Category Archives: GM Advice & Adventure Ideas

It has been 3 months since The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom has been released. As expected, the game comes with many new ideas that build upon the base of Breath of the Wild.

Many people have asked about how I would implement TotK’s ideas into Reclaim the Wild, and this document serves as a quick and easy first draft. The contents may change as I improve upon them, and even include more complicated aspects. Some of these may even be implemented into the core book!

In addition to my contributions, I will attach links to other people’s homebrew – though I am the developer, I am never the final word on what’s used at your table. Some of the homebrew is on the Discord, so feel free to join the community.

Needless to say, spoilers abound for those who wish to experience TotK wholly by themselves. Click through at your own discretion.

Today, guest author Maddie brings you another fine bit of homebrew – a prominent piece of Sheikah culture and history, now available for your players to use – or to be used against them. Check it out!

“So your wandering monk has completed their Monastic Training, but you’d like to spread harmony and enlightenment with more than just the might of their staff? Or your party is visiting the nearby Sheikah village for the local festival and you want to take some charms for your journey? Or do you just need that last piece for your Secret Yiga Giant Steel Ball Assault Technique?”

“Whatever your needs, Maddie the Wise has you covered! That’s right, Talismans! The means to craft them, and ways to employ them in combat that would make both Master Maz Koshia and Kohga proud! Spell tags, sacred charms, ofuda – you want it? It’s yours my friend, as long as you have enough rupees!”

While physical prowess and resources may solve many problems in the world, there are some which require a more metaphysical touch. Magic is a very powerful tool and those scholars who have mastered it are revered – and rightfully so – but what are the more mundane or less mystically talented to do when faced with the need for a magical solution? From traveling priests offering a solution to the common folk even in their absence to the peddlers in street markets hawking protective charms, the Talisman is a respected source of pre-packaged magical potency.

A small strip of cloth decorated with a magical phrase, mantra, or mystical pattern which befuddles many save for those versed in the enchanting arts, a Talisman is a sure sign that mystical forces are at play. Talismans are often employed at sacred sites or in areas plagued by lingering evil. Known by many as a Sheikah cultural object, there are some such as the dreaded Yiga outcasts who employ these charms for more aggressive purposes.

Learn more about Talismans – how to obtain them, what they can do for you (or to you!), and how to add them to your campaign – below!

The Triforce is the most powerful object in all the Zelda games. Carrying just a vestige of the power of Hyrule’s creator-goddesses, the Triforce is often sought by fated Heroes as a means to save Hyrule from the most dangerous foes and existential threats. Sometimes it is fragmented, its awesome power split into pieces to prevent its use by those with evil in their heart. Always coveted, rarely found – the Triforce is the ultimate magical item in any Zelda game.

Naturally, that means that some players really, really want to get their hands on it. It also means that some GMs will want to use it as a MacGuffin in their campaign.

Below, we take a look at a few ways you can include the Triforce in your campaign – in whole, or in part – and let your players realize the wildest wishes of Zelda gamers for decades.

A common trope in fantasy gaming is that of the “demi”. Be it a half-elf, a half-orc, a half-dragon, or even a half-god, there have been heroes of curious parentage since time immemorial. (In fact, the very first hero of a fantasy story, Gilgamesh, is one-third human, and two-thirds god!)

While this trope doesn’t seem to occur in Zelda games, that doesn’t prevent players from wanting their Heroes to hail from more than just one race. If anything, the franchise’s wide variety of strange and wondrous people encourages such thought.

But how do you square that with the total lack of examples from any of the games? In addition, how do you prevent a player from developing a knotted, convoluted family tree, just for the sake of min-maxing?

Below, we offer a ruleset for creating Heroes of Curious Parentage, and some advice on preventing those abuses of one’s ancestry.