To build on what Tristan has said, I think of faction clocks as 'what will happen if the players do nothing.' So let's consider a rival gang - without the players in the world, they are likely to: Take over more territory (which could be the players' territory) Bribe the police so they are protected Start a city-wide gang war Each one of these could be a small clock by itself, say four segments. Unless the players do anything to stop this, then at the end of every session I fill in one of these clock segments. I also fill in a segment if the players do something that could allow the rival gang to get closer to their goal. The individual segments are not broken down with specific actions or events, it's the total of the segments that leads to the event that the clock is tracking. Sometimes the clocks are shown to the players for them to see how the world is developing, sometimes they are hidden - I like to have most clocks on display (one index card per faction, with a single active clock) and a smaller number of them hidden for fun. Actually, I have the hidden ones on display as well but I write just the initials on the clock's target on the index card, e.g., TOMO for 'Take over more territory' - that way the players know something is coming, they don't know what, but everything is in plain sight when the clock completes.

@Arun Gupta The clock segments should advance in relation to the overall clock's stated endpoint. For example, consider a clock of 'take over territory' - each segment needs to represent a significant event or passage of time as the overall goal is large. This could be the end of a session or the players failing at a significant goal. But if there's a clock of 'the guards are alerted' as the team is sneaking through a house, then tick off the segments when the players fail sneak rolls.

I've been debating the whole combat thing recently & have decided that for the games I run, combat needs to always have one of these: 1. Something significantly changes every round (e.g., reinforcements have arrived) 2. There is another goal advancing while the team is delayed with combat (e.g., that ritual is about to complete if the team doesn't get to the evil wizard in time) 3. There is something environmental that is advancing (e.g., the ship they are on is getting closer to being dashed against the rocks) 4. Combat lasts only three rounds & the situation escalates between each round - not my idea, got it from a blog somewhere, I personally love this as the players are told in advance I realise combat is a main feature of D&D (which I don't play) but I find combat a drudge & it often collapses into a dull dice-off with an almost guaranteed outcome (the players win). Make it snappy and fantastical, then get back to the hilarious scheming that our group does so well.

What system are you running this in?

Love that original TMNT, was leafing through it recently, proper old school!

@James Goodnight Oh yeah, typical Palladium stuff with the layout & quite dense rules. I was thinking about running it but realised I would have to strip the rules back a bit as my group prefers light on the crunch.

Ooh, haven't played Shadowrun in years, that's a good reminder to dig it out, thanks.