New Project: Folk Arcana


 This is going to be a system-agnostic TTRPG supplement of folk magic items, inspired by the collection in the Oxford Ashmolean Museum. These are actual artifacts that people in the UK discover inside their walls, while remodeling old houses.

So here's the idea: it's not so much that magic items in D&D are overpowered (although, IMO, they are), it's that they're obsessed with power. Their conception of magic is very tactical-wargame-y; this sword gives you a combat bonus, that potion gives you some hit points back, that sort of thing.

These items are going to be more like talismans you might buy from a local witch or druid; they are meant to function more as writing prompts than as power widgets in a video game. Each item has a narrative behind it, and a down-side to using it. When you use magic, you are tampering with forces beyond our ken. You can't, as they say, get the genie back in the bottle. Even minor magic should not be taken lightly.

So here we go. This is how it all begins...

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