Tabletop Roleplaying Time Tracker

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What is This?

Gary Gygax once said:

“Game time is of utmost importance. Failure to keep careful track of time expenditure by player characters will result in many anomalies in the game. The stricture of time is what makes recovery of hit points meaningful. Likewise, the time spent adventuring in wilderness areas removes concerned characters from their bases of operations – be they rented chambers or battlemented strongholds. Certainly the most important time strictures pertains to the manufacturing of magic items, for during the period of such activity no adventuring can be done. Time is also considered in gaining levels and learning new languages and more. All of these demands upon game time force choices upon player characters and likewise number their days of game life…YOU CAN NOT HAVE A MEANINGFUL CAMPAIGN IF STRICT TIME RECORDS ARE NOT KEPT.”

Dungeon Master’s Guide (page 37), Gary Gygax

Many Dungeon or Game Masters don't bother with time tracking, mainly because tabletop games have evolved to only require time records if it fits the tone or theme of the campaign or session. 

If your game, like Shadowdark, heavily suggests time tracking, or if you're an OSR Game Master already using time in your games, this printable sheet can help you track time throughout your session.

How to Use

Place a token on the inner ‘minutes’ segment and another on the outer ‘hours’ ring. Each time players spend a non-combat turn, move the minute token clockwise. For every 60 minutes, advance the hour token clockwise. Mark half of the day box for every 12 hours that pass, and complete the box when the second 12 hours have passed, indicating a full day.