[Imperial Cult] Oracles

[arvisrend]

What is the job of oracles, other than sending players on (rather unsibyllinically well-explained) missions and selling alchemy?

Who has influence on them, and whom do they influence?

Do they have exclusive sources of information other than the Nine? Are they "above" politics or are they another lever of the Empire?

I'm obviously interested in this for the outlook of having oracle quests on Mainland (though probably not very soon), but I'm also thinking of having an oracle (dialogued more tastefully than Lalatia in Ebonheart) acting as a sort of higher authority in various Empire-related quests: e. g., asked for advice on the MG questline, used to counterbalance Imperial law when it is too rigid for its own good, etc...

[Infragris]

I always assumed that the Emperor has some sort of supreme influence on the Cult, Church of England-style. [url=http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Lore:Words_and_Philosophy]Words and Philosophy[/url] claims that Uriel Septim once made a bastard son of his the archbishop of the Temple of the One, which suggests immediate power (temple of the One is treated as part of the Imperial Cult in Oblivion). The same book also mentions the Empire placing limits on the church's authority.

The Oracles themselves may be equivalent to the Living Saints of Oblivion: moral representatives of the gods. Any good ideas about this should probably be communicated to P:C, I guess.

[gro-Dhal]

My take on the Oracles is that they're exceptionally pious worshippers of the the Divines who've been granted visions and insight by the gods. Usually clergy, but not necessarily. If they are members of the IC then any demonstration of Oracular talent will put them on the fast track to promotion through the hierarchy.

They may be consulted by powerful people, but they're not an entirely reliable source partly because of their strong religious beliefs (they won't tell people anything that goes against the interests of the Cult and the faith, or their own sense of morality).

They're highly respected within the IC, but they're not revered (as their power comes from the gods, not from themselves). Their influence varies- I don't think they automatically run things in the Cult. Beyond that, each Oracle is different and uses their power in different ways according to their personality. Some will be very grand, and climb the ladder of Cult politics. Others will live humbly as hermits.

[Jule]

...asked for advice on the MG questline, used to counterbalance Imperial law when it is too rigid for its own good, etc...

Having the IC hire a faithful Imperial subject, who just so happens to be a renowned mage and member of the MG, makes perfect sense if the task at hand requires someone with proficiency in the use of Magic. Not to mention that this is so much better than having numerous Guilds that don't seem to interact with each other at all.
IMO, yours is a brilliant idea, arvis.

[arvisrend]

Hah, *your* idea is brilliant :) I (meant to?) propose the opposite one: the MG asks an oracle for guidance, incidentally using it as a side channel to communicate its perilous state to those whom it may, and should, concern.

[Gnomey]

Do they have exclusive sources of information other than the Nine?

While my interpretation of the Oracles is the same as gro-Dahl's, there's another idea I just came up with: saying that they are granted their vision by the Gods is actually a simplification. They are recipients of [url=http://www.imperial-library.info/content/nu-mantia-intercept]dreamsleeve transmissions[/url], either from Moth Priests or members of the Imperial Government informed by Moth Priests. (Probably not members of the Elder Council; at best their secretaries or some-such).
The transmissions are probably one-way: Oracles receive them but cannot transmit them. Oracles have no importance of their own; they are only terminals used to relay information. If they act out of line, they can quickly be cut off from the system and replaced by some random other NPC.
Their purpose is to inform Imperial Citizens of knowledge gleaned from the Elder Scrolls, so as allow the Empire to take informed actions a step or two ahead of fate. That being said, the vast majority of information is rather unimportant stuff; they are not secret-keepers: what information they get they are expected to relay on. Most important information is kept secret, and as such is not transmitted to the Oracles.
In vanilla Morrowind, for example, the Oracle might have been sent the transmissions with the goal of giving the Nerevarine some good gear for the fight with Dagoth Ur, much like Larrius Varro's little present. The Oracle has no idea that the player is the Nerevarine at the start of the game because there was no reason to tell her that.

The difference in approaches is that the above variant would place the Oracles squarely in the Imperial government structure while the other variant would put them, for the most part, outside of it, basically as free agents.
The above approach would also tie the Cult more strongly to the Imperial Goverment: the Legion is the military arm while the Cult is the spiritual arm.
As to why the Oracles are with the Cult and not the Legion, first of all they have no authority. They are just informers, and wouldn't fit into the Legion power structure. Also, the central Cyrodilic government would have a healthy distrust of the provincial Legions; the Cult is more likely to act on the information sent by Oracles, while the Legion would probably just ignore it.

[Yeti]

I like Gnomey's idea, mainly because it strikes me as more weird and thus Elder Scrolls-like than having Oracles directly inspired by Gods, which is what we'd see in more typical fantasy works. Incorporating the Imperial Cult into the governmental structure uniting Tamriel is a brilliant idea, and could help make the IC a more interesting faction to design and play. Having a government magically transmit instructions to oblivious religious figures also has brilliant quasi-Orwellian undertones.

What I would want to avoid, however, is making Oracles mere pawns of tedious Imperial bureaucrats. Any Elder Scrolls transmissions should be strictly between Moth Priests and the Oracles, just so we can maintain their spiritual/mystical identity. The Emperor and his closest advisers should be aware, and have authority over what "instructions" the Moth Priests send, but that should be the limit of government interference in the process. At least that is what I think would be best thematically.

[arvisrend]

The gods in Morrowind are more down-to-earth than most other deities, and have their avatars visit Tamriel on several occasions. I see no reason why they should not have something to discuss with their most devout servants. But Gnomey's suggestion that they should also be an outlet of Moth priests is a great one. I think this works well together.