Bug & Claw is being built to be solo-first. Part of what often makes a great solo RPG, to me, is the ability to quickly answer questions, shape outcomes in a meaningful way, seed the narrative with interesting elements, and push the story forward. The tools we generally use to accomplish that are referred to as oracles and generators.
Not familiar?
An oracle is a tool we use in our games that answers open-ended questions or resolves uncertainty. This is usually done with a yes/no/maybe or similar ambiguous answers like "No, but," or "Yes, and." Oracles push our stories forward by letting us interpret their results in any narrative context.
Example: “Is the door locked? (Rolls) No, but there's a complication.”
A generator creates content we can use. This can be simple, like an everyday object (a book), but in more contemporary Tabletop Roleplaying Games (TTRPGs), it's often more detailed content. It might help you generate names, locations, NPC quirks, plot hooks, or events. Better yet, it might generate multiple pieces for each one of those that you are meant to mix together. They're ingredients for your story, but they don’t answer questions.
Example: “Rolling on Bug & Claw location generators: A flooded ancient ruin haunted by ghosts trapped in crystalline structures. The prominent colour is light pink. There's a low hum.”
Heck... I might use that.
Many existing oracles and generators:
I say many here, but not all of them are like this. There are some excellent examples out there. So, how am I attempting to solve for Bug & Claw? Approaching this like I would at work, I've defined the goals more clearly as short-form stories. These are like acceptance criteria, where I'll know I've succeeded if I've made these statements come true.
As a player:
The following oracle can be used to answer questions like:
| Likelihood | Strong yes, More/Better/Easier Than Expected, Always | Yes, Slightly More/Better/Easier Than Expected, Often | As expected | No, Slightly Less/Worse/Harder Than Expected, Rarely | Strong No, Much Less/Worse/Harder Than Expected, Never |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Very certain/likely | 1-4 | 21–24 | 41–44 | 61–64 | 81–84 |
| Somewhat certain/likely | 5–8 | 25–28 | 45–48 | 65–68 | 85–88 |
| Unsure | 9–12 | 29–32 | 49–52 | 69–72 | 89–92 |
| Somewhat uncertain/unlikely | 13–16 | 33–36 | 53–56 | 73–76 | 93–96 |
| Very uncertain/unlikely | 17–20 | 37–40 | 57–60 | 77–80 | 97–100 |
I'm not sure if there's a term for this in the TTRPG space, but I'm referring to Progressive Tables as sets of empty tables that you gradually fill in over time. They start as smaller tables, like D6, but once full, they can expand to D10, and so on.
If it's a table for story elements, each significant story beat gets added to the table.
If it's a table for creatures, each creature you generate gets added.
And so on.
In this way, previously generated items and outcomes can come back and have a lasting impact. When you need to, or when prompted to, you roll on the tables. If you roll higher than there are current entries, you can re-roll or generate anew.
In the same way, if you resolve a story beat or eradicate a creature, you could remove them from their respective tables.
The example below shows an empty table you'd populate. The example only shows some rows, but this could go up to a D20 or further.
| Available choices | Roll | Story item |
|---|---|---|
| D6 | 1 | Some unfinished business |
| D6 | 2 | |
| D6 | 3 | |
| D6 | 4 | |
| D6 | 5 | |
| D6 | 6 | |
| D10 | 7 | |
| D10 | 8 | |
| D10 | 9 | |
| ... | ... | ... |
I've made these in other ways for some of my smaller games and supplements. Basically, what this means is you're not rolling on one table but multiple at the same time. You get several results and part of what makes things interesting is how the terms you're provided are able to mix together.
This naturally handles both empty spots (reroll or skip) and the full table problem (you have a complete story reference system by then). The beauty is that early in your story, callbacks are rare and focused, but as your narrative grows, the potential for meaningful connections increases.
Example: I roll a D100 on a creature table. I get a 56, which results in the existing enemy of "Creeper" but to also roll on the Properties table and augment the Creeper with the roll. I roll a 12 and add the "Acid" property to the Creeper, causing physical attacks to degrade armor.
If the outcome is "X" then do "Y."
This can be a powerful tool to add into the mix.
Just like with the past example of rolling one table to mix into another, you roll on any table that intermittently provides this type of feedback. This reaction to player action can start to help make the world feel more alive.
Skills can have an effect in some scenarios.
E.g. "If your Strength is >5 do "A" otherwise, do "B."
Another way is through infection and resonance stat alterations in certain scenarios.
E.g. I roll a D10 whenever rolling on a D100 generator. If the single digit of the D10 matches the single digit of the D100 I take the result from a different table. The table I choose depends on which is higher, my infection or resonance stat.
I realize this may seem more complicated to explain than to just show, so more examples to come.
