Imagine for a moment that you’re in a dark-but-candlelit room, across a modest table from a wizened woman. She squints at oversized cards spread across the navy-felted table, and she begins to speak: “Ah yes… I see a decision weighing on you…” You hang on to her every word.
What if this same narrative trick was used at your TTRPG table? The goal may not be to manipulate or profit from their gullibility, but what if you used that approach to empower your players?
The Magic Trick Behind the Curtain
In Ealdsmyth, Stewards use techniques that are very similar to fortunetellers. We don’t try to predict the future, but our aim at the table is to collaboratively uncover it. In doing so, we build shared narrative ownership, and we deepen character backstories in some quite surprising and resonant ways. Does that sound appealing to you Game Masters? Let’s dive into the convergence between fortunetelling and effective Stewarding…
Fortunetellers–whether legitimate or charlatans–generally use four different tools to effectively do their jobs. First, they use open-ended statements to let the customer guide the conversation (“You’ve recently experienced a shift…”). They often use symbolic prompts, such as tarot cards, runes or the palms of their customers’ hands. Fortunetellers also use observational inference based on the customer’s body language, tone or other sensory cues. Finally, they ask leading questions that are often subtly disguised as insights. Every one of these tools work not necessarily because the fortuneteller knows, but because they invite their customers to reveal.
The Steward’s Toolkit
Each of these fortune-teller tools has a parallel in TTRPGs like Ealdsmyth:
| Fortuneteller Tool | Ealdsmyth Steward Equivalent |
| Tarot or symbolic cards | d20 tables, mythic imagery |
| Open-ended statements | “Tell me what your character notices that feels wrong” |
| Cold reads or predictions | Flashback seeds or “prophetic” NPC insights |
| Leading but ambiguous cues | Dream sequences, riddles, narrative gaps |
Your goal as a Steward isn’t to trick your players into thinking you have extrasensory powers. Instead, you should use the tools provided to weave a compelling collaborative narrative. How you use the tools might look like storytelling magic, but instead they’re consent-driven invitations to go deeper.
Shared Narrative Ownership in Action
Ealdsmyth flips the script on its players. The “oracle” (in this case, the Steward) serves as a mirror instead of a map. Your goal is to bring out what the player wants to work through to the surface. You’re not there to control the story but, instead, to weave it from narrative threads that the players supply.
Imagine you’ve got a deck of symbols on your table. As the Steward, you draw a “fractured crown” card, and you ask a player what this reminds them of from their past. Instead of dealing directly with deep pain in a therapy setting, the player can use their improv skills to flesh out a truth-adjacent scenario while using the proxy of their character. This distance from the root pain allows the player to enjoy the game while still chipping away at something real. As a result of this exercise, the player feels seen, empowered and emotionally invested in the narrative.
Deepening Backstories Without Digging
Fortunetelling allows people to reveal truths they didn’t know they were holding. Ealdsmyth can do the same–through dreams, echoes and mythic parallels to their real-life struggles. Such narrative moments organically unlock a character’s backstory, making long, pre-written bios actually impediments to a vibrant and living story. Through fleshing out a character’s backstory as they go, players gain those meaningful SEL moments–vulnerability, identity exploration and emotional resonance–disguised as cool fantasy reveals.
It’s Not About Knowing–It’s About Inviting Meaning
The art of fortunetelling hasn’t withstood centuries of existence simply because fortunetellers can predict the future. What makes them powerful is that they help people see themselves in the patterns.
Stewards in Ealdsmyth aren’t all-knowing GMs. They invoke what’s possible, using shared tools to co-author heroic and emotional journeys.
If you’ve ever wanted to hold the mirror, deal the cards and watch the story awaken, I couldn’t recommend Ealdsmyth enough as a TTRPG system for your gaming or therapy table. In the spirit of providing fortuneteller tools for the table, I’ve created a d20 table that challenges your players to interpret vague symbols within the context of their characters’ distinctive narratives. Go check that out on my Patreon page.
Note to readers: This post was made possible by my Torchbearer-tier patrons. Thank you for supporting storytelling that empowers real growth–on and off the table!
