Strict time records and how to keep them well

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#1

Since I’ve started my current Mystara campaign, the question of strict timekeeping on a calendar scale became especially pertinent, given that tracking training and studying time for the characters, as well as their slow natural healing rate are integral parts of the Rules Cyclopedia ruleset.

Here’s my solution for easy timekeeping of multiple groups in the living world.

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#2

This method looks really handy! I’ll have to give it a go sometime.

For more granular time in my Swyvers campaign I’ve just been using the Time Sheet printout in the back of Cess and Citadel (with a d6 representing tens of minutes; 10, 20, 30, etc.) and that’s been working alright; but definitely a way to track multiple different groups long-term would be helpful - especially when they get “out of sync”. I think this will solve that nicely!

I’m considering just doing downtime sessions for the number of days skipped at the start of each group to let each “rubber-band” up to the others - and that works quite well for a game set in the city where criminals will want to spend their goods after each heist - but we’ll see. One of my groups is play-by-post so that might prove tricky.

Do you have any good tactics for keeping them in sync? Particularly across a small space?

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#3

Here’s what I try to follow:

  1. Do not end the session in a dungeon: the characters must return to the civilization or at least to a base camp at the end of each session.
  2. If two different groups operate at the same locale, the first one that explores the given day establishes the timeline. Thus, the second group cannot go to the same dungeon on the same day that the first group went on.
  3. Resolve downtime activities at the start of the session to avoid timeline contradictions.
  4. The downtime duration is usually defined by the time required for training, researching, healing, etc.
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#4

I’ve formulated my thoughts on this topic here: Group Sync | Vladar's Blog