A few weeks back, I was scrolling through Bluesky, and a creator I follow had talked about Pumpkin Spice, a magical, cozy TTRPG published by Archeron Books. Several things drew me to Pumpkin Spice, so when I was notified that the BackerKit went live, I backed the main rulebook along with the Magical Adventures book. I probably won’t get my copy of Pumpkin Spice until sometime next year, but I have since joined the Archeron Books Discord to read what other players are saying about the game in the meantime. I wanted to share what drew me to Pumpkin Spice.

I think the first thing that drew me to the game was how cozy it is. While I gravitate towards horror in TTRPGs, I want to expand my scope outside of that. When I signed up for the email reminder of the campaign, I was sent the PDF of the Quickstart guide. I paged through it, and the concept is simple. The characters play as witches who establish a cafe and protect their Fount, which is the source of the characters’ magic. There are four types of witches, which would serve as the classes of the characters. For example, one type is the Green Witch, or a witch that taps into nature to cast their spells. I’d be curious if future rulebooks or expansions would offer more options. Although I think it would be easy to homebrew something, too, if a player has a specific concept for their character.

The second thing that drew me to this game is the art. It’s so cozy. I’d buy art prints of the witches included in this book. The art is done by Simz, and I think it makes the book what it is. I like how the witches are shown with different tattoos and symbols on their arms. Each witch has a unique look and style. I think it gives inspiration as to what a character could look like. With that said, I was reading a critique online that I found interesting. Many had pointed out that most of the art is feminine and there isn’t any art with masculine or androgynous witches. That critique is valid! I paged through the Quickstart guide again, and there aren’t any witches that are masculine-presenting. Witches can be of any gender! I’d like to see more diversity in the art once the books are finished.

I am excited to get my hands on Pumpkin Spice once it’s finished. I’ll have to settle for hanging out in the Discord until then.