What do you do between adventures?

[WayneLigon]

We'll shop, squirrel away money in various places or enterprises, catch up with old friends or family members (depending on where we are), research any dangling plot threads, plan, repair items, make items, argue and contract items to be made, track down clues, look up the merchant who said he owed us a favor, track down the merchant who gyped us on that armor repair, get that rare book the wizard needs, bail the gnome out of the gaol, get drunk, buy a meal for everyone in the house, look up a goblin fence, fall in love, join the guard, run from the guards, etc. In short, live our lives

 

[fusangite]

It varies so dramatically from game to game. Generally, when I GM a campaign, it runs like a TV series. So, sometimes there are 2-4 month "end of season" breaks every 22 episodes or so, during which time people go back to normal life or the exciting new position they have gained as a result of their last adventure before a new threat/challenge brings the group back together. Between the episodes, there are breaks of anywhere from seconds to a week but a week is really the maximum -- just enough time to have a really good bath and get stuff repaired. Some of my campaigns, however, just have the characters on the run the whole time with virtually no breaks at all until the entire story has played out.

As for campaigns in which I play, usually my characters engage in status-seeking activities like trying to acquire political, military or ecclesiastical authority through the proper channels or they just drink and whore until they run out of money or are called back into service.

 

[Chimera]

I got so burned out on the rapid pace of the last group I GM'd and their absolute refusal to accept any downtime that I pretty much INSIST on it when I'm playing.

It's great time to establish relationships with NPCs, "vacation", learn the local land, learn spells, help the locals, visit the family, ad nausem. Basically, to make your character a living, breathing person and not just a death-and-treasure automaton.

 

[Psion]

Ale and whores.