Oblivion:Time

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Time in Oblivion is measured in several different ways. Many events are measured based on the elapsed game time (or in-game time); but other events are measured based on real time (the passage of time in the real world). Game time passes faster than real time, by a factor of 30 (1 minute real time = 30 minutes game time).

The game clock (showing the in-game date and time), can be seen in your Journal on the Map tabs, or on the Active Quest tab. The time is measured using a standard 24 hour clock, but the date is based upon Tamriel's calendar. Game time always pauses when you are in Journal mode or have any other menu open. Many events in the world of Oblivion are dictated by the time of day:

• Sunrise is always at 6 am and sunset is at 8 pm (particularly important for characters subject to Sun Damage)
• Most people in Tamriel have daily schedules. In particular, merchants, trainers, and other people who offer services only have fixed times when they will offer services.
• Most items (containers, dungeons, creatures, flora) will change (be reset) after 72 hours (3 days) game time.
• There are 12 months, and anywhere between 28-31 days in each, as well as seven days in a week.

On the other hand, the durations of Magical Effects such as spells and potions are measured in real time, not game time (i.e. a detect life spell with a duration of 120 seconds will last 2 minutes real time, rather than game time; this is because a spell lasting two minutes in game time would only last 4 seconds real time—hardly enough time to be effective). Time spent in menus does not count against effect durations.

Any advanced passage of time (sleeping or waiting) will count against any timed magical effects you have. For instance, if you cast a spell and then wait for an hour, the spell's effects will be finished by the time you're done waiting. The same holds true for any spells cast on you. Sleeping and waiting also replenishes all of your stats (health, fatigue, and magicka), and is a good way to heal yourself if you've got no other way to do so.

When Fast Traveling, game time moves at a normal rate. The game estimates the time that it would take the player to get from one location to another based on their current movement mode. So if the player is sneaking, walking, or has their weapon/fists readied, they will arrive more slowly than if they were running or riding a horse. Fast Travel times are also rounded off to some degree, though the exact formula is unknown. Because of this, it's sometimes faster to travel to a location without Fast Travel. The same rules that apply to timed magical effects and replenishing stats with sleeping and waiting also apply to Fast Travel, because it is technically a passage of time.

[edit] Tips

• Use the Wait key to quickly view the time, day of the week, and date. Press the key again (or select cancel) to go back without actually "waiting." You can also view date information in the Journal and on the PC, by using the appopriate Console command.

[edit] See Also

• Calendar: details of the calendar used in Oblivion.
• set timescale: a Console command that can be used to alter the default ratio of game time to real time.