Oracles
Oracles are locations where priests, priestesses, seers, or others interpret the will of the gods or generate prophecies and foretell the future (or at least claim to). The word oracle may refer to either the location or the person doing the foretelling. Fictional oracles may be a temple, altar, or other religious site. The power to foretell the future may be inherent to the person, or may be gifted to them by a god or other power (advanced predictive algorithms may function as oracles in science fiction worlds, for example). Oracle sites may be located in remote areas such as holy islands or mountaintops and may contain altars, statues, or reflecting pools. Oracles are home to high priestesses, seers of the future, and adventurers seeking knowledge of journeys yet to be taken.
| Synonyms: temples, seers |
| Example Mythonyms: the Oracle at Delleus, the Blackmire Witch |
Designing Fictional Oracles
Overview
Fictional oracles are often located in mysterious and/or religiously important sites. Consider islands, mountaintops, deserts, or woodlands. The architecture of the site is another important consideration and should reflect the culture or religion the oracle is a part of. Oracles may exist in temples (potentially ancient temples) or the ruins of religious sites. As oracles are associated with mysteries, hidden passageways, hidden routes, and secret chambers may also be present at the site. The structure may have been built upon cave systems or catacombs.
Alternative oracles may be fortune-tellers, psychics, or predictive algorithms.
A Site of Prophecy
When designing an oracle consider the belief system or fictional god associated with the location. Oracles may have a highly organized religious hierarchy or religious faction associated with them. The prophecies they foretell may be true, or they may be used to advance the agenda of the oracle.
Oracle may refer to either a person performing the divination or the place where it is being performed.
