Pathfinder 1e Dungeon Delve – How to Efficiently Track Time

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This is a question about how to track time during a (mega-)dungeon delve, especially concerning the granular spell durations of 3.X D&D.

So in the older editions, time during a delve is tracked in turns. Simple enough: A turn takes x minutes (10, I think), and all significant actions in the dungeon take 1 turn – searching a room, walking down a hallway, disarming a trap, etc.

All 1 or more turns. Roll for random encounters every x turns. Simple and easy.

Now come the buffs of the PCs. I can just use turns in 3.X as well, but then the players will call foul: Their buffs now run out much faster. Technically it is possible to track the time of every action, but that's a nightmare at the table.

My question is: How can I track time in a Pathfinder game efficiently without counting every action and not too much work at the table, but without cheating my players out of their spells?

Thanks in advance, guys.

The point is that players attempt to conserve buffs by e.g. arguing "This or that only takes 1 action". Conflict arises when I tell them that completely searching a 40×40 room takes more than 1 round. My ruling stands, but they keep attempting it, and it gets tiresome.

Best Answer

Another answer I'd read last week (maybe here, maybe on GitP) pointed me to the article Hacking Time in D&D by the Angry GM that addresses this topic in some detail, and is a great starting point.

It covers so much that it'd be difficult to summarize here, but some key highlights are:

  • real time != Game time. Trying a task ad infinitum, or waiting for hours, in game is easy for the players, but characters would (and should) experience boredom and monotony
  • introduces a time pool mechanic to track such mental fatigue
  • ties this mechanic to the passage of time in blocks that roughly map to spell durations

I think it'll prove useful, and the Angry GM blog in general is a gold mine of information for GMs.

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