The thread on Dirty Dungeons reminded me of a hack that I used to use, back in the days when I ran 3e.

The thread on Dirty Dungeons reminded me of a hack that I used to use, back in the days when I ran 3e. 

Time pressure is a key element of dramatic tension. Make a stack of ten to twenty poker chips and keep them by your side. This is the timer that the players are fighting against. Whenever a significant amount of time passes, or things slow down due to a long battle, argument, or delay, take one of the chips away. Each chip represents an arbitrary unit of time, not a certain amount of minutes. When all of the chips are gone, something really bad happens. Perhaps the villain escapes, or enemy reinforcements show up.

The timer creates a very visual reminder that the characters do not have an infinite amount of time to achieve their goal. It can be a useful tool to add tension or to prod things along if the action slows down. Losing a tick of the timer is also an excellent consequence for a failed roll. (This is making a move offstage, but in a more meta-game manner)