Overview
Time within the world of Ardunor moves forward at roughly the same pace as it does in real life, meaning, if one actual week passes in real life, a week will have passed in the campaign as well. This means that there's usually at least an in game week in between each adventure, and often longer for some characters. This makes downtime activities an ideal option for this campaign!
These activities are typically actions that take weeks or longer to complete, and often result in your characters gaining gold, or making progress towards your personal goals. Many of these also have the possibility of complications arising, adding some interesting drama.
The activities below are simply examples, and not an exhaustive list. If you can think of something that your character would like to work on between sessions, work with me and I'm sure we'll come up with something cool.
Downtime activities are also detailed on page 125 of Xanathar's Guide to everything, but they are summarized here with modifications that match what Herford has to offer.
Cost
Some activities have a monetary or resource cost that needs to be covered in order to perform them.
Time
Nearly all the activities require at least one week (five days) to complete. Some of them take longer, and others have the option of spending more time on it for added benefit. If your character leaves on an adventure in the middle of the activity, you will be able to pick up where you left off when you return. There may be some exceptions to this. For example, if you are crafting an item and living in squalid conditions, you may find that some of the resources used in the crafting have disappeared when you return. A general rule of thumb is that living a modest lifestyle ensures that your work is protected during an adventure (barring any complications).
Resolution
Some activities resolve automatically, no roll needed. Some will require one or more skill checks to determine how successful your downtime activity was. These checks will be performed at the next session your character participates in (or if you're changing which activity you're performing in between sessions, it can be resolved in the Discord).
Complications
Most downtime activities, aside from relaxation, have the possibility of resulting in complications. Rivals can often be the source of these complications, or sometimes the complications create the rivals. Xanathar's Guide has a list of example complications, but the dungeon master has the final say.
Lifestyle
Your character will need shelter, food, and water in between sessions. They'll also likely be buying minor expenses here and there to improve their quality of life, or make minor repairs to their gear. These expenses are handily summed up in a variety of
Lifestyle Expenses.
Living in terrible conditions will result in you being exhausted when it comes time to adventure, and brings with it the possibility of contracting diseases. Comfortable living conditions, on the other hand, inspire you and make you ready to face the oncoming challenges (though you might just be pulled into the political feuds between the various factions within Herford).
Check the
Lifestyle Expenses table to see what the options are, as you will likely need to select one if performing a downtime activity. We will calculate how much gold you owe at the beginning of any session you participate in.
Example Downtime Activities
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?
Cost 10 gp to carouse with the lower class, 50 gp to carouse with the middle class, 250 gp to carouse with the upper class
Time One workweek
Resolution Roll a Persuasion check. The result will determine how many allies or enemies you make.
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.
Cost Raw materials worth half the selling cost of the item, and appropriate tools (and proficiency for said tool) for the item. Here's a list of example items you can craft with various tools:
| Proficiency |
Items |
| Alchemist's supplies |
Antitoxin, potion of healing |
| Brewer's supplies |
Ale, wine, liquor |
| Calligrapher's supplies |
Copied books |
| Carpenter's tools |
Furniture, wagons |
| Cartographer's tools |
Maps of the Edge of the World |
| Cobbler's tools |
Shoes |
| Glassblower's tools |
Glass jars, vials, bottles |
| Leatherworker's tools |
Leather armor, boots |
| Smith's tools |
Armor, weapons |
| Weaver's tools |
Cloaks robes |
Time The number of workweeks is equal to the gold piece cost of the item divided by 50. You can make multiple of an item in one week that costs less than 50, if the total cost of the combined items is 50 or less. You can spend multiple weeks on one item, as long as you have a safe place to store your work. This requires at least a modest lifestyle to keep the item safe.
Resolution The item is successfully created at the end of the required number of weeks.
Crafting Magic Items
If you have a blueprint to create a magic item, along with the appropriate ingredients (many blueprints require rare and hard to acquire ingredients), then you will be able to craft the magical item. Work with the DM to figure out the cost and the time required.
Brewing Potions of Healing
A character proficient with herbalism kits can create potions of healing. Here is a chart for the cost and time requirements for brewing potions of healing:
| Type |
Time |
Cost |
| Healing |
1/2 a week |
25 gp |
| Greater healing |
1 week |
100 gp |
| Superior healing |
3 weeks |
1,000 gp |
| Supreme healing |
4 weeks |
10,000 gp |
Crime
Sometimes it pays to be bad. This activity gives a character
the chance to make some extra cash, at the risk
of arrest.
Cost 25 gp spent gathering information
Time One week gathering intel for each tier of difficulty (1 week for DC 10, 2 weeks for DC 15, etc)
Resolution Choose your DC (determines loot): 10, 15, 20, 25. Make three checks: Stealth, Thieves' Tools, and either Investigation, Perception, or Deception
Complication If you roll only one success, a complication happens. If you are on Sanne's, the captain of the guard, bad side, a complication happens with only 2 successes.
Loot Value
| DC |
Value |
| 10 |
50 gp, you robbed a struggling merchant (Smitten, Dorbin Pepberry, etc) |
| 15 |
100 gp, you robbed a prosperous merchant (Pandemonium Elixers, the Tooth and Incubus tavern, etc) |
| 20 |
200 gp, you robbed one of the wealthier citizens of Herford |
| 25 |
1,000 gp, you broke into the vault at Herford's keep |
Gambling
Games of chance are a way to make a fortune — and per -
haps a better way to lose one.
Cost Choose a stake from 10 to 1000 gp
Time One workweek
Resolution Make three checks: Insight, Deception, and Intimidation. If you have proficiency in the appropriate gaming set, you can replace any of those three skills with the tool check. The DC is 5 + 2d10 for each check, rolling separately for each check.
| Result |
Value |
| 0 successes |
Lose all money and accrue debt equal to that amount
|
| 1 success |
Lose half the money
|
| 2 successes |
Gain 1.5x the money
|
| 3 successes |
Gain double the money
|
Improving an Establishment
Anyone can invest money into an establishment in Herford. If you also spend time working with the proprietor to improve it, your investment goes even further towards improving the place.
Cost An initial investment greater than 0 gold
Time One workweek
Resolution Make three checks: Athletics, a Strength check with the appropriate tools (based on what you're improving), Persuasion (haggling for better wares). The DC is 15 for each check.
| Result |
Value |
| 0 successes |
1x your investment goes towards improving the establishment |
| 1 success |
1.25x your investment goes towards improving the establishment |
| 2 successes |
1.5x your investment goes towards improving the establishment |
| 3 successes |
2x your investment goes towards improving the establishment |
Pit Fighting
Unless you are in the "know", there are no places in Herford to do any pit fighting.
Cost None
Time One workweek
Resolution Make three checks: Athletics, Acrobatics, Constitution check + a roll of the character's largest hit die. You can replace any of those three skills with a weapon attack. The DC is 5 + 2d10 for each check, rolling separately for each check.
| Result |
Value |
| 0 successes |
Lose your bouts, earning nothing |
| 1 success |
Win 50 gp |
| 2 successes |
Win 100 gp |
| 3 successes |
Win 200 gp |
Relaxation
If you really need to recover from some painful injuries, or if you just need a break, you can relax for a couple of weeks.
Cost You must maintain a modest lifestyle
Time One week minimum
Resolution Gain advantage on saving throws to recover from long term diseases and poisons. At the end of the week, the character can end one effect preventing them from regaining HP, or restore one ability score that has been reduced (unless the effect was caused by a magical effect with an ongoing duration)
Religious Service
Takayasu always appreciates assistant with the duties required at the Tōsha. Performing a religious service means you are either tending to mundane duties at the temple (making yourself visible), or participating in rites and ceremonies involving the townsfolk at the temple. Doing this will potentially grant you favors from the priest, who will be more willing to cast spells for you, and offer them at a discount for each favor. You might also accrue a favor from your deity (except for the Holy Light. It would not appreciate you contributing to such a heathenish temple).
Cost Attendance to the Tōsha or a temple that aligns with the character's ethos (currently only the Tōsha is available)
Time One workweek
Resolution Make either Religion or Persuasion check
| 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 |
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.
Cost 50 gp and a library with the relevant texts on the subject
Time At least one workweek
Resolution Make an Intelligence check with a +1 bonus per workweek after the first and for each 100gp spent beyond the first 100 gp, to a max of +6. For example if you spent 300 gold and four weeks researching, you would gain a +2 from the gold and an additional +3 from the additional weeks. A character with access to a well stocked library (or one with books specific to this matter) gains advantage.
| 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 |
Scribing a Spell Scroll
With time and patience, a spellcaster can transfer a
spell to a scroll , creating a spell scroll.
Cost See spell scroll cost table. The spell must be one of the character's known spells and requires the material components needed to cast it
Time See spell scroll cost table
Resolution The scroll is automatically created at the end of the required amount of time
| Spell Level |
Time |
Cost |
| Cantrip |
1 day |
15 gp |
| 1st |
1 day |
25 gp |
| 2nd |
3 days |
250 gp |
| 3rd |
1 week |
500 gp |
| 4th |
2 weeks |
2,500 gp |
| 5th |
4 weeks |
5,000 gp |
| 6th |
8 weeks |
15,000 gp |
| 7th |
16 weeks |
25,000 gp |
| 8th |
32 weeks |
50,000 gp |
| 9th |
48 weeks |
250,000 gp |
Training
Given enough free time and the services of an instructor,
a character can learn a language or pick up proficiency
with a tool.
Cost 25 gp per workweek
Time 10 workweeks minus 1 workweek per Int mod
Resolution You learn the proficiency with a tool or the language at the end of the required amount of time
Working
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.
Cost None
Time One workweek
Resolution Make one check: Athletics, Acrobatics, Intelligence with tools, Performance, or Charisma with a musical instrument
| 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 gp |
Note that with this downtime activity, you do not choose your lifestyle at the beginning of the activity. Rather, it is decided by how well you roll. You may still decide to either live a lesser lifestyle and pocket the difference in living expenses, or live a wealthier lifestyle and pay the extra.
Comments