Campaign Clocks

Campaign clocks are a simple way to track pressure over time. They make enemy plans, political tension, travel delays, disasters, and faction projects visible without requiring a full subsystem.

Clock Checklist

Name the event that happens when the clock fills.
Choose the number of segments based on how soon the pressure should matter.
Define what advances the clock: failed checks, rests, public mistakes, ignored hooks, travel time, or enemy action.
Define what slows or clears the clock: victories, negotiations, secrecy, sacrifice, or targeted downtime.
Show progress through rumors, omens, patrols, prices, missing people, weather, or changed NPC behavior.

Threat Clocks

Track villains, monsters, cults, armies, rival adventurers, or disasters moving toward an outcome.

Opportunity Clocks

Track auctions, festivals, openings, rescues, diplomatic windows, or rare planar alignments.

Relationship Clocks

Track trust, suspicion, scandal, debt, faction support, and public reputation.

Advancing A Clock

Advance on cost, not punishment alone. A segment can represent lost time, noisy action, an ignored clue, a failed bargain, or a villain using the same downtime the party uses.

Signal before impact. Rumors, prices, patrols, missing allies, omens, and changed faction behavior give players a chance to respond before the clock completes.

Let victories matter. If the party takes direct action against the pressure, remove segments, freeze the clock, or change the final consequence.

Use clocks as communication tools. If the players cannot see pressure changing, the clock is only private GM bookkeeping.