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--- hauh_1_the_briefing [2026/09/07 12:01] – [DM Audio-Tutorial: How to Approach the Scene] admin
+++ hauh_1_the_briefing [2026/09/07 12:23] (current) – [6 | DM Notes] admin
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 ==== Shared Mechanic — The Ticking Clock in New Kourou ====
-The **Ticking Clock** represents the danger faced by PCs whose identities are already circulating through Guarding Trooper channels or the bounty wire. This mechanic applies primarily during the later public scenes in New Kourou, including:
+The **Ticking Clock** represents the danger faced by PCs whose identities are already circulating through Guarding Trooper channels or the bounty wire.
-  * [[hauh_2a_courier_station| Courier Station|Scene 2a — Courier Station]]
+Scene 1 establishes this shared mechanic, but does not normally activate it. The Office for Special Operations is a protected preparation location. The location-specific versions of the mechanic appear in the later public scenes of New Kourou:
+  * [[hauh_2a_courier_station|Scene 2a — Courier Station]]
   * [[hauh_2b_mandalas_mounts|Scene 2b — Mandala’s Mounts]]
   * [[hauh_2c_food_market|Scene 2c — Food Market]]
   * [[hauh_2d_buying_mortician_cart|Scene 2d — Buying a Mortician’s Cart]]
-Scene 1 establishes the mechanic but does not normally activate it. The Office for Special Operations is a protected preparation location, not a public Location Trap.
 The Ticking Clock uses three connected concepts:
   * **High Exposure:** The authorities possess credible descriptions, identities or other information connecting the PCs to the events of the previous adventure. High Exposure makes recognition possible, but it does not begin a countdown automatically.
-  * **The Micro Clock:** When High Exposure PCs blow their cover inside a public location, that scene’s Micro Clock begins. Roll 1d4 rounds unless the scene specifies otherwise. During those rounds, the PCs may attempt to prevent an alarm, preserve a false identity, recover money or equipment, hide or escape.
+  * **The Micro Clock:** When PCs with High Exposure blow their cover inside a public location, that scene’s Micro Clock begins. Roll 1d4 rounds unless the location specifies otherwise. During this brief window, the PCs may attempt to prevent an alarm, recover money or equipment, preserve a false identity, hide or escape.
-The Micro Clock is a dramatic countdown rather than a literal measurement of how long Guarding Troopers need to travel from a distant station. A patrol may already be nearby, an observer may activate a silent alarm or existing alerts may already be circulating through the settlement.
+The Micro Clock is a dramatic countdown rather than a literal measurement of patrol travel time. Guarding Troopers may already be nearby, an observer may activate a silent alarm or existing alerts may already be circulating through the settlement.
-  * **The Location Trap:** When the Micro Clock expires, the current location closes around the PCs. Guarding Troopers arrive, exits may be secured and the PCs must hide, deceive the authorities, surrender or force their way out. Each later location describes its own version of this consequence.
+  * **The Location Trap:** **The Location Trap:** When the Micro Clock expires, the current location closes around the PCs. Guarding Troopers arrive, exits may be secured and the PCs must hide, deceive the authorities, surrender or force their way out. Each later New Kourou scene describes its own version of this consequence.
-**A High Exposure PC may blow their cover by:**
+PCs may blow their cover by:
-  * giving a real name to someone who can compare it with a wanted ledger
+  * giving their real names to someone with access to a wanted ledger
   * removing or compromising a recognizable disguise
   * contradicting an established alias or cover story
   * failing a relevant Deception or disguise probe
-  * being recognized by a witness who possesses a credible description
+  * being recognized by a credible witness
-  * committing an identifiable public act that exposes the group
+  * committing a public act that exposes their identities
-The Ticking Clock may also begin on the streets of New Kourou. If the PCs flee into another public location, record that destination as their **+1 Location**. The relevant scene determines when the Location Trap catches up with them. Entering another building does not automatically erase an alert already in progress.
+The Ticking Clock may also begin on the streets of New Kourou. If the PCs flee into another public location, record that destination as their **+1 Location**. The active alert follows them there, and the relevant scene determines when its Location Trap closes. Entering another building does not automatically end an alert already in progress.
-Low Exposure PCs do not use this mechanic unless their actions during play create new official exposure.
+Low Exposure PCs do not begin the adventure under this pressure. However, later public crimes or reliable identification may increase their Exposure Status through play.
 Disguises do not change High Exposure into Low Exposure. They preserve the PCs’ Cover State and delay recognition. Once the cover is blown, use the trigger table provided by the current New Kourou scene.
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   * **Keep Reward and Expenses Separate:** The travel budget is issued immediately. The 1,000-Kourou reward per PC is earned through successful live delivery and paid during the appropriate ending.
   * **Separate Exposure from Cover:** Exposure Status records what the authorities know. Cover represents whether the PCs are currently recognizable. A disguise does not convert High Exposure into Low Exposure.
-  * **Use the Shared Ticking Clock:** Scene 1 establishes the common exposure mechanic used throughout New Kourou. High Exposure makes recognition possible, a blown cover begins the 1d4-round Micro Clock, and the Clock’s expiry triggers the current scene’s Location Trap. Consult the specific location scene for its triggers, countermeasures and arrest sequence.
+  * **Establish the Ticking Clock Here:** Scene 1 introduces High Exposure, the Micro Clock, the Location Trap and the +1 Location rule. Do not use the usual trigger table in this scene. The later New Kourou location scenes determine exactly how cover is blown, which countermeasures are available and what happens when their Micro Clock expires.
   * **The Office Is a Safe Preparation Location:** Do not begin a Micro Clock while the PCs remain inside the OfSO unless their enemies or the authorities have already discovered the building through established play.
   * **Disguises Are Helpful, Not Absolute:** They influence recognition probes and support false identities. They do not defeat real names, biometric checks, close searches or implausible behavior automatically.