Running Scenes and Combat

Framing Scenes

Open with momentum: where you are, what's at stake, what pressure is ticking. State costs before rolls so choices mean something.

Growing Pressures

For slowly building threats, use a four- to eight-segment countdown. Advance it when the party fails or idles; its event fires when the track fills.

Combat

Describe enemy action before resolving it and state the DC or Defense and meaningful stakes. Judge encounters by effective threat and telegraph deadly danger so retreat stays an option. Use terrain, cover, and hazards. Allow morale and objectives other than killing — and end a decided fight without needless cleanup.

Down, Not Dead

At 0 HP a character is down, not necessarily dead. Allies can stabilize with an action or treatment. Death or lasting injury applies only when the stakes call for it, after a visible down or critical beat.

The Chronicle Remembers

The campaign Chronicle is the table's memory. Record what changed, who saw it, what it cost, and what's now open — one line each.