This page explains the timekeeping model and action economy that Trinity uses.  

=Timekeeping and Action Economy=

The notion of proper timekeeping being a necessary component of tabletop RPGs goes all the way back to Gygax. I find this ironic given that the early editions of D&D largely lacked a sensible timekeeping model and action economy, and the idea of tracking literal minutes in an adventuring day is cumbersome at best and absolutely insane at worst. That said, there is certainly merit to the idea, and - indeed - to accommodate more interesting mechanics that cover more territory than just combat, we need more means of tracking time that aren't annoying.

==Combat Time==

The smallest units of time we track is ''combat time'', which is something of a misnomer because it also covers things like navigating cliffs or other exploration hazards. However, this part of the timekeeping system in Trinity is a legacy holdover from D&D, in which it was used exclusively for combat, so: there it is.

''Combat time'' is tracked in ''rounds'', units of time that cover 6 seconds. Each participant in the encounter (generally) has a ''turn'' in each ''round'', in which they can take a number of ''actions''. Some effects allow characters to have more than one ''turn'', while other effects can cause a character to lose their ''turn''.

When an encounter occurs, all participants roll ''initiative''. This is d20 + your level bonus + the best of your Dexterity, Intelligence, and Bravery modifiers. Some effects may give you a bonus or penalty to this roll.

Once all participants have rolled ''initiative'', play proceeds in order from highest to lowest ''initiative''. Once the participant with the lowest ''initiative'' has taken their ''turn'', the ''round'' ends and a new one begins, starting with the participant with the highest ''initiative''.

===Combat Action Economy===

During your ''turn'', there are four primary types of actions you can take: ''full'', ''standard'', ''move'', and ''free''.

On a normal turn, you gain one ''standard'' and one ''move'' action. You can combine one ''standard'' and one ''move'' into a ''full'' action. You can convert a ''standard'' into a ''move''. You can take as many ''free'' actions as you like, within reason (typically three or four at most).

In general, after each of your actions, the DM will acknowledge it and, if appropriate, let you know what the effects of your action were.

Due to the very small timescales involved, the overall situation will generally not change much, though there are exceptions. Combat is fast and fast-paced; in general, you probably won't find it necessary to talk much or analyze the situation too greatly, beyond what's necessary to use your abilities as you see fit.

One step above ''combat time'' is ''exploration time''. This is an entirely novel concept to Trinity (and is partially imported from ''Journey'', a game system we worked on for several years) and is not in any iteration of D&D, so this is where things start to get weird if you're used to that. This time track is used when exploring a particular location, like a city or a dungeon, but not used for overland travel.

''Exploration time'' is tracked in ''hands'' and ''watches''. A ''hand'' is a unit of time that covers roughly 12 minutes, while a ''watch'' covers 20 ''hands'', or 4 hours. So five ''hands'' equal an hour, and six ''watches'' equal a day.

The real-world duration of a ''hand'' comes from an interest in codifying the amount of time a ''short rest'' takes, which in D&D 4e, is "about 10 minutes." "Rounding" that up to 12 minutes lets us fit 5 in an hour, which is a good number for multiplying when we try to figure out how many "exploration turns" a day or a few hours consist of.

During a ''hand'', characters are assumed to be taking their actions more or less simultaneously. Thus, while we use ''initiative'' in exploration time, this is primarily for bookkeeping purposes and to ensure that everyone gets to act; during your turn, you only declare actions, you don't get to see their resolution until the end of the ''hand''. Once all characters have declared their actions, those actions are all resolved simultaneously.  

===Exploration Action Economy===

During each ''hand'', there are four primary types of actions you can take: ''broad'', ''narrow'', ''traversal'', and ''quick''.

On a normal turn, you gain one ''narrow'' and one ''traversal'' action. You can combine one ''narrow'' and one ''traversal'' into a ''broad'' action. You can convert a ''narrow'' into a ''traversal''. You can take as many ''quick'' actions as you like, within reason (typically three or four at most).

Exploration time is significantly more "fast and loose" than combat time. After the DM describes the results of actions taken during a given ''hand'', you should feel free to discuss with other players what you discovered, if anything, and decide what your next actions will be.

Remember that a ''hand'' represents twelve minutes' worth of actual time. Unless you're being actively stealthy, that gives your characters quite a bit of time to discuss options and what's going on around them.

''Adventuring time'' is tracked in ''compasses'' and ''cycles''. A ''compass'' covers about 60 minutes, while a ''cycle'' covers roughly a day, so there are 24 ''compasses'' in a ''cycle''. You might ask - why have a separate term for day? Because some settings might have weird days that last 28 hours or something, and we don't want to make assumptions about the setting.