Shrines: Sites of Reverence & Power
A Sourcebook of Holy Sites for TTRPGs
Shrines: Sites of Reverence & Power is a riso-printed worldbuilding zine for adding sacred architecture, devotional practice, and magic to tabletop fantasy games.
Includes
- Twelve illustrated shrines, each with microfiction and gameplay hooks, for game masters to embed in their worlds as set pieces or plot devices
- Procedural tables for generating new shrines, rituals, visitors, and atmosphere
- Gameplay mechanics for Sacred Rest and Pilgrimage
- Theory on the nature of sacred space and its role in fantasy roleplaying games
System-Neutral
Shrines presents gameplay text in the language of RPG convention rather than system-specific mechanics. Players of any system can make use of its material, but doing so requires some thoughtful translation to the system’s features. For a given mechanic, this might mean selecting the appropriate character attribute, setting the target number for a dice roll, or improvising interactions with other mechanics.
Himalayan Buddhism
Shrines assumes medievalist fantasy settings and player narratives that center spiritual ambitions, institutions, and conflict. Contrasting fantasy's Eurocentrism, it references the mythology and cultural practices of Himalayan Buddhism as its primary inspiration. This draws on the author's studies in India and Nepal as well as cultural consultation from practicing religious scholars.
66 pages, 8 x 8 inches, red and yellow perfect-bound RPG Zine