“You will Destroy a Mighty Kingdom”: Oracles and Prophecies in History and Fantasy

Portents of the future are a staple of fantasy fiction, but how do you incorporate them into a game or story in an interesting way? In this talk, we’ll look at how oracles and prophecies functioned in early societies, with a focus on ancient Greece, to understand how they were perceived and used by people who believed in their power. We’ll see what we can learn from history to make oracles and their foretellings a useful and compelling element in our own creations today.