Author T Gene Davis

Adapting Multiplayer RPGs for Solo Play with Oracles

Have you ever wanted to play your favorite RPG by yourself, without needing a Game Master (GM)? Solo roleplaying is totally possible and oracle tools make it fun and unpredictable. Oracles are special tools (often tables or decks) that fill in the role of the GM by answering your questions and adding surprises to the story as you play (A Simple Oracle For Solo Roleplaying – YUM/DM). In this beginner-friendly guide, we’ll explain how to use oracles to turn a multiplayer RPG into a solo adventure. We’ll cover the mechanics of interpreting oracle results and give narrative tips for structuring a story without a GM. Finally, we’ll recommend some of the best oracle tools to get you started. Let’s dive in!

What Are RPG Oracles?

In a normal game, the GM describes the world and decides what happens. In solo play, oracles take over that job. An oracle can be as simple as a yes/no table or as complex as a book of random events. You ask the oracle a question about the game, roll dice or draw a card, and get an answer that guides your story. Oracles essentially generate content and story elements for your game on the fly (Solo DM Guide Part 1 – Introduction To Solo Roleplaying). They might tell you if an action succeeds, if an NPC is friendly, or even spring a plot twist when you least expect it.

Tip: Oracles come in many forms. Some just give yes/no answers, while others provide prompts like a combination of words (e.g. an “Action + Theme” pair such as “Corrupt devotion” to inspire an event). There are also focused random tables for things like encounters, loot, or NPC traits (Any tips for using an oracle for a beginner? : r/Solo_Roleplaying). You don’t need to use all of these at once – one or two simple oracles are enough to begin, and you can add more detailed generators as you get comfortable.

Mechanics: Using Oracles and Interpreting Results

Asking Questions: To use an oracle, you first pose a clear yes/no question or a prompt. For example: “Is the dungeon entrance guarded?” or “Do I find anything useful in the chest?” Keep questions specific and try to frame them so they can be answered with yes or no (for yes/no style oracles). If using a word-pair oracle, you might ask something open-ended like “What’s happening in the village?” and interpret the keywords you get.

Rolling for Answers: Most oracle systems involve a dice roll. A common beginner-friendly method is the one-die oracle using a six-sided die (d6). On a 1-6 roll, you consult a small chart of outcomes. For instance, one popular d6 oracle uses the following results (A Simple Oracle For Solo Roleplaying – YUM/DM):

  • 1 – No, and… (No, plus an additional complication)
  • 2 – No (A straightforward “no” answer)
  • 3 – No, but… (No, but there’s a small positive or mitigating factor)
  • 4 – Yes, but… (Yes, but with some drawback or cost)
  • 5 – Yes (A clear “yes” result)
  • 6 – Yes, and… (Yes, plus an extra benefit or positive twist)

So if you asked “Is the dungeon entrance guarded?” and rolled a 4 (Yes, but), you’d interpret it as “Yes, it is guarded, but the guards are drowsy or distracted.” A 6 (Yes, and) might mean “Yes, it’s guarded, and they’ve set a trap as well.” A 2 (No) would simply mean “No, the entrance is unguarded,” while a 1 (No, and) could mean “No, it’s not guarded, and the door is wide open, inviting trouble inside.”

Interpreting the Results: After getting an oracle answer, take a moment to apply it to your story. This is where your creativity comes in. If the oracle gives a straight yes or no, the outcome is clear: e.g. Yes, the chest contains loot or No, the villager isn’t willing to help. If you get a nuanced result (and/but), use logic and imagination to figure out the twist. For example, “Yes, but… something goes wrong” – maybe you succeed in picking a lock but trigger a noisy creak that alerts a monster. Or “No, but… there’s a silver lining” – you didn’t find a healing potion, but you discover a clue to another treasure.

There’s no one “correct” interpretation – go with what makes the story interesting and makes sense in context. Oracles provide prompts, not fully fleshed answers, so you’ll decide the details. In fact, learning to interpret oracle results in a way that fits the narrative is one of the skills you develop with practice. Sometimes the first idea that pops into your head from an oracle result is the best one to run with!

When to Roll vs. When to Decide: You don’t have to roll for everything. Part of solo play is knowing when to use the oracle and when to use your own judgment. An experienced solo gamer notes that “knowing when to roll and when to go with your gut is an important skill… You never want to rely on oracles too heavily or your story will become a random mess that doesn’t have much coherence.” (Any tips for using an oracle for a beginner? : r/Solo_Roleplaying). In other words, use oracles for uncertain outcomes or surprise ideas, but also feel free to make logical choices for obvious situations. You are both player and GM in solo mode, so some amount of decision-making stays on your shoulders (Any tips for using an oracle for a beginner? : r/Solo_Roleplaying). This keeps the story cohesive. If the answer to a question is obvious or you already have a clear idea, you might skip the roll. Save oracle questions for moments when you truly don’t know what happens next or want to introduce a twist.

Handling Unexpected Answers: Oracle results can sometimes be surprising or odd – that’s part of the fun! Even a weird answer can spark your creativity. If an oracle result really doesn’t make sense for your situation, you have a few options: interpret it metaphorically, ask a follow-up question to clarify, or simply decide that the oracle’s answer is “no answer” and try a different question. There’s no harm in re-rolling occasionally if needed; the goal is to inspire, not to derail your story.

Narrative Tips: Storytelling Without a GM

Without a GM, you’ll be setting scenes and driving the plot on your own, with oracle help. A great approach is to think of your game scene by scene, like a movie or TV show (Solo DM Guide Part 1 – Introduction To Solo Roleplaying). For each scene, establish the basic situation yourself: Where is your character now? What are they trying to do? This forms the context. For example, you decide your adventurer enters a spooky forest searching for a lost relic. Now you play out that scene, using oracles whenever you hit a question you’d normally ask a GM, such as “Do I spot any tracks on the ground?” or “Is the forest enchanted?”.

Start with a general direction or goal for your character (rescue someone, solve a mystery, explore a dungeon, etc.), so you have a driving purpose. You can even use an oracle to generate a mission or plot hook if you need one. Many oracle tools include random quest generators or idea tables to kick things off. Once you have a goal, proceed scene by scene toward it. Along the way, let the story evolve naturally based on your actions and the oracle’s answers.

Remember, you control your player character completely, just like in a normal game. Describe what your hero says and does. For the rest of the world, alternate between playing and asking. That means sometimes you’ll decide narrative details on your own, and other times you’ll ask the oracle to decide. It’s a balancing act between creative storytelling and surprising randomness.

Here are some practical narrative tips for GM-less play:

  • Establish Scenes: Clearly imagine or write down the setting and purpose of each scene. This helps focus your questions. (E.g. “Scene: Entering the ancient temple to find the relic. It’s dark and quiet…”).
  • Use Oracles for the Unknown: Whenever you catch yourself thinking “I wonder if…?” or “What happens next?”, that’s a good moment to consult an oracle. This could determine if an NPC is friendly, what obstacle appears, or any environmental detail.
  • Embrace Surprises: If the oracle throws a curveball (like an unexpected “Yes, and…” introducing a new complication), run with it! These surprises make solo adventures exciting and less predictable. You might end up with plot twists you’d never have planned.
  • Keep Notes: Jot down important things that happen, new NPC names, and emerging plot threads. This helps you remember the story and follow up on unresolved clues or goals later, just like a GM would track the narrative.
  • Pace the Adventure: Since there’s no GM to naturally vary the pace, be mindful of your story flow. If things feel slow, you can ask an oracle for a random event to spice it up (many systems have a chance to trigger random events). If things are too chaotic, take a moment to regroup and refocus on your main goal.
  • Be Flexible: You’re in charge, so feel free to adjust difficulty and details on the fly. If a fight is too easy or hard, you can subtly tweak enemy stats or the environment. Or ask the oracle a question like “Does the enemy have a hidden weakness?” to give yourself a fighting chance if needed.

Above all, enjoy the creative freedom. Solo RPGing with oracles is a mix of gaming and storytelling. There’s a sense of wonder in both inventing the tale and being surprised by it. At first it might feel a bit strange essentially talking to yourself and rolling for story outcomes, but it becomes very engaging once you get into it (Any tips for using an oracle for a beginner? : r/Solo_Roleplaying). Treat the oracle as your collaborative partner – together, you’re both player and GM, crafting the adventure.

Best Oracle Tools for Solo RPGs

When you’re ready to pick your oracles, there are many great tools out there. Here are some of the best oracle resources (ranging from ultra-simple to comprehensive) that can help you adapt any RPG for solo play:

  • One-Die Oracle (d6 Yes/No Table): The simplest tool is just a single die and the yes/no/*and/*but chart we discussed above (A Simple Oracle For Solo Roleplaying – YUM/DM). This costs nothing and is very easy to use. It’s a great starting oracle for beginners to answer basic questions. You can adjust odds by assigning different ranges for yes or no if something is likely or unlikely (for example, if an event is very likely, you might treat even a 3-6 as “yes”). Simple variations like this one are described in many solo RPG blogs for quick use.
  • Mythic GM Emulator: Mythic is one of the most famous and robust GM emulator systems. It’s essentially a full toolkit that “replicates a Game Master for a solo-play experience,” containing guidelines and random tables to support your RPG games (31 Days of RPG Solo Tools (March 2023) – Updated With all Posts). Mythic’s core is a sophisticated yes/no oracle with probability sliders and a “Chaos Factor” that makes unexpected events more likely as the story gets crazier. It also features random event tables (with prompts like “Action + Subject” word pairs) that can inject sudden plot twists. Mythic GM Emulator works with any RPG and is excellent for a dynamic, surprise-filled campaign. (There’s a Mythic 2nd Edition available now with updated rules.)
  • Ironsworn (and Starforged) Oracles: Ironsworn is a free RPG designed for solo and co-op play, and it comes with a ton of oracle tables built-in. Even if you don’t play the Ironsworn system, you can borrow its oracles for other games. It has tables for everything from wilderness encounters to character traits. The oracles are tailored to a gritty fantasy vibe (and Starforged offers similar tools for sci-fi), but they’re generic enough to spark ideas in any setting. Ironsworn’s approach gives your solo story a bit more structure with its quest (called vow) system, helping ensure your adventure has a beginning, middle, and end (Ironsworn system, Mythic, CRGE? : r/Solo_Roleplaying) (Ironsworn system, Mythic, CRGE? : r/Solo_Roleplaying). Plus, since the PDF is free, it’s an excellent starting resource for new solo players.
  • CRGE (Conjectural Roleplaying GM Emulator): CRGE is a popular free oracle system in PDF form. It’s a GM emulator focused on adding the unexpected to your imagination – a tiered system to create a full RPG experience without a GM (CRGE, Conjectural Roleplaying GM Emulator – DriveThruRPG). CRGE uses a yes/no mechanic with a twist: instead of pure percentages, it introduces the possibility of random “curveballs” when you ask questions, which can take your story in new directions. It’s lighter than Mythic in complexity and pay-what-you-want, making it very accessible.
  • The GameMaster’s Apprentice Deck: This is a deck of cards (available in print or PDF) that serves as a multi-purpose oracle. Each card is packed with info: yes/no answers, random events, sensory details, NPC names, prompts, and more. You draw a card whenever you need inspiration. The GameMaster’s Apprentice is great for solo play because one draw can answer multiple questions or set a scene with vivid detail. There are different themed decks (fantasy, sci-fi, horror, etc.) to match your genre. It’s an easy, tactile way to generate story seeds without flipping through tables.
  • Others to Explore: There are many other oracle tools and GM emulators out there. Some worth checking out include MUNE (Minimalist Universal Engine) – a one-page free oracle system, UNE (Universal NPC Emulator) – great for generating NPC personalities and motives, and various solo RPG supplements like the Solo Adventurer’s Toolbox or Scarlet Heroes (which is a D&D-like game tuned for solo play). The solo RPG community (for example, the r/SoloRoleplaying subreddit) also shares plenty of free tables and generators. Feel free to mix and match tools until you find a combo that fits your style. Remember, all you truly need is a way to get yes/no answers and a spark of randomness – even a coin flip or Rory’s Story Cubes can work in a pinch as an oracle!

Final Thoughts

Solo roleplaying with oracles lets you enjoy RPGs anytime, even if your friends are unavailable. It might take a session or two to get used to driving the story on your own, but with practice you’ll find a rhythm. Keep the experience engaging but manageable: start with a simple oracle, a simple scenario, and gradually incorporate more elements as you become comfortable. Use the mechanics we covered to handle uncertainty, and lean on the narrative tips to keep your story on track. Most importantly, give yourself permission to be both author and audience – revel in the creative process, and also let yourself be surprised as the tale unfolds.

Now grab your favorite RPG rulebook, a notebook, and an oracle tool, and start your solo adventure. The world of solo RPGs is vast and incredibly rewarding. With oracles by your side, you’ll never lack for adventure – even on a party of one. Happy gaming!