Your palm says... You sweat a lot.

[Larry Fitz]

The visions could be triggered by the shards of a broken pot that the Seer/Potter himself makes. That is how he discovered the power. Someone dropped one of his pots (or he did) and he saw the vision in the shards of broken pottery. For more fun, the more valuable the pot, the clearer the vision.

 

[Xarlen]

The visions could be triggered by the shards of a broken pot that the Seer/Potter himself makes. That is how he discovered the power. Someone dropped one of his pots (or he did) and he saw the vision in the shards of broken pottery. For more fun, the more valuable the pot, the clearer the vision.

That, right there, is marketing genius.

Other ideas could be putting paint in a pot, and shattering it, and reading into the splatter and shards. Sort've like an Ink-blot.

 

[haiiro]

Here are a couple of (relatively) random links to lists of divination methods:

http://www.jaguarmoon.org/public/Divination/Comparison.htm

http://www.sjgames.com/gurps/Roleplayer/Roleplayer21/NewDivination.html

Of the two, I like the GURPS listing better. There's a bit of overlap between the two, but not that much.

 

[Xarlen]

Thanks!

 

[Mean Eyed Cat]

A great resource for divination is "The World Atlas of Divination" by Matthews.

The book breaks divination down by regions of the world. For example, it describes the Ogam sticks that the Celts used to cast (also discribing the Ogam alphabet), the Chinese I Ching (use of Bamboo sticks or coins) and use of Mah Jongg, African astragali (knucklebones ) or cowrie shells, and the Tibetian auspicy (cries of ravens). The book tends to be more of an anthropological look at divination.

For a more practical book, check out "The Handbook of Ancient Wisdon" by Eason. It tells you how to use dice, dominos, and cards for divination. It also details some of the methods in the "World Atlas" book as well as Gypsy tea leaf reading and Norse rune casting. It gets a bit "New Agey" in some spots (Crystallomancy, Moon Magic), but it is still a good resource.

 

[Jeph]

I remember something mentioned to me regarding the Salem Witch Trials; before the trials, many of the girls were dabbling in 'tempting things'. One thing they did was, I THINK, pour hot wax into a bowl of water, and see what the wax formed. And that was supposed to tell your future or who you'd marry.

that's actually a game that some Germans play at New Years (or was it Christmas?) as a fortune telling thing. Or at least a few Germans that I know in the US do.

-Jeph "So, these people do something at some time, I think, but these other people might not . . ."

 

[Hypersmurf]

One thing they did was, I THINK, pour hot wax into a bowl of water, and see what the wax formed. And that was supposed to tell your future or who you'd marry.

I thought you saw who you'd marry by taking the peel off an apple in one continuous strip, throwing it over your shoulder, and reading how it fell?

-Hyp.

 

[Guilt Puppy]

Re: Re: Your palm says... You sweat a lot.

I thought you saw who you'd marry by taking the peel off an apple in one continuous strip, throwing it over your shoulder, and reading how it fell?

Really? I thought you were supposed to get real drunk and then fall on the floor and I forget what happens after that.

On-topic: Sometimes just knowing things is fun. If your players are really into the game, it can really creep them out that this unknown character has access to all their personal details. You know you're a successful DM when a players' reaction is a genuine "how did you know that?"

 

[Xarlen]

Oh, I plan on the Oracle just Knowing a few things. Purely by intuition. Others by keen observation.

'So, your related to a warrior.'
'How'd you know that?'
'Well, your jacket has the stripped rank on it, and the arm has been fully removed, so it had to have come under some serious damage at some point and time. And you don't look like the type of guy to loot a dead warrior and wear his clothes, so..."
"Okay, you got that off of my appearance, fine."
"And, you were bitten by a tick while sleeping four days ago, under the arm."
"..."