Digging a Little Deeper. Weighted Oracle Results and Generating Roleplaying Encounters

Link to Part 1

In the last post we discussed the four basic tools of most solo GM emulators. We will definitely check out other systems in the future, but lets stick with this for a little while. To recap, you need a Yes/No oracle (for which we used a 6 sided die or to slip into gamer speak a d6), a random word generator (which we borrowed from https://jamesturneronline.net/game-masters-apprentice/), context (in the form of the character concept and the setting), and your imagination (where all the parts come together into an image or idea). We are going to stick to those tools today, but we are going to add a little spice.

As in life in game, very few things come down to a simple Yes/No with equal odds. In many cases things aren't a 50/50 split. So ,we are going to make a simple change to our binary oracle.  If the odds favor the the outcome of question being Yes, add a +1 to the die roll result. If the odds are strongly favor the outcome of the question being Yes, add a +2. Likewise, if the odds favor No, subtract by -1, and if they strongly favor No use a -2. We are still going to use the same dividing line between Yes and No. If you roll 3 or under your answer is No. If you roll  4 or over your answer is Yes. 

Not all things require a roll. Many things will be obviously Yes or No. If we established the game takes place in a thick forest, there will be poor line of sight, no need to ask. If the merchant you are dealing with is especially known for his hard bargaining, you don't need to ask if he will cut you a deal. If you are approached by soldiers in the field, there is no need to ask if they are armed. You can ask other questions about these circumstances, but then you are expanding on a baseline. You get that baseline by leaning into the context. 

Some things, though, will still be a 50/50 split, if you can't think of a single reason that would act in favor of Yes or No. A literal coin toss by an average person may come up heads or tails, so asking does it come up heads would be a 50/50 split. If the person doing the flipping is a con artist, a juggler, or some other sort of cheater then the odds may favor one over the other. If the coin is a trick coin with two heads or two tails there is no reason to ask at all. It will always be heads or tails. 

Let's go back to John Everyman, humble fighter. Through use of your base game engine, you probably have the tools on hand for doing some research, but then again every system is a little lacking, so lets say your current system doesn't. This tower is known to the population and John was once a mischievous child, so you can ask if John knows the way to the tower already. As the North Country Forest is a dark and dangerous place you decide the odds are poor that he has, but maybe in the company of older boys he tagged along. So you roll your d6 and modify it with a -1. The roll comes up a 4 but because it is unlikely it is reduced down to 3 an answer of No. Thus, John now has to find someone who has been to the tower , and then get the directions off of them. 

Knowing the town pretty well, he decides, based on context of a woodland barony, that one of the foresters surely knows the path. Another question is , does he know a forester he is friendly enough with to ask. After all foresters are busy people. John has some military service and the militia and the foresters have a good relationship (here we are spinning some context, we could have asked, but as it is reasonable they are friendly, we are just running with it). Is there anyone forester that would know the location still in the village of this time of day (lets say it is noonish)? Sounds like a Yes/No question that could go either way, so we go back to our reliable d6 and again get a 4. Yes, he knows of a semi retired forester that works closer in to town. He needs a name, so we pick a name out of the hat and get Terrance. 

John heads off to Terrance's cottage. As we are still in town there is no reason to check for finding it or getting interrupted. Everyone is busy at midday. We could ask if Terrance is in his cottage, but that would just keep us from getting the the adventure a bit longer. So instead we decide John can head straight there and engage with him. 

We now have our first solid opportunity for Role Playing rather Roll Playing. Start with the details you know about Terrance. He is an older man, he is friendly towards your character, he is a forester in a dangerous land, so he is probably tough and brave. That could be enough details, but if you want a little extra, go to your random word generator and see what it adds. We get "Hide Temporary Treasure". This could be interpreted many different ways, but to me it sounds like a rumor. Terrance is rumored to have a little side job of hiding things in the forest for people until they need them again. That gives him a bit of a roguish touch. It also implies he knows secret places. The encounter could go as such...

John makes his way across the village. Though he is eager to begin his adventure, he knows the North Country Forest area is dangerous, and that it's easy to get lost. Growing up in the middle of the Great Forest gives John some basic skills in out door survival. John has hunted near the village, and he has been on several bandit patrols. Even so, John is aware he needs the assistance of a real expert. 

Terrance Forester is a (is Terrance a bachelor? 6. Yes) an old bachelor who never quite settled down. His small cottage is at the village edge, and though kept in good repair, it wouldn't impress anyone. Despite his age and his semi retired status Terrance seems to be doing well for himself. When his cottage needs thatch or his sheds need shingles he never lacks for coin or assistance. That is probably gave rise to the rumors that he is "a man to know", but not only are those accusations never proven, they are never even raised to the Baron's Shire Reeve. It is Terrance, everyone's friend after all, and even a retired forester is still held in high respect.

After a brief knock T- answers and invites J- in for a pint, and to find out what he has on his mind. The two reminisce a bit about bandits and tax men until J- finally gets to the point. (Terrance, being an old and experienced Forester probably knows the land within 20 miles of the village very well. So we ask the Oracle if he can give directions. Taking all the considerations together we ask the question "Can Terrance direct John to the Tower?" is rolled at a +2. With a base roll of 5 that +2 gives us a 7. So the answer is Yes, but I think a rogue like Terrance would want a little something for his help) Terrance nods and says he knows the place, but he is a little worried about the lad. Maybe, he could stop in on his way home before seeing any of the elders, and let old T- know he survived and is doing well for himself. J- get the hint and smiles and winks. Now that both of them are on the same page, T- gives J- a set of land marks and directions that will get him to the foreboding tower. 

You will note, that I didn't do many oracle rolls or roll up many random words in the example above. Instead, I extrapolated from the context at hand. If you drew a blank on the RP scene you could have cut it short to the Yes/No question, or you could have had more random word selections. Either or would have been right. There in fact is no wrong way to handle a scene, as long as you feel you are being fair to the context and (most importantly) having fun.

Also, in the RP example above the roll for "Can Terrance direct John to the Tower?" wasn't just a Yes, but was nearly has high as the roll could go. In the next section we will discuss when exceptionally high and exceptionally low have deeper consequences.  

W.D.

link to part 3