The Threat can be anything that could destabilize or even destroy the status quo: it could be The Monarch getting close to old age and leaving a civil war in their death, a growing peasant rebellion, a powerful necromancer and their undead army...
The Threat is something that your dragons will have to join forces against if they want to vanquish it, and maybe even something they can't really exactly stop or beat. No matter what, when the Threat finally strikes, it causes an epic battle (of weapons and/or wits) where you will get to use all that draconic power you've been sitting on while playing house with the mortals.
As a group, come together to discuss The Threat. Again, it needs to be a big, epic thing of proportions that might completely be over your dragons' heads. They don't have to be able to win against it, but the Court should probably still be able to exist in some form even if the Threat wins that final epic battle (unless you want it to end the game for sure).
The Threat also comes with omens: themes and prompts that will impact the court. As it arrives, it will become more and more present, and you are invited to feature it more and more in your games. Even if they aren’t fully aware of the Threat itself, the omens should motivate your dragons and the NPCs around them.
Choose a Threat Rating: 6, 8 or 10. This is how many "ticks" the Threat Clock will have, and indicates how long the Threat will take to arrive. Your first Threat should be a 6 to introduce the mechanic. Then, consult the chart that corresponds to your Threat Rating.
First, give an evocative name to your Threat: "Jokard's Rebellion", "The Monarch's Blood War", "Shadow of Malaktor The Terrifying" etc. Then, describe that threat in more details, in a way that can evoke some themes. It could be things like "The dragons must deal with the consequences of their actions as the peasants start to rise" or "The Monarch is becoming too old to rule and civil war brews as baronies are getting ready for their demise".
List a few "Triggers", actions from the dragons that will tick up the clock and make the Threat arrive faster. They generally relate to the Threat's nature, for instance, a rebellion could have the following: "Harming subjects", "Causing food shortages" and "Flaunting wealth".
Finally, fill the Omens with events or prompts that could be referenced by NPCs or in conversation. Generally, the First gong is an event that hints at the Threat appearing, a warning that most of the Court will ignore. The Final gong, on the other hand, is the last nail in the coffin.
The Threat Clock starts at zero: the Threat hasn’t even shown its first signs yet. Then, at the end of any game or whenever a Trigger comes up in conversation (up to once per Trigger per game), the Clock ticks up by one.
When the Threat Clock ticks its last tock, the Threat arrives: the next game is forced to be A Terrible Battle involving all dragons (not currently waiting to play A Dreamt Desolation) and the Narrator. The Threat has stakes equal to its Rating, meaning the dragons must be ready to lose a lot or will have to work together to vanquish it.
| Rating 6 | |
|---|---|
| 0 | --- |
| 1 | First gong: |
| 2 | --- |
| 3 | (Omen) |
| 4 | --- |
| 5 | Final gong: |
| 6 | THE THREAT ARRIVES: |
| Rating 8 | |
|---|---|
| 0 | --- |
| 1 | First gong: |
| 2 | --- |
| 3 | (Omen) |
| 4 | --- |
| 5 | (Omen) |
| 6 | --- |
| 7 | Final gong: |
| 8 | THE THREAT ARRIVES: |
| Rating 10 | |
|---|---|
| 0 | --- |
| 1 | First gong: |
| 2 | --- |
| 3 | (Omen) |
| 4 | --- |
| 5 | (Omen) |
| 6 | --- |
| 7 | (Omen) |
| 8 | --- |
| 9 | Final gong: |
| 10 | THE THREAT ARRIVES: |
The dragons must deal with the consequences of their actions as the peasants start to rise under the banner of a low-born folk hero by the name of Jokard and his party of "adventurers". They come from the west and are slowly sowing unrest among your population, but you might not be aware of it right away.