Episode #6: In a Wicked Age, Three Rivers Oracle - “How Shouting Bow Banished the Winter”
With the Hammer still on walkabout, we could only get myself, Giuli & Fen together, so we decided to try out In a Wicked Age with the bioregional animist oracle I put together, the Three Rivers Oracle. We drew:
A panther and a hunter compete to see which has more skill in the hunt, wagering all they catch.
A craftsman discovers a bed of magical flint—when knapped, the blades come to life, but they seek to cut and sow chaos.
An old grandmother and storyteller seeks an heir to teach her stories to.
Flint does not want to let go of his reign and let spring begin, so a shaman schemes to trick the trickster.
Which gave us the following characters:
Panther [PC, Giuli] - Kitty
Covertly d12 (reduced to d10)
Directly d6
For Myself d8
For Others d6 (reduced to d4)
With Love d4
With Violence d10
Particular Strength: Predator
Best interest: A steady population of small mammals
Best interest: Beat Shouting Bow
The Hunter [PC, Fen] - Shouting Bow
Particular Strength: Hunter
Best interest: To feed his family.
Best interest: Get Flint to let go of winter.
Splitting Stone, a craftsman who finds a bed of magical flint
Action d6 d4
Maneuvering d10 d6
Self-protection d12 d8
No particular strength.
Best interest: To keep his magical flint secret from his brother-in-law, Shouting Bow.
Flint, the Trickster
Action d10 d6
Maneuvering d12 d8
Self-protection d6 d4
No particular strength.
Best interest: To keep the Winter from ending.
Swims-Like-Tree, the Grandmother
Action d10 d6
Maneuvering d12 d8
Self-protection d6 d4
No particular strength.
Best interest: To test Shouting Bow to make sure he’s a suitable heir.
Seneca Warriors
Invented impromptu as the story required.
Action d12 d8
Maneuvering d6 d4
Self-protection d10 d6
No particular strength.
Best interest: To test Shouting Bow to make sure he’s a suitable heir.
Cunning-as-Rabbit, the Shaman
Action d10 d6
Maneuvering d12 d8
Self-protection d6 d4
No particular strength.
Best interest: Find a way to trick Flint into letting go of the winter.
And these particular strengths:
Predator, the hunting practices of a wild animal.
It has to be used with violence or covertly. For NPC’s, it’s good for Action.
Significance 1: It’s broad.
Its die is a d8.
Hunter, the hunting practices of human.
It has to be used for others. For NPC’s, it’s good for Action.
Significance 1: It’s potent.
Its die is a d10.
Special thanks to Abulafia for the names. This marked my first time running In a Wicked Age, so hopefully I didn’t screw things up too badly. Fen & Giuli went for their strengths, so we ended up with no one on the Owe list!
If you like this, and live in the Three Rivers bioregion, check out GASPcon in November–I’ll run three sessions of In a Wicked Age with the Three Rivers Oracle, as well as the first public playtest of The Fifth World—probably the first bioregional animist storyjamming track at any gaming convention!
