aging and keeping track of time [Archive] - Wizards Community

aging and keeping track of time [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
soulknife
07-22-05, 02:33 AM i just got done reading a post about aging and feats. they were talking about aging as if it were normal to keep track of age in the game. in all the games ive played not once have we kept track of age. time we kinda just winged.

how do you keep track of day to day time and time in years.
weasel fierce
07-22-05, 03:58 AM I just mark it off on a pad of paper. Its mostly usefull for stuff like healing, training, research and whatnot.
Liwmial
07-22-05, 11:14 AM post-it notes are good for this. Then I just update my game calander when I get home. Aside from what's mentioned above, I find helpful in keeping track of the seasons. I like to use the weather to set the mood for the days adventures.
Illion the Red
07-22-05, 11:19 AM The PC in one of my single-player campaigns has aged by over 20 years through the course of the campaign. This allowed for a great deal of character development, especially since the PC started off at age 12.
orionm42
07-22-05, 11:30 AM I keep pretty strict track of time...primarily to ensure correct passage of time for item creation feats, healing from rest, and learning daily allotments of spells. I also do use the aging penalties (although I find them somewhat harsh).

Just my 2 cp.
kaldrin
07-22-05, 11:34 AM You've never kept track of time? Odd. I've always kept track of time and age my character appropriately.

Usually what I do is ask my players to remember when they were born. Not anything specific, but more like Spring, Summer, Autumn, or Winter. Then as the campaign progresses I'll let them know the seasons have changed.

To track time myself, I have a campaign recordsheet, which is usually just a page or two at the back of my campaign book and I write down the year and what section of the adventure was run in each season. Then when playing I just track the time that was passing for that section. Adding it up, when a new season turns, I let them know.

Seems a lot more complex than it actually is. Once you get used to doing it it takes no more than a half minute of time each session.
imperialjunkie
07-22-05, 12:38 PM Some good ideas above. I don't keep track of strict time within a particular adventure. I do enough to track healing and spell effects, but I don't add days up to see if the character increased a year. But in between adventures I let the players know how much time has passed. Then they decide whether or not it was enough time for their character to have a birthday. In other words, I leave it in their hands for the most part.
ccerose
07-22-05, 12:55 PM I keep a campaign log and include dates with every entry. The in game time from one adventure to the next is about 3-4 weeks. However, there was one time where I told the players that the in game time between sessions would be three months. This allowed them to get there own creative juices flowing by writing naratives about what their characters had done during the down time. This helped immensely because a few of them game me ideas for plot hooks.
soulknife
07-22-05, 07:05 PM i guess i thought about time but never really thought about it. :confused: i always thought wow wouldnt it be great if i had a system for keeping track of time in the game but never really acted on the idea.

i think i have a good idea of how to do it now but one more question. how many seasons or months. do you use months and then put how many months are in a season or do you just do the seasons.
Muddball
07-22-05, 07:32 PM i only keep track of the time in small doses. rounds in combat, hours in a dungon, days of travel, weeks between adventures, and years of adventureing
ccerose
07-22-05, 07:52 PM do you use months and then put how many months are in a season or do you just do the seasons.

Eberron has a 12 month calendar (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/ebwe/20041129a) available as a web enhancement. It's what I use to make sure I keep my dates organized. I always make a note if the PCs slept during an adventure and let them know if it's the next day, if there was an encounter during the night, etc. I then reflect the date change in my log.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
soulknife 07-22-05, 02:33 AM	i just got done reading a post about aging and feats. they were talking about aging as if it were normal to keep track of age in the game. in all the games ive played not once have we kept track of age. time we kinda just winged. how do you keep track of day to day time and time in years.
weasel fierce 07-22-05, 03:58 AM	I just mark it off on a pad of paper. Its mostly usefull for stuff like healing, training, research and whatnot.
Liwmial 07-22-05, 11:14 AM	post-it notes are good for this. Then I just update my game calander when I get home. Aside from what's mentioned above, I find helpful in keeping track of the seasons. I like to use the weather to set the mood for the days adventures.
Illion the Red 07-22-05, 11:19 AM	The PC in one of my single-player campaigns has aged by over 20 years through the course of the campaign. This allowed for a great deal of character development, especially since the PC started off at age 12.
orionm42 07-22-05, 11:30 AM	I keep pretty strict track of time...primarily to ensure correct passage of time for item creation feats, healing from rest, and learning daily allotments of spells. I also do use the aging penalties (although I find them somewhat harsh). Just my 2 cp.
kaldrin 07-22-05, 11:34 AM	You've never kept track of time? Odd. I've always kept track of time and age my character appropriately. Usually what I do is ask my players to remember when they were born. Not anything specific, but more like Spring, Summer, Autumn, or Winter. Then as the campaign progresses I'll let them know the seasons have changed. To track time myself, I have a campaign recordsheet, which is usually just a page or two at the back of my campaign book and I write down the year and what section of the adventure was run in each season. Then when playing I just track the time that was passing for that section. Adding it up, when a new season turns, I let them know. Seems a lot more complex than it actually is. Once you get used to doing it it takes no more than a half minute of time each session.
imperialjunkie 07-22-05, 12:38 PM	Some good ideas above. I don't keep track of strict time within a particular adventure. I do enough to track healing and spell effects, but I don't add days up to see if the character increased a year. But in between adventures I let the players know how much time has passed. Then they decide whether or not it was enough time for their character to have a birthday. In other words, I leave it in their hands for the most part.
ccerose 07-22-05, 12:55 PM	I keep a campaign log and include dates with every entry. The in game time from one adventure to the next is about 3-4 weeks. However, there was one time where I told the players that the in game time between sessions would be three months. This allowed them to get there own creative juices flowing by writing naratives about what their characters had done during the down time. This helped immensely because a few of them game me ideas for plot hooks.
soulknife 07-22-05, 07:05 PM	i guess i thought about time but never really thought about it. :confused: i always thought wow wouldnt it be great if i had a system for keeping track of time in the game but never really acted on the idea. i think i have a good idea of how to do it now but one more question. how many seasons or months. do you use months and then put how many months are in a season or do you just do the seasons.
Muddball 07-22-05, 07:32 PM	i only keep track of the time in small doses. rounds in combat, hours in a dungon, days of travel, weeks between adventures, and years of adventureing
ccerose 07-22-05, 07:52 PM	do you use months and then put how many months are in a season or do you just do the seasons. Eberron has a 12 month calendar (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/ebwe/20041129a) available as a web enhancement. It's what I use to make sure I keep my dates organized. I always make a note if the PCs slept during an adventure and let them know if it's the next day, if there was an encounter during the night, etc. I then reflect the date change in my log.