wow, has it really been a year since the internet discovered Goncharov?
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@martianworder asked me about this on my Forged in the Dark post, so here we go!
Clocks
So Clocks have been a tool that have been used before and outside of Blades in the Dark, but BitD was where I think they were made really popular.
Golem Clocks designed by cmartins on Itch.io
For all intents and purposes, a Clock is just a track that you fill, but in some cases it's preferred over a track because it fills less space, and it's easy to just draw a clock on a piece of paper to help you keep track of something as you play.
A Clock can be more than just a track. It can be a countdown, a timer, or a representation of a person or faction's goals. The larger the Clock, the bigger task it is. Here are some examples of how you could use them.
A Healing project clock from Blades in the Dark.
A player could have a project Clock that they fill over the course of many sessions. Perhaps they want to research a cure for a vampire virus that is threatening a loved one. The GM would ask them to make a research roll every downtime, and how successful they are indicates how many slices they fill - effectively, how much progress they make towards finding a cure.
Rebellion and Sedition Clocks for Brinkwood: Blood of Tyrants.
A play group might use a Clock to track a common goal, such as winning over a number of anarchists to help take down a mega-corporation. If this is a campaign-long goal, you might use a series of linked clocks to represent the jailbreak you need to assist before you can win over a computer hacker, and then the massive hacking project you need to support before you can overwhelm the corpo servers.
Faction Clocks from Scum & Villainy.
A GM might use a Clock to track the work a Faction makes towards their goal. Every downtime section, they GM might roll to see how successful the Faction is, or simply tick one slice of the clock if the Faction has no reason not to be able to do what they want. If the Faction is allowed to work unimpeded by the PC's, they might eventually do something that changes the world around them, for better or worse.
Mission Clock from External Containment Bureau and Doomsday Clock from Apocalypse Keys.
Clocks might also be used as a timer, to indicate when something terrible might happen, or when the group's time is up. This might be the amount of time before a murderer next strikes, before the haunted house claims another victim, or before the world begins to end. In some games, specific points in the clock (such as halfway, or a quarter of the way through) may trigger special events that give the PC's more information, or remind the group that the pressure is really on.
Clocks for Protect the Child.
All in all, Clocks are a great visual tool to help you and your game group keep track of what's going on in the fiction, and it can also help you keep track of a number of narrative threads in a fairly condensed space. Even if they're not built into the game you're currently running or playing, I think they're a fairly easy addition, and can certainly help with bookkeeping!
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Emergency Holiday Truce Gift!!
Hey @jackdaw-sprite!! Today I heard through the grapevine (@phandomholidaytruce) that you hadn't received a holiday truce gift sooo here I am!!
I chose your prompt where Danny discovers some of his insides have become/been replaced with clockwork!!
Hope you like this :D and happy (late) truce
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Clock by Doxa, Switzerland, c1935
Chrome and Cobalt Blue Glass
Signed, Doxa
7/8” X 7” X 2”
Photo by Dwayne Douglas
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