The clock is ticking! Uh...I mean dripping. Photo courtesy of Marsyas

Deadlines are terrible and inspiring. Terrible because of the feeling of dread they can instill in us as we are pushed towards them. Inspiring because they require us to finally act. Whether it’s a word count by the end of the workday, all our errands completed before dinner or defeating the Fire Lord before a comet will enhance his elemental power, time limits increase the sense of urgency and lend gravity to a situation. As humans most of us tend to divide the day, the year and our lives up into bundles that we try to dole out proportionately to the things we want to accomplish, setting goals along the way. Married by age thirty, five kids and a chinchilla farm by age 40, all the kids out of the house and five chinchilla farms by age sixty-five at the latest. And when our plans don’t go the way we wish and we don’t hit our goals, we tend to flail and either give up or reassess our goals and make new ones.

Adventurers don’t have to be gifted with all the time in the world to get things done! Why should they? A change in the seasons could mean the adventurers need to return before the end of autumn or be trapped behind treacherous mountains. A campaign set in space could have a certain amount of days before the origin and destination fall out of alignment, making travel between the two bodies difficult or even impossible. Many cultures have auspicious times for things and there are always holidays and other important events that might be the cutoff for return meaning that even if the goal was accomplished or the goods acquired, the buyer might already be gone or the need diminished. Even worse, natural items are liable to spoil.

Time limits can be even more immediate. Things like sinking ships, burning buildings, changing of the guard or a procession going down a street can all put time limits on PCs. Choices have to be made and sometimes, sacrifices. When pressed for time some of the best and worst decisions can be made. Which ones will the PCs make?

For GMs:
-Decide how you are going to keep track of time. Is it something that is going to take a certain amount of rounds? Days? Months? Keep a calendar for longer periods of time and be clear how much time is remaining for the quest. State how much time is remaining at the beginning and end of each session so everyone is on the same page.
-How does the culture keep track of time? Do they use a solar calendar? Lunar? What is the length of a work week? The length of a month(However, use a straight up Gregorian to keep track Out of Game. Or you’ll be wondering if it’s the Moon of Horses or the Moon of Turtles, get frustrated and TPK everyone)?
-Who created the calendar? Was it made by the church to reflect holy days? By the state to reflect the agrarian year? A combination of both?
-How many seasons are there and how long are they? How does the weather change for each season and how does this affect things like travel, availability of lodging, Are there blizzards in the winter? Monsoons in the summer? Sandstorms in the autumn?
-If the PCs complete their task but not in the time required, what are the consequences? Will there be a second chance? Will it affect them or others? Loss of money? Loss of reputation?
-Who keeps track of the time? Does every city, town and village have a person or organization that keeps track of the passage of time? Is it displayed for all to see?
-How is the day broken up? What kind of time-keeping instruments are utilized? How accurate are they? How available are they?
-What makes up a day? Is it sunrise to sunrise? Evening to evening?
-Different countries might have different calendars, different clocks and be in different timezones. Not to mention that time may pass different in locations under the power of certain energies.

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