This post contains multiple spoilers for APs and modules. If you don't want to risk reading spoilers, don't read further.
The issue of "clocks" on adventures came up recently on another thread, and sparked a lively but scattershot debate. I'd like to focus that a little: how common are clocks, and how strong?
Let's give some definitions. A clock is something that pushes or pulls a group of PCs to complete an adventure within a certain period of time. We can divide clocks into two broad categories: motivational and mechanical. A motivational clock is one that doesn't hurt the PCs directly, but should cause them to want to complete the adventure quickly anyway: the princess is being tortured by the orcs, the evil sorceror is going to kill everyone in the village at midnight. A mechanical clock is one that makes the adventure harder for the PCs if they don't hurry: the ogres are going to get reinforcements, the Lava Temple is getting ever hotter as it gets ready to erupt. There's some overlap between these two categories, but let's try them out for now.
We can also divide clocks by intensity. If there's No Clock, then it just doesn't matter when the PCs complete the adventure. At the opposite end, if there's a Strong Clock, then it matters a lot. In between we can put Weak and Moderate clocks.
So how do various adventures stack up?
No Clock: The Hungry Storm (Jade Regent Part 3) quite specifically says it has no clock. The PCs are leading a trans-continental caravan, and the adventure text clearly states that it doesn't matter how long they take -- whether they get there in three months or three years, what's waiting for them at the end won't change.
Souls for Smuggler's Shiv (Serpent's Skull Part 1) has no clock. You're stuck on that island until you get off.
The classic no-clock adventure is of course the Tomb of Horrors. It's all undead and traps; you can go out and come back pretty much at will, taking as much time as you like. (It won't help.)
Weak Clock Burnt Offerings (RotRL Part 1) has weak motivational and mechanical clocks, at least for the Thistletop part of the adventure. In terms of motivation, once the PCs read Tsuto's journal they should have an idea that Nualia is up to something bad, and that they should stop her. In mechanical terms, if the PCs attack Thistletop and then retreat, the goblins will have time to make preparations against their next attack. But both of these are weak clocks; the menace of Nualia is vague (and nothing ever actually comes of it) and the goblins have limited resources.
Skeletons of Scarwall (CotCT Part 5) would seem at first to have no clock. Almost all the monsters are undead or constructs, and the ones that aren't are mostly rooted to a particular location. You can attack, retreat, go away for a month and come back again, and the dungeon won't get any harder. However, arguably Scarwall has a weak motivational clock, because you're trying to end the Queen's tyranny and stop the damage she's doing to Korvosa; with every day that passes, things get worse and more people die. (Of course, if you accept this, then every module in CotCT after the first one is on the same clock.) I'd call this a borderline case, but I include it here for discussion purposes.
Moderate Clock The Haunting of Harrowstone (Carrion Crown Part 1) has a moderate motivational clock. If you don't clear out the dungeon before the Splatter Man completes his spelling exercise, terrible things will happen to the village. (Arguably there's a second, mechanical clock with the trust point mechanism.) I call this a moderate clock, because it takes so darn long for TSM to finish. Most parties seem to complete this with time to spare.
Trial of the Beast (Carrion Crown Part 2) has a moderate motivational clock: you're trying to get the Beast acquitted, and you have limited time to do so. (It's moderate, not strong, because it doesn't actually matter whether you rescue the Beast.)
Strong Clock The Infernal Syndrome (Council of Thieves Part 3) has a strong clock. If you don't reach the pit fiend in time, he'll blow. The final dungeon crawl in Seven Days to the Grave (CotCT Part 2) has a strong motivational clock: with every hour that passes, more people die of the plague. The attack on Sandpoint at the beginning of Fortress of the Stone Giants (RotRL Part 4) has a strong clock; if you don't move fast and defeat the attackers, Sandpoint will be devastated. That's mostly motivational, but letting the town be destroyed will have some bad repurcussions for the PCs, so there's a mechanical aspect as well.
A non-AP Paizo module that's literally on a clock is Hangman's Noose by Nick Logue. The Hangman is picking you off, starting with the NPCs; if you don't solve his murder by midnight, you'll all die.
Two noteworthy 3PP adventures with strong clocks are The Breaking of Forstor Nagar and Knot of Thorns, Part 1 of the Way of the Wicked adventure path. Forstor Nagar involves an escape from a city that's being sacked by a barbarian horde, while the first part of KoT involves a jailbreak -- you pretty much have to get out in a single attempt, or you'll be caught and put under much stronger guard.
Okay, well. Other adventures? I have the impression that "weak clock" is the most common, but that's just an impression. What do you guys think?
Doug M.
