Raven Crowking
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Weeks and Weeks of Adventuring
- Thread starter Raven Crowking
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Fieari
Explorer
No, but the core rules help. Developing new spells, item creation, heck... sometimes even leveling up requires some down time. And then you factor in story rewards to the characters, like being given a castle they have to manage for a while before the next big adventure comes up. Now, frequently, this time is covered very rapidly via handwaving, but in game, months go by.
the Jester
Legend
Yeah, I have this problem as well. I try to make the pcs wait for things soemtimes- their adventure involves a festival several months away, for instance. Also, after a successful adventure's conclusion, they usually party for a few days, commission new items (takes longer when not everything is on the shelf, as in a small town or what have you), etc.
Also, you could use holy days to require clerical downtime; require rogues to teach a lockpicking class for a couple of weeks to stay in good with the thieves' guild; etc.
Another idea- use winter as the 'off-season.' Nobody likes traveling through constant driving rain and snow and wind.
Also, you could use holy days to require clerical downtime; require rogues to teach a lockpicking class for a couple of weeks to stay in good with the thieves' guild; etc.
Another idea- use winter as the 'off-season.' Nobody likes traveling through constant driving rain and snow and wind.
Game pauses are one of the things I build into my campaigns. They are needed for 1/10 of the things the characters need to do. Increase in spells, contacting people, their religious faith, working in organizations, goverment obligations, all require some time.
For example, a wizard will get two spells each level. If he needs a spell in the middle of an adventure, he has to buy it. But, if done in a two, three, six month break they are "free" as part of their ongoing research.
When the party has completed a major mission, tell them they are going back "home". Ask them what they would like to do for the break. Give them small bonuses for these breaks.
Remember, the pacing of the campaign is more up to you, the DM, then the players. The players are only reacting to what you provide.
For example, a wizard will get two spells each level. If he needs a spell in the middle of an adventure, he has to buy it. But, if done in a two, three, six month break they are "free" as part of their ongoing research.
When the party has completed a major mission, tell them they are going back "home". Ask them what they would like to do for the break. Give them small bonuses for these breaks.
Remember, the pacing of the campaign is more up to you, the DM, then the players. The players are only reacting to what you provide.
Raven Crowking
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Kelleris
Explorer
Another thing you might consider is requiring Fortitude saves to avoid coming down with what is, in effect, a disease.
I know I'm getting a cold now because I've been working too hard.
After so many days of constantly being on edge (hard traveling, adventuring, surviving in particularly bad conditions) have everyone make a Fort save, and increase the DC by 2 every day thereafter. The "disease" would do Wisdom damage (representing mental fatigue) and gradually cause fatigue and then exhaustion (representing the lethargy of the overworked). It could still technically be removed via the appropriate spells, but you could just rule that it's as much a mental condition as an actual disease, and therefore requires rest to overcome.
I know I'm getting a cold now because I've been working too hard.
After so many days of constantly being on edge (hard traveling, adventuring, surviving in particularly bad conditions) have everyone make a Fort save, and increase the DC by 2 every day thereafter. The "disease" would do Wisdom damage (representing mental fatigue) and gradually cause fatigue and then exhaustion (representing the lethargy of the overworked). It could still technically be removed via the appropriate spells, but you could just rule that it's as much a mental condition as an actual disease, and therefore requires rest to overcome.
Chimera
First Post
Most player's I've gamed with have been highly adverse to "down time". I don't quite understand it. It's not a race and starting characters are all quite young. Why the big rush?
When I GM, I tend to enforce it to a certain degree, by requiring PCs in service to certain organizations to spend time at those locations, participating in holy day celebrations, teaching, etc. I also require a minimum 3 month period to gain a new class when multi-classing (find a teacher, etc). All in all, I find it much more realistic and satisfying than "we go all out, non-stop for an entire year without a rest - now we're 19 years old and 20th level!".
But then, I also add in time during travel, to cover things like bad weather ("sorry, it rained really hard and the road is a sea of mud"; or "a bad storm is keeping all the ships in port"), lack of wind while at sea, resting horses (don't tell me your horse travels it's maximum distance for 40 days without a rest...) and so forth.
As a player, I will sometimes insist on a couple of days of rest here and there.
In the FR campaign I'm playing in, I did some meta-gaming with the GM, insisting that it would be way too convenient and suspicious to just happen to find a ship going from Mimph to Sembia the very day we happen to be looking, that it very probably wouldn't be going straight there, and that he should add in some travel time due to weather and port delays. As it turned out, we ended up crossing over to Turmish, going overland to the other side, then taking a ship that took us on a round-about passage to Selgaunt.
Then after leveling up, my character needed almost a month of 'down time' to read some scrolls and copy them to his spell book. So when we completed a task which took us to the Abbey of the Just Hammer, he told the rest of the group to meet him in 30 days in Taver's Mark. What they do in that time is up to them. Heck, when they show up, I might just ask for another tenday to attend to some personal business.
When I GM, I tend to enforce it to a certain degree, by requiring PCs in service to certain organizations to spend time at those locations, participating in holy day celebrations, teaching, etc. I also require a minimum 3 month period to gain a new class when multi-classing (find a teacher, etc). All in all, I find it much more realistic and satisfying than "we go all out, non-stop for an entire year without a rest - now we're 19 years old and 20th level!".
But then, I also add in time during travel, to cover things like bad weather ("sorry, it rained really hard and the road is a sea of mud"; or "a bad storm is keeping all the ships in port"), lack of wind while at sea, resting horses (don't tell me your horse travels it's maximum distance for 40 days without a rest...) and so forth.
As a player, I will sometimes insist on a couple of days of rest here and there.
In the FR campaign I'm playing in, I did some meta-gaming with the GM, insisting that it would be way too convenient and suspicious to just happen to find a ship going from Mimph to Sembia the very day we happen to be looking, that it very probably wouldn't be going straight there, and that he should add in some travel time due to weather and port delays. As it turned out, we ended up crossing over to Turmish, going overland to the other side, then taking a ship that took us on a round-about passage to Selgaunt.
Then after leveling up, my character needed almost a month of 'down time' to read some scrolls and copy them to his spell book. So when we completed a task which took us to the Abbey of the Just Hammer, he told the rest of the group to meet him in 30 days in Taver's Mark. What they do in that time is up to them. Heck, when they show up, I might just ask for another tenday to attend to some personal business.
Buttercup
Princess of Florin
I haven't built down-time into the game as much as I'd like to. For instance, we didn't play during the month of August, because we all wanted a break. If I had planned ahead, I could have had them in-between adventures during this time, and then when we met last Monday, I could have asked each of them what their character had been doing.
But I didn't plan ahead, and so our last session in July left the party in the middle of a temple full of snake cultists. Of course, they were eager to get going this past session, so it turned out ok, but I definately want to start incorporating down time into the story.
But I didn't plan ahead, and so our last session in July left the party in the middle of a temple full of snake cultists. Of course, they were eager to get going this past session, so it turned out ok, but I definately want to start incorporating down time into the story.
FreeTheSlaves
Adventurer
I pretty much let campaign events dictate the pacing of the adventure. To date the adventures went heavy in the first 3 weeks, two years passed, adventure heavy for 4 weeks, a month passes and the current adventure for about 3+ weeks. After this the adventure will pass a month until the next planned adventure, from there I'm guessing a year will pass to build up the fleet.
This is not in stone but unless the group as a whole is doing something I handwave the players individual missions.
This is not in stone but unless the group as a whole is doing something I handwave the players individual missions.
Ogrork the Mighty
Explorer
I don't think downtown is a problem unless you let it be. Not too many players want to roleplay downtime so just wave your hand and have it fly by. Maybe give a recap of what the players were doing during the period of time.
It's funny, in our current campaign which has been going on for 2-3 years of real time, only about 3-4 months have passed in the game.
It's all about keeping the players busy.
It's funny, in our current campaign which has been going on for 2-3 years of real time, only about 3-4 months have passed in the game.
It's all about keeping the players busy.
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