Exact time is a construct of technology (not magic) that allows items to cross time zones.
When time zones were being enacted, many towns were not in sync in time and could even be an hour off.
Therefore time is an approximation. With exploration, you have time is not exact so the DM can bypass the boring/mundane and focus on the keep points.
Combat is a small slice of time where the PCs/monsters speed up so that everything else slows down. In "6 seconds" a PC can attack 4 times and the monster can attack several as well. Making multiple swings occur in fractions of a second.
If tracking the passage of time is important during exploration, use a time scale appropriate for the situation at hand:
Rounds. In combat and other fast-paced situations, the game relies on 6-second rounds.
Minutes. In a dungeon or settlement, movement happens on a scale of minutes. In the Free City of Greyhawk, getting from the Silver Dragon Inn to the wharf takes about 10 minutes, whereas it takes about 1 minute to creep down a 200-foot-long hallway, another minute to check for traps on the door at the end of the hall, and 10 minutes to search the chamber beyond for anything interesting or valuable.
Hours. A scale of hours is often appropriate for short wilderness treks. Adventurers eager to reach the lonely tower 20 miles away, at the heart of the forest, can hurry there in 5 hours' time.
Days. For long journeys, a scale of days works best. Following the road from Veluna City to the Free City of Greyhawk, the adventurers cover 96 miles in 4 uneventful days before a bandit ambush interrupts their journey.
The exploration rules in the Player's Handbook give guidelines for determining travel time based on the characters' pace. In most cases, it's fine to estimate that time rather than calculating it down to the minute. Exceptions include situations like these
If the characters spend time working out a puzzle or talking to an NPC, you can estimate the time spent by keeping track of how much real time passes. Most combat encounters take less than 1 minute (10 rounds), but it's fair to round up to a whole minute in most cases, assuming characters take a few seconds to pull themselves together after a fight.
Use similar principles to track the passage of hours, such as when characters disguise themselves with a Seeming spell for 8 hours to infiltrate a stronghold. In this case, it takes a lot of small tasks—or something like a Short Rest—to occupy a full hour.
Tracking time is not very important. In dungeons, when keeping track of spell duration is important, I abstract it: a 1 minute spell lasts 1 combat (obviously, it ends early if the combat is over a minute), a 1 hour spell lasts two to three combats, depending on how far apart they are, and an 8 hour spell lasts for the entire adventuring day (by the time the party is starting a long rest it will have ended).
Outside of dungeons, I track how long it takes to travel. I don't have enough experience with urban adventures to know how I'd track time in that case.
Can someone explain some examples or how time works for exploration vs combat. Is the dm supposed to keep track of time consistently or what?
No.
During exploration, time is fluid, abstract, and the GM has total say of what happens when, how long it takes, and so on. I mean, actions (like searching a room) have rules, but you can deviate from them as ever you please - and empty cell takes less time to thoroughly search than a cluttered study of the same size.
It might make sense to track time if time is important - if the cave floods in 5 hours, and takes more than that to fully explore, you need to prioritise. That sort of thing. But otherwise, when time is not constrained, don't track it.
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Blanket disclaimer: I only ever state opinion. But I can sound terribly dogmatic - so if you feel I'm trying to tell you what to think, I'm really not, I swear. I'm telling you what I think, that's all.
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Can someone explain some examples or how time works for exploration vs combat. Is the dm supposed to keep track of time consistently or what?
Exact time is a construct of technology (not magic) that allows items to cross time zones.
When time zones were being enacted, many towns were not in sync in time and could even be an hour off.
Therefore time is an approximation. With exploration, you have time is not exact so the DM can bypass the boring/mundane and focus on the keep points.
Combat is a small slice of time where the PCs/monsters speed up so that everything else slows down. In "6 seconds" a PC can attack 4 times and the monster can attack several as well. Making multiple swings occur in fractions of a second.
If tracking the passage of time is important during exploration, use a time scale appropriate for the situation at hand:
Rounds. In combat and other fast-paced situations, the game relies on 6-second rounds.
Minutes. In a dungeon or settlement, movement happens on a scale of minutes. In the Free City of Greyhawk, getting from the Silver Dragon Inn to the wharf takes about 10 minutes, whereas it takes about 1 minute to creep down a 200-foot-long hallway, another minute to check for traps on the door at the end of the hall, and 10 minutes to search the chamber beyond for anything interesting or valuable.
Hours. A scale of hours is often appropriate for short wilderness treks. Adventurers eager to reach the lonely tower 20 miles away, at the heart of the forest, can hurry there in 5 hours' time.
Days. For long journeys, a scale of days works best. Following the road from Veluna City to the Free City of Greyhawk, the adventurers cover 96 miles in 4 uneventful days before a bandit ambush interrupts their journey.
The exploration rules in the Player's Handbook give guidelines for determining travel time based on the characters' pace. In most cases, it's fine to estimate that time rather than calculating it down to the minute. Exceptions include situations like these
If the characters spend time working out a puzzle or talking to an NPC, you can estimate the time spent by keeping track of how much real time passes. Most combat encounters take less than 1 minute (10 rounds), but it's fair to round up to a whole minute in most cases, assuming characters take a few seconds to pull themselves together after a fight.
Use similar principles to track the passage of hours, such as when characters disguise themselves with a Seeming spell for 8 hours to infiltrate a stronghold. In this case, it takes a lot of small tasks—or something like a Short Rest—to occupy a full hour.
Tracking time is not very important. In dungeons, when keeping track of spell duration is important, I abstract it: a 1 minute spell lasts 1 combat (obviously, it ends early if the combat is over a minute), a 1 hour spell lasts two to three combats, depending on how far apart they are, and an 8 hour spell lasts for the entire adventuring day (by the time the party is starting a long rest it will have ended).
Outside of dungeons, I track how long it takes to travel. I don't have enough experience with urban adventures to know how I'd track time in that case.
No.
During exploration, time is fluid, abstract, and the GM has total say of what happens when, how long it takes, and so on. I mean, actions (like searching a room) have rules, but you can deviate from them as ever you please - and empty cell takes less time to thoroughly search than a cluttered study of the same size.
It might make sense to track time if time is important - if the cave floods in 5 hours, and takes more than that to fully explore, you need to prioritise. That sort of thing. But otherwise, when time is not constrained, don't track it.
Blanket disclaimer: I only ever state opinion. But I can sound terribly dogmatic - so if you feel I'm trying to tell you what to think, I'm really not, I swear. I'm telling you what I think, that's all.