Some situations cannot be solved by skill or virtue, but only good fortune.
When you encounter such a crisis, decide what it would take to escape it, such as leaving the area successfully.
You may not flip any Character cards to get Hits.
You may flip other types of cards (e.g. Plot Twist cards) or draw/pick a new card (e.g. Condition or Success Oracle) to get Hits.
Some situations are grueling and exhausting, wearing down your reserves faster than you can recover. Sooner or later, something has to give.
When you encounter such a crisis, decide what it would take to survive it, such as escaping an enemy or saving a friend.
No card in front of you (e.g. Character cards) may be flipped more than once to get a Hit.
You may flip group cards (e.g. Plot Twist cards) or draw/pick a new card (e.g. Condition or Success Oracle cards).
Some situations will wreck a character's plans and assumptions, or be so daunting they have no idea how to handle it at first.
When you encounter such a crisis, decide what it would take to survive it, such as defeating an enemy or finding shelter.
Immediately flip all players' Character cards to their back side.
Cards may be flipped back and used in the usual way from then on.
You may deal this card to another player, or into the center area. It represents some benefit that should appear later on. While the benefit might linger in the fiction, the mechanical effect can only happen once.
You may deal this card to another player, or into the center area. It represents some hindrance that should appear later on. When that hindrance comes due, it poses a What If to the player who triggered it.
You can use crisis cards at different moments of the game to change the urgency or tension of a scene.
Introducing a crisis card changes the rules of card draws and flips in special situations. The crisis card is discarded once the scene ends.