Countdowns¶

You can use a countdown to track progress toward an event, consequence, or adversary move. Some stat blocks and adventures specifically call for a countdown, but feel free to use them in any scene you wish.

Countdown Die¶

When you want to represent the passage of time or events leading to a dramatic climax—such as an impending adversary move or a significant narrative event—you can use your d20 or another die as a countdown die to track that progression. Choose a die with your desired starting value on it and put it on the table with that number facing up. For example, if your starting value is 5, you can use a d8 set to 5 as your countdown die.

Each time the countdown ticks down, turn the die to reduce its value by one. When the countdown ticks down from 1 to 0 (which doesn't appear on the die), the countdown ends and triggers the event you were counting down to. If you ever need to continue a countdown across sessions, record the current countdown value so you can continue counting next session.

If you don't want to use dice to track your countdowns, you can alternatively draw a number of small boxes equal to the starting value and fill them in as the countdown progresses.

Using a Countdown¶

When you introduce a countdown, you can either directly tell the players you've done so ("I'm starting a countdown to when the army attacks—what do you want to do before then?") or imply it through your narration ("The bridge is starting to crack, and it won't last long"). It's up to you whether you keep the countdown die visible to the players (increasing the tension each time it ticks down) or secretly use it to track an event they can't predict.

When you're designing a countdown (or using one from an adversary stat block), consider three elements:

• Activation: What moment in the fiction prompts you to activate the countdown? For example, a countdown might activate when the PCs stealthily enter an enemy camp.
• Advancement: When does the countdown advance, prompting you to tick down the die by 1? For example, a countdown might advance whenever a PC makes an action roll, or it might advance only on certain roll results.
• Effect: What happens when the countdown ends? For example, a countdown might trigger a powerful enemy attack or a wave of allies arriving to save the day.

Standard Countdown¶

Many adventures and events use a standard countdown, in which the die begins on a specific number (such as "Countdown: 4") and ticks down every time a player makes an action roll, regardless of the result. When the countdown die reaches 0, the countdown's effect triggers immediately after the last action roll is resolved.

• Short countdowns (2–4) work well when you want a move or event to quickly trigger in an encounter regardless of how the players roll. If you want the countdown's speed to vary with the players' rolls, see the following "Dynamic Countdowns" section.
• Longer countdowns (5 or higher) are best used for powerful moves or events that you want to build across the length of an entire scene.

While in combat, standard countdowns for adversary moves are usually reserved for the main antagonist. Running multiple countdowns at once can be complex, so most encounters include no more than one adversary with countdowns.

Dynamic Countdown¶

When a situation is being actively influenced by the players, you may choose to use a dynamic countdown to track it. Unlike standard countdowns, this doesn't tick down every time a player rolls—instead, it's influenced by the outcome of their rolls or choices. Dynamic countdowns can be used to track large-scale events or situations happening in the background of a complex scene. Typically, these countdowns have a starting value of 5–10.

Most dynamic countdowns can be categorised as either a progress countdown (if players are working toward a desired outcome) or a consequence countdown (if players are trying to avoid a dreaded outcome). The Dynamic Countdown Advancement table suggests how much to tick down the countdown die each time a PC makes an action roll.

Dynamic Countdown Advancement¶

Advanced Countdown Features¶

You can use the following additional features to make countdowns more complex or unique.

Randomised Starting Value¶

Instead of assigning a starting value, a countdown might use a randomised value. For example, a "Countdown (1d6)" means that you roll 1d6 and use the result as the countdown's starting value. Randomised countdowns are most commonly used when you want the timing to be unpredictable—usually to keep the PCs on their toes.

Loop¶

Some countdowns loop after they trigger; these are common with adversaries who can recharge a feature over time. After this type of countdown triggers and you apply its effects, it returns to its starting value and begins counting down again. For example, "Countdown (Loop 3)" starts at 3 then offers a Sticks.

Increasing or Decreasing¶

Some countdowns repeat like loops, but the starting value changes with each loop, reflecting a narrative event that escalates with time. Each time an increasing countdown triggers and resets, its starting value increases by 1. For example, "Countdown (Increasing 8)" begins at 8, then when it effects triggers, the starting value resets to 9, 10, 11, and so on.

Similarly, each time a decreasing countdown triggers, its starting value decreases by 1. For example, "Countdown (Decreasing 8)" begins at 8, then resets to 7, then 6, and so on. Once a decreasing countdown reaches 0, a major event triggers—maybe a cave the PCs are struggling to escape from finally collapses, or a ship they're trying to keep afloat sinks beneath the waves.

Chase Countdowns¶

You can use dynamic countdowns to track the progress of a chase scene, whether the PCs are pursuing an NPC or being pursued themselves. When the chase begins, set two countdowns: one for the pursuing party and one for the escaping party. First pick a die for the pursuers' countdown—the more time you want the chase to take, the higher the starting value should be—then set that die at its highest value. Next, select another die with the same starting value for the escapee's countdown, but set that die at a lower value to reflect how much of a lead they have (1 lower for a small lead, 3 lower for a decent lead, 5 lower for a substantial lead).

For example, a chase through a town market could use d6 dice and each tick of the countdown could represent one range band (Very Close to Close, Close to Far, Far to Very Far, etc.). For a chase playing out over a longer distance, such as the PCs pursuing bandits across the countryside, each tick on the countdown might represent several miles.

Regardless of whether the PCs are pursuing or escaping, their action rolls advance both countdowns, as shown on the earlier Dynamic Countdown Advancement table. When a PC succeeds on an action roll, it ticks down their party's countdown, which is a progress countdown. When they fail on an action roll with Fear—it ticks down the other party's countdown, which is a consequence countdown. When setting the Difficulty of these rolls, consider the adversary's Difficulty plus any relevant Experience.

Example: A thief has stolen Rune's wizard spellbook and is now on the PCs are chasing them through a market square. The GM, Stella, decides on a die for the pursuing PCs' progress countdown, then sets up the thief's consequence countdown—by taking another die and setting its starting value to 3 since the thief has a slight head start.

The warrior, Tabby, asks to go first, clambering up onto the market stall tents to run over the top rather than push through the crowds. Stella calls for an Agility Roll against the thief's Difficulty of 15, and Aliyah calls Tabby's Second-Story Traveler Experience to get a bonus. Quinn asks if her dru, Shepherd, can describe how they Shepherd channel their affinity with air to boost Tabby up. With the help of Shepherd's d8 advantage die, Tabby rolls and succeeds with Hope at 46. Stella ticks the PC's progress countdown from 8 to 4 as the warrior, Tabby, gulling on the thief and helping the group catch up by calling out a quicker route through the crowd.

Next, Rune wants to take things into his own hands. Using his Book of Soul grimoire, he describes how he conjures an illusion of a runaway horse charging across the thief's path, forcing them to slow down rather than get trampled. Rune makes a Spellcast Roll against Difficulty 15, but rolls a failure with Fear. Stella describes the thief seeing through the illusion at the last moment and ducks through a busy crowd that blocks the party's path. Stella ticks the thief's consequence countdown down from 3 to 1 as the thief makes it to Far range away from the party. The thief is eluding their sight and in real danger of getting away—if the consequence countdown ticks down one more time, the thief will be gone.

Long-Term Countdowns¶

Countdowns can also be used to track long-term events during a campaign; you could count down toward a nation being overthrown, the death of a powerful mage, or another momentous event that might take more than a few sessions to come to fruition.

While you can use a die for long-term countdowns, it's often easier to make a countdown track to record progress across multiple sessions. To do so, decide how far out the event should be (usually between 4 and 12 ticks) and, on a piece of paper, create small boxes for each tick. Starting from the first and working towards the last, write some events that may occur along the way that foreshadow the final event. These steps can alternate between softer and harder moves to give a sense of variety and growing tension. Adding unique events throughout the story ensures the countdown is always present during play, even if the final result is many sessions away.

Advancing a Long-Term Countdown¶

During a long rest, you should generally tick down a relevant long-term countdown by one. When you tick the countdown, let the consequences ripple down to the PCs; build tension as events unfold. For instance, such as the banner of a rival leader recently hung on the castle or conversations in the marketplace about the strange lights NPCs saw in the sky last night. Other times, you might cinematically cut away to a scene the PCs are unaware of, narrating the events to the players. This is best done when the characters know about the events surrounding the countdown so players aren't asked to completely ignore out-of-character knowledge.

Example Long-Term Countdown¶

Early in the campaign, the party crossed paths with Marius, a zealous mercenary captain. The group suspected Marius would cause trouble, but pressing matters drew them elsewhere in the kingdom. Meanwhile, Marius makes a deal with an expansionist theocracy to the east—an action the party's seer might well view with concern because of her past with the theocracy. In exchange for helping the theocrats invade, Marius will be appointed as governor of a prosperous county once the kingdom falls.

The GM wants this invasion to ramp up pretty quickly, so they set the countdown's starting value to 8, drawing eight checkboxes as a countdown tracker. Next to each checkbox, the GM plans out story beats that represent the countdown's advancement.

Example: Countdown Tracker

The GM identifies steps 6 and 3, marked with *, as prime candidates for steps where news would reach the party. This gives the PCs at least two clear prompts to get involved before the invasion escalates to a full-blown war. Depending on the party's movements and location as the countdown progresses, the GM can bring the edges of the invasion to the party's horizon—another doorstep.