Time & Scenes
Many Features say things like “once per scene” or “until the end of the scene.” This page explains what those units of time mean, so every table uses the same clocks.
The Time Ladder
From shortest to longest:
| Unit | What it is | Common use |
|---|---|---|
| Turn | One creature’s go | Spending dice, moving, acting |
| Round | Everyone has had a turn | “Once per round” Reactions |
| Scene | One continuous dramatic stretch | “Once per scene” Features, most durations |
| Rest | A Quick or Full Rest | Strenuous Features, recovery |
| Session | One real-world play meeting | Social and reputation Features |
| Adventure | One full quest or chapter | Big, story-changing powers |
Turn & Round
A turn is one creature’s go: on your turn you spend dice from your pool to move, act, and use Features (see The Action Economy).
A round is complete when everyone in Initiative has had a turn. Rounds matter mostly in Combat and other tense, step-by-step moments.
Scene
A scene is one continuous dramatic stretch of play: a fight, a chase, a negotiation, an infiltration, a travel hazard, a tense bit of exploration, and so on. A scene starts when that situation’s tension begins and ends when the tension breaks or the party moves on to something else.
- A combat is usually one scene.
- A long, quiet journey may be several short scenes or one travel scene—the GM calls it.
- When it’s unclear, the GM decides when a scene ends. A good test: “Has the situation changed enough that we’d describe it as something new?”
If an effect doesn’t say how long it lasts, it lasts until the end of the scene (see Conditions).
Encounter
An encounter is a scene (or the confrontational heart of one) built around opposition—usually combat, sometimes a chase, an ambush, or a hostile standoff.
Every encounter is a scene; not every scene is an encounter. A peaceful audience with a queen, crafting at camp, or mapping a safe ruin can all be scenes without being encounters.
Rules prefer scene for Feature limits and durations. Encounter is used only when hostility or confrontation matters.
Rests
Rests are covered fully on the Resting page. In short:
- Quick Rest — 10–15 minutes to catch your breath. You can take one Quick Rest per scene (or after combat), if no immediate threat follows.
- Full Rest — several hours, usually overnight, in relative safety.
- Milestone Rest — a longer break at a major story point, for deeper recovery and growth.
Other Units
- Downtime — unstructured, safe time for crafting, study, and preparation, often during or after a Full Rest.
- Day — one in-world day, from one Full Rest to the next. A few Features use “once per day.”
- Session — one real-world play meeting. Used by some social and reputation Features, and for Domain Tier session minimums.
- Adventure — one full quest or chapter of the story, as set by the GM. Used for big, once-per-adventure Domain powers.
Why Do Features Refresh on Different Clocks?
Features refresh on different clocks because they are limited by different things.
Rest-gated Features are strenuous. They cost breath, focus, or body—you’ve pushed hard, and the Feature won’t come back until you actually recover. A Quick Rest (catching your breath for 10–15 minutes) is enough for lighter recoveries: shaking off Stress, binding a wound, or resetting a Feature that just needs a short break. A Full Rest (hours of real sleep or downtime in safety) is what restores deeper reserves—the kind of power you couldn’t responsibly use again without a night’s recovery. Rest gates exist so signature moves that tire you out stay special, and so the table has a clear moment when “I’m spent” becomes “I’m ready.”
Scene-gated Features are about opportunity, not stamina. They represent one special read of this situation: one perfect flourish, one clever trick, one now-or-never opening. You aren’t tired after using it—you’ve simply already spotted and used the opening this moment offered. When the situation ends, that opportunity is spent. A new scene brings new people, new ground, and new openings, so the Feature is available again.
Think of a joke: you can’t tell the same punchline twice to the same crowd, but a new crowd is a new chance. Rest is the opposite metaphor: you are tired, and only stopping restores you.
The full limit ladder, as used on cards (see the Card Template):
once per round → once per scene → once per rest → once per session → once per adventure
Designer note: The scene is the middle clock between the round and the rest. Keeping one clear unit is simpler than scattering limits across “10 minutes,” “per encounter,” and “until your next rest.”