Not a lot of games implement these features, especially NPC schedules, and I think there is a lot of untapped potential for fun gameplay here. What are some of your ideas for fun mechanics using NPC schedules, day/night cycles, weather? I'll throw out a few to start.

- Thievery. While NPCs work during the day, their homes vulnerable. Shops close at night. Time to break in and steal that triple crossbow you were eyeing. Maybe you're feeling bold and want to pickpocket the bank vault key from the banker while they sleep. Less chance of being caught sneaking around/breaking into places at night.

- Creature behavior. Werewolves.. weresheep? only come out during full moons. Vampires sleep in their coffins during the day. Monsters emboldened by the dark and more likely to attack a village or travelers. Zombies/skeletons rise from their graves at night.

- Time-based quests. There has been a string of burglaries/thefts at night and you are tasked with apprehending the culprit. A serial killer is on the loose who leaves clues or riddles about the time/place of their next victims. You've been paid to assassinate someone and the mark is only vulnerable during a certain time of the day.

TIDE and EBB

Some cool secret caves that can be entered only when the sea level is low.

Full moon

Some spells work better, some books or other secrets that you can read only when it is full moon, otherwise they appear blank...

THAT would be sweet!

I'll be disappointed if there isn't a quest involving a sleepwalker

"The weather and moons change, and influence the different schools of magic"

That is totally old-school and love it. Anything to add strategy depth to your turn-based decision.

If full moon would change all sheep into weresheep.. That would be amazing

And I personally will go to Gent and whine till they fix it.

Calendar

I'd love to see a full-fledged calendar system. Months, weekdays, special holidays. The best shops would only show up on market day, some events only during the weekend etc.

Players should have the option to wait a couple hours or stay at an inn for a couple of days if they need to be somewhere at a specific date or time.


Birds at Dawn

Chirp, chirp. Crickets on a hot summer night. Wolves howling in forests with full moon, hearing tavern sounds from outside in the evening, cock-a-doodle-do in the morning.

How about an ideal world. Every NPC buys and sell growing the economy. NPC quests themselves to get loots. Do day job, get salary, buy some stuff with salary. Interact with people.