Appendix D: Campaign Management
Fate's Edge GM Guide — Appendix D
Campaign Timer Examples
- Mandate Advancement: Public victories, crisis resolution, recognition by powerful factions.
- Crisis Advancement: Rival faction gains influence, asset neglect, betrayal, scandal.
Asset and Follower Condition
Three different things decay in this game, along three different ladders. Keep them apart.
- Assets
- Flourishing → Stable → Strained → Collapsed. Missing upkeep costs one step. A Strained Asset's Free Use is unreliable; a Collapsed one gives nothing until rebuilt.
- Followers
- Faithful → Strained → Broken. This is Loyalty, not condition — a neglected Follower is not damaged, they are reconsidering. A Broken one leaves, or worse, is hired.
- Equipment and Wonders
- Maintained → Neglected → Compromised (SRD 6.7). A Neglected weapon is −1 die; a Compromised one is barely usable, and a Compromised Wonder's enchantment is inert.
See the Followers and Assets chapter for the full rules on the first two.
Faction Loyalty Scale (Optional)
Track faction standing on a simple −3 to +3 scale.
- −3 Enemy
- Actively works against the party.
- 0 Neutral
- Indifferent.
- +3 Ally
- Will sacrifice for the party.
Adjust by ±1 after major interactions (saving or betraying the faction).
Campaign Pacing (Arc Structure)
- Introduction (1–2 sessions): Establish stakes, hook the players.
- Development (2–4 sessions): Complications multiply, alliances form.
- Climax (1–2 sessions): Major confrontation, critical choices.
- Resolution (1 session): Consequences land, new status quo established.