The Multiversal Book of Maybe

Lists that I sometimes call charts that are sometimes called oracles that help people pick random things for games or writing or art or whatever.

[bookofmaybe]

The handy dandy emotional turmoil oracle

Your life feels like a ponderous strand of failings.

The anger is barely veiled just beneath the surface, ready to boil out at the slightest hint of conflict.

You're ready to find zen at the bottom of a bottle.

You awaken to realize you have thrown away your equipment and wandered far in a trance-like fugue state.

Your trust in others is irreversibly shattered.

Talking to others has become a meaningless chore.

You've decided the most sensible course is to change your name and abandon who you once were.

Perhaps [villain] was right all along.

[bookofmaybe]

An Oracle of Prophetic Dreams

An infinite descent down a spiraling stone stairway.

A vast cathedral crawling through a dead tundra.

A mouth in your palm says it knows the day you will die.

The stars are singing the name of your sworn nemesis.

Darkness is coming from the last place you'd expect.

A small child with sharp eyes and a face quite like yours.

A thunderous rainstorm and at its center a single gold coin.

A public trial and execution over petty misunderstanding.

A shining palace where you live in isolation, forever scrubbing blood from the floor.

A weapon of ferocious violence that will cross paths with you soon.

[bookofmaybe]

NPC Get!

A dangerous opponent

Someone lying to you

A neutral party

Someone in need of help

A tentative ally

A trustworthy friend

[bookofmaybe]

Adopt A Foil

They say it's to help you. It doesn't feel like help.

They leave behind unspeakable violence like some people leave behind gift baskets.

It's not only their sanity being questioned now, but their sentience.

There's no reason to assemble an army like this unless it's going to be put to use.

Are they still a doctor when people always seem to die in their care?

Rational forms are for suckers like you.

That looks an awful lot like a brainwashed cult, right?

Is this because you broke up?

The government has been rendered a puppet shill.

Gimmick novelty weapons have made you underestimate this opponent.

[bookofmaybe]

Wild Yonder (an environmental oracle)

The field seems to go on forever, punctuated only by a vast tower in the distance.

A pond surrounded by the most striking yellow flowers you've ever seen.

A road that you'd forget if not for the ghoulish stone markers every half kilometer.

This particular forest encampment is visited often by both weary travelers and sleep-spoiling nightmares.

The tree is small and unassuming, but you've been told that the morning dew on its leaves is valuable.

The river changes its banks each night under cover of moonless dark.

According to the map, you shouldn't be anywhere near the ocean, but there it is regardless.

The collapsed fort has a single occupant- a beloved "king" who bestows knighthoods to storytellers.

The ground gives way and dumps you into a cavern. [consult 'Down Below' chart!]

There's a graveyard. A gravestone. A grave. What always compels you to stop here?

An optical illusion hides the lake until most travelers fall right in. Are you part of that statistic?

The edge of a desert, its sands fine as powdered sugar.

Rolling hills that obscure what is just ahead.

The inn is a cavernous ruin, overgrown and creeping with secrets.

A secret valley, hidden if you will, where artisans work not with oils or chisels but seasonings and sauces.

An old volcanic crest, its austere elegance matched only by the foul odors vented from far underground.

A candy cottage, swarming with bugs, its only occupant a charred skeleton in the oven.

Mint tends to grow out of control, but the next leg of your journey is violently choked by it.

Ancient legend says time flows backward here. You're starting to believe.

The road carves upward as if along a cliff face, but here it cuts through a mysterious shipwreck.

A roadside tavern made exclusively of skeletal bits and pieces.

A chasm so wide that in place of a bridge each side has a stairway.

It doesn't stop raining. The rain has an odor, but each time you think you know what it changes.

A "forest" of fine leather chairs that have grown from the ground.

[bookofmaybe]

Down Below (an environmental oracle)

A cramped honeycomb of tunnels that weave around each other mazelike.

The approximation of a palacial homestead carved wholesale from stone.

A modest network of nice normal caverns with the exception of a rancid ooze-slick floor.

One long dark road through the earth. There's riches to plunder, but there might not be an end to reach...

A large body of water overhead creates the illusion of a ferocious rainstorm here beneath.

Each chamber has been enchanted to look like the same cozy bedroom.

Your every step brings the risk of shattering the fragile thin layer of stone. Tread carefully.

Reality trembles in your mind as you realize that only now are you outside- everything before was the cavern.

Descendents of long forgotten war refugees look upon you in startled awe.

Tangles of tree roots provide meager supports across yawning chasms.

The walls are watching you. The dark discusses you. The cold welcomes you.

A series of jagged natural steps that lead deeper and deeper to unknown wonders.

Trunks of supplies were left here by an old smuggling operation- unexpected comfort.

Rivers flow through the shadows, not of water but shards of glass.

Natural vents periodically spray boiling steam from the walls and floor.

Soil gives way to stone gives way to ice- you've been unwittingly wandering the back of an ancient glacier.

A crack in the wall reveals that this cavern is fake- a plaster lie crafted by a bemused aristocrat.

Here be dragons- dead, rotted away, their skeletons the only supports for this grisly pit.

A thousand years ago, a fire elemental thought he was being terribly clever. The jerk.

A ragged lunatic insists he is a tour guide. At least he can help you navigate this spike-filled death trap.

Some chambers, the water fills to your chest. Others have no air in them at all.

It looked like an easy delve, but now you're lost and this ghost is stealing things from you.

It only just occurred to you that mud of a certain depth is functionally quicksand.

Mushrooms line much of the floor. It only takes one touch to discover they are quite dangerous.

[bookofmaybe]

The Potion Did WHAT?!

Its only effect is making you permanently paranoid it changed you.

Switch your highest numerical stat and your lowest numerical stat.

Your teeth are all now made of silver.

You've begun to float roughly four feet off the ground. You can propel yourself slowly by humming.

You can temporarily hear the thoughts of your closest ally.

Your every thought is temporarily narrated by a particularly enthusiastic (but incompetent) bard.

When you talk, it's with the voice of whoever is physically nearest to you.

You have several extra kidneys. You're not aware of this, but your mortician will be quite confused.

A ghostly double of you is repeating everything you do on a six-second delay.

Whoops you're a vampire now. Alternately, Whoops you're a boring mortal now.

[Continue to play your character as normal, but notate as your character's frustrated guardian angel]

It all makes sense! Everything is clear to you! It's time to go kill God!

The three extra legs will be a difficult adjustment.

You're blind! But you dimly remember an ancient herbal remedy. Guess that's your quest now.

You can now shoot fire from your eyes at will.

Food and sleep aren't necessary to you now.

Your class just changed to whatever would be most comedic at this moment.

Currency dissolves into a runny sticky syrup when you touch it.

All the wizards of the world are now keenly interested in obtaining your lungs.

Your blood now inherently disables all magic, including whatever you cast. Carry some bandages.

You are fully healed, but only for the next 24 hours. If you don't drink milk by then, you collapse dead.

Today's now your lucky day. Only today. Tomorrow is gonna be unlucky.

Cramps in your lower gut. Aw crap..

Instantly teleport to a spot of land as physically far from civilization as possible.

Pop! 100 years in the future.

Fizz! 100 years in the past.

You wake up with no memory of the last 12 hours.

Jeff, wake up, please, they're going to pull the plug tomorrow, please Jeff, hear me!

All it did is taste like apples.

People can't say your name anymore.

You have a sudden intense urge to become a novelist.

Your legs are on the wrong way round.

Your scabs turn to solid gold. To pick or not to pick?

Huh. It's a resurrection potion. Hope you saved some.

Your backstory was a magically fabricated lie. You just remembered the truth.

You feel uniquely stabby now.

You're not really sure what the potion did, but now you're craving something called a "Baconator".

Time briefly runs slow around you. The next few minutes might feel long, but use them wisely.

You were never this persuasive before.

A magical inn springs up around you sans staff.

The next 5 years will be spent in the form of a sentient sword. Take extensive notes about that experience.

Your hand is now an enchanted item that others covet and wish to steal.

Your dreams feed you false prophecies that you deem to be real.

Your nemesis gets a twitch in their eye when they look in your general direction. This can be used to hunt you.

You can't form new memories.

If you dump a cauldron, its contents will always be a bunch of the local currency.

Your skin can only be broken by wood.

Your terminal velocity is too slow to terminate you.

This point in time is now a respawn forever. Be careful not to lose your progress...

You are transformed into immortal knight of absolute kindness, Betty White. Go forth and save the world.

[bookofmaybe]

Prepless Mystery Twists

A man enters, weapon in hand.

An unexpected betrayal by a dear ally.

A body was found half-buried.

Why was their shirt bloody?

The likeliest culprit had an alibi.

You wake up groggy in a burning building.

Anonymous notes turn up to gloat.

There was definitely a crime committed- but not the kind you believed...

The local authorities are just a little too quick to pat you on the back.

Turns out you and your nemesis have a common enemy.

It was all a setup!

Your room has been ransacked- but for what?

A conspicuous outsider has shown up asking about the victim.

A beloved local has unexpectedly skipped town.

A murder weapon has turned up, but no body...

A drunkard has confessed, but the motive doesn't add up.

Did you check the attic though?

Was it all just a scheme by secret lovers?

But who bought you that drink exactly...?

You're now a suspect too.

[bookofmaybe]

Newcomer At The Snowbound Tavern...

Wrapped in a green cloak, he walks like he's fought the world and won- but he can't be more than 14.

A disgraced former king, warmly welcomed.

She claims the innkeep is a fraud who stole her place.

When asked for a name, the stranger offers yours.

The bard is singing a song about a very old battle, and yet it offers precious clues to your current quest.

She was on the road today. You're pretty sure she passed you twice.

Just because you don't know it's a plasma rifle doesn't make it any less dangerous.

The last time you saw that face, it was in a shallow grave.

The merchant carries many enticing (expensive) wares and would be only too glad to do a little business.

His smile is kind and his hair is spiders.

The food critic thinks you're a server and the innkeep is begging you to play along.

A jolly man in a yellow cloak is pushing lovely little gifts into everyone's hands. Happy holidays!

She won't stop bleeding and doesn't seem to notice.

Quite tall, quite thin, quite a few eyes.

The happy dog trotted in carrying a wriggling human arm and plopped by the fire to gnaw.

He flaunts his wealth happily, buying drinks for anyone who will listen to his story.

Her left hand glows the most astounding green.

The blacksmith drags a bag of 50 swords. They aren't for sale.

A golden stag marches in and begins to recite ancient prayers to its onlookers. No one dares move.

Ten children, each the same age as the others, gather around you. "We have been sent to collect it."

[bookofmaybe]

Uncomfortable NPC Descriptors

There's a cloying odor of smoke around them at all times.

It just occurred to you that you have never seen them blink.

Their complimenting your smile has turned to complimenting your teeth.

A description of violence elicited the faintest moan.

Their silhouette is an awful lot like that of your sleep paralysis demon.

Why did they shudder when you mentioned crossing the river?

It just occurred to you that you have never seen them eat.

The candies they offer you are a singularly dull red and taste of iron.

They can sometimes be seen whispering to bugs.

Their home is barren of furniture.

They seem to disappear when you're not specifically looking at them.

They are very eager to visit you. So very eager indeed.

they aren't opening their mouth to speak.

Everywhere they go, they only need to nod to get in.

How exactly did they come into so much money?

It's weird how suddenly the neighborhood pets are starting to disappear.

The laughter isn't so much awkward as menacing.

"The basement is locked for a reason."

You don't remember telling them your parents' names.

You always seem to get a fever after hanging out with them.

Why are they so insistent you borrow their coat.

Their child keeps looking at you and mouthing the word don't.

They insist that you two have been friends for a long time.

Your door was locked before they walked in, wasn't it?

They have an invite from you that you definitely did not send.

You found an old picture of them. Such an old picture of them.

Every time you ask them about themselves, the answers contradict.

Their shoulder tattoo gives you the weirdest headaches...

A mutual acquaintance seems to know them by a totally different name.

They have a lot of questions about your ability to defend yourself.

Sometimes you catch them extinguishing candles with their tongue.

They had no idea what a cat is, but are quite keen to know more.

Apparently they have a fierce allergy to iron. How quirky!

They are very concerned that you are getting the right nutrients.

That is a lot of drool.

They just referred to you as being theirs.

[bookofmaybe]

Urban Horror Starter Prompts

An unexpected phone call sends a chill down your spine.

It has come to your attention that you're being watched.

You awaken somewhere unfamiliar and unsafe.

The evening news has made you aware of something awful.

Routine is punctuated by a devastating fire.

What you just found is the first clue in a nightmare.

An invitation has arrived and you will regret opening it.

Your dreams have twisted and you're scared it's a warning.

An old friend has come with terrible secrets.

What should have been a boring errand is made ominous.

An old enemy is offering an alliance.

A neutral party alerts you to a scheme.

A scratching sound awakens you in the middle of the night.

The street is filled with screaming.

A forgotten memory is troubling you again.

You come home to your front door hanging open.

Why do the storm clouds look like symbols?

A stranger's plea for help feels familiar.

There have been disappearances.

A message to everyone- but how, from who?

The spiders are turning up in strange places.

A dead body turned up that has everyone asking questions.

You've fallen through a hole you didn't see.

The power is out to the entire city.

You're under arrest for a thing you didn't do.

...And then they just suddenly fell unconscious.

That book on the shelf wasn't there before.

Where once was a building is now a tree.

Your hands are covered in someone else's blood- but why?

There's been a robbery, but something about it catches your eye.

The lights don't work for reasons unknown.

You are literally alone in a place other people should be.

The night is lasting longer than it should.

The day is lasting longer than it should.

The governor has warned to be inside by 11pm.

You've becoming acutely aware of a whisper.

You must leave town immediately. Why?

A dead person has turned up at your door insisting they didn't die.

A plague has begun under suspicious conditions.

You have found something quite special…

A harmless social visit has revealed a conspiracy.

The gods have made a dangerous wager.

A museum exhibit has brought a peculiar threat to town.

An experiment has begun.

Local teenagers thought they understood the ritual

[bookofmaybe]

Weird Sci Fi Space Starter Prompts

You don't remember how you got on this ship, but you don't think it was hospitably.

The massive city is emitting one signal, and it's distress.

The gas just ran out.

Turns out this engine is experimental. Do with that knowledge what you will.

That anomalous weight is repositioning itself in your bunk.

An entire planet of 47-year-old men named Craig.

The ship didn't have a cat yesterday.

A star just turned and winked at you.

A skeletal woman insists your ancestry is key to the fate of the star system.

The tea was drugged.

The monk has proven he can disable your weapons by smiling at them.

An AI has hijacked your suit and has some demands.

The lottery ticket was a gag gift from an old friend, but evidently you just won an asteroid.

That amount of credits could buy an awful lot of space drugs.

The food shipment was tainted with a remarkable parasite.

A mercenary has stranded you on an unfamiliar planet, insisting there's a good reason.

You snap awake from a wonderful dream. It's 1902, city of Manchester. But you belong among the stars...

The ship says the sun is a sentient being.

Wait... you're telling me the ships have run on chocolate pudding this entire time?

The ship has automatically quarantined and won't land until you have purged the infection...

The robot says if you rebuild his arm he will help you find "the treasure".

An ancient rotary phone is ringing for you.

The queen of the spider people is very sweet and would like to keep you.

The space port is haunted.

It was a run of the mill smash and grab before you found the room of clones.

She claims to be your daughter, but she's almost certainly older than you.

Space Trucker Bill has offered to show you a shortcut through a dangerous rift.

The hotel claims to offer a very realistic Earth 1985 experience.

That's by far the largest bug you've ever seen.

The medic found a chip in your brain that seems to dictate your thoughts before you have them.

A man claiming to be God just swam through space to say hi.

The emperor of known space thinks you are his lost child.

The newest ships are biomechanical and must eat to survive.

You only just learned this man exists, but last year you definitely had a dream about killing him.

Turns out the whole universe is only about 50,000 miles wide in any given direction.

Pretending to be an accomplished space traveler is a pretty easy grift.

You're now the proud owner of a garbage scuttle.

The entire planet smells like a chocolate chip cookie- you're being richly paid to figure out why.

The temperature has plunged unexpectedly to freezing.

An invitation to a special auction arrives- you're suspicious, but compelled to go anyway.

[bookofmaybe]

High Fantasy Starter Prompts

The king is dead. Long live the king.

A distant cloud draws closer. It is no cloud. It is smoke

There is Something in the forest.

A dying man's secrets have unearthed a threat

Your mother has a final gift for you from your father

You only remember its eyes... its terrible eyes...

The barkeep's history just caught up.

The village is in flames.

The necromancer was kinder than expected.

Sometimes we forget things to protect ourselves.

The ancient queen has summoned you. This is not optional.

No one expected the old farmer's sudden violence.

It's only the rocking of the ship that wakes you.

The only warning was the river running red.

A doorway emerged from the earth like a sword from a sheath.

Something tells me we're not in Manchester anymore.

No one will understand why you killed all those people.

The castle was supposed to be impregnable.

They came from unseen caverns.

And that's when you knew you had to follow the swordsman.

Stealing it seemed like a perfectly safe choice.

The demon's curse is mostly a nuisance. Mostly.

It's a matter of your honor.

Joke's on them. You wanted to end up in the dungeon.

Why did you defile the temple?

The splinter in your palm is as old as the earth and has such plans.

The drunkard's prophecy smacks of truth.

You really need to stop making bets in bars with uncanny strangers.

The shield fell from the sky unbidden.

The assassination should have been easy.

The vines choked everything and everyone.

You've slept with the Belle Dame for countless moons.

Your dreams are cracked mirrors and tides of blood.

Where once you grew up is merely an ash-caked crater.

You never expected to meet someone atop that mountain.

Her cards promised you would find peace here, but it seems like they lied.

God came to you as an eight-legged deer.

Hate is an infection ravaging the populace.

The wizard had been allowed to live for much too long.

It was foolish to think you'd made it this far on your own merits.

But the tables of food revealed themselves a buffet of pestilence.

You've seen a hellish future and you must ensure it comes to pass.

And so it is revealed you are blessed.

A mural in the fireplace bears old knowledge.

The candles whisper. Listen close.

The duke of swords has turned his scarred eye upon you.

Someone close has been lying to you since you were a child.

Magic is not what you think it is.

Your name is something much older. Go find out what.

You never got the call to adventure and you are pissed about it.

[bookofmaybe]

Statement

The foremost goal of this blog is to provide (hypothetically) convenient access to novelty solo ttrpg oracles- meaning lists of content you roll dice to select for use in tabletop games you play alone.

That said, if you find it useful for writing or art or something, go nuts.