The Old World - Grim and Perilous Beta v3

the middle of the slider. This is the moment
when someone breaks into a PC's room, threats
gain strength and the atmosphere thickens.
The third point should be in three-quarters of
the slider, activating it means that someone
sets fire to the inn where they stay overnight,
somebody important is kidnapped, local government
sends people to investigate PCs action
or even an assassin is hired to get rid of the PCs.
Finally, reaching the end of the slider triggers
the ultimate consequence of the threat. Perhaps
the enemies will decide to confront the PCs personally
and set a trap, the wanted murderer will
run away or PC's wife will decide to divorce.
Usually, this encourages the Players to try to
solve their characters problems before the final
consequences are triggered.
The length of the threat indicator and a number
and placement of the activators is up to you
to determine. Just keep in mind planned length
and complexity of the adventure.
Using multiple Indicators
In typical, single-threaded adventures, a single
threat indicator is usually sufficient. However,
if the adventure is multi-track, contains
many intersecting threads, and thus many
possible complications appear on the horizon,
it is worth considering creating many shorter
threat indicators instead of a single long one.
This way, each of the essential threads gets its
own threat indicator, which is advanced independently
of the others. Such shorter indicators
should have no more than 10 segments, usually
4-8 are enough, and 1-2 activators.
Advancing a Threat Indicator
A threat indicator can be advanced in one of
two main ways:
1. Spending h: If the current scene is related
to the thread the threat indicator represents,
you may spend h generated on
a PC's check to advance the threat indicator
by one segment. For example, when
a PC tries to convince an important NPC
to help them, even if they succeed, the NPC
may whisper a word to the wrong people or
just become suspicious about PC's motives.
A maximum of three h can be spent this
way in a single scene but we advise not to
use every single h possible as you may lose
many interesting side effects and twists
during scenes - it's best to spend h to advance
indicator when it really fits the narrative
or you have no other ideas how to use
them. If you are using multiple indicators,
the scene doesn't need to be directly related
to a threat to advance its threat indicator.
2. Preplanned advancements: You may define
beforehand that some events like meeting an
important NPC, capturing someone or finding
the murderer's weapon will automatically
advance the threat indicator (or even multiple
indicators!) by a few segments. In some
occasions, like a secret Chaos cult preparing
the blasphemous ritual, you may decide that
the indicator is advanced every day to reflect
the need of rush on the part of PCs. if you use
multiple threat indicators, you can create
a choice where participating in one thread
has consequences in another and advances
the other thread's threat indicator. For example,
undertaking a heist takes a toll on the
relationship with PC's wife, who doesn't like
her husband's night trips.
In some rare occasions, a threat indicator can
also be turned back:
1. Spending t: Similarly to spending h by
you, a Player may spend t generated on
their character's check to turn back the indicator
by one segment. As usual, the Player
needs to explain how spending the t
gets some heat off their character. A maximum
of one t can be spent this way per
scene. When using multiple indicators, t
may also be spent to turn back one of indicators
loosely related to the current scene.
For example, spending t during a heist
may result in one of the PCs finding beatiful
brooch that will help the PC to improve
their relationship with their wife.
2. In-game events: At your discretion, some
in-game events may result in turning back
one or more threat indicators by a few segments.
As an example, let's give a situation
in which the PCs join the city guards,
which will certainly help them hide some
of their suspicious activities and delay the
guards' reaction.
Note that if a thread comes to its conclusion,
you should remove the related threat indicator.
The Old World: Grim and Perilous 187