Because the judge makes this roll, there’s never any way for the cleric to know that the response is accurate. So my advice is to just role-play the deity. I mean, roll the die and pretend to consult the book, but answer based on how you think the deity perceives the cleric’s current status, and what kind of deity it is. A chaotic deity should inherently be less reliable than a lawful one, for instance.
Keep most replies to “boon,” “bane,” or “you receive no response.” Pick boon if you think the deity would want the cleric to take the action being considered, bane if the reverse, and “no response” for a spell failure or if the situation is genuinely ambiguous.
You can also use this to go easy on the party or make things hard for them, per your inclination of the moment.
DCC is very unforgiving as far as the will of the dice goes, so take advantage of the opportunity to avoid having the session be a slave to random chance.
And just to spice things up, maybe once in a while reply with something like, “You sense a heavy sigh of omnipotent irritation, and your mind is flooded with images of your deity’s iconography, and a voice rings out saying, ‘Do I have to tell you everything? All right, then. Yes, open the door and go down the stairs, staying to the left at all times. Look in the lizard idol’s mouth for the key that will disarm the trap on the mithril bridge, then cross the hall of flames by stepping ONLY on the green tiles.’” Continue the description for as long as you want, then finish with, “Finally, the voice adds, ‘Or have I told you all this just to test your faith?’” You might even sneak an, “Are you writing this down?” into the middle bit.
Maybe it then turns out that the door they asked about is fake and does nothing but activate a trap. Or maybe every instruction is accurate... but after all the loot is gained, the deity says, “Now donate all of this treasure to my temples, or your requests of me will fall on deaf ears until you make amends.”
_________________ Purple Planeteers:
Jingles Coinclink, Halfling, hag-hacked into haggis
Nurzual the Faceter – M Jwlr - Wiz - L S 12 A 8 (-1) S 9 P 11 I 15 (+1) L 10 AC 9 HP 6 Mv 30 Init -1 Ref 0 Fort 0 Will 1 Chalk 1pc, 20 gp Gem, Backpack, 10’ chain, 10 sheets parchment, Kith pouch, small hammer, ray-gun, Rope 50', 5gp 10sp 274 cp shortsword +0(1d6) Ch Psn (no MM), Clr Spr 65, Force Manip 81, Rd Mag 12, Spidr Cl 69 Pl.Common (basic)
Snooth Inksplot Scribe RIP under cave-in, a crushing loss
Qort Quiddlegit M Hlr - Cler - N(C?) S 11 temp 14 (+1) A 11 temp 14 (+1) S 6 (-1) P 5 (-2) I 6 (-1) L 5 (-2) AC 10 temp 11 HP 8 Mov 30 Init 0 Ref t+1 Fort 0 Will -1 club +0 (1d4+1t) - hand mirror, holy wtr, wtrskin Kith drink 12 oz drunk, 31 cp -2 Ms fire damage Det Magic
Brandybland Shoetree F Coblr N S 10 A 9 S 10 P 8 (-1) I 9 L 9 AC 14 HP 1 Mov 30 Init 0 Ref 0 Fort 0; Will -1 gldtr glaive +0 (1d10) - gldtr ch mail - Fe spike, shoehorn, 48 cp Prof: dagger
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