One of my weaknesses as a DM is keeping track of time passed in-game. It's not unusual for my players to ask me what time of day it is after an encounter or other event, and I have no clue! I have to think back to what they've done and sort out how much time that would have taken. What methods do other folks use to track time? Is there a simple system I might be able to get one of my players to use to track time so I don't have to?
Anyone have the old AD&D time tracker column handy? I generally start the adventuring day at 8AM and just wing it. Most of time the hour does not matter. AD&D use to do about a minute per 10 foot square to explore and map and the DM just count the squares and marked down a hash mark for each turn.
I hand wave it, in my notes when sketching out locations I will put in a rough estimate of time to travel, then I will adjust that depending on how smoothly the journey goes in game.
But I also ask my players sometimes to clarify what’s happened since they last asked me :).
Where it can get fun is with a character who has the feat where they always know the exact time :). But generally I just guesstimate the hour of the day (somehow it’s always to the nearest half hour lol)
The really tricky but is when they gain the ability to teleport and you have to take time zones into consideration :)
I have a half a page in my notebook, labeled “days elapsed,” and after each long rest they take, I add a tally mark. I also noted down the in-game day and month that the PCs met each other (meaning what in-game date I started the campaign at), so I always have an idea of how much time has passed for the characters.
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I live with several severe autoimmune conditions. If I don’t get back to you right away, it’s probably because I’m not feeling well.
if you ever get really confused just get your players into the Feywild. Time doesn't matter anymore. It's all an illusion. Your loved ones have been dead for years. The BBEG won. Now its a revolution/apocalyptic game.
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One of my weaknesses as a DM is keeping track of time passed in-game. It's not unusual for my players to ask me what time of day it is after an encounter or other event, and I have no clue! I have to think back to what they've done and sort out how much time that would have taken. What methods do other folks use to track time? Is there a simple system I might be able to get one of my players to use to track time so I don't have to?
Trying to Decide if DDB is for you? A few helpful threads: A Buyer's Guide to DDB; What I/We Bought and Why; How some DMs use DDB; A Newer Thread on Using DDB to Play
Helpful threads on other topics: Homebrew FAQ by IamSposta; Accessing Content by ConalTheGreat;
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Anyone have the old AD&D time tracker column handy? I generally start the adventuring day at 8AM and just wing it. Most of time the hour does not matter. AD&D use to do about a minute per 10 foot square to explore and map and the DM just count the squares and marked down a hash mark for each turn.
No Gaming is Better than Bad Gaming.
I hand wave it, in my notes when sketching out locations I will put in a rough estimate of time to travel, then I will adjust that depending on how smoothly the journey goes in game.
But I also ask my players sometimes to clarify what’s happened since they last asked me :).
Where it can get fun is with a character who has the feat where they always know the exact time :). But generally I just guesstimate the hour of the day (somehow it’s always to the nearest half hour lol)
The really tricky but is when they gain the ability to teleport and you have to take time zones into consideration :)
I have a half a page in my notebook, labeled “days elapsed,” and after each long rest they take, I add a tally mark. I also noted down the in-game day and month that the PCs met each other (meaning what in-game date I started the campaign at), so I always have an idea of how much time has passed for the characters.
I live with several severe autoimmune conditions. If I don’t get back to you right away, it’s probably because I’m not feeling well.
I use Foundry VTT. There is an app in there called "about time" that is my buddy. I love it.
WOTC lies. We know that WOTC lies. WOTC knows that we know that WOTC lies. We know that WOTC knows that we know that WOTC lies. And still they lie.
Because of the above (a paraphrase from Orwell) I no longer post to the forums -- PM me if you need help or anything.
if you ever get really confused just get your players into the Feywild. Time doesn't matter anymore. It's all an illusion. Your loved ones have been dead for years. The BBEG won. Now its a revolution/apocalyptic game.