MerricB said:
In any case, the wizard of the group decided he wants to craft a few more magic items, so everyone stopped off in Irongate for a few days.
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The thing is, I really like that. I like it that the PCs are creating their own tools rather than just going and buying them. It's more efficient, for one thing.
It's a time-honored tradition IMC that winter is down-time. Oh, they'll go forth and combat evil if need be but otherwise they are quite happy to spend the snowy months drinking warm cider and tending to their pet projects.
It started out as a simple plot point when they were trapped in a mountain town at 2nd level without the skills or equipment required to leave the valley. The player were still feeling out their characters and weren't up to RPing out whatever hijinks occur during the long, dark months. Instead I fast-forwarded them to spring after they made their arrangements. The monk became a miner to cover his expenses, the rogue a locksmith, the bard just managed to eek by, while the cleric and wizard sold a few spells.
The next year was a very eventful one for them with both the characters and players exhausted. We spent a session or two RPing the PCs having fun, making friends, handling routine chores like crafting bows & scrolls, etc during the winter. It was such a hit that the "winter vacation" was born.
I found it helped them relate to their characters to say "Your heroes have slogged across a swamp, killed a hundred demons, slew a hydra, fought a living forest, avoided being dragon-chow by pure luck, dined with a Marquis, and earned enough cash to buy a small farmstead. Do you a) get back on your horse and do it again or b) spend some of that lucre on wine, women and song?"
New players are often stunned, though. When Mike joined the party they were heading to a savannah-wasteland to explore some ancient ruins at the behest of a wizard ally. When they reached the last major city the heroes got rooms in the swankiest place they could and proceeded to wallow in luxury for a week.
"What the heck are you doing? We're supposed to be exploring ruins!!"
"It's going to take us six weeks of brutal travel to get there, some of it we'll likely have to travel at night because the heat is so bad. We have no idea what's going to try and eat us since it's been two centuries since the last time anyone's visited the ruins but I guarantee you something is going to try and eat us. That's after we deal with various unpleasant local officials and bigwigs who try to throw their weight around. Given the fact the ruins have been there a thousand years I think we can wait 'til I've eaten my fill of Coq au Vin, sampled all the wine cellar has to offer and spent some time with this lovely lady who seems quite willing to lavish affection on me as long as my purse holds out."
