Downtime

Downtime

Characters do not spend every day adventuring. Downtime covers the meaningful things they do between adventures: pursuing a trade, recovering, studying, maintaining equipment, serving an organization, or advancing a personal goal.

Downtime is usually measured over multiple days, often between 3 days a one week at a time.

Downtime Events

A Downtime Event is a significant activity a character pursues during a Downtime Week. At the beginning of each week, choose one event as the character’s primary activity. It occupies the character’s meaningful time and attention for that week. A project that takes several weeks requires that many Downtime Weeks; record each completed week of progress.

Ordinary living, routine errands, and brief social scenes do not use up a primary activity. A character can buy ordinary gear, speak with friends, attend services, or maintain their usual possessions while pursuing an event, provided none of those things would themselves require substantial time, risk, money, or access. Do not use the unused days from a short event to make progress on a second named event unless the GM specifically allows it.

The player should tell the GM what the character is trying to accomplish, what activity they are choosing, and what resources or help they are using before the week is resolved.

Common downtime events include:

• Working a trade or performing background work.
• Learning a language or becoming literate.
• Training with a weapon group.
• Researching a subject, crafting, repairing equipment, or replenishing supplies.
• Caring for other characters, meditating, worshipping, or serving an organization.
• Pursuing a personal project, relationship, or reputation.

Some class features and items refer to a named Downtime Event. When they do, follow the feature’s specific rules. Unless that rule says otherwise, using the feature requires the character’s primary activity for one Downtime Week. Otherwise, the GM determines the time, cost, requirements, and outcome appropriate to the goal and campaign.

Resolving an Event

For a straightforward event, the GM can simply state the result at the end of the week. For an uncertain one, the GM may call for an Attribute Test when the character’s training, resources, or approach could affect the outcome. A character’s background, class, and Skill Bonus may apply when relevant.

Use the following questions to set stakes before dice are rolled:

1. What does success look like?
2. How much time, money, or access does the attempt require?
3. What does failure change: time, cost, opportunity, or information?
4. Is the risk great enough that this should be played as an adventure instead?

Downtime should create useful consequences without becoming a source of surprise character death. If an activity could reasonably maim or kill a character, discuss that risk before committing to it. In most cases, a dangerous undertaking is better handled as an adventure.

Interrupted and Long-Term Events

Long projects do not need to occupy consecutive Downtime Weeks unless the GM says otherwise. Record the progress made and resume the project during a later week. If an event requires continuous attention, such as training with a particular instructor or performing a delicate ritual, say so before it begins.

Characters may change plans between Downtime Weeks. They do not gain the benefits of time they did not spend: a new project starts from the progress actually recorded, not from an assumed full season of work. If a week is interrupted by an adventure or other major event, the GM decides whether it counts as progress, commonly counting it only when most of the week was completed and the interruption did not undo the work.

Rest, Living, and Spell Preparation

Downtime does not replace the rules for rest. A character must still meet the requirements for the kind of rest they are taking. In particular, non-cantrip spells are prepared only as part of a Safe Rest, unless a specific class feature says otherwise. A Night’s Rest does not prepare, replace, or refill non-cantrip spell slots.

Living arrangements, food, and local prices are determined by the settlement and the GM. If the quality of a character’s accommodation matters, use the applicable rest rules rather than a separate downtime table. Owning property, having a patron, or finding suitable work may reduce costs at the GM’s discretion.

During suitable downtime in civilization, characters can perform ordinary maintenance: replace spoiled provisions, clean weapons, mend normal wear, restock inexpensive supplies, and refresh the ordinary reusable materials in a component kit. Valuable, consumable, or otherwise tracked items still require their normal costs and availability.

Learning Languages and Literacy

Characters with at least 6 Logic can use downtime to learn additional languages or literacy. The maximum number of additional languages a character can learn is equal to half their Logic score, not counting their native language.

The GM sets the required time and cost based on the language, the character’s starting knowledge, and the instruction available. Learning to read and write a language the character already speaks is normally easier than learning both at once. A capable tutor, immersion in a community, access to texts, and shared writing systems can all reduce the time or improve the chance of success.

Weapon Training and Advancement

Weapon training and character advancement are long-term downtime goals. Their costs, training time, instructors, and requirements are defined in Advancement. Classes currently advance through 14th level. This game does not use tiers of play; do not treat 8th level or any other level as a separate tier with different downtime rules.

GM Guidance

Downtime works best when it gives characters a reason to care about the campaign world without turning every day into bookkeeping.

• Give clear costs and timeframes before a character commits to a project.
• Let backgrounds and established relationships open doors, reduce uncertainty, or provide better opportunities.
• Use rolls only when the outcome is genuinely uncertain and interesting.
• Keep a simple shared calendar and project log, especially in campaigns with multiple adventuring groups.
• Turn consequential complications into playable hooks rather than resolving them off-screen.

The GM may handwave downtime when it is not important to the campaign. When it is important, use it to reveal the character’s priorities and create the next adventure.