Tending is a mixed media journalling game where you take the role of a devotee at a holy site. Over a span of seasons you'll carry out sacred work, seek the divine, and change everything in the process.
The game invites you to create a fantasy religion inspired by elements of nature, and to then explore how time, events, and individuals shape the practice and meaning of that religion. It also invites you to write, draw, cut and paste, and to make your own rules. You can treat it as a one-off experience, use it for worldbuilding, or slot it into an existing campaign.
The core rules were written for solo play, but the game also includes suggested approaches for group and epistolary play.
The full game, at 70 pages, contains:
- 12 Sources to inspire your religion, 6 of them by guest contributors, as well as guidance for making your own
- Instructions for creating your holy site, creating a calendar and festivals, and seeking divine revelations
- 4 choices of devotional works (Building, Garden, Text and Kitchen), each with its own set of prompts and rules to generate writing and art
- 52 card-based Event prompts to shape your play
- Guidance for expanding the game to include more players
- Collaged illustrations throughout