I want to run a campaign where time is a central factor, in the sense that NPCs will be certain places at certain times, and learning these patterns is important, but I'm not sure how to handle it. In combat, I can use the "one turn is 6 seconds" rule, but how do I keep track of time elapsed while my players traipse around the town? While they talk to NPCs?
[RPG] How to handle time
dnd-5etime
Related Solutions
Counters are a really useful tool. You give each player a (for example) red counter per ration they have, or other limited resource they need to spend every set amount of time. The DM gets 23 black counters that are each 1 hour, 5 blue counters that are each 10 mins, 9 green counters that are 1 minute each, and so on. Then when time passes you move a counter onto a 'time passed' pile. This is easy to set up and remember, and the players know that they need to spend a red counter every 8 black counters (if they need to eat 3 times per day).
You can also use this to track time left on spells, by having a separate pool of counters that you also take from whenever you add to the 'time passed' pile. When this pool is empty, then the time on the spell has run out.
If you don't have counters, you can use anything else you have to hand. Things like dice, unused minis, pieces from board games and the like are all good choices. I usually use tiddlywinks because of the small size and the large range of colours. Plus, they're flat so they are easy to store and you can stack them.
You have two options (and hey, they're the ones you mentioned in your question!), and it sort of depends on what exactly you're wanting to do.
First and foremost, most likely the advice I give here is only any good until we see the full NPC creation rules in the DMG where hopefully there will be much easier shorthands than what I'm going to suggest.
The by far and away easiest thing to do is to take the Mage NPC, spell swap for find familiar (something you're given full license to do in the rules, and even if you werent...well you're the DM) and just be done. Also add a racial trait to him to make him feel more like a dwarf.
Your other option is to build up a Wizard as if he was a PC. I'd advise against feats and just take the most basic options and equipment.
The first approach is way easier. You have a set CR, you don't have to rummage for the right spells or anything else really. The cons here are that you don't have any scaling rules for the NPC (he's set at CR 6), and he doesn't necessarily feel enough like a dwarf. These may or may not be problems for you.
The second approach has the pros of being fully scalable, and can be built as a dwarf so it will have a dwarf's racial traits etc. On the flip side, we don't have a PC->CR guide yet so you'll have to guess and it's a ton more work than just pulling up an NPC that's already created.
In a lot of ways what you do probably depends on context. If this is a one-off villain for an encounter, use the pre-gen'd NPC. But if this is a long running villain who is worth more of your time, build him as a PC and maybe even level him with the party.
Given that this character is going to be a quest giver, I'd be inclined to create him with PC rules as the customization offered in that set is going to be far better than what's available for monsters right now (in a month or so, I might change this answer, but I just don't know yet). The only caution is that if you make him too much higher level than the PCs then I wouldn't ever (or maybe only on super rare occasions) let him fight with them. (DM PCs aren't a great idea anyways, though, so there's that)
Best Answer
1 Simple task = 15 mins/.25 hours & 1 complex task = 1 hour
Crafting, training, and other more long term tasks are handled fairly well in the books with concrete requirements and values given for making a magic item or learning a new tool proficiency. The rules however fail to cover everything that happens between those 6 second combat rounds and the longer, day+ activities. My suggestion would be to use a rule of thumb where a simple task takes 15 minutes and a complex one takes 1 hour. This will encourage time management and multi-tasking by the party, but shouldn't be overly stingy or punishing.
Time × Speed = Distance
Handling time increments for travel is easy, every creature has a given speed and the rules show how to convert that to overland travel speed (including whether or not a PC is encumbered, and other factors). Break down the creature/pc's day speed into an hourly movement rate and you can easily represent/account for travel between districts in a large city or moving around the countryside in a small region without taxing the PCs too heavily.