Basic Downtime Abilities

Gameplay

Status Effects

Downtime Mode

This section contains all basic Downtime Mode abilities. "Basic" abilities are generally usable by any character, assuming they meet any listed requirements and there are no other circumstances preventing them from using that ability. For example, a wolf is unlikely to use any activities besides Rest, Travel, Track, Forage, and Scout.

Remember, each participant in a Downtime Mode day can use up to three ⧗ activities. Most often, this will mean that a character will use one of these activities to ⧗ Rest, leaving them with two more activities to choose from for that day.

Region Maps and Movement

Zones. Each zone represents an area approximately 4-8 miles or 6-12 kilometers across. Under normal conditions, a character can easily traverse 2 zones with a single activity using ⧗ Travel.

Difficult Terrain (Zones). Every second zone of difficult terrain you enter using Move activities during a Downtime day costs 2 zones worth of movement instead of 1.

On the Move. Whenever you use an activity that doesn't have the Move trait, you can move up to 1 zone immediately before, during, or after the activity resolves. If you do, that activity gains the Move trait in that instance.

Daily

Remove 1 Damage. If you have no Damage, instead remove 1 Blight (if any). Remove an amount of Fatigue based on the quality of your Rest (GM discretion):

Fine Rest (quality food, fine lodging, etc.). Remove 2 Fatigue.

Decent Rest (sturdy shelter, hot meal, etc.). Remove 1 Fatigue.
Poor Rest (shoddy shelter, trail rations, etc.). Remove no Fatigue.

Special. You cannot use the On the Move rules while taking a ⧗ Rest.

Note. If you end a day without finishing a ⧗ Rest, take 1 Fatigue, plus 1 Fatigue for every consecutive previous day you didn't ⧗ Rest.

Requirement: You must have enough Experience to reach your next character level.

(2nd–5; 3rd–10; 4th–20; 5th–30; 6th–40; 7th–50; 8th–65; 9th–80; 10th–100)

You advance to the next character level, gaining the associated features for the new level.

If you have access to a mentor during this activity, you may be able to acquire an additional ability provided by that mentor, in addition to the benefits you would normally gain from leveling up.

Choose a trade or culture skill in which you are an expert (d10) or lower and roll Discipline against a difficulty equal to your current die size in the chosen skill.

Success. Add 3 points to your Practice progress track for the chosen skill (add one if you don't already have one).

Failure. As success, but add 1 point instead and gain 1 Luck.

Limit 9. You gain a permanent boost to the chosen skill.

⛊ Tutor (17-20). Aid another character attempting to Practice the same skill. This is potent aid by default (see the modifying a roll rules).

Move

Choose a Travel pace:

Standard. Move up to 2 zones.
Hustle (Taxing). Move up to 3 zones and roll Might with a difficulty equal to your current Burden (minimum 2). On a failure, take 1 Fatigue.
Double Time (Taxing). Take 1 Fatigue and move up to 4 zones. Roll Might with a difficulty equal to your current Burden (minimum 2). On a failure, take 1 additional Fatigue.

Roll Medicine to treat a creature's injuries against a difficulty of 5.

Roll with -2 edge if you lack a Medical Toolkit.
If you are expert (d10) in Medicine, the target removes 1 Damage.

The target must also spend one of their activities at the same time in order to receive this treatment. A creature cannot benefit from this activity more than once per Downtime day.

Success. The target removes 1 Damage.

⛊ Nurse (17-20). Choose an Injury or Disease affliction the target has and add 1 Point to their recovery progress track for it.

Gain 1 Luck. Gain 1 additional Luck if you also do one or more of the following:

Spend 5+ Money on fine food and drink, hobbies, or personal vices.
Spend quality time with another character (you must succeed at a Presence roll against a difficulty of 4).
Damage a personal relationship with another character, causing their disposition to decrease toward you (if applicable). You can choose this option after failing a Presence roll for the previous option.

Target a willing NPC with whom you'd like to improve your relationship, and with whom you can spend the majority of this activity.

Roll Presence. The difficulty is based on the skill used and the NPC's existing biases.

Success. The NPC's disposition increases toward you.

Requirement. You must have access to a toolkit or workshop for the duration.

Choose an item or item upgrade for which you know the formula and roll with a trade skill appropriate to the task (Alchemy, Arcana, Clockwork, Demolitions, etc.). The difficulty is based on the complexity of the item or upgrade.

Roll with -2 edge if you are untrained (d4) in the requisite skill.
Roll with +1 edge if you have access to a workshop for the duration.

Success. Add 1 point to the Crafting progress track for the item or upgrade. When the progress track is completed, the crafting materials are consumed.

⛊ Expedite (17-20). Add 1 point to the progress track.

Roll Engineering to repair a damaged structure, or Clockwork to repair a damaged gadget.

Remove an amount of Damage from the target up to half your result. Spend materials worth 5% of the structure's Money value for each Damage removed in this way.

⛊ Diagnostic (17-20). You learn what material or component is best-suited to the repair. If you acquire it, your next Repair attempt on this target is made with +2 edge.

Choose a willing creature and specify a task you expect them to make before the end of the Downtime day. Then, describe how you attempt to aid or hinder them in the chosen task. If you're aiding the creature, they must be willing.

The GM sets the aid/hinder roll's difficulty and level of effectiveness, using the rules for modifying a roll. Roll as directed by the GM.

The target creature's primary roll is adjusted accordingly the next time the target makes that roll before the end of the Downtime day.

Daily (trait)

An ability with the Daily trait cannot be used more than once per day by the same character. For example, a character cannot Rest more than once per day.

Move (trait)

An activity with the Move trait allows the character to traverse one or more zones as part of the ability. This movement replaces the On the Move rule for Downtime Mode for this ability.

Wilderness (trait)

Abilities with the Wilderness trait can typically only be used in natural environments such as deserts, forests, and grasslands.

Urban (trait)

Abilities with the Urban trait can typically only be used in urban areas such as outposts, towns, and cities.

Wilderness

Roll Botany, Fishing, Hunting, or Zoology, with a difficulty based on the harshness of your environment and the availability of the chosen bounty.

Bountiful: difficulty 3
Average: difficulty 4
Desolate: difficulty 6

Success. You gather enough food and water to nourish up to 2 creatures. The meal is sufficient for a poor Rest.

⛊ Yield Bounty (18-20). You gather enough water and food to nourish 1d6 creatures.

⛊ Find Shelter (19-20). On a success, you find food, water, and shelter sufficient for a decent Rest for up to 8 creatures.

Wilderness Veiled

Roll Navigation against any and all obscured features in your zone and each adjacent zone. Increase your visible range of major features by 1 zone for the duration of this activity.

Success. You discover the obscured feature.

⛊ Distant Scout (17-20). Increase your visible range by 2 zones for the duration of this activity instead of 1.

Veiled Wilderness

Roll Tracking to gather information in your current zone about the recent movement of creatures. The difficulty is based on the weather, number of creatures being tracked, etc.

Success. You learn the movements and directions of ground-moving creatures or vehicles within your zone from the past 2-3 days.

⛊ Hidden Trace (17-20). You find a piece of evidence such as a scrap of cloth, a patch of fur, or a fallen trinket that indicates the passage of a particular creature.

Urban

Requirement: You must have access to books, archives, or lore relevant to your research for the duration.

Roll using a trade skill relevant to your research. The difficulty is based on the obscurity of the information you seek, as well as the resources available to you.

Success. You acquire the knowledge you seek, gain a lead on where to look next for it, or learn that it cannot be learned in this way (GM discretion).

⛊ Sidetrack (17-20). You discover something only partially related to your research, but interesting nonetheless.

⛊ Breakthrough (19-20). You discover lost secrets or forgotten lore.

Urban

Roll a relevant Trade skill, or Discipline for general labor. You gain Money equal to your result if you are able to find work in the chosen area.

If you manage to attract the attention of a wealthy client for your labor, you instead gain money equal to twice the result, or three times for an extremely wealthy employer.

⛊ Earn (17-20). Gain Money equal to half the roll's result.

⛊ Impress (19-20). Word of your excellent work begins to spread in the local community.

Urban

Choose a merchant and a transaction and roll Commerce or Presence, or a trade skill specific to the goods being transacted.

The difficulty is based on the rarity of the goods, and modified by the disposition of the merchant toward you.

Success. The price adjusts by 10% in your favor. If you rolled with Presence, the merchant is likely to later realize they were given a bad deal.

Failure. Choose one of the following:

The price adjusts by 10% in the merchant's favor.
The merchant's disposition toward you degrades.
The merchant loses interest in the transaction.

⛊ Haggle (17-20). The price adjusts by 5% in your favor.

⛊ Swindle (18-20). If you rolled with Presence, the merchant doesn't suspect they were given a bad deal.

Note. You do not have to use this activity to buy and sell goods normally.

Urban

Choose a Person or location to steal from and roll Guile or another robbery-related trade skill. The difficulty is based on the security or Awareness value of the target.

Success. You steal Money equal to twice the difficulty of the roll. The local community grows more suspicious.

Failure. You are discovered. Choose one of the following:

You escape, but you take 1d4 Damage and your identity is discovered.
You are captured by the target's security or local authorities.

Urban

Target a town, city district, building, or building complex that you can observe—even indirectly—for the duration. Roll Streetwise or a relevant culture skill. The difficulty is based on the tightness of the target's security.

Success. You learn specific details about the target including recent or upcoming events, the identities of important figures, potential weak points in security, etc.

Failure: You learn the general status of the target and you can choose one detail to learn that you would have gleaned on a success.

⛊ Obtain Disguise (19-20). You acquire 1d6 uniforms or outfits suitable for infiltration on the target.

Urban

Requirement. You must be in a gambling den, tavern, casino, horse track, fighting arena, or other place of betting.

Spend (wager) an amount of Money within a range acceptable by the place of betting and choose low stakes (difficulty 4), medium stakes (difficulty 5), or high stakes (difficulty 7).

Roll Presence for bluffing games, Zoology for horse (or similar) races, Warfare for fighting bets, or 1d8 for games of pure chance. This roll cannot be improved with Luck.

Roll with +2 edge if you find a way to successfully cheat.

Success. You gain Money based on the stakes and wagered amount:

Low Stakes: 2x wagered Money
Medium Stakes: 3x wagered Money
High Stakes: 4x wagered Money

⛊ Side Bet (17-20). Gain Money equal to half your initial wager.

⛊ Double or Nothing (19-20). On a success, flip a coin. If you lose, spend Money equal to your wager again and gain no Money. If you win, double your total Money winnings.

⛉ Suspected (1-4). On a success, the other gamblers begin to suspect you of cheating. If they are already suspicious, they accuse you.

⛉ Caught Red-Handed (1-4). If you cheated this roll, you are caught in the act and punished accordingly.