Astrolago’s Witch + Craft Kickstarter campaign casts a spell on 5e crafting

A new Dungeons and Dragons 5e supplement on Kickstarter aims to infuse some magic into crafting. Witch + Craft, from Astrolago Press, introduces a system called “domestic magic,” which, according to the project’s Kickstarter page, emphasizes the joy and power of making things, rather than making crafting stressful.

This content, and the crafting system we’ve designed, took inspiration from Studio Ghibli films like Kiki’s Delivery Service, where the acts of painting, baking, and inventing have a power as beautiful and unique as Kiki’s witchcraft. While many crafting systems are based around concepts like “stress” or “endurance”, we wanted a crafting system that encouraged rest, self care, inspiration, motivation, and collaboration.

The 5e Player’s Handbook already has some crafting rules baked in, but they’re extremely barebones and turn crafting mostly into a waiting game. Plenty of homebrew rules and unofficial supplements have emerged to try to make a full-fledged crafting system, but none takes quite the same approach as Witch + Craft, and few come close to its depth. As someone who’s tried to hack together the bits I liked of different crafting systems to make something workable in my own games, I wish I had this book earlier.

Witch + Craft is flexible enough to accommodate any kind of crafting, from writing a poem to building a house, and lets players and GMs collaborate on just how deep they want to go. To make truly extraordinary works, players will have to track down rare materials, seek the advice of master tradespeople, and sometimes make personal sacrifices for their craft. It’s easy to imagine a GM making a whole campaign out of preparing for a masterwork, or weaving the quest into an ongoing game.

You can check out a playtest of Witch + Craft’s rules on Gumroad now, but the full book will also include options for trade classes, crafting challenges, and tables to help customize both your character and the items they make. It will also include a full new setting and an adventure for level 5-9 characters. On top of that, the roster of illustrators reaches into the dozens, with a frankly overwhelming crew of great artists. If you’re familiar with Astrolago’s previous book, Faerie Fire, you know that they don’t skimp on artwork.

If you want your own copy of Witch + Craft, it’ll run you $15 for a PDF or $35 for a hardcover book. Higher pledges can net you original artwork or even get your own character in the book. Three days into the campaign, it’s already raised over $47,000 for its $31,000 goal, and is closing in on its third stretch goal, which will add magical items and a customizable character sheet. Previous stretch goals unlocked a fancy foil cover and statblocks for the familiars, as well as additional illustrations. The fourth and final stretch goal will add 10 original spells if the project reaches $60,000.

Witch + Craft’s Kickstarter runs until April 5, and the book is expected to ship this August.