So, I'm a new DM and I've seen threads about how to track time but the ways in those threads wouldn't work for me. I'm running the Keys From the Golden Vault book, and the first adventure, The Murkmire Malevolence, says that the heist begins at 8 PM, and if its not completed by midnight, it will hatch. So my question is, how do I track time in this case, hour by hour.
The easiest option is to convert it into phases, rather than hours. 8-12 is 4 hours, so the important thing is that there is no time for a Long Rest, and a Short Rest is a major time commitment.
By default, the players are on track to succeed. From there, their actions will translate into either boosts or delays.
Taking a Short Rest would be a Major Delay (+2). [Regenerate resources] Taking a less direct path to circumvent an encounter would be a minor delay (+1). [Conserve Resources] Beating an encounter quickly would be a Minor Boost (-1). [Expend Resources] Bypassing a challenge entirely would be a Major Boost (-2). [Deplete Significant Resources]
The players will progress through 4 Adventure Phases and you will keep track of their running total. You can then set the difficulty by determining what number they need to beat.
Story Time is always hazy, and it's better to not try to map it 1-to-1 with player actions. Spells with 1hr+ durations simply last for the appropriate number of phases.
Six 6-sided dice, each die covers 10 minutes, 6 dice is an hour. Each time the characters do a long activity, put another d6 in the bowl and announce "10 minutes gone, count 10 minutes off all effect durations." Six dice in the bowl, taken them out and use them to roll for an encounter. Do this four times and there is your time from 8pm to midnight.
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So, I'm a new DM and I've seen threads about how to track time but the ways in those threads wouldn't work for me. I'm running the Keys From the Golden Vault book, and the first adventure, The Murkmire Malevolence, says that the heist begins at 8 PM, and if its not completed by midnight, it will hatch. So my question is, how do I track time in this case, hour by hour.
The easiest option is to convert it into phases, rather than hours. 8-12 is 4 hours, so the important thing is that there is no time for a Long Rest, and a Short Rest is a major time commitment.
By default, the players are on track to succeed. From there, their actions will translate into either boosts or delays.
Taking a Short Rest would be a Major Delay (+2). [Regenerate resources]
Taking a less direct path to circumvent an encounter would be a minor delay (+1). [Conserve Resources]
Beating an encounter quickly would be a Minor Boost (-1). [Expend Resources]
Bypassing a challenge entirely would be a Major Boost (-2). [Deplete Significant Resources]
The players will progress through 4 Adventure Phases and you will keep track of their running total. You can then set the difficulty by determining what number they need to beat.
Story Time is always hazy, and it's better to not try to map it 1-to-1 with player actions. Spells with 1hr+ durations simply last for the appropriate number of phases.
Might I introduce you to Angry GM. :-)
His Tension Pool is a way to measure time.
Six 6-sided dice, each die covers 10 minutes, 6 dice is an hour. Each time the characters do a long activity, put another d6 in the bowl and announce "10 minutes gone, count 10 minutes off all effect durations." Six dice in the bowl, taken them out and use them to roll for an encounter. Do this four times and there is your time from 8pm to midnight.