SEVEN DEADLY SINS
PARTY
For year's we've known that it's hard to have a successful party
without two essential ingredients: Sloth & Gluttony, or more
affectionately, Gloth & Sluttony. Logically, I tested the
other five for party-suitability, and found that all of them can
contribute to the fun of a party.
Recently (last year) this was successfully tested by the Dragons' Heart
at a con in Chattanooga. Even though I wasn't around to see how
my idea was reimplemented, the crew pulled off an historic party, the
likes of which have never been repeated since, despite popular request.
THE SEVEN
The seven chosen to be the deadly sins vary a little through history,
but they were most popularized early on by a Latin anagram for the word
"SALIGIA." That's Latin (of course) for 'the commission of
a deadly sin.' Clever. So the names of the seven are:
Superbia (pride), Avaritia (greed), Luxuria (luxury, later lust),
Invidia (envy), Gula (gluttony), Ira (anger), and Accedia (sloth).
My original idea was to assign each of the seven to a single host, in a
black T-shirt with white or red lettering describing which sin they're
catering for. In practice, that would be imbalanced and
inefficient... Nearly *every* woman on 'the Sin Team' wants to be
the supply of peoples' lust! And while catering to a person's
Pride or Lust may be a lot of work, catering to Gluttony may be
unfairly less. (Get it yourself!)
Before we go one to the activities these inspire collectively, let's
look at them individually. Let's find out what each contributes
to party science.
HOW THE SEVEN BOOST A
PARTY
Let's face it, not too many 6th Century Pope's know how to throw an
enjoyable party. What some find abhorrent, others may find
spiritually uplifting. here's what the Seven add to a party of
our enlightened age:
Pride (SVPERBIA).
Folks love a little ego-stroking at
parties. You can even go over-the-top, crown people, seat them on
a throne, lavish them with awards, trinkets, high titles, and act like
their greatest sycophantic fawning toadie minion. (But if you see
the 'sticker game' in the Activities section, you may find it more
rewarding to give than receive.)
Greed
(AVARITIA).
Take what you can; give nothin' back! We
live in a funny world where manufacturing makes abundance, and scarcity
usually happens by artificial design. That means People
might try futilely to hoard all the chocolate gold coins in the event,
depleting nothing, but obtaining the exclusive pass to 'the naughty
room' or such can be rare and nearly impossible. Bloody pirates.
Lust (LVXVRIA).
(Originally luxury, later lust). Lust is
the reason you wanted a party invitation! Things to go to, places
to see, people to do. Lust is a heart matter, and while we're not
telling anyone to violate lawful marriage, we know for a fact that it's
very gratifying to flirt, tantalize, and see the humor in what sexually
driven creatures we are.
Envy (INVIDIA).
It's fun keeping up with the Joneses... to dream of
having what isn't yours, and to show off what is. Flaunt what you
got, and express your covetousness for what others have. Maybe
your wallet has a zillion photos of your model life's treasures.
Maybe you exude success to be envied... Is it the wardrobe? The
money clip? The harem of supermodels surrounding you?
[clarification: Greed is insatiability over what you grasp,
abundant or not. Lust/Luxury is more open pleasure... you exhibit
a surplus of what others dream. Envy is uneasiness over lack,
wanting. Covetousness, while often associated with envy, was
classified under avarice/greed when given a meaning "insatiable
desire"]
Gluttony (GVLA).
Why have your senses merely tickled if you
can have them saturated instead? If parties aren't about
entertainment, they're about creature comforts... So why not get your
fill of both?
Anger (IRA).
Anger actually does have a place at parties, strange
but true. It is the core of passion, and when it's not taken too
close to heart it becomes the core of humor too. ("Seinfeld" is an
example of irritable people compounding each others irritations.)
catharsis can be good... A party without Anger has no Drama. Some
partymasters even "decoy" harmful anger with the more harmless "bitch
sessions" about ex-partners.
Sloth (ACCEDIA).
Why do today what you can put off... eh. I don't
feel like finishing that. Why do for yourself what you can suck
off the energy of others? Take a load off, and instead of doing,
try being.
HEY! WHERE'S MY
FAVORITE SIN?
There are many sinful activities that one might suspect is deadly, or
condemning, or at least somehow abhorrent. Strangely, these big
candidates might be honored professions in the Church, complete with
their own patron saint! Thieves? Why do you think St.
Nick sneaks down chiminies in the dead silent of night? And for
those of us who saw the movie Se7en, what about MURDER?!? (And
stop lusting after Brad Pitt, please!) No, Murder isn't in
there... Perhaps killing is justified, or even necessary, in some
religious views. Rape, too, how weird. For some reason, the
Church sees nothing Deadly about Murder! 
Some day, the Demon Fleet (Pirate Fleet of KAG hosting these events)
might expand the list from seven to their magic number seventeen.
It'd be easy to come up with a list of ten additional sins, each
contributing to the fun of the party somehow. Some suggestions
included Stupididity, Invalidation, Bossiness, Overindulgence,
Presumptuousness, Ignorance, and Negligence. (Did you say
negligees?) Perhaps Censorship can be done with gags and
bonds? But then again, maybe inventing ten more Deadly Sins is
plain overkill. (Ooo, there's a good one: Overkill!)
ACTIVITIES
The idea that works is not to go overboard on making any activity too
structured. Each person will have a different tolerance or
affinity for each Sin. Some may find a little work fun, but
cost-free gratification is a host's primary goal.
Stickers are an idea I swiped from Mensa and perverted them to my own
evil purposes. At their regional gatherings, they place a color
coded dot on their name badge, like a traffic light. Red means
'stop, don't bother me.' Yellow means 'use caution.' Green
means 'go right ahead.' And recently they added blue, which I can
only guess means to ignore the intersection and get straight into it.
The STICKER GAME
I came up with is more like a voting system, where
it's as much fun to give as to receive... think of them as 'Temptation
Oscars.' Each attendee is given a set of stickers with the name
or color code of the seven deadly sins... perhaps seven of each.
The goal is that you award other people at the party for their talent
in inspiring-or-tempting that Sin in you. The same "hot date"
that gets the most votes for Lust might also get the guy she came with
the most votes for Envy. You can give Anger to other friend who
provided the most cathartic sparring, or to the annoyance you feel
earns a back-handed compliment.
POSTER MATCH
If you remove the easy answers of which Latin words match which Sins,
you can make it a guessing game as to which is which. This
needn't be a formal contest... it probably works better as a
conversation piece.
WHEEL OF SIN
Using a spinner (or roulette wheel, or revolver, or on our local ship a
pirate's wheel) you can add "pie cuts" on the wheel representing each
of the Deadly Sins. The Game can then be played like Truth or
Dare, or like Wheel of Fortune with sinful prizes.
REALITY TV
Ever notice that the one invariant in reality TV Game Shows are the
arbitrary eliminations by subjective judgment? "You're fired, You
ARE the Weakest Link, Goodbye, You are *so*
off the island..." Did they pick one person to win, or twenty
just for the purpose of losing? Carol had a funny new idea for
"American Idolatry," complete with golden calf and dancing, whereby the
party doesn't end until everybody's been swallowed up by the earth.
OTHER PROPS
Zany props for the fun of it can be left to the attendees
imaginations. Punching Nun puppets from the Archie McPhee
catalog, as well as other puppets of authority figures that can be
subjected to impish ridicule. "Beelzebucks" for barter.
Bondage gear. Genitalia-shaped foods. Bean bag
chairs. Cloth money bags.
MORE CON STAPLES
Lustful Slave Auction, Slothful TV Room, Gluttonous Hospitality Suite,
Angry dead dog (dead horse?) party, Prideful Opening/Closing
Ceremonies, Envious masquerade/contests, and Greedy door prizes for
everyone.
- joel