This Lunar New Year, we thought it’d be fun to have some of our staff, freelancers, and members of the community write up some magic items inspired by lunar new year to put into your Pathfinder games!
Happy Year of the Tiger, and wishing everyone a safe and prosperous new year!
Art by Mirco Paganessi
James Case
My howmi (I couldn’t properly pronounce halmeoni when I was a toddler, abbreviations were made) is a great cook, but growing up, she made Korean food very rarely (Too much chopping! Just chop chop chop! Howmi don’t wanna chop so much!). New years was always the big exception, where she’d make enough food to feed everyone for... honestly, several days. We always had to have our tteokguk first to make sure we’d have good luck for the next year, and it was always the right way to start things off. Happy new year!
Eleanor Ferron
Every new year, my dad's side of the family would gather at my grandma and grandpa's house for a large family reunion. There weren't enough rooms or beds for all the cousins, us kids would fight with one another, and of course after a few days we were all sick of being there. But they're some of my fondest memories. On New Year's Day we would make sushi and lotus root, serve kuromame and the horrible lucky fish cake (which I would begrudgingly choke down a single slice of), but my favorite was my grandpa's inarizushi—tangy sushi rice inside sweet fried tofu pockets. I struggled for ages to be able to split open the delicate fried tofu without ripping the pockets open, and was so proud of myself when I got good at it. In Japan, they are said to be favored by the rice goddess Inari and her fox servants. I didn't know anything about the myths associated with them until later; my brother must have told me when he got interested in studying Japanese culture. Grandpa probably would have gotten grumpy if we'd brought it up, but he might not have minded giving one to a hungry fox. He loved nature and animals, and would go out in the morning to garden and feed the flock of California quail who hid in the tiny bamboo thicket on the edge of his yard. They came so often we used to call them his little chickens.
You really shouldn't feed wild animals, but in a fantasy game it's harmless fun.
Sen.H.H.S.
In the days leading up to Chinese New Year, my family and I often visit Songshan Ciyou Temple for our annual prayers to the gods there. Like many other temples here, Ciyou Temple hosts a multitude of Taoist-Buddhist gods under one roof. Other than just for convenience, I think it is also a testimony of variety and complexity within a culture, something I do my best to reflect in my writing.
Last year has been a full-on bumpy ride, but it was consequently highly rewarding. I learned a lot, tried a lot, and flailed a lot in the process. I’m grateful to be a member of the greater Paizo creative community as their support means the world to me. There is a lot to look forward to, and since I can’t talk about many of them right now, follow me on Twitter (@SenHHS) for when those announcements drop!
Wishing everyone a happy Year of the Tiger! *Roar*
Jessie Lo
Hi I’m Jessie, you can find me on my Pathfinder 2e podcast @GobletsandGays and on Twitter @akinomii_art. During Chinese New Year, it is very common to give out hongbao, red packets/envelopes, to your loved ones. Usually, they contain money, which is used to wish good luck, health, and wealth for the new year. It's also common to give out red packets as gifts, which often means a red packet is reused by several people until it wears out. It has also become common to get red packets from malls, which usually have a piece of chocolate, candy or special coupons.
Tan Shao Han
Happy Lunar New Year! May you all enjoy roaring good fortune in the year of the tiger! Based in Singapore, Shao Han (https://www.curiouschimeras.com/) is a member of the #RPGSEA movement who has created content for various RPGs, including Pathfinder 2, Blades in the Dark, and ARC. Fun fact: Due to Shao Han being taller than most of his family, he enjoys a +1 to his Cooking Lore checks when eating yusheng, and adds the reach trait and gains the critical specialization effects on his chopsticks attacks.