The Beloved Downtime and Gather Info

[PrinceZane]

Alright..

Just out of curiosity, how do you guys impliment downtime? Generally between quests my guys spend about a week or 2 just doing a few profession checks, and the casters throw a few spells into their books or make a scroll or 3, and virtually the whole time the rogue is lookin for information for a quest whenever they're ready... literally the day or day after they get back.

How can you "force" them to take a few days off for quests not being done. Do you just give basically a "you find nothing that needs done" or whatever sayin "Hey, take a break will ya!?" or do you just go whenever they're ready to do gather info they find something or what? Also, on gather info do you give them blunt information (a commoner knowing that a bunch of trolls are raiding a neighboring/distant town) or do you make them as specific people (like militia would know better than John Doe)?

Typically I'll give them information about whatever the next quest is, and let them decide to start it whenever.

 

[Crothian]

Usually it goes like: "okay, we are advancing a week/month/whatever, briefly state what you are doing. " then if it reuqwires a role or some info from the DM, we get that done and then we move on. THe problems arise from the player that wants to micro manage his downtime.

 

[PrinceZane]

Yeah that's our problem... a 7 person party and they all want to act individually... well, not all, but most require they're own stuff etc etc

 

[Crothian]

Can you end a session with down time and ask that everyone e-mail you want they want done. Tell them that next session you will start a week/month/whatever and that anything thy want to get done has to be done before the next session.

 

[PrinceZane]

Generally, we end still in the dungeon whatever... *shrugs* Was just curious how everyone else did it incase there was a point of view or something I hadn't looked at.

 

[beaver1024]

I don't force players to take downtime if they don't want to. Generally they don't because 99% of the classes don't need downtime. Gather info can be done as part of normal adventuring.

 

[Lord Pendragon]

Generally, we end still in the dungeon whatever... *shrugs* Was just curious how everyone else did it incase there was a point of view or something I hadn't looked at.

I tend to provide "downtime opportunity" without requiring PCs to account for their downtime. If the players don't have anything specific they want to do in their downtime, then I gloss over it.

Basically, there is downtime in my games. Adventures don't happen back-to-back-to-back. And I try to foster an atmosphere where the players/PCs are pro-active and have goals they want to pursue (whether it be the knight wooing his lady, or the rogue trying to set up a spy-network in the city.) These sorts of things require time and opportunity, so downtime gives them a window to pursue such things.

Should the PCs not have anything they want to do, then I simply advance time to the next adventure. There's no reason to slow the game down by asking each player to account for time they don't want/need.

Usually in game it goes something like: "For the next week things pass uneventfully. Was there anything you wanted to do in that time?" (Players either pursue personal goals, or don't.) "Very well then, the next week, you receive a message from X, who informs you that something terrible has happened..."

 

[Sithobi1]

I don't force players to take downtime if they don't want to. Generally they don't because 99% of the classes don't need downtime. Gather info can be done as part of normal adventuring.

4/11 classes don't have spellcasting. Many spellcasters will want to craft items. Even if we narrow it down to full casters, that is still 7/11 classes that might not want to make items.
Question: Does 99%=7/11?

 

[beaver1024]

4/11 classes don't have spellcasting. Many spellcasters will want to craft items. Even if we narrow it down to full casters, that is still 7/11 classes that might not want to make items.
Question: Does 99%=7/11?

Are all of them required to take craft items? No. Only 1 of them have an Item Creation feat forced on them.

 

[Crothian]

even 1/11 doesn't equal 99% though. And the craft scroll feat for wizards is not forced on them any more then cleics are forced to get turn undea or Rangers are forced to get Track.

It isn't about forcing the characters to take downtime. It is understanding that some people will want to. And you don't have to have a craft feat to want downtime. My fighter wanted some downtime to use the craft skill. Downtime is just a period when not a lot of interest is happening to the characters. It can be travel time, wintering in a castle, basic research, or just blowing off a few weeks drinking and enjoying life.