Due to the large scale of this campaign, the GM is encouraged to use special long-term Countdowns to track the big picture actions of the nations of Althas. Each nation’s efforts toward exploiting their assets, addressing their problems, and pursuing their objectives (major and minor) are tracked with Countdowns.

Each in-game week, tick down one countdown per nation as they make progress on their goal. These countdowns can also change (up or down) as appropriate with the fiction.

A completed countdown represents a nation gaining access to a type of asset, removing a problem, developing new technology or initiatives, changes in political or social fortunes, etc. When a countdown is completed, pick a new objective based on the fiction and start a new countdown. Each nation can only have one major objective countdown at a time.

Completing major objectives requires a 10-step Countdown, while minor objectives and steps to address problems have 4 to 6 steps, depending on the scale of the endeavor. The GM should stagger the progression of these countdowns so that countdowns complete every couple or few weeks rather than three at a time and then nothing for a month.

The party may often be dispatched or mobilized to complete or block these objectives, and the countdowns that complete will generate major shifts in the narrative for the party to respond to.