*A ruleset for helping the Dungeon Master organically handle the passage of time in long-running campaigns, tying into [[Hex Travel (Jason's Version)|Hex Travel]], [[Downtime (Jason's Version) OLD|Downtime]] and [[Bastions|Bastion]] rules on a weekly cadence. These rules are meant to prompt the Dungeon Master's imagination to move time forward in a living breathing world, **not** to drive a realistic or complex simulation of that world.* # Threads of Fate The Dungeon Master must prepare and maintain a secret list of **Threads of Fate**, simply put, plot hooks or significant events within the timeframe of the campaign. Each thread should correspond to a single potential adventure. For the purposes of this feature a thread consists of 3 components: **Status**, **Deadline**, and **Description**. **Status**. The severity of the thread. Choose from Great, Good, Neutral, Stable, Bad, Dire. The status modifies checks related to that thread, altering the odds the situation will improve or worsen over time. **Deadline**. A specific date or window of time after which the thread can no longer be acted on. After a thread expires, it may simply disappear or may experience a negative **[[#Twist of Fate]]** at the Dungeon Master's discretion. Deadlines may or may not be known to the players or may be only vaguely known. **Description**. A single paragraph describing the in-world premise of the thread. # Fate Check For every in-game week (On the 1st, 11th, and 21st of each month) that passes , the Dungeon Master must select in secret a number of Threads of Fate equal to the Party's Proficiency Bonus and roll a **Fate Check** for each thread to determine how that thread twists and turns in the absence of the story's heroes. **Fate Check.** Roll **2d10**. The check is made with the following modifications depending on a thread's **Status**: | Status | Modification | | ----------- | -------------------------------------------------- | | **Great** | Advantage (2d10 at Advantage) | | **Good** | Partial Advantage (1d10 + 1d10 at Advantage) | | **Neutral** | Straight (2d10) | | **Bad** | Partial Disadvantage (1d10 + 1d10 at Disadvantage) | | **Dire** | Disadvantage (2d10 at Disadvantage) | The results of the check are determined as follows: | Roll | Results | Odds (Straight Roll) | | ----- | --------- | -------------------- | | 2-9 | Failure | 36% | | 10-12 | No Change | 28% | | 13-20 | Success | 36% | The Dungeon Master maintains an account of the number of successes and failures a thread has. # Twists of Fate When a Thread of Fate expires, gains 3 Failures or gains 3 Successes, it undergoes a **Twist of Fate**, representing negative or positive developments related to that thread that have occurred in the time that has passed. The Dungeon Master must reconsider the **Status**, **Deadline**, and **Description**, devising the new events occurring in that thread based on the nature of the Twist of Fate. The goal of this system is to morph plot hooks over time to create a living world, not necessarily to punish players, though inaction is a choice. A twisted threat may or may not result in a more challenging adventure, and may just represent a change in circumstances, at the DM's discretion. Whenever a Thread of Fate occurs, reset the Failures and Successes for that thread to 0. # Word Spreads Word eventually, maybe, reaches the heroes of the events of the world, perhaps enticing them to act. How quickly, or even if the player characters hear of events elsewhere, is left to the discretion of the Dungeon Master. # Example of Play To begin, the DM has prepared several **Threads of Fate**, potential adventures the party could pursue. Through normal play, these adventure hooks are given to the players. ## Thread: Battle of Owlton - **Status**: Dire - **Deadline**: 4 weeks - **Description**: The neighboring town of Owlton will soon be under attack by an approaching Undead Army, and will fall without aid. Owlton is 3 weeks of travel away. ## **Thread: Execution of Barba - **Status**: Bad - **Deadline**: 9 weeks - **Description**: An ally of the party, Barba, has been captured in Grotton by the Evil King and is set to eventually be made an example of and executed. Barba will surely die without the party's direct intervention. The party knows that most executions happen within a few months. ## Thread: Return to the Fey - **Status**: Neutral - **Deadline**: 6 weeks (Summer Solstice) - **Description:** Blobin, the local shopkeeper is seeking help traveling to a portal to the Feywilds. It is open one day a year, on the Summer Solstice. ## Week 1 The party choses to aid Owlton, as it is the most immediate threat, and also on the way to help Barba in Grotton. The party is Level 4, so the DM rolls 2 checks for threads of their choice: 1. **Battle of Owlton**: DM rolls at disadvantage, rolling a 6. 1 Failure. 2. **Execution of Barba**: DM rolls at Partial Disadvantage, rolling a 9. 1 Failure. ## Week 2 The party continues traveling to Owlton. The DM rolls: 1. **Battle of Owlton**: DM rolls at disadvantage, rolling a 10. No change. (1 Failure) 2. **Return to the Fey**: DM rolls straight, rolling an 11. No change. ## Week 3 The party continues traveling to Owlton and arrives at the end of the week. The DM rolls: 1. **Battle of Owlton**: DM rolls at disadvantage, rolling a 15. 1 Success, 1 Failure. 2. **Execution of Barba**: DM rolls at Partial Disadvantage, rolling an 11. No Change. (1 Failure) ## Week 4 The Undead Army arrives at Owlton, and the party battles the army over the course of the week, eventually proving victorious. The **Battle of Owlton** thread ends, having never been affected by a twist of fate. The DM creates a new thread for the reconstruction of Owlton, curious to see how it unfolds over time..The party also learns of the Tomb of Zun'zel, and the DM creates a thread to track that plot line as well: ## Thread: Reconstruction of Owlton - **Status**: Good - **Deadline**: 1 Year - **Description**: Owlton is under reconstruction, and everything goes uneventfully for the time being. ## Thread: Tomb of Zun'zel - **Status**: Neutral - **Deadline**: None - **Description**: The party hears rumor of the **Tomb of Zun'zel**, an ancient tomb. The tomb has been untouched for centuries, and is currently known only to a few. The DM rolls: 1. **Execution of Barba**: DM rolls at Partial Disadvantage, rolling a 9. 2 Failures. 2. **Return to the Fey**: DM rolls straight, rolling a 12. No Change. ## Week 5 The party takes an [[Extended Rest]], recovering from their [[Lingering Injury|Lingering Injuries]]. The DM rolls: 1. **Execution of Barba**: DM rolls at Partial Disadvantage, rolling a 9. 3 Failures! The DM thinks about how to twist this thread in an interesting, negative way. He decides that the Evil King has somehow learned of the party's plan, and has laid a trap, and modifies the thread accordingly: ## **Thread: Trapped Execution of Barba - **Status**: Dire - **Deadline**: 4 weeks - **Description**: An ally of the party, Barba, has been captured in Grotton by the Evil King and is set to eventually be made an example of and executed. Barba will surely die without the party's direct intervention. The party knows that most executions happen within a few weeks. The Evil King has learned of the party's plan to save Barba, and has laid a trap too good for the party to pass up. 2. **Reconstruction of Owlton**: DM rolls at Partial Advantage, rolling a 7. 1 Failure. ## Week 6 The party undergoes [[Downtime#Level Up|Training to Gain Levels]]. The deadlines for **Return to the Fey** expires. The dungeon master considers what Blobin will do now, and devises a new thread: ### Thread: Search for a Return to the Fey - **Status**: Bad - **Deadline**: 18 Weeks - **Description**: Having missed his chance to return home, Blobin closes up shop and leaves town searching for some way to return home in the Ancient Forest. In 6 months, his Fey magic will run out and he will be stuck in the Material Plane forever... The DM rolls: 1. **Trapped Execution of Barba**: DM rolls at Disadvantage, rolling an 11. No Change. 2. **Tomb of Zun'zel**: DM rolls straight, rolling an 18, 1 Success. ## Week 7 The party undergoes training, leveling up to Level 5. They depart for Grotton to aid Barba, unaware of the trap that now waits for them. Because their Proficiency Bonus is now 3, the DM rolls 3 checks: - **Trapped Execution of Barba**: DM rolls at Disadvantage, rolling a 2. 1 Failure. - **Search for a Return to the Fey**: DM rolls at Partial Disadvantage, rolling a 15. 1 Success. - **Reconstruction of Owlton**: DM rolls at Partial Advantage, rolling a 17. 1 Success. ## Conclusion At this point, none of the original story threads are in play, all have been resolved or have twisted in some new way due to expiration or repeated checks, and some new ones have even been introduced. In this time, the party has gone through hex travel, downtime, and has spent time in a traditional adventure and the world continued to move as time passed.