I'll met you at the gate in an hour?
- Thread starter alsih2o
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evildmguy
Explorer
Paul Kemp's latest books, well latest to me, has a very good version of time keeping. It is set in the Realms but I am guessing there is historical precedence to it.
Some place, whether a temple because of religion or a government building, rings a bell every hour after sunrise. This isn't precise, as you can tell, because some days will have more than others, except near an equator type place. However, like anything, the inhabitants adapt to the time keeping system. This sets up, "meet at the 6th hour", which means 6th ring after sunrise. Also, "meet at the last bell", "meet around halfway between 9th and 10th bell", etc. Again, not accurate but something they would learn easily.
I like this, personally, but have to admit for my own games that I do handwave it. I am actually trying to show that for adventuring a given hour, while important to a particular person's life, doesn't see much happen. Things take time. Hmmm. What I mean is, if the adventure is in town, each hour, each minute counts. However, if the group has to travel at all, or if they do travel, suddenly the time frame goes to weeks, perhaps months of inactivity as they travel.
(btw, I believe it was in the 16th century that someone made a clock to keep time down to minutes and possibly seconds. It wasn't until the 19th century, with train schedules, that the time zones and a formal country wide system of time was created. Before then, each town/state/area had its own time.)
Good question! Thanks!
Have a good one! Take care!
edg
Some place, whether a temple because of religion or a government building, rings a bell every hour after sunrise. This isn't precise, as you can tell, because some days will have more than others, except near an equator type place. However, like anything, the inhabitants adapt to the time keeping system. This sets up, "meet at the 6th hour", which means 6th ring after sunrise. Also, "meet at the last bell", "meet around halfway between 9th and 10th bell", etc. Again, not accurate but something they would learn easily.
I like this, personally, but have to admit for my own games that I do handwave it. I am actually trying to show that for adventuring a given hour, while important to a particular person's life, doesn't see much happen. Things take time. Hmmm. What I mean is, if the adventure is in town, each hour, each minute counts. However, if the group has to travel at all, or if they do travel, suddenly the time frame goes to weeks, perhaps months of inactivity as they travel.
(btw, I believe it was in the 16th century that someone made a clock to keep time down to minutes and possibly seconds. It wasn't until the 19th century, with train schedules, that the time zones and a formal country wide system of time was created. Before then, each town/state/area had its own time.)
Good question! Thanks!
Have a good one! Take care!
edg
Last edited:
alsih2o
First Post
Piratecat said:We really handwave this. I know we shouldn't, but it's so much easier.
Well, us too for the most part, but I often am able to steal soemthing brilliant from the various members here.
Not you obviously on this one, but I will let you off easy this time.
I know you are a "Yoinker" too. 
Deadguy
First Post
I must admit I tend to let it go so long as characters don't try and get time too precise. Meeting up in three-and-a-half hours is fine. Saying we'll launch the attack from different starting points in exactly twenty-one minutes is really a matter of guesswork for the two groups unless they take exceptional steps to synchronise (anyway, isn't a message better?).
I guess i tend to assume that most everyone has a pretty good sense of the passing of time, enough to get quater-hours right. And for most purposes that's fine. And, yes, I also assume that civilised places use bells or gongs to mark the passing of the hours, so they have a way of syncing in with the locals.
I guess i tend to assume that most everyone has a pretty good sense of the passing of time, enough to get quater-hours right. And for most purposes that's fine. And, yes, I also assume that civilised places use bells or gongs to mark the passing of the hours, so they have a way of syncing in with the locals.
Desdichado
Hero
My campaign features clockwork and steamwork to a limited extent. It's not unreasonable at all to assume that my characters are carrying pocketwatches. Although we've not really decided if we have or not... We've had things more like "I'll meet you at the Singing Sword tavern at sundown.
Rodrigo Istalindir
Explorer
I'm in the same camp as DeadGuy. Meeting at 8am for breakfast is a handwave. "Wait till 8:04, then make a distraction so the guard doesn't notice me..." requires a little more work.
In cities, time-keeping is the province of the religious orders. They use time-keeping candles (from Defenders of the Faith) to mark the hours, and ring a bell at each hour, the number of strokes marking the hour. For them, precision timing (as close as they can get) is important so they can start services at the right time.
In the wilderness, the characters guesstimate based on the position of the sun (assuming it is not fog-bound where they are). Likewise, tne need to eat or take a "rest stop" helps mark the passing of time.
Time in the dungeon is mostly marked by the duration of light sources.
IIRC from college, in the medieval period, the day and night were marked by sunrise and sunset, and each was divided into 12 hours for convenient reference. The length of an hour varied considerably over the year as the duration of daylight waxed and waned.
In the wilderness, the characters guesstimate based on the position of the sun (assuming it is not fog-bound where they are). Likewise, tne need to eat or take a "rest stop" helps mark the passing of time.
Time in the dungeon is mostly marked by the duration of light sources.
IIRC from college, in the medieval period, the day and night were marked by sunrise and sunset, and each was divided into 12 hours for convenient reference. The length of an hour varied considerably over the year as the duration of daylight waxed and waned.
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