Down Time Options
Practicing a Profession
There are three options for professional employment during downtime.
Hired Artisan
You must be proficient in an artisan tool and own those tools. You can work between missions, allowing you to maintain a modest lifestyle without having to pay 26$ day. This benefit lasts as long as you continue to practice your profession.
Note: this does not require a work shop or supplies as it is assumed that you are working for someone who will provide you with those resources.
Faction Professional
You must be proficient in an artisan tool and own those tools. You must also be a member of a faction. You can earn enough to support a comfortable lifestyle as long as your profession is related to the faction you are working for and as long as you continue to practice your profession.
Note: this does not require a work shop or supplies as it is assumed that you are working for someone who will provide you with those resources.
Example: If you are proficient with the medical kit and own one, you can work for the Doctors faction as long as you are a member of that faction.
Entertainment Professional
If you have proficiency in the performance skill and put your performance skill to use during your downtime, you earn enough to support a wealthy lifestyle instead.
Crafting
Recuperating
You can use downtime between adventures to recover from a debilitating injury, disease, or poison.
After three days of downtime spent recuperating, you can make a DC 15 Constitution saving throw. On a successful save, you can choose one of the following results:
- End one effect on you that prevents you from regaining hit points.
- For the next 24 hours, gain advantage on saving throws against one disease or poison currently affecting you.
Research
Forewarned is forearmed. The research downtime activity allows a character to delve into lore concerning a monster, a location, a magic item, or some other particular topic.
Resources. Typically, a character needs access to a library or a sage to conduct research. Assuming such access is available, conducting research requires one workweek of effort and at least 50$ spent on materials, bribes, gifts, and other expenses.
Resolution. The character declares the focus of the research — a specific person, place, or thing. After one workweek, the character makes an Intelligence check with a +1 bonus per 50$ spent beyond the initial 50$, to a maximum of +6. In addition, a character who has access to a particularly well-stocked library or knowledgeable sages gains advantage on this check. Determine how much lore a character learns using the Research Outcomes table.
Research Outcomes
| Check Total | Outcome |
|---|---|
| 1–5 | No effect. |
| 6–10 | You learn one piece of lore. |
| 11–20 | You learn two pieces of lore. |
| 21+ | You learn three pieces of lore. |
Each piece of lore is the equivalent of one true statement about a person, place, or thing. Examples include knowledge of a creature’s resistances, the password needed to enter a sealed dungeon level, the spells commonly prepared by an order of wizards, and so on.
As DM, you are the final arbiter concerning exactly what a character learns. For a monster or an NPC, you can reveal elements of statistics or personality. For a location, you can reveal secrets about it, such as a hidden entrance, the answer to a riddle, or the nature of a creature that guards the place.
Complications. The greatest risk in research is uncovering false information. Not all lore is accurate or truthful, and a rival with a scholarly bent might try to lead the character astray, especially if the object of the research is known to the rival. The rival might plant false information, bribe sages to give bad advice, or steal key tomes needed to find the truth.
In addition, a character might run into other complications during research. Every workweek spent in research brings a 10 percent chance of a complication, examples of which are on the Research Complications table.
Research Complications
| d6 | Complication |
|---|---|
| 1 | You accidentally damage a rare book. |
| 2 | You offend a sage, who demands an extravagant gift.* |
| 3 | If you had known that book was cursed, you never would have opened it. |
| 4 | A sage becomes obsessed with convincing you of a number of strange theories about reality.* |
| 5 | Your actions cause you to be banned from a library until you make reparations.* |
| 6 | You uncovered useful lore, but only by promising to complete a dangerous task in return. |
*Might involve a rival
Training
Given enough free time and the services of an instructor, a character can learn a language or pick up proficiency with a tool.
Resources. Receiving training in a language or tool typically takes at least ten workweeks, but this time is reduced by a number of workweeks equal to the character’s Intelligence modifier (an Intelligence penalty doesn’t increase the time needed). Training costs 25$ per workweek.
Complications. Complications that arise while training typically involve the teacher. Every ten workweeks spent in training brings a 10 percent chance of a complication, examples of which are on the Training Complications table.
Training Complications
| d6 | Complication |
|---|---|
| 1 | Your instructor disappears, forcing you to spend one workweek finding a new one.* |
| 2 | Your teacher instructs you in rare, archaic methods, which draw comments from others. |
| 3 | Your teacher is a spy sent to learn your plans.* |
| 4 | Your teacher is a wanted criminal. |
| 5 | Your teacher is a cruel taskmaster. |
| 6 | Your teacher asks for help dealing with a threat. |
Building a Stronghold
A character can spend time between adventures building a stronghold. Before work can begin, the character must acquire a plot of land. If the estate lies within a camp or similar domain, the character will need a legal charter (a legal document granting permission to oversee the estate in the name of the camp), a land grant (a legal document bequeathing custody of the land to the character for as long as he or she remains loyal to the camp), or a deed (a legal document that serves as proof of ownership). Land can also be acquired by inheritance or other means.
Legal charters and land grants are usually given by the camp government as a reward for faithful service, although they can also be bought. Deeds can be bought or inherited. A small estate might sell for as little as 100$ or as much as 1,000$. A large estate might cost 5,000$ or more, if it can be bought at all.
Once the estate is secured, a character needs access to building materials and laborers. The Building a Stronghold table shows the cost of building the stronghold (including materials and labor) and the amount of time it takes, provided that the character is using downtime to oversee construction. Work can continue while the character is away, but each day the character is away adds 3 days to the construction time.
Building a Stronghold
| Stronghold | Construction Cost | Construction Time |
|---|---|---|
| Abbey | 50,000$ | 400 days |
| Guildhall, town or city | 5,000$ | 60 days |
| Keep or small castle | 50,000$ | 400 days |
| Noble estate with manor | 25,000$ | 150 days |
| Outpost or fort | 15,000$ | 100 days |
| Palace or large castle | 500,000$ | 1,200 days |
| Temple | 50,000$ | 400 days |
| Tower, fortified | 15,000$ | 100 days |
| Trading post | 5,000$ | 60 days |
Running a Business
Adventurers can end up owning businesses that have nothing to do with delving into dungeons or saving the world. A character might inherit a smithy, or the party might be given a parcel of farmland or a tavern as a reward. If they hold on to the business, they might feel obliged to spend time between adventures maintaining the venture and making sure it runs smoothly. If they do not, the venture will automatically begin to fail unless they have someone running the business in their stead.
A character rolls percentile dice and adds the number of days spent on this downtime activity (maximum 7), then compares the total to the Running a Business table to determine what happens.
If the character is required to pay a cost as a result of rolling on this table but fails to do so, the business begins to fail. For each unpaid debt incurred in this manner, the character takes a -10 penalty to subsequent rolls made on this table. The only way to remove this penalty is to repay the debt. This can be repaid in the increments that it was lost in, each payment removing one of the -10 penalties.
In general the weekly cost of running a business is 200$ weekly.
| Running a Business | |
|---|---|
| d100 + Days | Result |
| 01–20 | You must pay one and a half times the business’s maintenance cost for each of the days. |
| 21–30 | You must pay the business’s full maintenance cost for each of the days. |
| 31–40 | You must pay half the business’s maintenance cost for each of the days. Profits cover the other half. |
| 41–60 | The business covers its own maintenance cost for each of the days. |
| 61–80 | The business covers its own maintenance cost for each of the days. It earns a profit of 1d6 × 5$ |
| 81–90 | The business covers its own maintenance cost for each of the days. It earns a profit of 2d8 × 5$ |
| 91 or higher | The business covers its own maintenance cost for each of the days. It earns a profit of 3d10 × 5$ |
Sowing Rumors
Swaying public opinion can be an effective way to bring down a villain or elevate a friend. Spreading rumors is an efficient, if underhanded, way to accomplish that goal. Well-placed rumors can increase the subject’s standing in a community or embroil someone in scandal. A rumor needs to be simple, concrete, and hard to disprove. An effective rumor also has to be believable, playing off what people want to believe about the person in question.
Sowing a rumor about an individual or organization requires a number of days depending on the size of the community, as shown in the Sowing Rumors table. In a town or city, the time spent must be continuous. If the character spreads a rumor for ten days, disappears on an adventure for another few days and then returns, the rumor fades away without the benefit of constant repetition.
Sowing Rumors
| Settlement Size | Time Required |
|---|---|
| 100-1000 people | 2d6 days |
| 1001-10,000 | 4d6 days |
| More then 10,000 | 6d6 days |
The character must spend 10$ per day to cover the cost of drinks, social appearances, and the like. At the end of the time spent sowing the rumor, the character must make a DC 15 Charisma (Deception or Persuasion) check. If the check succeeds, the community’s prevailing attitude toward the subject shifts one step toward friendly or hostile, as the character wishes. If the check fails, the rumor gains no traction, and further attempts to propagate it fail.
Shifting a community’s general attitude toward a person or organization doesn’t affect everyone in the community. Individuals might hold to their own opinions, particularly if they have personal experience in dealing with the subject of the rumors.
Carousing
Carousing is a default downtime activity for many characters. Between adventures, who doesn’t want to relax with a few drinks and a group of friends at a tavern?
Resources. Carousing covers a workweek of fine food, strong drink, and socializing. A character can attempt to carouse among lower-, middle-, or upper-class folk. A character can carouse with the lower class for 10 $ to cover expenses, or 50 $ for the middle class. Carousing with the upper class requires 250 $ for the workweek and access to the local nobility.
A character with the noble background can mingle with the upper class, but other characters can do so only if you judge that the character has made sufficient contacts. Alternatively, a character might use a disguise kit and the Deception skill to pass as a noble.
Resolution. After a workweek of carousing, a character stands to make contacts within the selected social class. The character makes a Charisma (Persuasion) check using the Carousing table.
Carousing
| Check Total | Result |
|---|---|
| 1–5 | Character has made a hostile contact. |
| 6–10 | Character has made no new contacts. |
| 11–15 | Character has made an allied contact. |
| 16–20 | Character has made two allied contacts. |
| 21+ | Character has made three allied contacts. |
Contacts are NPCs who now share a bond with the character. Each one either owes the character a favor or has some reason to bear a grudge. A hostile contact works against the character, placing obstacles but stopping short of committing a crime or a violent act. Allied contacts are friends who will render aid to the character, but not at the risk of their lives.
Lower-class contacts include criminals, laborers, mercenaries, the town guard, and any other folk who normally frequent the cheapest taverns in town.
Middle-class contacts include guild members, spellcasters, town officials, and other folk who frequent well-kept establishments.
Upper-class contacts are nobles and their personal servants. Carousing with such folk covers formal banquets, state dinners, and the like.
Once a contact has helped or hindered a character, the character needs to carouse again to get back into the NPC’s good graces. A contact provides help once, not help for life. The contact remains friendly, which can influence roleplaying and how the characters interact with them, but doesn’t come with a guarantee of help.
These contacts will be assigned to your character based on which characters are present in the setting that was caroused in. If there are several to choose from then it will be rolled for amongst the possibilities. It is possible that the NPC will never be useful, but it is also possible that they will be a critical resource in a clutch moment.
Complications. Characters who carouse risk bar brawls, accumulating a cloud of nasty rumors, and building a bad reputation around town. As a rule of thumb, a character has a 10 percent chance of triggering a complication for each workweek of carousing.
Lower-Class Carousing Complications
| d8 | Complication |
|---|---|
| 1 | A pickpocket lifts 1d10 × 5 gp from you.* |
| 2 | A bar brawl leaves you with a scar.* |
| 3 | You have fuzzy memories of doing something very, very illegal, but can’t remember exactly what. |
| 4 | You are banned from a tavern after some obnoxious behavior.* |
| 5 | After a few drinks, you swore in the town square to pursue a dangerous quest. |
| 6 | Surprise! You’re married. |
| 7 | Streaking naked through the streets seemed like a great idea at the time. |
| 8 | Everyone is calling you by some weird, embarrassing nickname, like Puddle Drinker or Bench Slayer, and no one will say why.* |
*Might involve a rival
Middle-Class Carousing Complications
| d8 | Complication |
|---|---|
| 1 | You accidentally insulted a guild master, and only a public apology will let you do business with the guild again.* |
| 2 | You swore to complete some quest on behalf of a temple or a guild. |
| 3 | A social gaffe has made you the talk of the town.* |
| 4 | A particularly obnoxious person has taken an intense romantic interest in you.* |
| 5 | You have made a foe out of a local spellcaster.* |
| 6 | You have been recruited to help run a local festival, play, or similar event. |
| 7 | You made a drunken toast that scandalized the locals. |
| 8 | You spent an additional 100 gp trying to impress people. |
*Might involve a rival
Upper-Class Carousing Complications
| d8 | Complication |
|---|---|
| 1 | A pushy noble family wants to marry off one of their scions to you.* |
| 2 | You tripped and fell during a dance, and people can’t stop talking about it. |
| 3 | You have agreed to take on a noble’s debts. |
| 4 | You have been challenged to a joust by a knight.* |
| 5 | You have made a foe out of a local noble.* |
| 6 | A boring noble insists you visit each day and listen to long, tedious theories of magic. |
| 7 | You have become the target of a variety of embarrassing rumors.* |
| 8 | You spent an additional 500 gp trying to impress people. |
*Might involve a rival
Crime
Sometimes it pays to be bad. This activity gives a character the chance to make some extra cash, at the risk of arrest.
Resources. A character must spend one week and at least 25$ gathering information on potential targets before committing the intended crime.
Resolution. The character must make a series of checks, with the DC for all the checks chosen by the character according to the amount of profit sought from the crime.
The chosen DC can be 10, 15, 20, or 25. Successful completion of the crime yields a number of gold pieces, as shown on the Loot Value table.
To attempt a crime, the character makes three checks: Dexterity (Stealth), Dexterity using thieves’ tools, and the player’s choice of Intelligence (Investigation), Wisdom (Perception), or Charisma (Deception).
If none of the checks are successful, the character is caught and jailed. The character must pay a fine equal to the profit the crime would have earned and must spend one week in jail for each 25$ of the fine.
If only one check is successful, the heist fails but the character escapes.
If two checks are successful, the heist is a partial success, netting the character half the payout.
If all three checks are successful, the character earns the full value of the loot.
Loot Value
| DC | Value |
|---|---|
| 10 | 50$, robbery of a struggling merchant |
| 15 | 100$, robbery of a prosperous merchant |
| 20 | 200$, robbery of a noble |
| 25 | 1,000$, robbery of one of the richest figures in town |
Complications. A life of crime is filled with complications. Roll on the Crime Complications table (or create a complication of your own) if the character succeeds on only one check. If the character’s rival is involved in crime or law enforcement, a complication ensues if the character succeeds on only two checks.
Crime Complications
| d8 | Complication |
|---|---|
| 1 | A bounty equal to your earnings is offered for information about your crime.* |
| 2 | An unknown person contacts you, threatening to reveal your crime if you don’t render a service.* |
| 3 | Your victim is financially ruined by your crime. |
| 4 | Someone who knows of your crime has been arrested on an unrelated matter.* |
| 5 | Your loot is a single, easily identified item that you can’t fence in this region. |
| 6 | You robbed someone who was under a local crime lord’s protection, and who now wants revenge. |
| 7 | Your victim calls in a favor from a guard, doubling the efforts to solve the case. |
| 8 | Your victim asks one of your adventuring companions to solve the crime. |
*Might involve a rival
Gambling
Games of chance are a way to make a fortune — and perhaps a better way to lose one.
Resources. This activity requires one workweek of effort plus a stake of at least 10$, to a maximum of 1,000$.
Resolution. The character must make a series of checks, with a DC determined at random based on the quality of the competition that the character runs into. Part of the risk of gambling is that one never knows who might end up sitting across the table.
The character makes three checks: Wisdom (Insight), Charisma (Deception), and Charisma (Intimidation). If the character has proficiency with an appropriate gaming set, that tool proficiency can replace the relevant skill in any of the checks. The DC for each of the checks is 5 + 2d10; generate a separate DC for each one. Consult the Gambling Results table to see how the character did.
Gambling Results
| Result | Value |
|---|---|
| 0 successes | Lose all the money you bet, and accrue a debt equal to that amount. |
| 1 success | Lose half the money you bet. |
| 2 successes | Gain the amount you bet plus half again more. |
| 3 successes | Gain double the amount you bet. |
Complications. Gambling tends to attract unsavory individuals. The potential complications involved come from run-ins with the law and associations with various criminals tied to the activity. Every workweek spent gambling brings a 10 percent chance of a complication, examples of which are on the Gambling Complications table.
Gambling Complications
| d6 | Complication |
|---|---|
| 1 | You are accused of cheating. You decide whether you actually did cheat or were framed.* |
| 2 | The town guards raid the gambling hall and throw you in jail.* |
| 3 | A noble in town loses badly to you and loudly vows to get revenge.* |
| 4 | You won a sum from a low-ranking member of a thieves’ guild, and the guild wants its money back. |
| 5 | A local crime boss insists you start frequenting the boss’s gambling parlor and no others. |
| 6 | A high-stakes gambler comes to town and insists that you take part in a game. |
*Might involve a rival
Pit Fighting
Pit fighting includes boxing, wrestling, and other nonlethal forms of combat in an organized setting with predetermined matches. If you want to introduce competitive fighting in a battle-to-the-death situation, the standard combat rules apply to that sort of activity.
Resources. Engaging in this activity requires one workweek of effort from a character.
Resolution. The character must make a series of checks, with a DC determined at random based on the quality of the opposition that the character runs into. A big part of the challenge in pit fighting lies in the unknown nature of a character’s opponents.
The character makes three checks: Strength (Athletics), Dexterity (Acrobatics), and a special Constitution check that has a bonus equal to a roll of the character’s largest Hit Die (this roll doesn’t spend that die). If desired, the character can replace one of these skill checks with an attack roll using one of the character’s weapons. The DC for each of the checks is 5 + 2d10; generate a separate DC for each one. Consult the Pit Fighting Results table to see how the character did.
Pit Fighting Results
| Result | Value |
|---|---|
| 0 successes | Lose your bouts, earning nothing. |
| 1 success | Win 50 $ |
| 2 successes | Win 100 $ |
| 3 successes | Win 200 $ |
Complications. Characters involved in pit fighting must deal with their opponents, the people who bet on matches, and the matches’ promoters. Every workweek spent pit fighting brings a 10 percent chance of a complication, examples of which are on the Pit Fighting Complications table.
Pit Fighting Complications
| d6 | Complication |
|---|---|
| 1 | An opponent swears to take revenge on you.* |
| 2 | A crime boss approaches you and offers to pay you to intentionally lose a few matches.* |
| 3 | You defeat a popular local champion, drawing the crowd’s ire. |
| 4 | You defeat a noble’s servant, drawing the wrath of the noble’s house.* |
| 5 | You are accused of cheating. Whether the allegation is true or not, your reputation is tarnished.* |
| 6 | You accidentally deliver a near-fatal wound to a foe. |
*Might involve a rival
Relaxation
Sometimes the best thing to do between adventures is relax. Whether a character wants a hard-earned vacation or needs to recover from injuries, relaxation is the ideal option for adventurers who need a break. This option is also ideal for players who don’t want to make use of the downtime system.
Resources. Relaxation requires one week. A character needs to maintain at least a modest lifestyle while relaxing to gain the benefit of the activity.
Resolution. Characters who maintain at least a modest lifestyle while relaxing gain several benefits. While relaxing, a character gains advantage on saving throws to recover from long-acting diseases and poisons. In addition, at the end of the week, a character can end one effect that keeps the character from regaining hit points, or can restore one ability score that has been reduced to less than its normal value. This benefit cannot be used if the harmful effect was caused by a spell or some other magical effect with an ongoing duration.
Complications. Relaxation rarely comes with complications. If you want to make life complicated for the characters, introduce an action or an event connected to a rival.
Religious Service
Characters with a religious bent might want to spend downtime in service to a temple, either by attending rites or by proselytizing in the community. Someone who undertakes this activity has a chance of winning the favor of the temple’s leaders.
Resources. Performing religious service requires access to, and often attendance at, a temple whose beliefs and ethos align with the character’s. If such a place is available, the activity takes one workweek of time but involves no gold piece expenditure.
Resolution. At the end of the required time, the character chooses to make either an Intelligence (Religion) check or a Charisma (Persuasion) check. The total of the check determines the benefits of service, as shown on the Religious Service table.
Religious Service
| Check Total | Result |
|---|---|
| 1–10 | No effect. Your efforts fail to make a lasting impression. |
| 11–20 | You earn one favor. |
| 21+ | You earn two favors. |
A favor, in broad terms, is a promise of future assistance from a representative of the temple. It can be expended to ask the temple for help in dealing with a specific problem, for general political or social support, or to reduce the cost of cleric spellcasting by 50 percent. A favor could also take the form of a deity’s intervention, such as an omen, a vision, or a minor miracle provided at a key moment. This latter sort of favor is expended by the DM, who also determines its nature.
Favors earned need not be expended immediately, but only a certain number can be stored up. A character can have a maximum number of unused favors equal to 1 + the character’s Charisma modifier (minimum of one unused favor).
Complications. Temples can be labyrinths of political and social scheming. Even the best-intentioned sect can fall prone to rivalries. A character who serves a temple risks becoming embroiled in such struggles. Every workweek spent in religious service brings a 10 percent chance of a complication, examples of which are on the Religious Service Complications table.
Religious Service Complications
| d6 | Complication |
|---|---|
| 1 | You have offended a priest through your words or actions.* |
| 2 | Blasphemy is still blasphemy, even if you did it by accident. |
| 3 | A secret sect in the temple offers you membership. |
| 4 | Another temple tries to recruit you as a spy.* |
| 5 | The temple elders implore you to take up a holy quest. |
| 6 | You accidentally discover that an important person in the temple is a fiend worshiper. |
*Might involve a rival
Work
When all else fails, an adventurer can turn to an honest trade to earn a living. This activity represents a character’s attempt to find temporary work, the quality and wages of which are difficult to predict.
Resources. Performing a job requires one workweek of effort.
Resolution. To determine how much money a character earns, the character makes an ability check: Strength (Athletics), Dexterity (Acrobatics), Intelligence using a set of tools, Charisma (Performance), or Charisma using a musical instrument. Consult the Wages table to see how much money is generated according to the total of the check.
Wages
| Check Total | Earnings |
|---|---|
| 9 or lower | Poor lifestyle for the week |
| 10–14 | Modest lifestyle for the week |
| 15–20 | Comfortable lifestyle for the week |
| 21+ | Comfortable lifestyle for the week + 25 $ |
Complications. Ordinary work is rarely filled with significant complications. Still, the Work Complications table can add some difficulties to a worker’s life. Each workweek of activity brings a 10 percent chance that a character encounters a complication.
Work Complications
| d6 | Complication |
|---|---|
| 1 | A difficult customer or a fight with a coworker reduces the wages you earn by one category.* |
| 2 | Your employer’s financial difficulties result in your not being paid.* |
| 3 | A coworker with ties to an important family in town takes a dislike to you.* |
| 4 | Your employer is involved with a dark cult or a criminal enterprise. |
| 5 | A crime ring targets your business for extortion.* |
| 6 | You gain a reputation for laziness (unjustified or not, as you choose), giving you disadvantage on checks made for this downtime activity for the next six workweeks you devote to it.* |
*Might involve a rival
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