by sdonohue

The Questgiver's Fantastic Oracle is a 2025 release from Philip Reed Games. It was written by Philip Reed and the text of the cards, but not the art, is usable under a creative commons license.

Presentation
This is a available in two electronic formats: PDF and PNG; both formats reproduce each card as a page or image in the file. There is also a physical version in the form of a 52 card poker-sized deck in a tuck box. The cards are double-sided, glossy, and in color. They feel like one expects a deck to feel.

Content
This is another in a series of "inspirational" releases by Philip Reed. They can work like random tables, but somehow having cards makes it different and, I think better. The cards are all formatted in a similar manner -- each back has a unique illustration and there are 11 attributes on the back along with a scene, an answer to questions, a silhouette, and a twist. The scene description always matches the artwork on the back. The yes/no oracle includes a variety of answers; yes, but also yes and, yes but, maybe, etc. The oracle also includes an NPC reaction like friendly, uncertain, or immediately attacks. There's also a twist which is a potentially unusual change to the scene. So one card has an illustration of armored knights with horses and lances, the scene is "A tournament of knights. If applicable, you are invited to join in the competition. Otherwise, you're welcome to join the spectators", and the twist is "The winner of the tournament is awarded with one year as one of the king's many bodyguards". The silhouette is just that -- a light green image of some fantasy creature, including some that imply common humans like a wizard or an archer.

The traits each have two words, typically opposite of each other, so the mood of a card might be Abandoned or Crowded. The attributes are Mood, Place, Condition, Event, Role, Trait, Emotion, Motivation, Object, Challenge and a verb. The verb and the object have two choices, but typically aren't opposites; what's the opposite of a Coin Purse?

There are two extra cards to round out the 52; these are instructions and explanation for using the deck, including the observation that whatever works for you is the best way to use the deck.

Evaluation
If you're hoping to just grab a card and get a quest, this may not be it. The cards really are intended to inspire ideas not to hand them to you. If you think of some typical adventure hook examples, these cards are sort of their ancestor; they can be used to generate a hook, but the GM will have to make some decisions about which version of a trait to use and then how those various traits are connected. The cards are probably great if you're thinking about a one-shot or if you're experiencing writer's (designer's) block. The oracle portion could actually be used in play by a gm who is good at improv.

This is a fun idea and a good implementation; I'm glad I own this product.

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by Rachel

Promo materials are underway:

As are new board/component sets (There will be a big board set- 45"x45" and a smaller board set- aiming for a 20"x20" here. Each board size will have its own set of pnp components).Here's a sneak peek at the new 45"x45" board:

Everything has a place or space on the board. You've even got room for the token holders and draw bag! I need to flip the 1 player's side and the divider lines don't quite hit the board edge, but you can see where this iteration is going. I like the new way the Household Omens Board is laid out and it makes more sense to move the Household Omen Effect Cards up there too. Also, this allowed me to blow up the interlocked pentagram of the Talking Spirit Board Track to take up more space relative to board size. And that's a change that'll hold for the big board and the smaller board. The big board will have tarot-size tarot cards, 2.5" square Household Omens/Good Luck Charms/Hex Breakers and the Household Omen Effect Cards will be mini cards. The small board... I'm thinking the tarot cards will be bridge-sized. The rest... it's a work-in-progress :geek_grin:.

Tomorrow, let's see how far I get re-jigging the files. I'd like to get a sizzle reel and some more promo materials going. And then there's the campaign to work on...

Also, in case you missed it, Best With 1 Games' new Gamefound campaign for Crystallo and expansions went live! And it's already funded, woot! I'll try and get the expansions back to my table (and the blog) before the campaign's end :geek_grin: and see if I can drum up some more support for Liberty and Crystallo!

Game Over On borrowed time...

Happy Tuesday and happy playing!
-Rachel

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