The Woods Are Alive

This one's a random table of animals. I made it for personal use, but maybe you'll find a spot for it at your table. 

Want to breathe life into your forests? Talk about the animals. It doesn't have to be much, just a sentence or two. Do it whenever the mood strikes you, or when your players' eyes start to glaze over, or when there's not a random encounter. 

Here's a table of 20 animals, with descriptions of what they're up to. I bolded the animal so you can easily grab it and make up what they're doing on the fly. These are ones found in the coniferous forests where I live, and have seen in the wild (minus number 20). 

1. A pair of squirrels bound through the creaking tree branches in a high-stakes game of tag.
2. A hare bolts across your path, running from something that thought twice about approaching the party.
3. A white-tailed deer picks her head up from grazing and watches the party for a moment before gracefully bounding off, two clumsy fawns in tow.
4. A red fox swiftly digs a hole to bury its leftovers.
5. A remarkable number of bees drone around the party before deciding they don't contain nectar after all.
6. Ravenous mosquitoes descend on the party every time they enter shade.
7. Clouds of gnats hover along the trail, flying into unsuspecting noses, ears, and—gods forbid—mouths.
8. You catch glimpses of a marten in the underbrush as it hunts.
9. A porcupine waddles down the trail, untroubled.
10. You hear the staccato hammering of a woodpecker long before you see it up in a tree.
11. The quiet is shattered by the drumming of a ruffed grouse perched on a nearby log.
12. A cheerful choir of bluebirds flit between branches overhead.
13. A robin preens itself before taking flight.
14. A family of chickadees dart back-and-forth between the ground and a nearby tree.
15. A chipmunk scurries up a tree and begins to furiously chitter at the party.
16. Frogs croak and hop along the edge of a pond.
17. Butterflies lazily drift from bush to bush.
18. A black bear stands on its hind legs to get a better look at the party before meandering off.
19. A gray owl gazes imperiously down as the party passes under its tree.
20. A bobcat makes an impossible-looking jump up into a tree, a rodent dangling in its mouth.  

Tenacious Clocks

This one's about clocks. And to a certain extent, hit points. But mostly clocks.

You know, those things from Apocalypse World. Though nowadays most people probably associate them with Blades in the Dark, as linked above. Some games use countdowns instead—I tend to do this, especially in games that don't feature clocks already. Either way, some sort of progress tracker being a built-in game mechanic has been in vogue for quite some time.

And I love it. Especially when I crack open an OSR/NSR book and see them as a feature. I appreciate that they're not everyone's cup of tea, and it doesn't take much looking to find clock critics. "It's just hit points for consequences," is a common refrain I've come across, especially when it comes to the Harm Clock as seen in Apocalypse World.

The Harm Clock has 6 segments, and once all segments are filled you are taken out of action and possibly die. Which is a lot like having 6 hit points. Except, it's also a wounds/injury system. 

Here's a primer/refresher: Harm before 6pm (the first 2 segments) heals on its own. Harm from 6-9pm (3rd segment) doesn't get worse, but doesn't get better by itself. Harm after 9pm (segments 4-6) gets worse unless stabilized and won't heal without medical attention. It also states that harm should progress rapidly if the character is being active. 

That's some heavy lifting from a little circle with 6 segments. It's a visual representation of dramatic tension that doesn't just hit a payoff when the progress is complete, it happens along the way as well. One might even say that little circle is a...

Tenacious Clock

A tenacious clock is just what I decided to call a clock that has consequences before striking midnight. Most games don't use tenacious clocks, because most clocks don't need to be sticky like that. And yes, you could potentially use linked clocks instead of a single one, but where's the fun in that? 

I'd like to see more of these things in games. Hell, I'd like to make more of them myself. So on that note, here's a tenacious clock that I could easily stick into any dungeon crawler that I run.

Saint Aoife's Hounds

When the Relic of Saint Aoife is removed from her burial chamber, her Hounds awaken and the Hunt begins. This is an 8-segment clock. For every hour the characters remain in the cairn, a segment fills. Once they've left, a segment fills each day spent in the same location. After 4 segments, the Hounds start accosting anyone the characters come into contact with. After 6 segments, only crossing large bodies of water or equivalent magic or enchantment can get the Hounds off their trail. When the clock fills, the Hounds have found their Prey. May Saint Aoife have mercy on your souls, because they certainly won't.

Wait, I have an idea for another one. This one could fit into Blades in the Dark, or any game where a player character is a charlatan. I like this one because it involves two linked clocks, but they don't start at the end of the first.

The Scam 

Selling snake oil is a medium-length con, this is a 6-segment clock. Every time you run this con (make a significant sale, run advertising, etc), mark a segment. After 3 segments, the victims' loved ones take notice—make a new clock called "Vengeance." After 5 segments, the authorities have taken notice—make a new clock called "Wanted for Questioning." When the clock fills, the public has caught on to your scam and will no longer buy your elixir. 

Well that was fun! I think I've been ignoring how much drama a clock can hold. I'm excited to not make that mistake going forward. If you use clocks and either have or end up making some tenacious ones, I encourage you to share them with me either in the comments or on Bluesky.