Downtime Activities

Recover one Stress, pay upkeep and choose one of the following actions. If you want, you can Run Yourself Ragged to gain a second action, but this costs double upkeep and inflicts one Stress.

The rewards and penalties gained from downtime activities are often conceptual, rather than having strong mechanical backing (like Stress). Context will help resolve what they really are, and players are encouraged to combine rewards into progress towards their own goals. Strings and Contacts are useful for moving up in the world, while Lessons and Insights can help with learning abilities and crafting items.

Toiling
Don’t pay any upkeep this turn. If you don’t have a day-job, it will be hard and boring labour, so don’t recover any Stress.

Carousing
Recover one Stress and gain two of the following

1. a Fond Memory
2. a Pleasant Buzz
3. a Bosom Companion
4. a Terrible Headache
5. a Troublesome Habit
6. a Sinking Suspicion (what did you do last night?)
7. a String on someone
8. someone has a String on you
9. a Debt
10. a Useful Item

If you spend vast sums of money or otherwise have opportunities for great hedonism, roll four times, and pick three

Relaxing
Spending money on luxuries like soap, perfume, a house, servants and fine food recovers up to two Stress.

Recuperating
Gives you a chance of recover from an injury, disease, curse or madness. Some harsh and cheap treatments can inflict Stress. Alternatively, start with max HP+d4 at the start of the next adventure.

Training
Find a Teacher who is better than you at what you want to learn. If they accept, give them a String on you and learn a Harsh, Wise, Expert or Basic Lesson.

Teaching
See Training. You can be both the Master and the Student at the same time.

Practicing
Pick something you struggled with last adventure, when you face it next you’ll have advantage on all rolls.

Scrounging
Gain a Useful Item, but also:

1. Suffer from Suspicion
2. Someone has a String on you
3. It needs repairing
4. It has an unwelcome side-effect

Researching
Gain Brilliant, Mystical, Personal or Practical Insight.
However, it leaves you with one or more further questions, which must be answered before you can Research again.

Scouting
Gain Intel, expend it to know what is in the next area.

Crafting
All crafting projects require baseline competence to start, and one-or-more Progress to complete, depending on complexity. Roll a d6 for each effort, fulfil the requirement (if any) to gain Progress. If you have already cleared an entry for this project, go the next up:

1. Disaster! Lose Progress
2. Completely stumped, need expert advice
3. Specialist equipment, borrowed, brought or stolen
4. Trial and error, prototypes and failed attempts abound
5. One last ingredient, an adventure is needed
6. Gain Progress!

Recruiting
You need at least three of the following to get a decent hireling:

• Payment up-front
• Share of the loot
• Brilliant reputation
• Brought hirelings back alive
• Brought many hirelings back alive

Otherwise they will be damaged, desperate, dastardly, drunk and/or dangerous.

Preparing
Gain one Prep. Trade in Prep for a basic supply item, to repair or refill an item, or to retroactively purchase something.

Scheming
Discover a Business, Dangerous, Unique, or Weird Opportunity.
Alternatively, turn an Opportunity into:

1. Two Opportunities!
2. Cold-Hard Cash
3. an Advantage or new item
4. a Problem

Gossiping
Discover or invent a rumour. If it's somewhat plausible, it'll be somewhat true.

Socialising
Gain a Contact with a random notable individual. Anyone you have a Contact with will normally agree to see you, and may even do you a favour.

Delving
A minor adventure by yourself. Suffer one Stress, d6 damage, gain a random treasure, and:

1. Suffer an extra Stress
2. Take 1d12 damage
3. Make a lasting enemy
4. Lose a random item

(yes, if you started the Haven Turn with no Stress, you now have one)

Wandering
About town, you find:

1. a Strange Occurrence
2. a Weird Item
3. a Contact
4. an Enemy
5. a Shortcut
6. a Bargain

Praying
Spend money on incense and comfort to recover an additional Stress, else it’s fasting and penance for a sinner like you.
Either way, leave with:

1. Inner Peace
2. a Foreboding Premonition
3. a Startling Revelation
4. a Message From Beyond
5. Hostile Silence
6. a Change of Heart
7. Forgiveness
8. a Clear Conscience
9. Profound Doubt
10. Countless Sorrows