A system-adaptable narrative roleplaying sourcebook for the magical realism genre that’s fully compatible with The Simple Approach system in structure.
A child walks to school and sees her grandmother’s ghost sitting on a bus stop bench. No one else notices. That quiet shiver of impossible truth is magical realism, and this book helps you bring that feeling to your roleplaying table through The Simple Approach framework.
Magical realism is grounded in daily life, yet threaded with wonder. Characters cook meals, argue with neighbors, and dream of change, while spirits drift through alleys or rivers whisper names in the night. The genre invites stories where the fantastic is never spectacle but part of how people live. That blend of ordinary and impossible makes it powerful for narrative play, where drama grows from choices, emotions, and meaning.
With this book, you’ll roll or select traits to build characters shaped by their histories, settings that echo with memory, factions that push or protect, and stories where even small decisions carry weight. Every entry aims at story potential and character development, not tactical play. The tools guide you toward moments of consequence and wonder without tying you to rigid mechanics.
The material draws on The Simple Approach’s narrative trait system, so adapting it to other rules is simple. The Principia core book offers extra support but isn’t required. You can play with any system that values story-first play, whether it’s your group’s favorite or a custom structure.
These tools matter because they keep focus on people. A conversation at a kitchen table can reveal as much tension as a revelation of magic in a city square. Every prompt creates room for creativity while leaving space for the unexpected to emerge.
No matter the size of your group or the rules you prefer, this book adapts. It works in campaigns or one-shots, with long arcs or single evenings of play. Magical realism rewards attention to character and place, and these tools give you what you need to explore both.
Step into the genre with curiosity. Let impossible truths appear in familiar places, let choices ripple outward, and let your stories unfold in ways both human and extraordinary.
This Book Contains
Magical realism turns daily life into story by placing the impossible inside the familiar and treating both as true. This book gives you narrative tools to create and play within that mode, using The Simple Approach framework to shape characters, settings, factions, and stories that thrive on meaning, consequence, and wonder.
- The Magical Realism Genre: This section explains the tone, themes, and storytelling opportunities of magical realism, where the everyday carries quiet impossibilities. You’ll see how these elements translate directly into roleplaying, giving your table a foundation for play that feels both grounded and transformative.
- Characters: Here you’ll explore the kinds of characters that thrive, from ordinary people confronted by quiet impossibilities to figures who embody cultural memory. You’ll also find sample traits that spark inspiration for your own creations or serve as ready material for The Simple Approach.
- Settings: This chapter examines what makes a magical realism setting distinct, showing how landscapes, neighborhoods, and households carry both daily detail and quiet wonder. You’ll find setting traits that let you assemble original places that capture tone, memory, and story pressure with every scene.
- Factions: You’ll discover common organizations and groups that belong in the genre, from political movements to family collectives, all shaped by history and tension. Traits show how to make these factions vivid at your table, turning them into story engines that shape the tone and weight of play.
- Stories: This part provides the narrative fuel for your sessions, offering plot hooks, obstacles, antagonists, and other traits that push play forward. You’ll gain tools to build original adventures that reflect the themes of magical realism and create stories that remain character-driven and emotionally resonant.
- Genre tools: This section highlights ways to align mechanics with magical realism, showing how to translate atmosphere and tropes into usable prompts. These tools remain system-adaptable, giving your table guidance for play that supports wonder, tension, and consequence without requiring tactical structures.
- Techniques: Here you’ll find narrative approaches that can be applied to any system. These techniques help you emulate the genre in practice, guiding the group to focus on character choices, tone, and subtle wonder, while ensuring the story flows without interruption from excessive mechanics.
- Glossary: This reference list collects essential terms from magical realism along with common vocabulary for The Simple Approach. Each entry ensures that everyone at the table shares the same language, creating clarity in play and keeping attention on story, character, and shared meaning.
- Bibliography: A curated reading list closes the book, providing reference materials that explore the roots and reach of magical realism. These sources deepen your understanding of the genre and serve as a bridge between the tools in this book and the larger literary and cultural tradition.
