The Oracle Codex

Dread / Mist / Wild

Your solo oracle doesn't know what kind of story you're telling.

A generic "Yes, but..." means one thing when you're lost in the wilderness and something completely different when you're hiding from the thing in the basement. The Oracle Codex gives you three genre-tuned oracle engines — each one changes how your solo session actually plays, not just how the answers sound.

One d6. Three modes. Pick the one that fits your story.

DREAD MODE — Horror and Tension

The oracle gets worse. A Tension Track (0 to 5) shifts the oracle's voice as danger builds. At low tension, answers are cautious. At high tension, every result involves the threat directly. "Yes, and..." at peak tension resets the track — you survived. The relief is the payoff.

Tension rises on every "No." It peaks at 5, triggering a Dread Event — the door opens, the candle dies, it speaks your name.

The rhythm is automatic: build, build, build, peak, release, build again. You don't decide when it gets scary. The dice do.

MIST MODE — Mystery and Intrigue

The oracle gives you clues. A Clue Web with 6 slots fills as you play — certain oracle results add clues to specific slots. Once you have enough, attempt a Theory Check: state your theory, roll, and see if the evidence supports it.

Get it wrong? A clue was a red herring. Erase it and keep digging.

This prevents the two failure modes of solo mystery: solving it instantly (boring) and getting stuck forever (frustrating). The mechanic paces the investigation for you.

WILD MODE — Exploration and Survival

The oracle tracks what it costs you. A Supply track counts down. A Distance track counts up. "No" results cost Supply. "Yes" results advance Distance.

At high supply, the oracle is generous. At low supply, answers get desperate. At zero supply, a crisis hits. The state you arrive in depends on what you have left.

Full supplies? Triumphant arrival. Empty? Crawling in half-dead. The journey IS the story.

WHAT EACH MODE CONTAINS

Each of the three oracles includes:

- A themed Core Table (d6) with genre-specific complications

- A unique Escalation Mechanic that changes how the session plays

- A Scene Shift Table (d6) for when things stall

- A Spark Table (36 entries) for "what happens next?"

- A worked Example Scene showing the mode in action

WORKS STANDALONE OR WITH YOUR EXISTING TOOLS

The Oracle Codex needs nothing but a single d6. It also pairs naturally with The d6 Oracle (use the base Oracle for general play, switch to a Codex mode when the genre shifts) and The Prompt Forge (use Codex modes to drive scenes, Prompt Forge for inspiration when you need a starting point).

System-agnostic. No stats, no mechanics beyond the d6. Works with any solo RPG, any journaling game, any setting.