ON TIME WITHIN THE REALMS

[danielmn]

After posting this in the TSM forum, Vendrin pointed out it would be useful here as well. Thought I'd just post a little info some people may not have access to.




Faerun reguards a day in terms of 24 hours, the length of day and night varying according to where in the realms one is. For our purposes, "Midwinter day in Silverymoon sees little more than 8 hours daylight, and Midsummer almost 16." Of coarse, the game engine will still run in increments of 12 hour day/night, but IC we can treat days being shorter in winter and longer in summer.

The hours in a day are by no means precise, though some churches like Lathander's and Gonds take pride in noting the passage of time, Gond especially through the ringing of bells upon the hour, one strike of the bell per hour, much like our present day churches or old timey clocks. The days are usually broken up into ten slices as follows...
dawn, morning, highsun (or noon), afternoon, dusk, sunset, evening, midnight, moondark (or Night's heart), and night's end. There are varying names to these portions depending upon where you are in Faerun...one man's Morn being anothers Morning. The time allocated also varies, one mans afternoon might be another's early dusk. The hours are counted in 12's, like our current keeping of time.

Each year consists of 365 days, divided into 12 months, each comprised of 30 days except for the years in which Sheildmeet occurs (once every four years as a leap day, just like our current keeping). Unlike our keeping, the months in Faerun are divided into three weeks of ten days apeice, known as a tenday or a ride. Individual days do not have names, but are refered to by number, first-day, second-day and so forth.

The twelve months of Faerun and our corresponding months are listed below.

Hammer - January
Alturiak - Febuary
Ches - March
Tarsakh - April
Mirtul - May
Kythorn - June
Flamerule - July
Eleasias - August
Elient - September
Marpenoth - October
Uktar - November
Nightal - December

There are five Major holidays in the realms.

Midwinter falls on the last day of Hammer (January). "Nobles and monarchs greet the halfway point of winter with a feast day they call the High Festival of Winter. Traditionally it's the best day to make or renew alliances. The common folk enjoy the celebration a bit less - among them it's called Deadwinter Day, noted mainly as the halfway point of winter, with hard times still to come."

Greengrass falls on the last day of Tarsakh (April). "The official beginning of spring is a day of peace and rejoicing. Even if snow still covers the ground, clerics, nobles, and wealthy folk make it a point of bringing out flowers grown within special rooms within temples and castles. They distribute the flowers among the people, who wear them or cast them upon the ground as bright offerings to the deities who summon the summer."

Midsummer falls on the last day of Flamerule (July). "Midsummer night is a time of feasting and music and love. Acquaintances turn into dalliances, courtships turn into betrothals, and the deities themselves take a part by ensuring good weather for feasting and frolicking in the woods. Bad weather on this special night is taken as an omen of extremely ill fortune to come.

Shieldmeet falls on the day following Midsummer once every four years. "Shieldmeet is a day of open council between the people and their rulers. It is a day for making or renewing pacts and for proving oneself in tournaments. Those not seeking advancement treat the elite's tournaments, duels, and trials of magical prowess as welcome additions to the holiday's theatrical and musical entertainments.

Highharvestide falls on the last day of Eleint (September). "This holiday of feasting to celebrate the autumn harvest also marks a time of journeys. Emissaries, pilgrims, adventurers, and everyone else eager to make speed traditionally leave on their journies the following day - before the worst of the mud clogs the tracks and the rain freezes into snow.

The Feast of the Moon falls on the last day of Uktar (november). "The Feast of the Moon celebrates ancestors and the honored dead. Stories of ancestors' exploits mix with the legends of deities until it's hard to tell one from the other."

The holidays (and Shieldmeet) are not counted as belonging to the days of any month.

Shieldmeet will be observed this year - 1380 DR.
The current year in ALFA is 1382 DR (2015 AD)

Stickied for truth and all-around usefulness.

Edited 3 March 2014 - Hialmar for Curmudgeon

[dergon darkhelm]

In visual form (this is my wallpaper on my desktop):

[danielmn]

Bump

[Veilan]

In case anyone needs to re-engineer, ALFA started April 15th 2008 - which was Greengrass (April 30th) 1375 DR.

[CloudDancing]

http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/frx/20050525x

Forgotten Realms Calendar Tool
Almost every person or race of Faerûn marks the passage of days, seasons, and even years in some fashion. Most of Faerûn uses the Calendar of Harptos, named after the long-dead wizard who invented it. Few bother to refer to Harptos by name, however, since the calendar is the only calendar they know.

The following launches the Forgotten Realms Calendar Tool -- chronicling the complete cycle of days (with important holidays and Shieldmeet "leap days" included), phases of the moon -- and even names of all years in their complete and accurate form.

The naming of the years is not random, nor does it necessarily commemorate any great event or occurrence. Many centuries ago, the Lost Sage Augathra the Mad wrote out thousands of years and named them in the great library of Candlekeep. It's a rare year that doesn't see some event that seems clearly connected with its name, and most folks view Augathra's names as mysterious portents of the years ahead.

[paazin]

BG now has the proper date/year!

Expect other servers to have this when we put out the new haks.

[dergon darkhelm]

BG now has the proper date/year!

I think off by 2 years. Clock currently reads DR 1376.

http://www.alandfaraway.org/forums/sear ... Happy+1378

[Curmudgeon]

1381 DR now.

[Spider Jones]

HAPPY NEW YEAR, WOOOOOO!