This post belongs to the #AtoZchallenge 2024, where I attempt to turn a word a day into something that can be used in Role Playing Games.

Quipu can both be a knot and a knot-based recording system from the Andean South America, most famous for the Inca. It was not just the Inca who used it though, other cultures did as well. Meaning is conveyed through a combination of colour, type of knot and amount of knots.

How to integrate it into your typical fantasy RPG?

• Use quipu instead of paper or parchment scrolls for magic spells.
• Hide information in plain sight by disguising a quipu as braided curtain.
• Have a quipu as riddle akin to the Machine of Lum the Mad, where tying and untying knots cause bizarre effects.