Half-baked idea post: RIP Filter Oracle

Half-baked idea post: RIP Filter Oracle

RIP stands for Random-Interesting-Probable.

One challenge with Oracles can be interpreting a vague, universal prompt into a concrete experience. This method aims to create a contextually informed Oracle as you play.

As you solo play, note characters, plot threads, and setting features on note cards. You can also generate a few cards before you begin, based your character's motivations, what part of the world they're exploring, which factions operate nearby, and so on.

When your solo system calls for intrusion on the predicted course of play (random events, altered scenes, etc.), shuffle your stack and place it face down.

Then roll a d6, and flip cards until you draw a prompt you'd classify as...

1 - "Random" in the current context.
2-3 - "Interesting" in the current context.
4-6 - "Probable" in the current context.

For each card you reject, decide on the spot whether you still want it circulating through your deck. Dispose of it or set it aside if you're done with it. Add it to a reshuffle pile if not.

For example, if you're no longer adventuring on a desert planet, you might cut out a card that calls for a sandstorm, as that would be so improbable on an urban world as to challenge belief. This will keep your deck lean and practical.

To use a Star Wars example, if you had a card with the text, "Mysterious Dark Side Artifacts," you might accept it on a roll of Probable when exploring an abandoned Jedi archive no matter who you are, or Interesting found anywhere if you're a zealous, crusading Jedi, but on Random if you're an Ewok picking over the remains of a battle between two mercenary factions.

Note that interesting can be interesting to the player (for your entertainment) or interesting to the character (Merlin would really get excited if magic scrolls are involved) as you see fit.

You can also modify the weighting of the die roll, depending on the stage of your adventure. Perhaps you want to swap Interesting into the 4-6 range at the climax to keep things concentrated on the main plot, or Random into the 2-3 range when on a desert island far from known context.

Anyway, poke, prod, and modify, Lone Wolves. Just something I was thinking about.