An early draft of an oracle deck
I have a bunch of half-complete projects right now which I'll probably put up as blog posts to motivate me to eventually finish them. Here's a possible oracle deck that I've been working on.
I've been really enjoying oracle decks - Perplexing Ruins' one for Fallen is really good, and I think Levi Kornelsen working on one more or less publicly is what pushed me over the edge to actually start writing stuff down.
This one is kind of for Cairn, or more precisely for my not precisely defined game setting that I associate with Cairn. It's mostly fairly grounded, based around the lives of ordinary people who maybe have to go out and solve dangerous problems but also need to sew and mend and plant and harvest. It's also not exactly medieval Europe. It's not exactly any specific place that isn't medieval Europe either.
I'm kind of thinking of each thing being a tool.
The Needle
- mending
- finishing
- small
- overlooked
- careful
- a small, hidden danger
- Easily lost
Person: a caretaker, an artisan
Danger: small, sharp, overlooked. An insect.
Element: smallness
The Net
- bounty, riches
- sorting, separating
- Intertwined
Person: sailor, fisher
Element: the sea
Danger: Big, ensnaring, hard to escape
The mirror
- Delicate, fragile
- Indirect
- glass
- vanity, arrogance
- valuable
Person: a wealthy person
Element: appearance, beauty, sight
Danger: Not as it appears
The candle
- Hope
- Faith
- Illuminating the unseen, revealing the truth
- Secrets uncovered (good or bad)
Person: A religious figure
Element: fire
Danger: starts small, grows quickly if not addressed
The arrow
- Speed
- Precision
- Attaining a goal
- Sudden violence, death
Person: an athlete
Danger: something fast, agile or sudden (or literally, archers)
Element: speed, air
The cookpot
- Community
- Nourishment
- Food
- Family
- Having the necessities
- Obligation, responsibility
Person: a provider, a quartermaster, a social leader
Element: food
Danger: a large number. Social power.
The staff or walking stick
- A journey
- Persistence towards a goal
- Distance
- The unknown
- The larger world
Person: a traveler
Danger: something unusual or out of its element
Element: distance
The loom
- Creating something from nothing, or order from chaos
- Stories
- Wisdom, magic
- A monumental task
Person: a wise person, a storyteller
Element: Creation
Danger: magical
The horn
- An announcement
- A sudden change
- Something arrives from outside
- A warning
Person: a guard, a watcher
Element: Sound
Danger: something new, something unexpected, much bigger than before
The plough
- Seeds, plants
- A small cost now for a big reward later
- A beginning
- The rhythm of the seasons
Person: a farmer
Element: plants, spring
Danger: plants
Extra incomplete ideas
The knife
- Death
- Finality, an ending, a severing
- What cannot be undone
Danger: your biggest enemy
The waterskin
- Water
- Relief, rest
- Self-sufficiency
- Contained
- A thing out of its usual place
Person: ???
Element: fresh water
Danger: lacking something essential
The tally stick
- Commerce
- A contract, a promise
- Authority
- A debt
Person: a merchant
Element: ???
Danger: A debt is due (could be metaphorical)
The tankard
- Friendship
- Joy, celebration
- Rashness, foolishness
Person: a friend Element: ??? Danger: ???
The grinding stone
- transformation
- strength
Danger: brute strength
The snare
- A trap, a hidden danger
- Strength turned back on itself
Person: a hunter, a rogue
Danger: The safe and familar has become dangerous
The bell
- To manage and control
- livestock
- Marking the passage of time
Person: a leader, a shepherd