Time Keeping In-Game
James McMurray
First Post
I keep a calendar, but anything finer than that outside of combat is guesstimated.
Thornir Alekeg
Albatross!
I tried to keep a calendar. I had one programmed into the Weathermaster program I had for my world, but would often forget to advance it.
I find it hard to keep track of time when dungeon crawling and you don't have a normal day/night cycle, especially when the party stops to rest frequently.
I find it hard to keep track of time when dungeon crawling and you don't have a normal day/night cycle, especially when the party stops to rest frequently.
Woas
First Post
There used to be a cool site on the web... I can't find it, maybe it went away. It used to be near top of the first page if you just googled fantasy calendar or something but now I don't see it.
Anyway, it was a neat website that had a script program on it. You could enter in all sorts of parameters like how long the year was, how many months, how many days, names of the months, name of the days, number of moons, how many seasons... and then it would plot the whole thing for you and even tell you the moon phase(s) over the course of the year, when the seasons changed. And it would even through in some cute random events like a comet would be visible this day... meteor shower is visible this week... aura borialis type event this day.
I used that a lot and wish I could find it again.
But now, I basically run time off of the major phases of the day... sort of historical. It's mostly hand-waved from day to day stuff. If the NPC contact tells you to me her at Joe's Pub at mid-day, it is assumed you just do.
Anyway, it was a neat website that had a script program on it. You could enter in all sorts of parameters like how long the year was, how many months, how many days, names of the months, name of the days, number of moons, how many seasons... and then it would plot the whole thing for you and even tell you the moon phase(s) over the course of the year, when the seasons changed. And it would even through in some cute random events like a comet would be visible this day... meteor shower is visible this week... aura borialis type event this day.
I used that a lot and wish I could find it again.
But now, I basically run time off of the major phases of the day... sort of historical. It's mostly hand-waved from day to day stuff. If the NPC contact tells you to me her at Joe's Pub at mid-day, it is assumed you just do.
Tauric
First Post
In one particular kingdom, there are ancient magic churchbells. When one is struck they all ring. The largest bell is in the cathedral in the capital city, and the clerics there have been charged with ringing the bell every hour (as reckoned by hourglass). Every city in the kingdom with one of these churchbells is therefore on the same time as the capital.
For another culture (I don't know which yet) I am stealing an idea I got off these boards, though now I don't know who's it originally was. Anyway, they will use scented candles, with each unit being a certain smell.
Other than that, it's pretty much hourglasses and sundials.
Oh, and I have a calender as well.
For another culture (I don't know which yet) I am stealing an idea I got off these boards, though now I don't know who's it originally was. Anyway, they will use scented candles, with each unit being a certain smell.
Other than that, it's pretty much hourglasses and sundials.
Oh, and I have a calender as well.
Ed_Laprade
Adventurer
I have a calendar. Time of day/night is guesstimated by looking at the sky. Underground the characters have to guesstimate using torch/candle burnout or just guess if using magical light. (And occasionally I'll give them a time-telling magic item.)
robberbaron
First Post
Using DMGenie, I keep track of the days/months/years as well as the rounds of combat but I tend to fudge the stuff inbetween.
