Downtime

This chapter is focused on what happens between adventures. This is when characters improve their skills, acquire or replenish their magic, or work with their community.

Downtime Requirements

The rules in this section come into effect only when an adventurer takes some “downtime”, unless specified otherwise. Downtime is defined by:

  • Time: Downtime is measured in weeks. One full week is the minimum to qualify for downtime. Round the total downtime down to a whole number of weeks.
  • Location: Downtime must be spent in one location: city, tribal land, etc. A character may travel within the location, such as going to various places inside the city, but no travel should be more than a couple hours away.
  • Safety: The location must be safe. A dangerous location may give only some of the downtime benefits, or none.

The gamemaster has final say on how the requirements are fulfilled.

Downtime Procedure

When downtime occurs, the gamemaster and players should follow the procedure detailed below.

  1. Clear any curses (see the Magic chapter)
  2. Natural healing
  3. Events (one errand or vignette per week)
  4. Endeavors (pick one per week)
  5. Experience rolls.
  6. Downtime worship.

Natural Healing

Recover HP entirely. Recover DP, and MP every week of downtime according to natural healing (see Damage and Injury).

Events

Each week of downtime, a player may choose one of the following:

  • Errand: Visit a local market or crafter to buy, sell, repair, or alter pieces of equipment.
  • Vignette: A short scene that advances the game’s story (e.g: talk to an NPC, gather information, deliver a message, etc.)

No more than 2 ability rolls should be done during an Event.

Endeavors

Each week of downtime, a player may choose one of:

  • Learn Rune Magic: Find a temple and pay them if necessary. Learn a new Rune Magic spell, and/or sacrifice 1 POW to gain 1 Rune Point.

  • Acquire Spirit Magic: Find a temple or shaman and pay them if necessary. Acquire a new Spirit Magic spell.

  • Occupation Work: Make an experience roll for two of the adventurer’s occupation or cult skills.

  • Community or Personal Work: Make an experience roll for a passion.

  • Community Gifting: A community Loyalty Passion may also be increased by offering gifts. Divide the corresponding population by 100, rounding up. This is the value of gifts, in Lunars, to get a +1D6% increase. For temples, use the Temple Sizes to estimate the population. Example: Narelna goes on a raid, and comes back to her home in the Colymar tribe with much loot. The Colymar tribe has a population of 12,300 so each gift of 123 L increases her Loyalty (Colymar tribe) by +1D6%. On the other hand, bringing gifts to the Major Orlanth temple in Clearwine (estimated at 700 people) would grant Loyalty (Clearwine Orlanth Temple) +1D6% for every 7 L of gifts.

  • Personal Gifting: For a Loyalty Passion towards an individual, use the Community Gifting rules (see above) but with that individual’s followers as the population. Divide the gift cost by 2, rounding up. This would provide a +1D6% increase in that Passion. Example: giving gifts worth 61 L to Queen Leika of the Colymar tribe (123 L divided by 2) would increase a Loyalty (Leika) by +1D6%.

  • Train Skill: Find a teacher and pay them if necessary. Mark a training week. After 4 weeks of training, gain +1D6% in the skill.

  • Train Rune: Find a temple dedicated to a deity associated with the chosen Rune. Pay the temple if necessary. Mark a training week. After 4 weeks of training, gain +1D6% in the Rune.

  • Train Characteristic: Find a teacher and pay them if applicable. Mark a training week. After 8 weeks of training, gain +1 in the characteristic.

Experience Rolls

Roll experience for each ability that has an experience check.

  • Skills, Runes, and Passions: Roll against the ability’s score. On a failure, gain +1D6%. On a fumble, gain +2D6%. Remember that 96-99 is always a failure, and 00 is always a Fumble.

  • Characteristics: Roll against (Species Max − Score)✕5. On a success, gain +1D3 in the characteristic. On a critical success, gain +2D3. No characteristic can exceed the species maximum through experience (but magic and heroquesting allow it).

Species maxiumums are calculated based on the character creation roll for these characteristics. They are equal to the maximum rollable score plus the number of dice. For humans, the maximum is 21 in all characteristics.

Downtime Worship

Each week of downtime, if a holy-day happens that week for the adventurer’s cult, or an associated cult, and if access to a shrine or temple to that cult is possible, the adventurer may replenish their reusable Rune magic. See the Magic chapter for details.