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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Bedrockgames" data-source="post: 8239034" data-attributes="member: 85555">I have been reading BitD, and these were the reason I picked up the book in the first place. I may use them, but one issue I think could emerge, and its an issue anytime I've tried to develop similar tools for managing things like sect wars and criminal campaigns, is they might be too abstract and not specific enough. It may depend on the group of players though. I've just always had a little trouble deploying tools like this in my games because a lot of the fun for the players is the specifics. However, I may simply not understand clocks well enough. i definitely don't have an issue with clocks. I think they are fine. I just tend to get into specifics when dealing with gang wars, heists, and sect conflict. I've been reading BitD among other RPG books so I still need to set aside a weekend to try out the mechanics rather than just read them. My view so far is it definitely has a different philosophy than I do when it comes to a sandbox, but I think that is welcome (like I said, I think more schools of thought and styles around sandbox are good: I just think making distinctions between them can also be helpful)That said I have used things like clocks in the past. Not that same model. But just as an example, I've made a lot of rulings in my wuxia campaign when players try to do something like invent a new technique in response to an existing one that is really powerful and needs a counter (think snake in the eagle's shadow), that they need to make a relevant skill roll until they get a 10, and that every ten advances them towards devising the technique (and how many tens they need can vary depending on the technique itself, but lets say they need 5 tens). I might also space out the number of rolls they can make by day or weeks depending on the technique. When players are managing sects similar things have come up (i.e. they want to recruit 200 new disciples, so I rule on how that can incrementally progress in a similar way: and progression may be the result of a roll, or it may be the result of particular actions or achievements). However I've always found it hard to codify and reduce this to one thing (like a clock). I've tried for many years now and always end up running into holes. I've had the same issue with sect building rules. Been making those for years too (have a bunch of documents). And the specifics always end up punching holes in them, so I've leaned on rulings instead. I think I mentioned here or in another thread how this even happened to my official Crimes and Rackets rules I made for Crime Network, where in my own house games I eventually jettisoned them in favor of just handling it based on specifics).</blockquote>

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