# Table

## Definition

> **Tables are lists of prompts that players will pick from when instructed.**

* Each table will have a specific **theme or grouping** of prompts.
* Prompts are usually an **establishing line** followed by one or two **questions**.
  * E.g. *"An event has transpired. Question about the event? Follow up question?"*

{% hint style="info" %}

### Intention

**Tables are another way to give players a structured choice about where to take their story**. When a player chooses a prompt from a Table, it usually establishes something true that has happened in their story—an event, effect, etc. They will then have a chance to further elaborate through a number of questions.
{% endhint %}

{% hint style="success" %}

### Example

[***Artefact***](https://mouseholepress.itch.io/artefact) **has are four Tables: two for use with Keepers (**[**Agents**](/components/agent.md)**) and two for** [**Rests**](/components/rest.md)**.** These are described in the examples for those components.

Each Table has six prompts of typically two or three sentences each. Here are a selection of prompts from across *Artefact's* Tables:

* *Gold and silver dull. Iron rusts. Colours fade to a sepulchral grey. What would your creator say if they saw you now?*
* *Whether by frost, corrosion or something stranger a prominent setting or rune is damaged irreparably. How does the damage affect one of your properties?*
* *You are swallowed by a passing sentient ooze—translucent and hungry. Where does the strange creature make its home, and what else of note churns with you in its viscous form?*
* *You intentionally deceived or refused to help your Keeper, leading to their demise. What took place and why did you act in that way?*
* *A stronghold of great importance was attacked by a dreadful, monstrous horde. How did you help your Keeper drive off the fearsome assailants?*
  {% endhint %}

{% hint style="warning" %}

### Advice

While the content in a [Playbook](/components/playbook.md) is unique to that [Object](/components/object.md), **Tables are shared between all** [**Playbooks**](/components/playbook.md). As such, the prompts contained within a Table need to be applicable to all included [Objects](/components/object.md).

Players are usually instructed to choose a prompt from a Table, but they could also randomly determine one. Using a fixed number of prompts in each Table makes it easier to do this, especially if the number is a common die size (e.g. 6).
{% endhint %}


---

# Agent Instructions: Querying This Documentation

If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question.

Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter:

```
GET https://srd.mousehole.press/components/tables.md?ask=<question>
```

The question should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language.
The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation.

Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.