Ritual without Religion

Kombolói are Greek thing. Throughout most of Greece, you can hear them click-clacking softly in the background as people go about their life, soothing themselves. They come in amber and coral and seeds and shiny metals and cheap, heavy plastic, and true fans will argue which material makes the most pleasing noise, or feels the most pleasing in the hand. But they agree on one thing- these are not a religious item.

That is somewhat unique; if you’re Catholic, for example, you might have seen the image above as a rosary, or if Buddhist, as prayer beads. But this Greek pastime is it’s own thing, separate from whatever religious belief the individual might have- the way taking deep breaths to calm oneself isn’t (usually) a religious act.

If you are looking for more variation in the way you perform magic in your game, worry beads might be an interesting addition. They would make a great basic healing spell, for example- something like “First Aid”, that any class could use to self-heal a small amount of damage. As the quality, rarity, and expense of the beads increases, so too could the power of the healing- to the point where a downed character might be able to use the beads to rally back, once a day. Certain people believe the beads become attuned to the user, which suggests self-targeting spells and perhaps even items that cannot be transferred between players once used. (For the rest of that article, see here, here, and here.)

If you’d like a to see a grizzled old man slinging beads outside a café, click here.

Komboloi Prayer Worry Beads by Jeannie Parnell. Available in many colors and sizes. Varies; mostly acrylic. Ships from Turkey to many countries. $4-$18 USD

Scented Olive Seed Worry Beads by Culture Taste. Olive seeds and frankincense; cord material not specified. Ships worldwide. $14 USD

Scented Nutmeg Seed Worry Beads by Culture Taste. Nutmeg seeds and frankincense; cord material not specified. Ships worldwide. $21 USD

Worry Beads by Fredericks & Mae. Wood and horsehair. Ships to the USA only. $265 USD

Image by Lumbricus (Own work) [CC-BY-SA-3.0 or GFDL], via Wikimedia Commons