So I am trying to figure out my next campaign. I would like downtime to be a part of that. However, I tend to make adventures where PCs find clues that lead them to other adventures. If they know where the possible adventures are, most of the players aren't going to want to do downtime. How do other GMs handle getting players from adventure to adventure with downtime in between?
- Do they get clues during the downtime?
- Do they need downtime to research the clues?
- Do you force downtime somehow?
- Do you have other ways to make the players aware of possible adventures?
- Do you just avoid downtime since it doesn't seem to be what the players want?
- Something else?
And please explain your answer so I can maybe get a clue. And note that I haven't got players yet. I'm planning on doing a sandbox (but not so much a hexcrawl) in a small town in the wilderness between two nations on the edge of war, with another nation across some dangerous mountains. But none of that is set in stone.
You put this in TTRPGs general. I like how Warhammer Fantasy 4e handles downtime. In my 5e campaigns, I always kitbash downtime activity from a variety of rules spread throughout the PHB, DMG, Xanathar's Guide to Everything (XGE), MCDMs Strongholds & Followers, and an article from an early EN5ider issue on reputation rules and organization dice (EN5ider #256).
Downtime is very important to my games because I run an 8-hour session once a month. Downtime is generally resolved over e-mail between sessions and is a bit a game within a game where players can engage in it as much or little as they want. Warhammer's downtime rules are a lot more steamlined and easier to abstract than the more complicated downtime activities I had in my last 5e campaign. But I'll done a bit of quick roleplaying on the side between sessions within the downtime rules.
Since downtime is more mechanically tied into the rules and game cycle in WFRP this is often resolved during our play sessions more often than in my last 5e campaign. But the difference may have more to do with the fact that my 5e game was a megadungeon campaign that generally had sessions ending with the PCs back at their stronghold. We rarely ended a session in the middle of exploration or combat.
Just for context in WFRP, downtime is called "Between Adventures". The rules are optional, but I think the game works much better with them. During this downtime, there are 4 phases: (1) events, (2) endeavors, and (3) money spent.
In the events phase you roll on random-events table. Each event has a positive or negative mechanical effect. I like the default table in the core rulebook, but you can of course make your own based on the examples given.
In the endeavors phase a PC can make one general or class endeavor per week of downtime, up to a maximum of 3 endeavors (regardless of the amount of downtime). These are basically downtime activities, each being mini subsystems, similar to downtime activities in 5e XGE.
Money to burn. You can spend money to buy things or for endeavors that have a cost. But all of your money is considered spent at the end of the downtime. You start the next adventure with zero money unless you take the banking endeavor and/or income endeavor. The income endeavor is especially important if you are in your 3rd or 4th tier of your career to avoid losing standing in your career.
I like the WFRP between-adventure rules because they are quick to resolve and have a lot of flavor and create a lot of adventure hooks.
| Your Question | D&D 5e | Warhammer 4e |
Do they get clues during the downtime?
Do they need downtime to research?
| Yes. They certainly can. They don't HAVE to use downtime to research, but typically that is when it happens as it isn't often fun to role play that. Generally, clues are encountered through active roleplay and research done during downtime. But PCs can spend downtime to look for investigate for more clues and they can do research during an adventure if it makes sense.
In addition to me just narrating a enounter or message one or more players receive during downtime, I used the following rules in my game:
From XGE, downtime rules for carousing & research.
If they have accrued enough reputation points (using the organization dice rules from the EN5ider article with some tweaks) they can spend it to "call in a favor" | There are several general and class endeavors in WFRP4e's "Between Adventures" rules that are "research."
"Research Lore"
"The Latest News"
"Study a Mark"
"Unusual learning"
Arguably, "Invent" is another.
|
Do you force downtime somehow?
| Only in my last campaign, in order to get their stronghold abilities refreshed, they would have to take an "extended rest" at their stronghold taking care of things there (under MCDM Strongholds & Followers rules).
Also I had training rules and costs. PCs could only level up during downtime.
In my prior campaigns, downtime was optional. | Yes. Mostly where it makes narrative sense. Right now it is easy because they are living in a city and their adventures are generally short. Also, the grittier rules regarding healing, resources, the importance of maintaining status, and the far more debilitating rules for disease and weather in WFRP vs. 5e makes downtime far more important. |
Do you have other ways to make the players aware of possible adventures?
| Mostly come through play. Generally downtime helps with side quests or things to help or create complications with their current objectives. | This campaign started with a hard railroad meant to get them used to the mechanics. Kinda like a tutorial for the first few sessions. But during these first few sessions, they are presented a lot of hooks and clues. So far the clues and hooks have not come from downtime. But some events would lead to new adventures or side adventures if rolled. Also, if the players take certain endeavors it could lead to new adventures. |
Do you just avoid downtime since it doesn't seem to be what the players want?
| Yes. On a player to player basis. Since we generally ended sessions on downtime, between sessions there were two players who would be very engaged in downtime. Very long e-mail exchanges and the occasional short one-on-one session. The other two regular players didn't do this and I didn't force it on them. Often, however, at the beginning of my session all of the players would resolve some quick downtime activities as prep for their mission. But these were generally simpler and quick to resolve activities like the activities in the XGE downtime activities or the gather intel activity for thieves with their own establishments under the MCDM Strongholds & Followers rules. | No. Although they are optional rules in WFRP4e, it doesn't work to apply to only some players and not others. Also, I think they really add to the game and I don't consider them optional for the games I run. But they resolve quickly and are easy to do as a group and so far all the players seem to be enjoying it. |
