Chance and Risk Oracle
The Oracle is there to answer the questions that the rest of the rules do not answer on their own. I only want to use it when the outcome is genuinely uncertain and when the answer will actually change what happens next.
- Ask a yes-or-no question.
- Roll one Chance die and one Risk die.
- Add one extra Chance die for a meaningful advantage.
- Add one extra Risk die for a meaningful danger.
- Keep the highest Chance result.
- Keep the highest Risk result.
- Compare them.
Results
The result gives the answer, and the winning die tells you how clean or messy that answer feels.
| Comparison | Result |
|---|---|
| Chance higher | Yes |
| Risk higher | No |
| Equal | Yes, but; increase Twist by 1 |
Qualify the answer using the winning die:
| Winning Die | Qualification |
|---|---|
| 1-3 | But |
| 4-6 | And |
Examples:
- Chance 5, Risk 2: Yes, and
- Chance 3, Risk 1: Yes, but
- Chance 2, Risk 5: No, and
- Chance 4, Risk 4: Yes, but and Twist increases by 1
Twist track
Twist runs from 0 to 3.
At 3:
- introduce a major complication
- reset Twist to 0
Twist is a tension track, not a spendable currency.
I think of Twist as the game reminding me that repeated uncertainty should eventually create pressure. If I keep leaning on the Oracle, something should build.
Scene framing
Before each scene, note:
- the immediate objective
- the main obstacle
- the likely consequence of failure
Ask the Oracle only when the answer is uncertain and meaningful.
That little bit of framing does a lot of work. It keeps the scene pointed at an actual problem instead of drifting into aimless solo journaling.
When not to use the Oracle
Do not roll the Oracle when:
- the rules already answer the question
- the fiction already makes the answer obvious
- the question has no meaningful consequence
- you are asking the same question again without new information
Ending scenes
End the scene when:
- the objective succeeds
- the objective fails
- the hero withdraws
- the situation changes enough to become a new scene
Ending sessions
At the end of a session, record:
- Outcome
- Cost
- Thread
Minimal note-taking
I am deliberately keeping note-taking light. In most sessions, you only need to track:
- current HP
- current MP
- current Twist
- current Objective
- current Threat
- current Stakes
- current scene notes