1.7 KiB
Previous Section: 03 🔵 Actions
Tracking Time
During the majority of gameplay, time passes much as it does in our world. Actions and events are measured in minutes, hours, days, and years. Gameplay during encounters is often measured more closely in rounds and turns as described in the 02 🔵 Initiative section.
Minutes
In tense environments like a dungeon full of patrolling enemies, a GM is likely to track PC progress in a scale of minutes. It might take a minute to creep down a hallway, another minute to check for traps on a door, and 10 minutes to search a room beyond the door. Minutes are also used in some dangerous situations, like measuring how long a character can hold their breath before suffocating.
Hours
In less time sensitive situations like touring a city or exploring a forest, a scale of hours is more appropriate. Hours also factor into how often characters need to rest and how much time passes during a short rest versus a long rest. Hours also play into how much a character can accomplish during downtime activities.
Quarter Days
For short journeys, days can be split into quarters. This works best when characters are traveling though uncertain regions where danger is around any corner. Details for journeys at this time scale are further explained in the 02 🟡 Journeys section.
Days
For long journeys, a scale of days works best. For example, a journey could take multiple days that are (mostly) uneventful. A GM might roll on a random encounter table once per day to see if anything noticeable happens during the journey. If it does, the timescale might change to hours, minutes, or even rounds.
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03 🔵 Movement