Countdown Dice
A Doomsday Clock
Using Countdown Dice for Risky Scenes
Countdown Dice can be used by the GM to represent environmental events, or scenes that tip on the balance between victory and catastrophe. In a typical countdown, there are two counters corresponding to a victorious outcome and a catastrophic outcome: Hope and Dread, respectively. Each of the two dice starts at its maximum value. Successes on the party's side and failures on the adversary's side can cause the Hope counter to spin down, whereas failures on the party's side and successes on the adversary's side can cause the Dread counter to spin down. If Hope reaches 1 first, the party is victorious, but if the Dread counter reaches 1 first, then they face catastrophe.
The die type of a Countdown Scene is determined by the scenario's riskiness, a judgement call made by the GM. This can range from a D4 to a D12. Whichever die is chosen, this is the die type of the Countdown Scene, and therefore is the die used for both Hope and Dread.
| Test Result | Effect on Countdown |
|---|---|
| Crit | Increase Hope by 1 AND decrease Dread by 1 |
| Success | Increase Hope by 1 OR decrease Dread by 1 |
| Mixed Success | Increase both by 1 OR decrease both by 1 |
| Failure | Decrease Hope by 1 OR increase Dread by 1 |
| Miff | Decrease Hope by 1 AND increase Dread by 1 |
Countdown Dice can also be used to represent the party's progress towards a compound goal. This can be represented by just one Die, its die type again chosen based on the difficulty of the goal or time necessary to complete it.
