Stage Timing

Session Length: 3–4 Hours

Stage	Duration	Session %
Stage 1: The Test	20–30 min	~15%
Stage 2: The Contemplation	30–45 min	~25%
Stage 3: The Twist	10–20 min	~10%
Stage 4: The Climax	45–60 min	~35%
Stage 5: The Resolution	20–30 min	~15%

Adjusting for Table Preference

Combat-focused group: Reduce Stage 2 to 20 minutes. Expand Stages 1 and 4 with additional combat beats. Keep Stage 3 brief, deliver the revelation during an action scene.

Roleplay-heavy group: Expand Stage 2 to 45 minutes or more. Add NPC depth to Stage 1 before or instead of combat. Make Stage 3 a moral confrontation rather than a reveal. Stage 4 may resolve through negotiation rather than combat.

Puzzle-focused group: Build a complex puzzle into Stage 1 or 2. Include an environmental puzzle element in Stage 4 alongside or instead of combat. Layer investigative elements throughout.

Common Pitfalls and Solutions

Pitfall: Stage 2 Drags

Problem: Players stuck on a puzzle or not engaging with a social encounter.

Solutions: - Have an NPC provide a hint after a failed roll, AX.C.15.02's success with cost principle applies here - Allow multiple approaches: brute force, circumvention, negotiation - Introduce time pressure: sound of approaching footsteps, a visible countdown - Accept success with cost: "You solve it, but it takes an hour, the enemy is now alerted"

Pitfall: Twist Doesn't Land

Problem: Players guess the twist early or don't find it consequential.

Solutions: - If guessed early: Confirm it and move forward, the players feel appropriately clever - If don't care: Ensure the twist impacts something they are already invested in, an NPC they know, a resource they hold - Prevention: Make the twist affect Stage 4's conditions, not just its fiction

Pitfall: Stage 4 Too Easy or Too Hard

Problem: Encounter balance is off.

Solutions: - Too easy: Reinforcements arrive, the enemy reveals a capability, add an environmental complication - Too hard: Enemy starts wounded or loses a minion early, an ally arrives, the environment provides unexpected cover - Prevention: Prepare one easier and one harder version of the encounter before the session

Pitfall: Stage 5 Feels Flat

Problem: Players disengage after the climax.

Solutions: - Make the hook personal, connect the secondary plot to a PC's history or relationships - Introduce an immediate minor complication that requires a decision before the scene closes - Include a reward element that raises a question players want answered - Give a recurring NPC a moment of genuine reaction to the outcome

Pitfall: Stages Feel Disconnected

Problem: Each stage seems like a separate encounter with no through-line.

Solutions: - Thread at least one recurring actor through all five stages - Use a consistent visual or sensory motif to signal continuity - Ensure the information gathered in Stage 2 directly changes something about Stage 4 - Make Stage 3's twist recontextualize what happened in Stage 1