Swellbloom Kids: A Philippine Mythology TTRPG Setting
At the beginning of time, the Bakunawa took two breaths.
The first breath came out cold. This was the Monsoon.
The second breath came out hot. This was the Heat Haze.
The two breaths gained lives of their own, and started to quarrel. So began the endless battle between the Heat Haze Boy and the Monsoon Girl.
SWELLBLOOM KIDS is a tabletop setting built around Philippine beliefs and folklore. It features a colorful cast of reimagined mythical figures, from the moon-eating snake Bakunawa (here, a primordial force of chaos seeking to swallow all light in the universe) to the personified cold La Niña (here, a rain goddess also known as Diyan Masalanta).
The setting stars the eponymous swellbloom kids, individuals gifted with supernatural abilities due to being sensitive to the movements of the universe. On my part as a bipolar ttrpg designer, they're meant to be bipolar-coded - their mania due to cosmic El Niño, and their depression due to cosmic La Niña. Swellbloom Kids offers the framework of Husk, Breath, Appetite, and Light (inspired by coconuts!) as a way to build your characters, starting from their physical attributes and working inward until their deepest wish.
The kids have their powers to begin with thanks to The Twelve Guardians, who watch over the different parts of the year and form a zodiac of sorts. Those knowledgeable in Philippine myths might recognize some of the names - among them, the half-snake Bicolano demigod Oryol (here, the deity of love, beauty, and sensuality) and the mountain nymph of Mt. Lantoy Maria Cacao (here, the deity of chocolate, passion, and renewal).
The Twelve Guardians can also be used as Tarot cards, each having their own meaning and number as part of a progression. Tala is at 12, representing fullness and things coming full-circle, preceded by Magwayen at 11 (representing endings and death) and succeeded by Mayari at 1 (representing beginnings and setting out on a journey).
Antagonizing the swellbloom kids are the Sais Marias, demons created by the Bakunawa to act as its agents. They're loosely themed after the planets in retrograde, such as the tikbalang Huseng Kabayo (themed after Mercury retrograde) causing disarray and confusion.
Finally, for those itching to play, Swellbloom Kids also provides an adventure generator for an 1800s Philippines campaign, modeled after Noli Me Tangere and other stories set during the late Spanish colonial period. Be a Doña who can sing people into a deep slumber, or an ilustrado who can hear the whispers of the dead! The possibilities are endless.
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That's it for my hard-sell. Please consider downloading the setting, and if you'd like, comment some feedback on the page! Thanks for reading.
