D&D 5E Training and Downtime

[Setryo]

So training new languages or tools takes 250 days of downtime.

I'm not arguing the validity of that, but I am saying that it's likely in a majority of games, that's next to useless. What campaign even lasts longer than 250 days, let alone has time for the adventurers to sit around for that long. Let alone, do this more than once.
Or maybe it's just the campaigns that I play in that happen to be short-lived in-game.

Either way, 250 days is way too long for my table. I was thinking about knocking that down, but I'm at a loss as to what to do instead. I understand the rules exist as they stand to keep people from just training all the time and gaining proficiency in every tool or language. I want to add some other requirement but don't know what.

And I don't want to just add gold. With the way 5e economy works, there's no opportunity costs in that because the DM controls the cash flow completely. So then it just becomes "the DM allows you X number of additional proficiencies," since, honestly, what else do you have to spend gold on?

So what other requirements could I add?

 

[I'm A Banana]

I'm a big fan of using NPC's - you could add a hurdle of "you need to actually find someone in town that speaks the language, and maybe do them a little favor."

How downtime works probably varies from table to table pretty significantly, but imagine time spent traveling with a language tutor, or whenever the party takes a long rest brushing up on your Gnomish Dictionary or something. Then just cut down to whatever you think is reasonable given your timescale. Ultimately, it's "the DM allows you X number of additional proficiencies" no matter what requirements you have, so gold's as good as any.

 

[AaronOfBarbaria]

What campaign even lasts longer than 250 days, let alone has time for the adventurers to sit around for that long. Let alone, do this more than once.
Or maybe it's just the campaigns that I play in that happen to be short-lived in-game.

It is a matter of personal preference.

Some groups like to start adventure 1 on a Monday and then have all the action happening day after day wherever possible, delayed only by travel times and rest, all throughout the campaign.
Some groups like to set each adventure within a campaign a few months or even years apart, having adventure 1 over and done with long before adventure 2 begins, and then still involving travel time and the like, so that a campaign plays out at a narrative pace that doesn't involve a group of heroes ascending to the stature of legends within a month of their first foray into the life of adventurers.

That said, do what works for your table - including adding some requirement besides a dramatically shorter amount of time and the normal money needed if you feel like there is some reason to discourage players choosing to use training.

 

[pukunui]

It does seem like a long time, but I suppose it makes sense. I think you could easily reduce the amount of time taken to learn a language if the PC is going the "total immersion" route.

I have to admit - while I am running an episodic campaign in which an indeterminate amount of time passes between each episode and am thus using the Adventurer's League "downtime days" resource to track downtime activities, it'll still take a PC about 25 sessions (or more than a year in real time, since we play fortnightly) to become proficient with a new language or tool set, since I generally hand out 10 downtime days per session.

 

[IlluminatedSeraph]

We've had a lot of luck with the as-written rules in our current campaign, but given that it's a decade-spanning homebase game with a lot of emphasis on downtime activities (my mercenary fighter is now running the town trading post as her primary point of identity), it's probably pretty atypical.

 

[Lanefan]

It depends what they want to learn.

If a character wants to learn a language that's already spoken by another party member, that can be done while adventuring - sitting round the campfire at night, during town time, etc. Ditto for a skill that can be taught without equipment or supplies and that isn't class-specific (a Thief, for example, cannot teach a non-Thief how to climb like a Thief).

But if they need supplies for the lessons, or are trying to learn something the party can't teach, then it's downtime time.

250 days, assuming a standard 365 day year, is a bit long. I usually say 3-6 months (so, 90-180 days, or 1/4-1/2 year), after which you get a roll to see whether you've learned it yet or still need more training.

And some campaigns certainly go through game-world time quicker than others. If anything, I prefer a bit slower of a pace - spread the adventures out a little - if only to prevent Bob the 0th-level Farmer from becoming Bob the 25th-level Godslayer from just one summer's adventuring. Some of that slowdown comes from treasury valuation and division and sell-off (which can really only be done in a town and can take up to a week or two) and from level-up training (which always takes a week or two if not more); and some can come from travel time until parties get access to teleport effects.

Lan-"you know, treasury division would really go so much faster if I just stole it all"-efan

 

[Tia Nadiezja]

We've had a lot of luck with the as-written rules in our current campaign, but given that it's a decade-spanning homebase game with a lot of emphasis on downtime activities (my mercenary fighter is now running the town trading post as her primary point of identity), it's probably pretty atypical.

Yeah... in another game, I'd likely adjust it.

Huh. Maybe some GM guidance on rules of thumb for adjusting downtime costs would be a good idea. "How many adventures should it take for a PC to pick up a tool/language their player really wants them to have, on average?"

 

[Lanefan]

Huh. Maybe some GM guidance on rules of thumb for adjusting downtime costs would be a good idea. "How many adventures should it take for a PC to pick up a tool/language their player really wants them to have, on average?"

Number of adventures...now that's an excellent measure to use right there, and common across all campaigns just about no matter what else is going on.

As for an actual number, that would depend on the DM. I'd say 2 or 3, others might set it to 1, some might say more. A determining factor will of course be the number of adventures the campaign is expected to have overall; if it's a 6-adventure path and done then 1 adventure should be all it takes; if the plan is to go 30 adventures or more than it can take longer to learn something and still have it be meaningful.

Along with this should be a downtime alternative, for situations where a character might want to (or have to) take time off from adventuring.

Lan-"around here a character that does 10 adventures goes into the hall of fame"-efan

 

[Tia Nadiezja]

Number of adventures...now that's an excellent measure to use right there, and common across all campaigns just about no matter what else is going on.

As for an actual number, that would depend on the DM. I'd say 2 or 3, others might set it to 1, some might say more. A determining factor will of course be the number of adventures the campaign is expected to have overall; if it's a 6-adventure path and done then 1 adventure should be all it takes; if the plan is to go 30 adventures or more than it can take longer to learn something and still have it be meaningful.

Along with this should be a downtime alternative, for situations where a character might want to (or have to) take time off from adventuring.

Lan-"around here a character that does 10 adventures goes into the hall of fame"-efan

There's also variation in length of adventure.

I can run The Curse of Xanathon in about two four-hour sessions, probably with time left over. But Horde of the Dragon Queen or Temple of Elemental Evil might eat half of a years-long campaign.

There's no standardized unit of measure in RPGs. But giving us an idea of what the designers were thinking when assembling things like downtime costs will help us adjust things.

 

[UngeheuerLich]

I think learning a language taking 250 days of downtime is not unteasonble. Did you try learning a new language after working 8 hours sleeping in tents?

If you however have a native speaker learning a language you can cut downtime in half at least. And If you are adventuring with an elf you might learn speaking on your way.
Remember that writing is included in the language. So if you just want to speak a few words, you might be able to learn faster. Maybe only need a few days.
So tldr:
250 days is the maximum if you have no help to become fully proficient. Reduce as appropriate.