CLOCKS

Also called timers, counters, trackers, or countdowns: Clocks are a useful tool for tracking an evolving situation, an approaching danger, or the characters' progress with a certain task.

Clocks are designed to handle complex activities that cannot be resolved with a single Check and are a great tool for Game Masters to manage pacing within a scene.

A Clock is a circle split into a number of sections, each of them representing a step towards an objective being completed or an event taking place:

• When the group infiltrates a guarded area and must not alert the surveillance, failed Checks might fill a “High Alert!” Clock.
• When the heroes realize they can't defeat a colossal foe in usual combat, they might choose to adopt a different tactic: striking the stone columns and causing the roof to collapse on top of the enemy! In this scenario, a Clock can be used to keep track of how weakened the ceiling's support is; once filled, the monster will be crushed under the debris!
• When a powerful sorcerer performs a world-altering ritual, a Clock named “arcane apocalypse” can be used to represent how much time is left to stop him!

A Clock normally features four to twelve sections, depending on its complexity. Clocks are generally created and managed by the Game Master, but should be visible to everyone: this makes for tense and adrenaline inducing play. They should also be tied to a specific obstacle, goal, or danger, but not to a specific method or approach: this will allow characters to interact with them in different ways. Let's take the collapsing ceiling described above: characters could accomplish that by striking the pillars, pulverizing them with magic, or even throwing an enemy against them!