Flavorful terms for Time!

[Optimistic]

Hours. Minutes. Weeks. These are all things that are deeply ingrained in our language and communication - but in Faerun, a world without technoligy and with different calendars, they don't quite fit - they hold no meaning. What is an hour to an elf, after all?
 
using the words "minute" or "hour" icly has always troubled me
 
FORGOTTEN REALMS WIKI TO THE RESCUE:
 
Tenday: Tenday is a Faerun unit of time. The Calendar of Harptos divides the thirty day months into three blocks of ten days each, or simply put a tenday. The word is used interchangably with the Earthly term 'week'.
 
Bell: Bell has a meaning equivalent to "hour" in Waterdeep and other places in Faerun. The term originates from the custom of Temples and city buildings to ring their bells every hour.
 
Song: Song is a unit of time lasting a minute or two. It's the length of time it takes to sing a song
 
Winters: Interchangible with years
 
Evenpeal: Evenpeal is an hour in the late evening. It's the last hour bells are rung in Waterdeep. Could be roughly analogous to Midnight.
 
Midday or Noontide: Roughly analogous to 12' Noon.
 
Dale Reckoning (the year system we use): Dalereckoning is taken from the Year of Sunrise, when the Standing Stone was raised by the Elves of Cormanthyr and the Human Dalesfolk. Since this time, humans were permitted by the Elven Court to settle in the more open regions of the forests. In some texts, primarily those which do not have direct ties to Dales history, Dalereckoning is called Freeman's Reckoning (FR). The calendar is widely used in Faerun but has not spread beyond its shores.
 
Year Names: Augathra the Mad wrote a comprehensive list of the names of the years from -422 DR to what will be 2163 DR, although it is widely believed that the roll of years was created by Alaundo of Candlekeep. Because some of the names of the years went missing, Alaundo replaced these with his own choices.Supposedly, the names given the years are prophecies made by Alaundo as to the most significant event of that year.
 
1377 DR: Year of the Haunting (End of EFU:A)
1378 DR: Year of the Cauldron
1379 DR: Year of the Lost Keep (!)
1380 DR: Year of the Blazing Hand (Start of EF: Undeath - I think)
1381 DR (current): Year of the Starving
1382 DR: Year of the Black Blazon
1383 DR: Year of the Vindicated Warrior
1384 DR: Year of Three Streams Blooded
 
There are several other different calendars, in particular for the Elves who have their own calendar which they measure time differently with.

[VanillaPudding]

Hour is a fairly ancient word, and even minute was used to define 1/60th of an hour in astronomy hundreds of years ago. Week falls in the same category, as a "tenday" is different.

[The Beggar]

Hour is a fairly ancient word, and even minute was used to define 1/60th of an hour in astronomy hundreds of years ago. Week falls in the same category, as a "tenday" is different.

I think what the OP was posting on were FR specific time descriptions. While hour, minute, and week may have RL historical weight, certainly the flavor of the setting is eroded a bit when our RL terms intrude.

Cool terms BTW, I'll start using them IG.

[Daemonic Daz]

Any attempt to use more setting specific lexis is of course encouraged but don't worry too much about the finer details.

[Pup]

Me too, actually.  Thanks!

[A Case Of Rapiers]

The problem has always been will people know what the hell  you're talking about if you use alternate terms when talking about time in this setting? Using "hour" and "week" is just for simplicity's  sake. Tenday is easy, the name is self explanatory. I've used the term "bell" in the past in reference to hours, and I rather feel as though it adds a bit of color, but I do think its caused some confusion from time to time.

[Valo56]

Tenday is the canon term, is obvious, and has even been used by DM's at times. Bell and Song, however, are not obvious, regardless of how canon they are. I'd avoid using them unless you know the other guy knows what you're saying.

The only thing more immersion breaking than using a RL term in a fantasy game that probably wouldn't have it, is explaining what the correct term is to about a dozen people who ask you what you mean by 'bell' through tells.

(Well, okay, there's a lot more immersion breaking stuff, but you get my point.)

[Porkolt]

I don't mind hours. Or minutes. Or even seconds.

But the use of the term week definitely bugs me.

After all, a week is a subdivision of a year, which is then divided into seven days, which each have a name. In FR, the year is divided into months which are divided into tendays, which are not specifically divided.

Much like there aren't fridays in FR, there aren't weeks either.

[Iron Oligarch]

I like to reward PCs who enhance the verisimilitude of our imaginary world. But your character's language is your own to use.

[LikeABawse]

My problem with using the term Tenday vs Week is that it's harder to coordinatethings that happened a few weeks or tendays ago.  If we want to plan something for 2 weeks from now, for example...

In Faerun it would be easy to say that we will meet in two tendays.

In the real world, it's easy to say we will meet in two weeks.

As our own schedules revolve around the weekly schedule, it's harder to actually use the tenday model.  Then we aren't using tenday in the game much, instead saying, "In seven days time" or "In fourteen days"

Enh, week works fine for me.

[Jayde Moon]

My problem with using the term Tenday vs Week is that it's harder to coordinatethings that happened a few weeks or tendays ago.  If we want to plan something for 2 weeks from now, for example...

In Faerun it would be easy to say that we will meet in two tendays.

In the real world, it's easy to say we will meet in two weeks.

As our own schedules revolve around the weekly schedule, it's harder to actually use the tenday model.  Then we aren't using tenday in the game much, instead saying, "In seven days time" or "In fourteen days"

Enh, week works fine for me.

But the other terms that directly equate could be used more often for flavor!

[Porkolt]

Don't forget that IC time doesn't relate to OOC time at all. If you want to specifically determine an OOC timeframe, use OOC tags.

[Decimate_The_Weak]

Jayde Moon, you can always use the term, "half a tenday" to narrow it down ICly.

[Jayde Moon]

1/2 of 10 = 5

5 != 7

Go back to Sesame Street!  :)

Your point though is well taken.  Still easier for me to just say 'week' when I mean next week.

[Porkolt]

A bit under a tenday.