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Lifestyle Expenses in Actual Play
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<blockquote data-quote="mAcular" data-source="post: 7390967" data-attributes="member: 6905524"><p>Whenever I run a game, I like to experiment with some idea or concept to see how it plays out.</p><p></p><p>From my previous campaigns, I noticed that there was a jarring disconnect between the feeling of camaraderie between the PCs/players and the real life time they'd actually spent. For example, we'd play for 3 years, and it would FEEL like everybody had been in the trenches that long together -- but when you looked at the actual amount of game time spent, it had been three weeks.</p><p></p><p>When I started my next game, I wanted to try a way to line up those two dates. I decided to make Long Rests take a week, so the game's pacing would slow down. There would actually be some breathing room and advancement of time. Long Rests taking a week were the perfect chance to introduce Lifestyle expenses, and the Downtime Activities in Xanathar's.</p><p></p><p>So far it's been working out great. It also gives gold a meaning again, since in 5e there isn't as much you can spend it on. Well, now, you need the gold for your Downtime Activities, and to maintain your lifestyle. And the best part is that as the players work their way through each activity, we'll eventually be able to look back and see a significant passage of time has occurred.</p><p></p><p>Of course, this doesn't work for every game. You need to structure the narrative around a repeating expedition cycle. The players go out into the wilds, do what they have to, then return to town to recover. If they're in a scenario where you have to constantly be on the move and can't waste any time because the BBEG is going to end the world in a month, then they won't have a chance to use any Downtime Activities or make use of Lifestyle expenses. Eventually the players' own actions might direct the story in such a direction, but this style of play lends itself to a more relaxed timetable or free floating scenarios.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="mAcular, post: 7390967, member: 6905524"] Whenever I run a game, I like to experiment with some idea or concept to see how it plays out. From my previous campaigns, I noticed that there was a jarring disconnect between the feeling of camaraderie between the PCs/players and the real life time they'd actually spent. For example, we'd play for 3 years, and it would FEEL like everybody had been in the trenches that long together -- but when you looked at the actual amount of game time spent, it had been three weeks. When I started my next game, I wanted to try a way to line up those two dates. I decided to make Long Rests take a week, so the game's pacing would slow down. There would actually be some breathing room and advancement of time. Long Rests taking a week were the perfect chance to introduce Lifestyle expenses, and the Downtime Activities in Xanathar's. So far it's been working out great. It also gives gold a meaning again, since in 5e there isn't as much you can spend it on. Well, now, you need the gold for your Downtime Activities, and to maintain your lifestyle. And the best part is that as the players work their way through each activity, we'll eventually be able to look back and see a significant passage of time has occurred. Of course, this doesn't work for every game. You need to structure the narrative around a repeating expedition cycle. The players go out into the wilds, do what they have to, then return to town to recover. If they're in a scenario where you have to constantly be on the move and can't waste any time because the BBEG is going to end the world in a month, then they won't have a chance to use any Downtime Activities or make use of Lifestyle expenses. Eventually the players' own actions might direct the story in such a direction, but this style of play lends itself to a more relaxed timetable or free floating scenarios. [/QUOTE]
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