So I got into a discussion with someone on the Forge about creating a system that could emulate the flow of the time on a show similar to 24. Here is what came to me. And I have to say that this just sound awesome to me. I think I found my next project.

Here is an idea. Players will roll a die based up on the difficult of a task, lower the die the more difficult the task is, higher means it is easier. Record the number in grid box on a campaign tracking sheet. When you have two numbers that are the same next to each other this creates another complication. Any time a complication is created you circle it and make a note about what is happening, and in what episode. You gain advancement based upon the number of complications you resolve in a given episode. You only have so many boxes per episode, until you need to make it to the cliffhanger box to the side. Advancement could be spent on the ability to roll an extra die of a specific size on a challenge, or possibly a re-roll under certain situations.

The grid would look something like so:


XXXXXXXX      XXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXX      XXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXX      XXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXX      XXXXXXXX

Each grid section is an entire episode. This shows the finite amount actions you can make in a show and the cliffhanger you must connect with in the middle.
There should probably be some sort of minor penalty for not completing a complication from a previous episode.

Like maybe complications that did not get resolved can no longer award XP.

Or even they can still award XP but will automatically fill certain boxes in the next episode. Maybe they fill the boxes in the middle fist so that players have to “Work around” the complication.