Tovec
Explorer
It seems to be the mechanics that they are talking about here is less "downtime" and more "most of the time" the characters are doing a certain thing. They have goals and motives that are not related to risking their lives on a daily basis. All the best campaigns and DnD-adjacent stories I've ever experienced revolve around these "downtime" events. The character should care more about building their castle, creating their organization or otherwise advancing their goals. The ways they advance them probably relate to combat, the article said something about helping out a lord in order to secure your land. That seems like what adventurer's are outside of risking their lives and what I think the game play should be by default, not on the fringe.