You can use a countdown to track progress toward a certain event, adversary move, or consequence. 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 track the passage of time or specific events leading to a dramatic moment—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 its progression. Choose a die that has the needed starting value available on it, and put it on the table with the desired number facing up (see “Using a Countdown” below for guidance on choosing this value). For example, if your starting value is 5, you can use a d6 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 whatever you were counting down to.

If you ever need to continue a countdown across sessions, make sure to record the current countdown value so you can continue counting at the beginning of the next session.

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 you can 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 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: When does the countdown activate in the narrative, prompting you to set your countdown die on its starting value? 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 (see “Standard Countdowns”), or it might advance only on certain roll results (see “Dynamic Countdowns”).

Effect When Triggered: 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 enemies and events use standard countdowns, 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 (but if you want the countdown speed to vary with the players’ rolls, see “Dynamic Countdowns” below). Longer countdowns (5+) are best used on powerful moves or events that you want to build up towards in the narrative.

When in combat, standard countdowns for adversary moves are usually reserved for the major antagonist of an encounter. Running more than one countdown at a time can be complex, so most encounters include no more than one adversary with countdowns.

Dynamic Countdown

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

For example, if the PCs are trying to destroy a wall or other object that doesn’t have Hit Points, a dynamic countdown can track how close they are to destroying it. Similarly, if the party’s skyship is under attack, you could use a dynamic countdown to track their escape—or if the PCs are chasing or searching for an enemy, the countdown can track how close the PCs are to catching them. (See “Chase Countdowns” below for guidance on using these countdowns for chase scenes.)

Most dynamic countdowns can be categorized as either a Progress Countdown (if working toward a desired outcome) or Consequence Countdown (if 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

Roll Result	Progress Advancement	Consequence Advancement
Failure with Fear	No advancement	Tick down 2
Failure with Hope	No advancement	Tick down 1
Success with Fear	Tick down 1	Tick down 1
Success with Hope	Tick down 2	No advancement
Critical Success	Tick down 3	No advancement

Advanced Countdown Features

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

Randomized Starting Value

Instead of assigning a starting value, a countdown might instead use a randomized value, like “Countdown 1d6”. This means that you roll 1d6 and use the result as the countdown’s starting value. Randomized countdowns are most commonly used when you want timing to be unpredictable—usually to keep the PCs on their toes.

Loop

Some countdowns loop after they trigger; this is common with adversaries who can recharge an ability over time. After a countdown loop triggers and you apply its effects, the loop resets to its starting value and begins counting down again. For example, “Countdown (Loop 5)” resets after 5 ticks.

Increasing or Decreasing

Some countdowns repeat like loops, but the timing between them increases or decreases with each loop, reflecting an event that changes frequency in the story.

Each time an increasing countdown triggers and resets, its starting value increases by 1. For example, “Countdown (Increasing 8)” begins at 8, then after its effect triggers, the loop resets to 9, then 10, 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, such as the cave collapse in the example below.

The cave system the heroes are exploring is collapsing more and more over time, so the GM sets a Consequence Countdown called “Rubble Falling.” The GM decides to use a decreasing seven-step countdown: “Countdown (Decreasing 7).” After the first time the countdown triggers and rubble falls on the PCs, the starting value resets back to 6, then 5, and so on until the PCs accomplish their goal—or until the countdown resets to 0 and the caves collapse entirely.

Chase Countdowns

You can use dynamic countdowns to track the progress of a chase scene, whether the PCs are pursuing or being pursued. When the chase begins, set two countdowns: one for the pursuing party, and the other for the escaping party. First pick a die size for the pursuers’ countdown—the more time you want the chase to take, the larger the die should be—then set that die at its highest value. Then use another die of the same size for the escapee’s countdown, but set that die at a lower value to reflect how much of a lead they have.

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 a group of bandits across the countryside, each tick on the countdown might represent several kilometers or miles.

Regardless of whether the PCs are escaping or pursuing, 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 countdown, which is a Progress Countdown. When they fail on an action roll—or roll a success with Fear—it ticks down the other party’s countdown, which is a Consequence Countdown. (Yes, this means that on a success with Fear, both countdowns advance by one!) When setting the difficulty of these rolls, consider the adversary’s difficulty plus any other narrative considerations.

Example Chase

A thief has stolen the Wizard’s spellbook and so the PCs are chasing them across a market square. The GM decides on a d6 for the thief’s countdown—a Consequence Countdown—and sets its value at 4 since the thief has a slight head start over the PCs.

The Rogue asks to go first, clambering up onto the market-stall tents to run over the top rather than pushing through the crowds. The GM calls for an Agility roll against the thief’s difficulty of 15, and the Rogue uses her Second Story Experience to get a bonus. The Sorcerer spends a Hope to Help an Ally, describing how he channels his affinity with air to boost the Rogue up. With the help of the sorcerer, the Rogue rolls a success with Hope, so the GM ticks the PC’s Progress Countdown from 6 to 4; this represents the Rogue gaining on the thief and helping the group catch up by providing a quicker route through the crowd.

Next, the Wizard wants to take things into his own hands. Using his Book of Sitil 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. The Wizard makes a Spellcast roll against difficulty 15, but rolls a failure with Fear. The GM describes the thief seeing through the illusion at the last moment, moving through the crowd to force others to react to the horse and bar the party’s way. The GM ticks the thief’s Consequence Countdown down from 3 to 1 as the thief makes it a Far distance away from the party. They are losing sight of the thief and now in real danger of them 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 towards the overthrow of a nation, the death of a powerful mage, or anything else that might take more than a few sessions to come to bear.

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. Then, 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.

[EXAMPLE IMAGE OF LONG TERM COUNTDOWN]

Advancing a Long-Term Countdown

During a short rest, you should generally tick a relevant long-term countdown once. During a long rest, you should generally tick down a relevant long-term countdown twice.

When you tick the countdown, let the consequences ripple down to the PCs, building tension as events unfold. Often, you can reveal this progression through something the PCs witness (such as the banner of a rival leader painted on the castle, or conversations overheard 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 accelerating effects to the players. This is best done with countdowns where the characters already know about the events surrounding the countdown, so that 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 galapa mercenary captain. The group suspected Marius would cause trouble, but pressing matters drew them elsewhere in the kingdom. Meanwhile, Marius makes a deal with the expansionist theocracy to the east—an action the party’s Seraph will likely 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 at 8, drawing eight checkboxes as a countdown tracker. Next to each checkbox, the GM plans out story beats that can represent the countdown’s advancement.

8 - The deal is struck and Marius’s company mobilizes.

7 - Marius’s company raids a border town.

6 - The theocracy’s troops begin gathering at the border.

5 - Marius’s company captures a different border town, having misdirected the nearby militias.

4 - The theocracy’s army marches into the kingdom, establishing a beachhead in the captured town.

3 - Refugees flee the region around the border town, bringing news of the invasion with them to the larger settlements.

2 - Marius moves to harry the kingdom’s army and give the theocracy time to establish supply lines.

1 - The theocracy rededicates a temple in the captured town to their god, magnifying their priests’ power in the kingdom.

0 - The invasion becomes an all-out war, with Marius’ and the theocracy’s army executing coordinated strikes to divide the kingdom’s defenders.

The GM identifies steps 6 and 3 as prime candidates for steps where news would reach the party. This gives them at least two clear prompts to get involved before the invasion escalates to a full-blown war. And depending on the party’s movements and location as the countdown progresses, the GM may be able to bring the edges of the invasion to the party’s horizon or even their doorstep.