J. Oracles
An oracle is anything that generates random results to help determine the outcome of a move, the details of locations or characters, or a narrative event.
In solo or co-op games, oracles help answer questions, flesh out your setting, and introduce drama and surprises. In guided play, the guide can use oracles for their own inspiration and answers.
Chalksworn includes various oracle tables to generate random results. Some moves may prompt you to roll on a table, and others even include their own tables. There are also a large variety of random tables starting in Chapter 5 (page 288) that can help provide inspiration for story events, reveal locations, generate characters and creatures, and guide the actions of others in your world.
Rolling Oracle Dice
Whenever you are prompted by a move or an oracle table to generate a result between 1 and 100, roll two ten-sided dice. This is an oracle roll.
One of your oracle dice may include tens digits on its faces. You’d read this result as 83.
You can also use two D10s of different colors, and decide before rolling which represents the tens digit and which is the units. You’d read this result as 36.
Oracle Tables in Moves
Some moves may prompt you to roll on an oracle table (Generating a result between 1 and 100) to help resolve the outcome of that move. For example, the Endure Stress table reveals your fate when you fail to resist a mental hardship. Will you carry on or will this crisis get the best of you?
When you face mental strain, shock, or despair, suffer -1 spirit for minor stress, -2 for serious stress, or -3 for major stress. If your spirit is 0, Lose Momentum equal to any remaining stress.
Then, if your spirit is 0 or you choose to resist the stress, roll +spirit or +heart, whichever is lower.
On a strong hit, choose one.
- Shake it off: If your spirit is greater than 0, Lose Momentum (-1) in exchange for +1 spirit
- Embrace the darkness: Take +1 momentum
On a weak hit, press on.
On a miss, it’s worse than you thought. Suffer an additional -1 spirit or Lose Momentum (-2). If your spirit is 0, you must also mark shaken or hardened, or roll on the table below.
| Roll | Result |
|---|---|
| 1-25 | You are overwhelmed. Face Desolation. |
| 26-50 | You give up. Forsake Your Vow (if possible, one relevant to your current crisis). |
| 51-80 | You give in to a fear or compulsion, and act against your better instincts. |
| 81-100 | You persevere. |
Rolling matches on an oracle roll does not necessarily mean something important has happened. However, some oracle tables will instruct you to treat matches differently.
Seeking Answers
If you are playing solo or co-op, you can Ask the Oracle to help guide your game session and trigger ideas when you need to know what happens next. Its most basic function is to answer a “yes” or “no” question. Combined with your own instincts and creativity, this move - and other random prompts - can push your story in surprising and exciting directions.
When you seek to resolve questions, discover details in the world, determine how other characters respond, or trigger encounters or events, you may…
- Draw a conclusion: Decide the answer based on the most interesting and obvious result.
- Ask a yes/no question: Decide the odds of a ‘yes’, and roll on the table below to check the answer.
- Pick two: Envision two options. Rate one as ‘likely’, and roll on the table below to see if it is true. If not, it is the other.
- Spark an idea: Brainstorm or use a random prompt.
| Odds | The answer is 'yes' if you roll... |
|---|---|
| Small Chance | 10 or less |
| Unlikely | 25 or less |
| 50/50 | 50 or less |
| Likely | 75 or less |
| Almost Certain | 90 or less |
On a match, envision an extreme result or twist.
If you are playing with a GM, they are the oracle. When you see a prompt to Ask the Oracle, turn to your GM. The GM is free to leverage random tools and creative prompts to come up with the answers.
Keep in mind that—even when playing with a GM—Chalksworn is about shared storytelling. Offer suggestions. Talk it out. The GM is the final arbiter of what happens next, but everyone at the table should participate in building the world and creating the narrative of your game.
More Randomness
You'll find a set of random tables in CHAPTER. These provide inspirational prompts and random results for common situations. You can also use whatever random generators you prefer, including those drawn from another game, online generators, or visual tools such as tarot cards.
Trust Your Instincts
These random generators will never replace your own imagination and intuition. If it’s interesting, dramatic, and pushes the story forward, make it happen. Too much reliance on random generators to answer questions about “what happens next” can kill the momentum of your game or make it feel disconnected and incoherent.
Keep it moving. Ask a question. If an answer leaps to mind, go with it. If you’re not sure, Ask the Oracle. Then, play.