Let's Talk About Clocks, Countdowns, Etc...

[Reynard]

I have a confession: I forget to use Clocks a lot in my games. I mean to, and I think they are a great system for tracking events or serving as "skill challenges" -- but I often just totally forget to "set" them and then I am in the middle of the session and just keep going without them.

Anyway, I want us to talk a little about clocks, countdowns, and similar tools in RPGs: which games employ them well; how to use them in games that don't explicitly include them in the rules; our experiences with using them; immediate clocks and downtime clocks and everything in between.

I am personally most interested in how folks use long term clocks in relation to events happening in your campaigns (I think these are called "Fronts" in PbtA games?). I am doing my world building and prep for a post apocalyptic sandbox game and I know I am going to want to incorporate some clocks for Bad Stuff Happening.

But there are also short term and immediate clocks, and how they can enhance encounters or adventures. And what about player focused clocks (like project clocks)?

Let's talk about it!

 

[Thierry-Advent]

I old school parlance I use weeks, days or hours. Villains will do this in X days, if players can't stop them. I find that easier to remember than clocks, as it's 'naturally' interlinked with the progression of the mystery/adventure.

 

[Fenris-77]

Fronts are similar to clocks but they use actual specific events in each box, you aren't just ticking boxes until something happens. I use a version of fronts in pretty much every game I run though - it's a great way to manage looming disaster.

I also use a lot of bespoke clocks in dungeons. Things like ticks until the volcano explodes, or ticks until faction X figures out there are intruders.

 

[Reynard]

I old school parlance I use weeks, days or hours. Villains will do this in X days, if players can't stop them. I find that easier to remember than clocks, as it's 'naturally' interlinked with the progression of the mystery/adventure.

The problem with using time units is that it at least implies that other events in the world, including what the PCs do, does not have impact on the impending doom.

If the BBEG is sitting in his tower, deciding whether to invade, the actions of the PC should push that clock back and forth, not just the phase of the moon.

 

[Tigris]

I think the easiest way to not to forget them is it to link them together in a more or less natural way with some other mechanic in the game, here some examples:

• In Daggerheart for short term clocks use fear. When your fear reaches 12 spend 5-10 fear and the next event trigger. This makes the whole "add consequences to rolls with fear" even less necessary. And if you want to add urgency add 1 fear whenever players change a scene.
• In a card based game: Add "event cards" to the modifier deck. As an example simething like add 4 "enemies making their move" cards to the deck. And when 2 are drawn of them, the next enemy event happens and the 2 cards get added back to the deck. Makes it a bit unpredictable.
• In most D&D clones: Use long rests for long term plans. Don't track time. (In 5e allow 2 (or 3) short rests per long rest). Let players decide when to rest. Each time they rest a cross is made on a track and at certain spaces events happen.
• Alternative long time tracking to the above: If you track XP, judt use levels as clocks. Got enough XP for a new level, bam badies do new bad thing. Makes also levels stsrt with a big bang similar to milestone based leveling but still with more freedom for players.
• For "projects for players" one natural way is just needing money. Similar to what some premade adventures do (dragonheist). Allow players to earn money as a downtime activity and have them need X money to finish project X. Interacts nicely with the "adventueing" here they also earn money to make it not feel disconnected.

 

[Fenris-77]

The problem with using time units is that it at least implies that other events in the world, including what the PCs do, does not have impact on the impending doom.

If the BBEG is sitting in his tower, deciding whether to invade, the actions of the PC should push that clock back and forth, not just the phase of the moon.

You need both for fronts generally. You need X will happen at time Y if the characters do nothing, but you also need character actions having an impact on events as well. A lot depends on the specific front in question. Some are more explicitly like countdowns while others are more narrative or connected to specific events happening rather than time elapsing.

 

[Staffan]

I think using clocks, at least in this context, refers to PC actions affecting things that happen in the world. For example, a castle being infiltrated by PCs might have a "alertness" clock being moved forward by PCs failing various checks. You fail one Stealth check? Eh, it was probably the wind. The third time you fail, someone's gonna go investigate. The sixth time they start scrambling guards to actually look for whomever is messing around.

They generally don't represent "In 5 days, the dwarf army arrives and starts besieging the city." That's just a countdown.

 

[Reynard]

I think using clocks, at least in this context, refers to PC actions affecting things that happen in the world. For example, a castle being infiltrated by PCs might have a "alertness" clock being moved forward by PCs failing various checks. You fail one Stealth check? Eh, it was probably the wind. The third time you fail, someone's gonna go investigate. The sixth time they start scrambling guards to actually look for whomever is messing around.

They generally don't represent "In 5 days, the dwarf army arrives and starts besieging the city." That's just a countdown.

I mean, I am explicitly looking to discuss both, along with fronts and other manifestations of the general idea.

 

[Tigris]

I think using clocks, at least in this context, refers to PC actions affecting things that happen in the world. For example, a castle being infiltrated by PCs might have a "alertness" clock being moved forward by PCs failing various checks. You fail one Stealth check? Eh, it was probably the wind. The third time you fail, someone's gonna go investigate. The sixth time they start scrambling guards to actually look for whomever is messing around.

They generally don't represent "In 5 days, the dwarf army arrives and starts besieging the city." That's just a countdown.

Well I would say they can be close to each other, depending on what kind of implementation used.


The best example is daggerhearts fear when used as a "clock" . GM gets it when allies fail a task, but this will also just accumulate over time. And if its full event X happens. (My suggestion above).

However, if players find some underlings of the big bad and attack them, the GM will be kinda forced to use some fear. So the clock psrtially resets and give the players more time. So the players have the chance to interact with the clock, but if they dont its just a countdown, but based in their bad dice rolls.

 

[Thierry-Advent]

The problem with using time units is that it at least implies that other events in the world, including what the PCs do, does not have impact on the impending doom.

If the BBEG is sitting in his tower, deciding whether to invade, the actions of the PC should push that clock back and forth, not just the phase of the moon.

The BBEG, has his informants on the ground, and might trigger his plans faster. He's not idle waiting for the Full Moon. The way I DMed it is very much like, to my surprise when I first read it, the 13th AGE Icons of the Realms system.