I have a little table tool that I use for every single session. It helps me track time, encounters, and gives me enough room that I can take whatever notes I want.
Here it is. I use the blank space next to the initiative box for marking hit points, effects, etc.
I keep the sheets in a binder and it makes it really easy to remember past sessions.
For years I’ve been using a simple, yet key, tool in my GM campaign binder, a time tracker developed by olddungeonmaster.com:
DM Tool for Tracking Time Download your free copy here. I have tried several different ways to keep track of time in a dungeon. Years ago I even wrote a “Time Tender” software program. I was thinking of getting a toy clock, or a broken clock that I could turn the hands on. Thinking of […]D&D 5E – TIME TRACKING TOOL
It’s well designed and simple enough to do what I need without getting in the way. It’s quick and efficient and I love being able to shade in the little boxes. There’s tons of space for adding notes about anything else I deem to be relevant.
Keeping track of time improved my game in all sorts of ways, but as I’ve gotten more into West Marches style play I’ve found myself wanting a few small updates to this tracking tool.
First, I wanted an easier way to visually mark the 4hr divisions of the day’s watches, a sort of exploration turn used for overland travel, foraging, hunting, surveying, and other non-combat adventuring tasks. I changed the numeration around the outside of the tracker to better call out these 4hr chunks of time.
Second, I wanted a reminder to track the weather. Weather in ttrpgs is often either forgotten about entirely or used primarily as a plot device. In exploration heavy play the weather can become a key challenge for the party to overcome. Many GMs will randomly generate the weather either in the moment or ahead of time, and this puts that note on the weather in an easy to reference spot – right in the middle.
I enjoy using it so much I wanted to share this tool with others. Download the PDF and never not know what time it is again!
Just a quick post to share a DM tool I’ve really enjoyed over the last year.
I’ve tried keeping track of time in previous campaigns, and I always fall off the wagon pretty quick. I found this little tool from olddungeonmaster.com and have been using it over a year now on my current campaign and I LOVE it!
It’s well designed and simple enough to do what I need without getting in the way. It’s quick and efficient and I love being able to shade in the little boxes. There’s tons of space for adding notes about anything else I deem to be relevant.
DM Tool for Tracking Time Download your free copy here. I have tried several different ways to keep track of time in a dungeon. Years ago I even wrote a “Time Tender” software program. I was thinking of getting a toy clock, or a broken clock that I could turn the hands on. Thinking of […]
D&D 5E – Time Tracking Tool
Keeping track of time has improved my game in all sorts of ways. On the big scale it’s helped me track moon cycles, npc contracts, and town festivals. On a smaller scale it has added a much more satisfying way to answer the player’s inevitable questions of, “What time is it?” with more than hand-wavy-timey-wimey-ness.
Dungeon Master Pastor 