of re-enacting the battle, not realizing that he is actually interfering with the real battle between the two faerie kings. I want my players to have to prevent the priest from interfering or otherwise ensure that the tradition and the May Day battle continues. I'm just not sure how to go about it.

If anyone has any thoughts, I would love to hear them. Thanks.

I think that if this battle does not take place then summer will not happen.

This can played out in many way. The season does not change to summer. A year of spring may not sound too bad, but April is known for it showers so it will rain until October and the start of the snow. This will also mean that the crops will not grow. No crop equals a bad harvest or at least a -10 modifier.

Will all that rain there will also be a lot of mud and this will stick to everything, this could to lead -5 to all courtly skills due to muddy attire.

Rivers could flood and fords wash increasing travel time. This will affect any patrol response times, see mud above, a 10 minute sprint from the manor village to the manor because a 30 minute or more mud slide, plus who is going to try and charge a horse with mud up to it knees.

There is an old saying from my neck of the woods (Heathfield by the Saxons in South Yorkshire) don't cast a clout until may is out. My nana explain a clout was a vest or warm underclothes possibly long johns, with will mean very cold days and continuing frost until the snows too.

The seems to be the Wiccan version of what you are writing about http://paganwiccan.about.com/od/beltanemayday/p/MayQueenBattle.htm

Yeah, that's pretty much what I was going to go with only a bit more subtle and let the crisis build over time.

Unfortunately, I still don't know what the players can actually do about the situation.

Beltaine could be the answer. Read I was getting some ideas. It could have problems with any Christian PK, and my cause the the say to question his faith if he was to replace one pagan tradition is another.

A fire festival, lewd behavior in the woods etc.

If you go Pagan and Wiccan route you could fuse this with Cerridwen’s Revenge pg.404 of the GPC, expanding it considerably. If you do, please post your work for sharing!

Thanks, I'll have to check that out.