Resolution Mechanics
The oracle generates story. Resolution mechanics determine whether a character's specific competencies change the outcome of a specific action.
Most of the time, you don't need them. The Draw carries the narrative weight and player decisions flow naturally from the story. Resolution mechanics are available on demand - zoom in when the outcome of a skill-dependent action matters enough to make the character's abilities relevant to the result.
When to Invoke Resolution
Ask yourself: does it matter whether this specific character succeeds or fails at this specific thing, and would a more or less competent character get a different result?
If yes, invoke resolution. If the story works either way, keep drawing.
Good candidates for resolution: active combat, a critical negotiation, a risky stealth approach, a complex repair under pressure. Poor candidates: basic travel, anything where the character has no particular skill, or anything the oracle is already handling well.
Hooks in Resolution
Once per scene, add your Hook's rank as a bonus to any diceless or pool resolution where the Hook is clearly relevant. A Hook of rank 2 adds 2 to your effective EL for that resolution - either raising your diceless threshold or adding cards to your pool draw. This can be split into smaller bonuses across multiple rolls within the same scene.
Example: Calder's "Instinctively protects people who can't protect themselves" is rank 1. Hustling an injured Maret to safety could apply that +1 to his Athletics EL, raising his diceless threshold from 3 to 4 and his pool from 3 cards to 4.
Luck Tokens in Oracle Play
Luck Tokens work in oracle play exactly as in standard L1, with one additional application - a Token may be spent to convert any drawn card to Hearts. Same rank, best possible outcome: Yes, and.
Spend the Token after seeing the draw. You always know what you're buying.
Oracle draw: Spend a Token, get Hearts - Yes, and - same rank, best possible narrative outcome. A 9C becomes 9H. A 4S becomes 4H. Simple and unambiguous.
Resolution roll: Spend a Token for the best possible roll - maximum reds, optimal performance. This still might not be enough against opposition that significantly outclasses you. You're buying the best your character can do, not a guaranteed win.
The player has to read the situation before spending. Against manageable opposition a Token on a resolution roll may be overkill - save it for the oracle flip where it guarantees the narrative outcome you need. Against something that vastly outclasses you, even a perfect roll loses, and a Token on the oracle result might hand you a win that the numbers couldn't.
Some players feel that if a full resolution roll could not succeed, spending a Token for an oracle win is an unfair result. Others feel that Luck can always hand you a win regardless of the numbers. Both positions are valid. You're running your own game - use the tools the way that serves your story.
Diceless Resolution
The simplest resolution method requires no separate roll at all. Compare the character's relevant EL directly against the rank value of the opposing card. Higher wins. Ties go to the defender.
The Drawing of the Three often produces multiple actors in a single scene - each pip card potentially representing a separate opponent or obstacle, resolved in sequence against the character's EL. Face cards don't carry numeric values but describe the nature and identity of what's present - they characterize the scene and its participants while the pip cards do the mechanical work.
Example: A gate entry draw of 8C, 2C, KS produces three separate beats - the 2C gate guard (EL 2, conflict texture), the 8C commander who notices something wrong (EL 8, conflict texture), and the KS as a named significant figure whose involvement colors everything. Calder's Level 3 beats the guard easily but loses badly to the commander. The KS tells us why the situation resolves anyway.
This also builds NPCs organically. When a card's value beats your EL in a social context, note it - that character just demonstrated a competency. Maret's 7H in a social scene is now her Performer EL until demonstrated otherwise.
Setting Opposition from the Draw
When the oracle presents an opponent or obstacle requiring resolution and diceless comparison isn't sufficient:
Pip cards (A through 0): Rank value is the opposing EL directly. Ace = 1 through 9, with 0 = 10.
Face cards: Use pip card values for EL. Read face cards for narrative context, NPC characterization, and scene texture. Face cards are almost always gifts - they build your world while the numbers do the mechanical work.
In-context bonuses: A yes/and draw describing a tactical advantage can be quantified by a quick color run. Draw cards one at a time until you hit black; count the reds. That's your situational bonus EL. The narrative describes where it came from.
All Face Cards: The Vote
When a Drawing of the Three produces no pip cards at all, numeric resolution is impossible. Instead, the three cards vote. Majority determines success or failure; suits texture the result.
- 3 red: Decisive success - suits describe how good
- 2 red, 1 black: Success with complication - the black suit colors it
- 2 black, 1 red: Failure with silver lining - the red suit colors it
- 3 black: Decisive failure - suits describe how bad
Three No/ands is effectively a critical failure. Three No/buts is a thorough defeat with surprisingly generous consolation prizes. Three face cards in any draw strongly indicates seemingly miraculous or arcane involvement - fate itself is weighing in rather than simple skill opposition.
The Resolution Roll
You can emulate L1's Simple Pool when not using "diceless" contests.
Once opposing EL is established, both sides draw cards equal to their EL from the top of the deck. Count reds. Higher count wins. Effect equals winner's count minus loser's count. Ties go to the defender.
Extra Effort: Before drawing, a player may declare Extra Effort and draw additional cards beyond their EL. Each extra card raises the potential maximum but not the bust threshold - any total exceeding the original EL is a catastrophic failure (effective score of zero). The sweet spot is roughly EL plus up to half again; beyond that, bust risk climbs faster than expected gain.
Example: Calder's EL is 7. Drawing 10 cards shifts the bell curve toward 5 reds without too dramatically increasing bust risk. Drawing 14 would push maximum potential higher but make a bust as likely as success.
Oracle and Resolution Working Together
The oracle's suit and texture colors the shape of a result independent of the resolution roll. A red card draw that nonetheless produces a failed roll means the character failed this specific task, but the broader situation still trends to their benefit. A black card draw with a successful roll means competence won the moment but the scene still turns against them. Both layers speak simultaneously and neither cancels the other.
When player creativity produces a solution that changes the tactical situation entirely - an improvised diversion, an unexpected use of environment, a piece of information that reframes the problem - the oracle resolves whether it works. The resolution mechanics handle what the character's skills determine. They serve different questions.
Token Resolution - Pure Oracle Combat & Conflict
A standalone resolution system requiring no external dice or mechanics. Compatible with any game system or none at all.
Each participant in a conflict begins with a number of tokens equal to their relevant rating - skill level, competence rank, or any agreed measure of capability. Higher rating means more buffer, not guaranteed victory.
Each round, one or both sides draw a card. Apply the suit result before continuing:
| Suit | Effect |
|---|---|
| Hearts | You +1 token, opponent -1 token |
| Diamonds | You +1 token, opponent +1 token |
| Spades | You -1 token, opponent -1 token |
| Clubs | You -1 token, opponent +1 token |
When both sides draw simultaneously, apply both results before checking status. A Hearts draw against a Clubs draw produces a net swing of 4 - every token moves in the same direction. A Diamonds draw against a Spades draw cancels completely in tokens, though the story of mutual growth versus mutual attrition reads very differently.
Down: When a participant cannot pay a token they owe, they are Down. The conflict is resolved against them.
Conflicts end when someone is Down, surrenders, flees, or when story circumstances change the situation entirely. Not every conflict requires a Down result - an exit that doesn't require hitting zero is almost always available.
Skill provides a buffer, not a guarantee. A weaker opponent drawing well can grind down a stronger one. That's honest.
Running Out of Numbers
If the deck runs long enough without a reshuffle that no pip cards remain available for opposition, the Vote is the only tool left. If you notice this approaching, it merits a reshuffle. If you don't notice in time - the Fates have spoken, and you live with the result. A deck running dry on numbers means the world has gone strange. Fate is making decisions without consulting the laws of physics.