The House Knows You’re Here
Why Magical Realism Works Best When the World Is Paying Attention
I'm glad you're here.
In most roleplaying games, the setting waits for you. It's a backdrop, detailed but dormant, until the characters arrive. But in HOUSE OF SMALL WOES, the house is already aware. It notices who comes in. It remembers who’s passed through. The place itself becomes a participant in the story, not a mystery to solve or a threat to survive, but a presence that shifts the story by knowing it.
That’s what magical realism offers. Not magic that demands explanation, but a world that moves with quiet intention. You’re not unraveling a spell. You’re responding to something that already sees you. When a hallway lengthens, it’s not because the house is haunted. It’s because the house understands you’re not ready for what waits at the end. When the lights flicker, maybe it’s electrical. Or maybe it’s grief. Magical realism doesn’t need to prove the supernatural exists. It only needs to believe the world is listening.
In HOUSE OF SMALL WOES, you tell stories where the emotional weight is as real as the walls around you. The characters carry secrets, griefs, and small wishes they don’t speak aloud. The house answers anyway. This isn’t about control. It’s about recognition. The strange becomes familiar because it reflects something true. It doesn’t announce itself as important. But it lingers.
This kind of storytelling works because the magic stays close. Close to memory, to emotion, to what was lost and never named. And because the rules don’t get in the way, you can let the moment breathe. You don’t need to justify it. You only need to notice it.
HOUSE OF SMALL WOES is built to show you what happens when the world already knows your name.
Explore it here on May 20.
I hope you're doing well today,
Berin
