Progress clocks in RPGs: make danger and progress readable

A progress clock records an unfolding situation by filling segments of a circle. It can show work toward a goal or danger getting closer. For the people making decisions, the useful information is what moves it and what happens when it fills.

The rules examples here use the official Blades in the Dark SRD. The archive scene and preparation worksheet are original editorial examples, with no playtest claimed. Advice about adapting clocks to another RPG is separate from the Blades rules.

Choose a subject that leaves room for different approaches

The Blades clock rules describe four-, six-, and eight-segment obstacles of increasing complexity. They also attach clocks to obstacles, allowing players to choose how to address them. Straightforward situations may need only one roll.

For an invented archive scene, call the obstacle clock “Archive access.” The crew might deal with a sealed cabinet through tools, forged authorization, or help from its custodian. Calling it “Pick the cabinet lock” would build one proposed solution into the tracker before anyone chose a plan.

Before drawing the circle, complete this sentence: “When this fills, the characters can…” For the archive, the answer might be “reach the sealed records.” That endpoint leaves finding a particular document as a separate question. If access alone delivers the objective, say so instead. The distinction determines what the players are spending effort to achieve.

Clock size and effect determine different parts of the workload

Blades assigns one segment to limited effect, two to standard effect, and three to great effect. The GM assesses effect from the action and situation. This gives different approaches different amounts of progress. See the official effect rules.

Consider a clock with six segments remaining. Under the deliberately narrow assumption that every action succeeds at an unchanged effect level:

Effect on each successful action	Segments per action	Successful actions to fill six segments
Limited	1	6
Standard	2	3
Great	3	2

This is arithmetic, not a forecast of scene length. Failed actions, changing circumstances, and consequences can alter the route. The table also says nothing about the chance of rolling a success. Six segments cannot be read as six turns or a particular percentage chance of completion.

That distinction changes the preparation question. If a scene drags, inspect what each attempt can accomplish and whether the situation changes between attempts. Adding another circle or shrinking the existing one cannot, by itself, make repeated identical choices interesting.

Keep danger on its own track

Blades separates position, which describes the exposure to consequences, from effect, which describes accomplishment. Its action-roll rules allow a risky result of 4 or 5 to succeed while producing a consequence. Progress and trouble can therefore arrive together.

For the archive scene, add a four-segment “Patrol alerted” clock. In Blades, a danger clock can advance by one to three segments according to the consequence level, and filling it brings that danger about. For this example, define the outcome as a patrol entering the archive and challenging whoever is inside.

Suppose the access clock starts empty and the patrol clock already has one segment filled. A character works on the cabinet at risky position and standard effect, then rolls a 4. The GM chooses a two-segment noise complication. Assume the character accepts it without resistance and that reduced effect is not an additional consequence.

Tracker	Before the action	Change	After the action
Archive access	0 of 6	Fill 2	2 of 6
Patrol alerted	1 of 4	Fill 2	3 of 4

The narrated result might be a released outer latch and a loud metallic snap. A lantern pauses beyond the frosted door. The cabinet is easier to open, while the crew has a new reason to consider a distraction, another entrance, or withdrawal.

The noise ruling and fictional details are invented for the example. Blades permits resistance to consequences; this walkthrough holds that choice fixed so the two changes remain easy to follow. It is not a complete action-resolution tutorial.

Write down what can advance the danger

For a borrowed clock, make the trigger part of the table agreement. “Patrol alerted” could advance when a relevant consequence creates suspicion. A separate “Shift ends” clock could advance after a declared amount of fictional time. Those triggers create different decisions even if the circles have the same size.

Avoid quietly switching between them. If the patrol advances after every action, players need to know that spending time itself attracts attention. If it advances only when an action causes a suitable consequence, a quiet success has a different meaning. This trigger discipline is editorial advice for adapting the tool; follow the actual resolution rules when playing Blades.

The distinction also connects to action economy. A turn spent helping someone may consume an opportunity without advancing the objective directly. Whether that costs time, attracts danger, or simply changes the next attempt depends on the rules and the situation you established.

Use a short preparation worksheet

This worksheet is an editorial aid for a single scene. Fill it before choosing extra trackers or special exceptions.

Preparation question	Archive example
What state does the clock track?	Access to the sealed records
What can advance it?	An action that overcomes a relevant barrier, resolved under the game’s rules
What happens when it fills?	The records become accessible
What can players observe as it changes?	A latch releases; a protective seal breaks
What competing pressure affects the decision?	A patrol may enter after signs of intrusion
What would make the clock unnecessary?	The custodian grants access and removes the remaining barriers

The last row gives preparation a stopping condition. If events remove the obstacle, reassess what remains to track. Blades explicitly treats the clock as a reflection of the fiction. In an adaptation, agree how a changed situation affects the tracker instead of asking for empty actions merely to fill the drawing.

For solo RPG play, the worksheet can preserve the stakes between scenes. Record observable facts separately from unanswered questions: a filled segment may establish that the outer latch opened, while an oracle might address who heard it. Treat that as an optional procedure whose fit depends on your solo rules.

Transfer the structure with care

A circle is easy to add to another game. Deciding who advances it, what a failed roll means, and whether characters can resist a consequence requires rules choices. Introducing a clock into a game with fixed combat rounds also raises a timing question: does it advance on turns, rounds, elapsed time, or particular events? Settle that alongside the game’s initiative procedure.

Start with one obstacle and one relevant pressure. State each completion outcome aloud, explain its trigger, and describe a visible change whenever it moves. After the scene, ask whether anyone changed their plan because of the information the clocks supplied. If every attempt stayed identical, revise the obstacle or available choices before adding more trackers.