Pressure, Strain, and Conditions

Pressure belongs to the Hunt. It measures how much room the Quarry has gained to escalate. Advance it when enough in-world time passes for the Quarry to act, a consequence costs time or position, or your choices give the Quarry a clear opening. Messages and rolls alone do not move it. At maximum Pressure, apply only the threshold effects written for that Quarry.

Stage and Phase track different things. Stage describes what the hunters are doing: Trace, Study, Prepare, Confront, Resolution, or Aftermath. Phase describes how the Quarry is currently behaving. A Quarry can have phase rules tied to specific events or Pressure; when a trigger becomes true, the Hunt's Phase changes to the matching phase. Phase rules change behavior, not just numbers. A creature may retreat to a nest. A spirit may stop repeating useful memories. A machine may lock down exits. A curse may jump to a new carrier. Previously established Truths remain true unless the fiction truly changes the fact itself.

Strain belongs to your character and records accumulated immediate pressure. It rises only when a consequence establishes it. It is not an automatic tax for participating in a Hunt.

Conditions are durable consequences with a defined scope and recovery rule. If you are Shaken, that matters when fear or intrusive pressure is relevant; it is not a blanket penalty to picking a lock three hours later. Read the Condition and apply it where its fiction matters.

The state on your sheet and Hunt file should tell the same story the scene does. Clarifying a rule, asking what equipment does, discussing a plan, or sending another chat message never changes state by itself.