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Forged in the dark : one large clock, or stacking small clocks ? (sh.itjust.works)

submitted 6 months ago* (last edited 6 months ago) by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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A very short question, for people used to Forge in the dark games.

To manage a situation evolving negatively or positively on the long term, do you use a large clock, or stack several one small ones with a concrete impact every time they fill?

let’s say the PC are asking questions they shouldn’t be asking about “the bad guys”. Would you say

3 times 4 tick clock : leading to “bad guys hear rumours about someone asking question”/Bad guys Finds out who asks the question/ Bad guys guards find the PC.

A 12 tick clock and continuously increasing the pressure on the PC as the clock is filling ?

The related question, is how do you handle the consequence of the clocks filling beside the : Enemy guard found you (or missing accomplished when it’s on the PC side). Just by role-playing, or would you change the PC position or is it as often in rpg “it depends” ?

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[–] [email protected] 4 points 6 months ago

I don't think there's one answer to that. To me it depends on the context of the clock and what's your plan for pacing. Also it will be part of your style that you just have to find for yourself, what works for you

(Cyberpunk examples)

Tripping guards suspicion on-site: one small clock
Consequence is not an alarm yet but from now on everything that has to do with guards can have lower position
Tripping alarms for the whole building: bigger clock
Or don't set up such clock at all if everything going completely south doesn't fit your overarching plot plans
Mafia responds to characters asking around: small clock
They have reputation to uphold, they can't have someone nosing around in visible way Consequence:
- someone who said something gets in trouble, making others harder to work with (lower position)
- Mafia learns who they are (if that would be serious problem for the whole run, I'd make it a bigger clock)
- They get set up and have an unplanned meeting with a bunch of enforcers
- It gets so obvious that they get contacted by this group's opponents and the situation is stacked that characters either comply with demands or will have very hard time completing the run
Police/corp responds to characters doing runs against the corp
- If you plan the corp to be present in the plot, make it a big clock to fill it after a few runs
  - Or make it small to force the characters to manage their footprint from the early stage (lower position when doing things the corp can piece together)
- If it makes sense that corp would first send police after them, make it two small clocks
- If you don't care about the corp, make it a short clock, to hopefully resolve it during this session
  If they manage to not fill it, after all, keep the clock for the future. The next time you feel it's going too well for them, you can fill this clock instead of more current one. Suddenly bringing old grudges into the mix

So depending on what you want to do it's either bigger or smaller clock, with consequences either in fiction or mechanical