This is literally all
@Aleph's fault. All of it.
... honestly, this is basically an extended justification for why it is always acceptable to put a filler beach episode in your Dragonblooded game.
(Or hot springs. Dragonblooded love hot springs)
Dynastic Beach Culture
The practice of beach visits is felt by the Scarlet Dynasty to be both a pleasant diversion, but also good for the health and the mind. Beaches are second only to hot springs as a favoured way for a sworn brotherhood to while away a warm day when not much else is going. On beaches, all the elements exist in harmonious balance; the seawater, the sand, the warmth of the sun, the sea air, and the seaweed and sea grasses. This makes them a perfect place to bring one's self back into balance. Some even compare a beach visit to meditation.
The Realm is a maritime empire, and pleasure beaches are a frequent sight on the coastlines of the Blessed Isle. Likewise, the number of coastal satrapies mean that many satraps will have a private beach. Ownership of an excellent coastal resort is a weapon of political power and influence, because exclusive invites can be leveraged as lesser favours and ways of paying back minor debts.
Some resorts are fearfully private, with only Dynasts and their personal servants permitted onto them. Most, however, are more open with patricians and lesser Houses also in attendance. The Great Houses use these chances to show off their wealth and influence, while Lesser Houses vie to attract the attention of their superiors. Some places even allow peasants onto them, although usually only with an extensive waiting list and vetting on personal attractiveness and the like. No Dynast wants to share their sea water with someone straight off a pig farm.
To cover all the peculiarities of Dynastic beach conduct would be the work of a book of etiquette in its own right. For example, it is considered good manners to notify one's host if one expects an assassination attempt. Bringing weapons is socially acceptable, but generally speaking excessive armour is a trifle declasse. Outside of House Ledaal, it is grossly badly mannered for a sorcerer to take her demons to the beach, but elementals are in many cases acceptable. The lists of rules and exceptions go on and on. However, there are broadly two modes of conduct on the beach; High Beach and Low Beach.
High Beach
High Beach is considered the baseline of constitutional visits to the beach. Along with their servants, the Dynast usually sets up an elaborate beach tent larger than most peasant dwellings, with changing rooms, a food preparation area, and anything else they simply cannot live without. When beach visits coincide with negotiations, they are conducted in High Beach in the privacy of one of the tents - or, more commonly, a third neutral tent set up for the meeting.
One does not go into the water in when engaging in activities suitable for High Beach. Instead, Dynasts dress up in elaborate arrays of fine silks and cottons; light enough to breathe, but of such quality that no one could mistake them for a peasant or a patrician. It is not necessarily a question of coverage - after all, some High Beach garments are so gauzy as to cover very little - but of wealth. These clothes are worn to be seen by their inferiors and their peers, as an expression of status and power.
It is a question of social propriety and context as to how many servants and slaves one takes when engaging in High Beach. To take too few is a sign of poverty and meanness; to take too many is an attempt to one-up one's host, or of trying too hard. Most Dynasts will quietly come to an agreement with their host, though usually they take at least three and no more than ten. Favoured servants, like one's personal butler or preferred courtesans are often rewarded by being brought on such trips, with lesser servants directed to care for them as well. After all, the benefits of a constitutional trip should be shared if one wants one's favourite aides to be kept in good health.
Low Beach
Generally speaking, one should transition from High Beach to Low Beach when it is appropriate, changing in one's tent. Only among close friends or on one's own is it acceptable to go only prepared for Low Beach. All the dress standards of High Beach are cast aside - often with a sigh of relief from the Dynast, it might be added - and they are free to wear whatever is most appropriate for the activity they are engaging in. In essence, once one has established one's wealth in High Beach, this permits one to relax.
Swimming should be done in Low Beach, but there are also many other sports and games which require more freedom of movement and a lesser care for one's appearance than High Beach allows. Those Dynasts attempting to remain pale tend to only sunbathe in limited amounts in High Beach, but those looking for a more comprehensive tan will go to much further lengths in Low Beach.
There are many styles of lightweight garment suitable for beachwear in the Realm, and many Houses have their own distinctive fashions. House Mnemon, for example, is noted for its simple functional dark blue one-pieces, while House Cynis is infamous for garments which mostly seem to be composed of string. Casual nudity is socially acceptable for Low Beach and is common for swimming, although one should be careful not to be mistaken for one of lower class.
Dynastic Beach Sports
Beach volleyball is a perennial favourite of all Dynasts. The standard ball as defined by the Ministry of Youthful Competition costs Resources 4, and is a heavily modified thaumaturgically-warded orb, blessed to be proof against even extended anima flux. Popping the ball by shooting it with an Elemental Bolt Attack is considered dreadfully boorish. Dynastic beach volleyball can often be mistaken for sparring and occasionally localised warfare, as it is considered entirely acceptable to utilise any non-lethal talent of the Dragonblooded in order to win. Extended mologing about the inferiority of one's opponents, elaborate combination moves, and dramatic posing while anima flaring is not only common, it is also traditional and can be used to break a tie.
Competitive sand castle building is favoured by Earth aspects. A few hours' work should be quite enough to get a proper perimeter wall set up, with moats and trenches and at least a two-story central keep. Some consider it it cheating, but it is generally considered acceptable for sorcerers to animate sand to form soldiers to patrol their walls. Of course, teamwork is vital in these competitions, and Fire aspects make glass windows for the central keep, Wood aspects cultivate seaweed gardens, Air aspects provide ice and Water aspects make the drinks. There are villages on the Blessed Isle founded upon the sites where the competition got a little out of hand.
Most Dynasts find little challenge in attempting to smash a watermelon - even when blindfolded. On the other hand, if there happens to be a tyrant lizard nest near the beach, attempting to avoid the parents and smash the egg all while blindfolded is far more amusing. The rage of the mother tyrant lizard is sure to add a delightful element of risk to the day's entertainment. Indeed, it is popular enough that Dynasts have proven willing to import tyrant lizards at great expense to prime beach locations, despite the beasts' tendency to break free and rampage. Some consider that a virtue; it allows them to test the fortifications of their sand castle against a giant reptile.
Problems on the Beach
"The beach" is in the top ten locations where assassinations are attempted on Dynasts. There is a good chance that the Terrestrial will be out of armour, and on top of that many have exhausted themselves with healthy competition at beach volleyball. As a result, many Dynasts know well the annoyance of rebellious peasants or professional assassins coming for them. Fortunately, any sensible Dynast should have brought their weapons to the beach, and should not be defenseless. Moreover, often other Dynasts on the beach will help against any assassins, as the curs are quite ruining the experience.
Romantic drama is arguably not so much a "problem" as an "expected feature" of a Dynastic beach holiday. The passions of the Scarlet Dynasty run high, and the number of surprise love confessions, secret affairs, sudden crushes, break-ups, getting-back-togethers and other things of that ilk spike massively while on a beach holiday. Some Immaculates mutter darkly that many Terrestrials consider it an excuse to let out their passions, believing it's acceptable, but others consider it cathartic. Either way, the use of sizable beach tents with areas for personal privacy is likely an adaptation to this, as it reduces the number of honour duels somewhat.
Lamentably, it seems that many of the cursed Anathema also enjoy the beach - no doubt trying to corrupt the balanced elemental nature with their own sinful nature. If one suspects that an anathema is present on the beach, it is recommended to call for the Wyld Hunt and then try to delay the demon-possessed monster as best one can until help arrives. Challenges to beach games are sometimes effective, as many anathema are also known to enjoy volleyball. Of course, the dark forces of Hell are known to be particularly troublesome on the beach, with the dark powers of the demon Kimbery particularly potent. Should a giant demonic kraken attack a beach resort, all Dynasts are expected to fight it off - and if they survive, they'll no doubt have some quite interesting stories for their friends.
