Progress toward the truth
An investigation clock can show how close the party is to resolving a question. Define the stakes and advance when a discovery matters.
Visible pressure. Meaningful choices.
Time Pressure
Clock System
Show what is closing in before it arrives. Track an investigation, rival plan, patrol, danger or opportunity with clocks you advance as the story changes.
Story pressure. Deliberate game-master control.Windows access through Desktop Command Centre
Give approaching events a visible shape
Know what is closing in. Keep choices open.
Use clocks to communicate urgency while your table decides what happens.
A rival with a goal
Keep an opposing plan visible in your own preparation. Decide which actions justify an advance and what the rival achieving that goal means.
Patrols and growing danger
Track security pressure, approaching threats or a ritual that needs interrupting. A filled clock is a cue for you to resolve the fiction.
An opportunity that may close
Make the remaining chance clear without forcing an outcome. Explain the pressure and let the party choose how to respond.
Connect the advance to the scene
A patrol moves. A ritual gathers power.
Adventurers weigh a rescue, approaching guards and a charged ritual while a segmented dial symbolises mounting pressure.
This illustration represents a scene changing through play. The app displays written clocks and segment progress; it does not generate the scene or run a real-time countdown.
From a stated risk to a visible countdown
Name. Size. Advance. Resolve.
Open Time Pressure Clock through Desktop Command Centre on Windows.
01 · State the pressure
Name a custom clock, choose its type and add an optional completion note. Use public wording if you intend to show it to players.
02 · Choose the scale
Select 4, 6, 8, 10 or 12 segments. For a ready-made ladder, add a fixed preset with its own name, size and consequences.
03 · Advance through play
Press +1 or +2 when an event warrants it. Use -1 to wind back, or Reset to return visible progress to zero.
04 · Keep the board useful
Pin current priorities and archive clocks you want out of the way. Review all displayed text before using Show the table.
Clocks with a clear purpose
Every step tells you how close the outcome is.
Keep the rules of advancement in your hands.
Five ways to frame pressure
Create an investigation, rival, patrol, threat or opportunity clock. Give it a clear name and a completion note suited to your campaign.
A scale that fits the story
Choose 4, 6, 8, 10 or 12 segments for a custom clock. The reference connects those sizes with simple, standard, complex, epic and campaign challenges.
Ready-made consequence ladders
Start from Alarm raised, Ritual completes, Enemy escapes, Faction advances or Structure fails. Each fixed preset includes a consequence for every segment.
Advance when play gives a reason
Move forward by one or two segments, step back by one, or reset visible progress. Advancing is bounded between zero and the end of the clock.
See where the clock stands
Read passed and next preset consequences and the current step. A custom clock without a ladder uses its type effect when full.
Keep several pressures visible
Pin important clocks to the top, archive them out of the active list and reveal archived clocks when needed. Delete removes a clock from the collection.
A display for the table
Show one clock in a larger local display with its name, description, all preset consequences, segment count and current step. Review the whole display before sharing.
Automatic local save attempts
Changes trigger a save attempt on this PC after a short delay. This is local storage, with no cloud library, import or export controls.
Choose your own stakes or a prepared ladder
A custom clock. A ready-made escalation.
Presets are fixed starting points; the current app has no clock editor.
Custom clocks
Use the five clock types with a chosen segment count and your completion note. Intermediate steps have no authored ladder unless the clock came from a preset.
Alarm raised and Ritual completes
The six-step alarm moves from investigation to lockdown and alert. The eight-step ritual escalates through gathering power to completion.
Enemy escapes and Faction advances
The four-step escape tracks distance, obstruction and a fading trail. The six-step faction ladder follows a plan toward its final move.
Structure fails
Six steps take the scene from cracks and dust through lost routes and failing supports to collapse. Decide how each consequence fits the fiction.
Leave room for the party to act
The gate closes. The ritual can still be interrupted.
A partially filled segmented dial accompanies adventurers watching an approaching patrol and acting against a ritual.
The artwork illustrates choices under pressure. Clock consequences remain written prompts for you to interpret, with no automatic encounter or campaign changes.
Manage pressure as the campaign moves
Advance. Wind back. Pin. Archive.
Keep several clocks without turning every deadline into automatic failure.
One or two steps forward
+1 and +2 advance toward the end; progress is bounded by the segment count. Full clocks show completion and disable forward controls.
A step back or a visible reset
-1 reduces progress by one. Reset returns visible progress to zero, without rebuilding the clock or clearing all saved metadata.
Priorities at the top
Pinning places important clocks before unpinned ones. Keep multiple goals, threats and opportunities on the same board.
History out of the way
Archive hides a clock from the usual list without deleting it. Show archived to bring it back into view, or unarchive it when it matters again.
Clear stakes. Clear sharing boundaries.
You decide what the clock means.
Review each clock before advancing it or showing it to the group.
Manual story progression
The current app has no automatic real-time timer, background progression or notifications. A reference trigger is guidance, not an automated rule.
A fixed preset is a complete ladder
The preset supplies every consequence. There is no clock editor or preset renaming control; create a custom clock when you need your own setup.
The full table display is visible
Show the table includes the name, description and all preset consequences, including future steps. It does not redact GM notes.
No automatic game-state changes
A completion effect does not launch combat, create a new clock, reset a patrol or decide whether a character succeeds. Resolve the outcome yourself.
Choose the generator access you need
One selected tool. A clearer session board.
Current selected-generator prices are charged in US dollars.
One selected generator
US$1.99/month for Time Pressure Clock as an individually selected standalone generator.
Five selected generators
US$8.99/month for a pack of five chosen standalone generators. Choose the tools you need through your account.
Windows product access
A free account does not by itself include paid generator access. Open the product through Desktop Command Centre with the required entitlement.
Related access is separate
Combat PRO and image products have their own required access. A generator subscription does not include every linked product.
Keep approaching events understandable
Less hidden urgency. More informed choices.
Use a small set of clocks with concrete names and consequences.
A local collection
Clocks are stored locally on this PC. Account access controls launch; it does not provide a cloud clock library or cross-device sync.
A short save delay
Changes trigger a save attempt after about 300 milliseconds. Wait before closing after a change; save failures are not shown in the current interface.
No built-in backup or restore
The current app has no import, export or account version-history controls. Delete removes the clock and has no restore control.
A reference beside the board
Read segment-size examples, suggested advancement triggers, completion effects and guidance for running several clocks together.
Pressure within a wider adventure
Build the scene around the approaching outcome.
Related products retain their own purpose, access and execution boundaries.
Desktop Command Centre
Discover and open your supported Windows products through one connected VISINVOKE account.
VISINVOKE Battlemaps
Explore environments for the patrol routes, rescue locations and encounters your clocks track.
Combat PRO
Prepare and run encounters with its separate required access. Clock outcomes can inform your own preparation; no automatic clock handoff starts an encounter.
D&D Image System
Create fantasy character, creature, item and location imagery for your tabletop preparation.
Professional Image System
Create guided commercial visuals for websites, brochures and other creative projects.
CYBERTECH
Explore a separate futuristic RPG world with its own characters, rules and progression.
Product artwork illustrates story pressure, not application screens or actual generated image output.
Know the workflow before you start
Practical questions. Specific answers.
Understand advancement, local saves and what players can see.
What is a clock, and who advances it?
A clock tracks progress toward a stated outcome with filled segments. Create a custom clock with a name, type, size and optional completion note, or add one of five fixed presets. Press +1 or +2 when the fiction gives you a reason, and use -1 to wind it back. The current app advances manually. It has no automatic real-time timer, background progression or notifications, and does not decide whether an action succeeds.
How do custom clocks and ready-made clocks differ?
Custom clocks offer Investigation, Rival, Patrol, Threat and Opportunity types with 4, 6, 8, 10 or 12 segments. They carry your completion note or the type's suggested effect, without a consequence ladder for every intermediate step. The five presets include fixed names, sizes, descriptions and a full ladder: Alarm raised has six segments, Ritual completes eight, Enemy escapes four, Faction advances six and Structure fails six. There is no clock editor or preset renaming control in the current app. Create a new custom clock when you need your own setup.
What happens when a clock fills, winds back or resets?
Progress is bounded from zero to the clock's segment count. A full clock is marked complete and its forward controls are disabled; -1 winds it back and allows forward progress again. Reset returns visible progress to zero. It does not rebuild the clock or clear all saved metadata. Completion descriptions and preset consequences are prompts for the game master: they do not automatically launch combat, change campaign records, reset a patrol or create another clock.
What can players see in Show the table?
The local table display shows the clock's name, its description when present, all preset consequence text including future steps, filled and remaining segments, and the current step. It does not redact GM notes or reveal only the next consequence. Review the entire clock before turning the screen toward players, and use a custom clock with public wording when the preset ladder would reveal a secret. This is an on-screen display, with no remote player-sharing or export control.
Where are clocks saved?
The current app keeps the clock collection locally on this PC, rather than in a signed-in cloud library. Changes trigger a save attempt after about 300 milliseconds. Wait before closing after a change; save failures are not shown in the current interface. There is no built-in backup, import or export control, and no account version history or cross-device sync. Pinning changes list order; archiving hides a clock without deleting it. Delete removes it and has no restore control.
How do I get access, and does it connect to Combat PRO?
Create a VISINVOKE account, choose the required standalone generator access and open Time Pressure Clock through Desktop Command Centre on Windows. Current individual access is US$1.99/month; a pack of five selected generators is US$8.99/month. The current clock app does not send a prepared encounter to Combat PRO and does not start combat. Combat PRO, image products and other linked products retain their own access. Account access controls launch; the clocks themselves use local storage.
Continue in VISINVOKE
One account. Clocks for your next session.
Create a free VISINVOKE account and choose the required standalone generator access.
Get Desktop Command Centre from your account installer page. Sign in on Windows, then open Time Pressure Clock.