TRACKS
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THE BASICS
THE BASICS
A track is a set of boxes that can be marked to measure progress towards an event, accomplishment, or danger. They are used often for everything from conditions to your character's aspects to timers of progress. Each track consists of at least a title and a length.
Track Title
Track Title
A track’s name tells the table what happens when it fills. When a track is completely filled, the title fires: Collapsing Bridge, Roused Mob, Festival of Lights.
Track Length
Track Length
Each track has a length of boxes that can be marked. The length of the track lets you know how many marks it'll take for something to happen.
1-2 boxes: Likely to be filled by a single action roll or event in the world. Not meant to hang around for long.
3-5 boxes: Will need multiple things happening, usually, to end up fully marked.
6+ boxes: Will usually define something for a good amount of time, and take multiple interactions to fill.
What Are Tracks For?
What Are Tracks For?
Anything iterative that either the players or GM need to keep track of. The game mechanics of H&S uses tracks for:
MARKING A TRACK
MARKING A TRACK
Marking a track is as simple as putting a line through one of the boxes. It usually represents the idea that something has happened, and that whatever it was is leading up to a bigger something. The bigger something will usually be prompted by the final box on the track being marked.
Marking a Track
Burning a Track
Burning a Track
Sometimes, the rules call on burning a track, rather than marking it. This is a particularly severe mark and is noted by crossing the box, rather than a single mark.
Clearing a Track
Clearing a Track
Marks are temporary and can be removed in some way: healing, passing of time, character's efforts. To clear a mark on a track, simply erase the line that goes through the rightmost box.
Clearing a mark is usualy more difficult or time consuming than making one. For example, if a character uses an action to mark a track, removing it should take an action plus a resource of some kind.
While clearing a mark should be relatively easy, clearing a burn takes significant effort. This might come in the form of...
A small quest or specific actvitiy aside from the main narrative.
The use of a particularly rare or limited resource.
An achievement that means something to the character.
Burning a Track
A TOOL FOR GMs
A TOOL FOR GMs
Tracks are also a tool for GMs to mark the progress to a change in the narrative. The player's actions and their environment may halt, pause, speed up, or slow down the progress of a track. You might mark a track to keep track of certain elements of the game world, such as:
An advancing plot or storyline.
Events in the wider world.
Progress towards character's goals or impending doom.
Use of a resource.
Open, Secret, or Hidden?
Open, Secret, or Hidden?
An open track can be seen by anyone at the table, and are most often found on character sheets and scribbled down on pieces of paper to track world events that the players have a good amount of knowledge about.
A hidden track can only be seen by one person, usually the GM. These are most often used for things like the health of an NPC or the resilience of a hazard, where the effect the characters are having need to be recorded but you don't want them to know how close they are to a 'win' to avoid spoiling the surprise.
A secret track can usually only be seen by the GM, and the players don't know it exists.
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