Long Rests in this game take one week to complete; Short Rests take one day.
When you take a Long Rest in town, you'll have access to special downtime activities; things you spend your time doing while recuperating. We'll be timeskipping those weeks, unless something extraordinary happens. Here are a list of activities you guys should look over; whenever you Long Rest in a safe harbor, I'll ask you which of these you'd like to do.
Also, remember that during these Long Rests, you'll have to support yourself. The lifestyle you choose to live at determines how much each week will end up costing you. Some of you won't be able to survive on the lifestyle you have, so you'll have to dial it down to reflect your actual financial situation until you get more gold. But, getting rich quick is one of the reasons characters brave the dangers of dungeons in the first place!
However, if your background gives you a feature like "Shelter of the Faithful," which allows you to be supported by a temple, then you don't need to worry about living expenses... at least when you're somewhere that you can take advantage of it.
Downtime Activities
When not adventuring, characters can busy themselves with other projects: working, socializing, gambling, and the like. Consider it time spent away from following the characters' footsteps, skipping ahead in time to the next point of adventure.
Example Downtime Activities
Most of these activities take place over a work week, and cost money. The activities allowed at a particular time depend on the DM's judgment and the location. For example, you may be unable to find high class folk to carouse with in a simple farm town.
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 gp to cover expenses, or 50 gp for the middle class. Carousing with the upper class requires 250 gp 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 the DM judges that the character has made sufficient contacts. Alternatively, a character might use a disguise kit and the Deception skill to pass as a noble visiting from a distant city.
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. Any character of a monstrous race will have Disadvantage on this check unless they do something to compensate.
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.
The DM can assign specific NPCs as contacts. The DM might decide that the barkeep at the Wretched Gorgon and a guard stationed at the western gate are the character's allied contacts. Assigning specific NPCs gives the players concrete options. It brings the campaign to life and seeds the area with NPCs that the characters care about. On the other hand, it can prove difficult to track and might render a contact useless if that character doesn't come into play.
Alternatively, the DM can allow the player to make an NPC into a contact on the spot, after carousing. When the characters are in the area in which they caroused, a player can expend an allied contact and designate an NPC they meet as a contact, assuming the NPC is of the correct social class based on how the character caroused. The player should provide a reasonable explanation for this relationship and work it into the game, and the DM may accept it if they find it fitting.
Using a mix of the two approaches is a good idea, since it gives you the added depth of specific contacts while giving players the freedom to ensure that the contacts they accumulate are useful.
The same process can apply to hostile contacts. The DM can give the characters a specific NPC they should avoid, or the DM might introduce one at an inopportune or dramatic moment.
At any time, a character can have a maximum number of unspecified allied contacts equal to 1 + the character's Charisma modifier (minimum of 1). Specific, named contacts don't count toward this limit—only ones that can be used at any time to declare an NPC as a contact.
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.
*Might involve a rival
*Might involve a rival
*Might involve a rival
Crafting an Item
A character who has the time, the money, and the needed tools can use downtime to craft armor, weapons, clothing, or other kinds of nonmagical gear.
Resources and Resolution. In addition to the appropriate tools for the item to be crafted, a character needs raw materials worth half of the item's selling cost. To determine how many workweeks it takes to create an item, divide its gold piece cost by 50. A character can complete multiple items in a workweek if the items' combined cost is 50 gp or lower. Items that cost more than 50 gp can be completed over longer periods of time, as long as the work in progress is stored in a safe location.
Multiple characters can combine their efforts. Divide the time needed to create an item by the number of characters working on it. The DM must use their judgment when determining how many characters can collaborate on an item. A particularly tiny item, like a ring, might allow only one or two workers, whereas a large, complex item might allow four or more workers.
A character needs to be proficient with the tools needed to craft an item and have access to the appropriate equipment. Everyone who collaborates needs to have the appropriate tool proficiency. The DM needs to make any judgment calls regarding whether a character has the correct equipment. The following table provides some examples.
If all the above requirements are met, the result of the process is an item of the desired sort. A character can sell an item crafted in this way at its listed price.
Brewing Potions of Healing. Potions of healing fall into a special category for item crafting, separate from other magic items. A character who has proficiency with the herbalism kit can create these potions. The times and costs for doing so are summarized on the Potion of Healing Creation table.
Complications. Most of the complications involved in creating something, especially a magic item, are linked to the difficulty in finding rare ingredients or components needed to complete the work. The complications a character might face as byproducts of the creation process are most interesting when the characters are working on a magic item: there's a 10 percent chance for every five workweeks spent on crafting an item that a complication occurs. The Crafting Complications table provides examples of what might happen.
*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 gp 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 gp 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.
Complications. A life of crime is filled with complications. Roll on the Crime Complications table (or the DM creates a complication of their 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.
*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 gp, to a maximum of 1,000 gp or more, as you see fit.
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.
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.
*Might involve a rival
Performing Sacred Rites
A pious character can spend time between adventures performing sacred rites in a temple affiliated with a god he or she reveres. Between rites, the character spends time in meditation and prayer.
Resources. Performing religious rites 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. A character who is a priest in the temple can lead these rites, which might include weddings, funerals, and ordinations. A layperson can offer sacrifices in a temple or assist a priest with a rite. At the end of the required time, the character chooses to make either an Wisdom (Religion) check. The total of the check determines the benefits of service, as shown on the Religious Rites table.
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.
Pit Fighting
Pit fighting includes boxing, wrestling, and other nonlethal forms of combat in an organized setting with predetermined matches.
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.
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.
*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 the DM wants to make life complicated for the characters, they can 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.
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.
*Might involve a rival
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 gp 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 100 gp spent beyond the initial 100 gp, 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.
*Might involve a rival
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.
The DM is the final arbiter concerning exactly what a character learns. For a monster or an NPC, the DM can reveal elements of statistics or personality. For a location, the DM 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.
Scribing a Spell Scroll
With time and patience, a spellcaster can transfer a spell to a scroll, creating a spell scroll.
Resources. Scribing a spell scroll takes an amount of time and money related to the level of the spell the character wants to scribe, as shown in the Spell Scroll Costs table. In addition, the character must have proficiency in the Arcana skill and must provide any material components required for the casting of the spell. Moreover, the character must have the spell prepared, or it must be among the character's known spells, in order to scribe a scroll of that spell.
If the scribed spell is a cantrip, the version on the scroll works as if the caster were 1st level.
Complications. Crafting a spell scroll is a solitary task, unlikely to attract much attention. The complications that arise are more likely to involve the preparation needed for the activity. Every workweek spent scribing brings a 10 percent chance of a complication, examples of which are on the Scribe a Scroll Complications table.
*Might involve a rival
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.
Resources. The character must spend 1 gp per day to cover the cost of drinks, social appearances, and the like.
Resolution. 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 rumor takes hold. 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.
Complications. Trafficking in rumor risks alerting the target to the character's activities, and attracting the attention of rivals or enemies who may take counter measures.
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.
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.
*Might involve a rival
When you take a Long Rest in town, you'll have access to special downtime activities; things you spend your time doing while recuperating. We'll be timeskipping those weeks, unless something extraordinary happens. Here are a list of activities you guys should look over; whenever you Long Rest in a safe harbor, I'll ask you which of these you'd like to do.
Also, remember that during these Long Rests, you'll have to support yourself. The lifestyle you choose to live at determines how much each week will end up costing you. Some of you won't be able to survive on the lifestyle you have, so you'll have to dial it down to reflect your actual financial situation until you get more gold. But, getting rich quick is one of the reasons characters brave the dangers of dungeons in the first place!
However, if your background gives you a feature like "Shelter of the Faithful," which allows you to be supported by a temple, then you don't need to worry about living expenses... at least when you're somewhere that you can take advantage of it.
Downtime Activities
When not adventuring, characters can busy themselves with other projects: working, socializing, gambling, and the like. Consider it time spent away from following the characters' footsteps, skipping ahead in time to the next point of adventure.
Example Downtime Activities
Most of these activities take place over a work week, and cost money. The activities allowed at a particular time depend on the DM's judgment and the location. For example, you may be unable to find high class folk to carouse with in a simple farm town.
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 gp to cover expenses, or 50 gp for the middle class. Carousing with the upper class requires 250 gp 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 the DM judges that the character has made sufficient contacts. Alternatively, a character might use a disguise kit and the Deception skill to pass as a noble visiting from a distant city.
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. Any character of a monstrous race will have Disadvantage on this check unless they do something to compensate.
| 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.
The DM can assign specific NPCs as contacts. The DM might decide that the barkeep at the Wretched Gorgon and a guard stationed at the western gate are the character's allied contacts. Assigning specific NPCs gives the players concrete options. It brings the campaign to life and seeds the area with NPCs that the characters care about. On the other hand, it can prove difficult to track and might render a contact useless if that character doesn't come into play.
Alternatively, the DM can allow the player to make an NPC into a contact on the spot, after carousing. When the characters are in the area in which they caroused, a player can expend an allied contact and designate an NPC they meet as a contact, assuming the NPC is of the correct social class based on how the character caroused. The player should provide a reasonable explanation for this relationship and work it into the game, and the DM may accept it if they find it fitting.
Using a mix of the two approaches is a good idea, since it gives you the added depth of specific contacts while giving players the freedom to ensure that the contacts they accumulate are useful.
The same process can apply to hostile contacts. The DM can give the characters a specific NPC they should avoid, or the DM might introduce one at an inopportune or dramatic moment.
At any time, a character can have a maximum number of unspecified allied contacts equal to 1 + the character's Charisma modifier (minimum of 1). Specific, named contacts don't count toward this limit—only ones that can be used at any time to declare an NPC as a contact.
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 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
Crafting an Item
A character who has the time, the money, and the needed tools can use downtime to craft armor, weapons, clothing, or other kinds of nonmagical gear.
Resources and Resolution. In addition to the appropriate tools for the item to be crafted, a character needs raw materials worth half of the item's selling cost. To determine how many workweeks it takes to create an item, divide its gold piece cost by 50. A character can complete multiple items in a workweek if the items' combined cost is 50 gp or lower. Items that cost more than 50 gp can be completed over longer periods of time, as long as the work in progress is stored in a safe location.
Multiple characters can combine their efforts. Divide the time needed to create an item by the number of characters working on it. The DM must use their judgment when determining how many characters can collaborate on an item. A particularly tiny item, like a ring, might allow only one or two workers, whereas a large, complex item might allow four or more workers.
A character needs to be proficient with the tools needed to craft an item and have access to the appropriate equipment. Everyone who collaborates needs to have the appropriate tool proficiency. The DM needs to make any judgment calls regarding whether a character has the correct equipment. The following table provides some examples.
| Required Proficiency | Items |
| Herbalism kit | Antitoxin, potion of healing |
| Leatherworker's tools | Leather armor, boots |
| Smith's tools | Armor, weapons |
| Weaver's tools | Cloaks, robes |
If all the above requirements are met, the result of the process is an item of the desired sort. A character can sell an item crafted in this way at its listed price.
Brewing Potions of Healing. Potions of healing fall into a special category for item crafting, separate from other magic items. A character who has proficiency with the herbalism kit can create these potions. The times and costs for doing so are summarized on the Potion of Healing Creation table.
| Type | Time | Cost |
| Healing | 1 day | 25 gp |
| Greater healing | 1 workweek | 100 gp |
| Superior healing | 3 workweeks | 1,000 gp |
| Supreme healing | 4 workweeks | 10,000 gp |
Complications. Most of the complications involved in creating something, especially a magic item, are linked to the difficulty in finding rare ingredients or components needed to complete the work. The complications a character might face as byproducts of the creation process are most interesting when the characters are working on a magic item: there's a 10 percent chance for every five workweeks spent on crafting an item that a complication occurs. The Crafting Complications table provides examples of what might happen.
| Crafting Complications | |
| d6 | Complication |
| 1 | Rumors swirl that what you're working on is unstable and a threat to the community.* |
| 2 | Your tools are stolen, forcing you to buy new ones.* |
| 3 | A local wizard shows keen interest in your work and insists on observing you. |
| 4 | A powerful noble offers a hefty price for your work and is not interested in hearing no for an answer.* |
| 5 | A dwarf clan accuses you of stealing its secret lore to fuel your work.* |
| 6 | A competitor spreads rumors that your work is shoddy and prone to failure.* |
*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 gp 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 gp 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.
| DC | Value |
| 10 | 50 gp, robbery of a struggling merchant |
| 15 | 100 gp, robbery of a prosperous merchant |
| 20 | 200 gp, robbery of a noble |
| 25 | 1,000 gp, 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 the DM creates a complication of their 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 gp, to a maximum of 1,000 gp or more, as you see fit.
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.
| 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
Performing Sacred Rites
A pious character can spend time between adventures performing sacred rites in a temple affiliated with a god he or she reveres. Between rites, the character spends time in meditation and prayer.
Resources. Performing religious rites 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. A character who is a priest in the temple can lead these rites, which might include weddings, funerals, and ordinations. A layperson can offer sacrifices in a temple or assist a priest with a rite. At the end of the required time, the character chooses to make either an Wisdom (Religion) check. The total of the check determines the benefits of service, as shown on the Religious Rites table.
| Check Total | Result |
| 1—10 | No effect. Your efforts fail to make a lasting impression. |
| 11—20 | You gain an inspiration each morning for the next d6 days. |
| 21+ | You gain an inspiration each morning for the next 2d6 days. |
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.
Pit Fighting
Pit fighting includes boxing, wrestling, and other nonlethal forms of combat in an organized setting with predetermined matches.
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.
| Result | Value |
| 0 successes | Lose your bouts, earning nothing. |
| 1 success | Win 50 gp. |
| 2 successes | Win 100 gp. |
| 3 successes | Win 200 gp. |
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 the DM wants to make life complicated for the characters, they can 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.
| 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. |
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
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 gp 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 100 gp spent beyond the initial 100 gp, 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 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
| 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.
The DM is the final arbiter concerning exactly what a character learns. For a monster or an NPC, the DM can reveal elements of statistics or personality. For a location, the DM 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.
Scribing a Spell Scroll
With time and patience, a spellcaster can transfer a spell to a scroll, creating a spell scroll.
Resources. Scribing a spell scroll takes an amount of time and money related to the level of the spell the character wants to scribe, as shown in the Spell Scroll Costs table. In addition, the character must have proficiency in the Arcana skill and must provide any material components required for the casting of the spell. Moreover, the character must have the spell prepared, or it must be among the character's known spells, in order to scribe a scroll of that spell.
If the scribed spell is a cantrip, the version on the scroll works as if the caster were 1st level.
| Spell Level | Time | Cost |
| Cantrip | 1 day | 15 gp |
| 1st | 1 day | 25 gp |
| 2nd | 3 days | 250 gp |
| 3rd | 1 workweek | 500 gp |
| 4th | 2 workweeks | 2,500 gp |
| 5th | 4 workweeks | 5,000 gp |
| 6th | 8 workweeks | 15,000 gp |
| 7th | 16 workweeks | 25,000 gp |
| 8th | 32 workweeks | 50,000 gp |
| 9th | 48 workweeks | 250,000 gp |
Complications. Crafting a spell scroll is a solitary task, unlikely to attract much attention. The complications that arise are more likely to involve the preparation needed for the activity. Every workweek spent scribing brings a 10 percent chance of a complication, examples of which are on the Scribe a Scroll Complications table.
| Scribe a Scroll Complications | |
| d6 | Complication |
| 1 | You bought up the last of the rare ink used to craft scrolls, angering a wizard in town. |
| 2 | The priest of a temple of good accuses you of trafficking in dark magic.* |
| 3 | A wizard eager to collect one of your spells in a book presses you to sell the scroll. |
| 4 | Due to a strange error in creating the scroll, it is instead a random spell of the same level. |
| 5 | The rare parchment you bought for your scroll has a barely visible map on it. |
| 6 | A thief attempts to break into your workroom.* |
*Might involve a rival
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.
Resources. The character must spend 1 gp per day to cover the cost of drinks, social appearances, and the like.
Resolution. 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 rumor takes hold. If the check fails, the rumor gains no traction, and further attempts to propagate it fail.
| Settlement Size | Time Required | Cost |
| Village | 1 week | 7 gp |
| Town | 2 weeks | 14 gp |
| City | 3 weeks | 21 gp |
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.
Complications. Trafficking in rumor risks alerting the target to the character's activities, and attracting the attention of rivals or enemies who may take counter measures.
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.
| Check Total | Earnings |
| 9 or lower | Poor lifestyle for the week (14 sp) |
| 10—14 | Modest lifestyle for the week (7 gp) |
| 15—20 | Comfortable lifestyle for the week (14 gp) |
| 21—25 | Comfortable lifestyle for the week + 26 gp (30 gp) |
| 26+ | Comfortable lifestyle for the week + 36 gp (50 gp) |
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
