How to Use Oracles

In Chalksworn, an oracle is anything which generates random results to help determine the outcome of a move, a detail in your world, an NPC action, or a narrative event.

Among the choices provided in the Ask the Oracle move is “spark an idea”. You can use this option (instead of or in addition to the yes/no table) to answer open-ended questions or inspire new situations.

Rolling a match on a move can also trigger opportunities to introduce narrative complications and surprises through random prompts.

This chapter includes a series of random prompts in the form of tables. You can use these oracle tables to answer questions about your world, drive the narrative, and inspire dramatic events and revelations. Some oracles are for specific, mundane questions to streamline play (“What is the healer’s name?”). Others provide more abstract results which you interpret based on the current situation (“What happens next?”).

Using the Oracles

Oracles In Solo and Co-Op Play

Chalksworn oracles don’t function as a GM simulator. Instead, they leverage the power of your creative interpretation. Ask your question, roll on a table, and consider the answer in the context of your current situation and story. What comes to mind first? Did you think of something which reinforces a dramatic narrative or takes things in an interesting and surprising direction? Does it feel right? If so, make it happen.

If you follow your instincts while staying open to twists and turns, you will find your game offering many of the same narrative rewards as if you were playing with a GM. In fact, you’ll be surprised how often a seemingly random result seems to feed directly into your character’s story and the world you’ve established through play. This is the power of creative interpretation at work.

Oracles In Guided Play

GM’s can use oracles for support during play and to supplement their narrative decision-making. Mundane oracles, such as names, are helpful to quickly flesh out details. Interpretative oracles, such as the Action and Theme tables, can be used to spark new ideas.

You can also use oracles as a prompt for sharing control of the narrative with your players. Not sure what happens next? Not sure how to answer a character’s question? Roll on an appropriate table, or have a player make the roll, and talk it out with everyone at the table.

How to Use an Oracle

Roll your oracle dice to generate a number from 1-100.
Check your roll against the table. The oracle will reveal its answer.
Consider the answer in the context of your question and the current situation. Is the result a good fit? Does it trigger a spark of inspiration?
If the answer is difficult to interpret for your situation, you can check up or down one row from your original answer, or reverse the digits (37=73).
If you’ve got your answer, you’re all set! Play to see what happens. If you want further detail, you can talk it out with other players or roll on another oracle table.
If you’re having trouble, you can roll again, try a different table, or just fall back to your instincts and decide what happens next.

When Answers lead to more questions

You aren’t limited to a single roll on a single oracle table when asking a question. If you like, you can let the result from one table inform your interpretation of the result on another. You can even refer back to the Ask the Oracle table to clarify an answer with a yes/no question.

However, use caution with this technique. Too many questions and too many rolls makes your session feel like an exercise in randomness. Lead with your instincts. Leverage the oracles to fill in the gaps. Keep it moving.

Oracle Tables and Matches

Matches don’t innately have special significance when rolling on these oracle tables. They can be ignored.