Metadata

Status

Status

Status	INPUT[Status][:status]
Publish	INPUT[inlineSelect(option(true), option(false)):publish]

Bild

Bild

Bild 1	INPUT[imageSuggester(optionQuery("")):image]

👒5e - Adventuring👒

The world is vast and full of danger. From the cramped and darkened tunnels of a subterranean labyrinth to the wide open expanse of the plains, the worlds you explore are bound to be full of wonder and woe in equal measure. This chapter covers the basics of adventuring through that world, including movement, social interactions, time, and more.

Throughout game sessions the Game Master envisions and describes the setting, places, and situations your characters experience as the party becomes immersed in the world. Your character reacts to the circumstances and obstacles placed before them, developing their personality and honing their talents. For better or worse as the dice roll, the Game Master relates the outcomes of the party’s actions as the group continues through various adventures until a campaign reaches its end.

Time

Time is an important aspect of adventuring. For Game Masters, time serves multiple purposes and roughly outlines the flow of an adventure. Choosing which scale of time to use in any given situation is a matter of context.

The most common span of time is a round, which takes place during combat and other situations where time is of the essence. A round lasts 6 seconds. Minutes are the second most common. Most involved actions take a length of time using minutes.

For example, an adventuring party spends roughly a minute proceeding through a dungeon corridor, to find a treasure room which they investigate for 10 minutes to find a hidden chest that the rogue spends roughly a minute checking to discover the deadly poison dart booby trap cunningly hidden in the mechanism.

Hours are appropriate for exploring a city or a limited area of land. A sudden whim by a wizard to visit a particular reagent shop on the other side of the city would take hours just as it may take an hour or so for a druid to lead their party members to a defensible cave in the ominous and quickly darkening woods.

Days are generally used for long periods of time during a journey or adventure. Traveling from one city to another, getting lost in the wilderness, and a journey into the unseen depths of the world are all good examples of using days.

Movement

Adventurers come across a wide array of terrain and obstacles during their travels. For simplicity’s sake a Game Master is always free to summarize movement without determining exact distances or time frames.

However, in some cases it’s important to know the general time frame (minutes, hours, days, and so on) that it takes to go from one area to another.

When it comes to determining the time frames of movement, the most important factors are the Speed or travel pace of an individual or party and the terrain being traversed.

Speed

Every creature capable of movement has a Speed, measured in feet, that it can move in a single round. Travel pace is used when it comes to longer time periods of moment that take place over minutes, hours, or days.

Of course the world is wide and vast, leading to exceptions in mounts and methods of travel…

Vehicles

See 🛠️Vehicles for more Information.

Not all travel is done by foot. Vehicles and mounts are used by many adventurers to help travel the vast distances of the world.

Land-based vehicles can choose at which pace to move while water-based vehicles are restricted by the speed of the vehicle. A water-based vehicle gains no benefits from a slow pace, but has no penalties for moving at a fast pace. Depending on the vehicle and crew size, a ship can travel up to 24 hours a day.

Special Movement

Not all travel can be accomplished by simply walking from one point to another. Adventurers may be forced to climb, swim, or leap to reach their final destinations — nothing ventured, nothing gained.

Climbing, Swimming, and Crawling

Movement using these three methods is similar to traveling through difficult terrain though there are some key differences. First, it costs a creature an extra foot to move for every foot spent. Worse, if a creature is moving in actual 🏔️Difficult Terrain, it costs four feet to move for every foot spent. Moving by climbing or swimming through normal terrain by a creature with the corresponding speed costs no additional movement.

A Game Master may apply additional checks in certain scenarios, such as climbing a particularly slippery surface or swimming in churning water.

For example, a barbarian with a 30 foot movement speed only moves 15 feet on their turn while trying to climb a mountain. Should that same barbarian try climbing that same mountain during a snowstorm, they would only move 8 feet, and may even need to pass an Athletics check to maintain a hold or risk falling into the roaring water below.

Jumping

See 🏃‍♀️Jumping for more Information.

The distance a creature can jump is determined both by the method attempted and their STR modifier.

A long jump requires a creature to move at least 10 feet by foot immediately before making its jump and the distance covered is a number of feet equal to this formula: (STR Modifier + 5) x 2. Each foot covered by a jump costs the same in movement.

A Game Master can also request a DC 10 Strength (Athletics) check to clear low obstacles, which must be no taller than a quarter of the jump’s distance. A failure indicates that instead of jumping over such an obstacle, a creature crashes into it.

Landing is also a fair challenge. Should a creature land in difficult terrain, perhaps jumping over a table in the kitchen only to land on a freshly mopped floor on the other side, the creature must make an additional DC 10 Dexterity (Acrobatics) to actually land on its feet. Should it fail, it instead falls ☠️Prone.

A high jump is a bit more complex. To make a running high jump, a creature must move 10 feet on foot immediately before the jump, leaping up into the air a number of feet equal to 3 + STR Modifier (minimum of 0 feet). To make a standing high jump, a creature needs not move beforehand, but only jumps half the distance it would have doing a running high jump.

When a creature’s jumping distance exceeds its Speed, it can jump up to a distance equal to twice its Speed in a single leap so long as it takes no other movement on that turn other than to jump. In either case, a creature uses up a foot of movement for every foot it covers jumping.

There are a few special scenarios for high jumping though.

First, a creature can extend its arms up to half its height during a jump. Thus a creature can reach above itself equal to the height of a jump plus 1.5 times its height. In addition, the Game Master may allow a creature to make a Strength (Athletics) check to jump higher than it could otherwise.

Traveling

The majority of rules regarding exploration are in Trials & Treasures but some extend beyond journeys and into shorter forays as well.

Marching Order

When it’s relevant to the game — during a dungeon crawl or while traveling through a forest they know is brimming with bandits — the Game Master should have the party establish who is in the lead (and therefore the most likely to be targeted if a trap is triggered) and who is in the back (the first targeted in a flanking ambush). When it isn’t an important element to what’s currently happening in the game, whichever character is taking the lead on roleplaying is assumed to be in front of their companions.

Encounters and Threats

Whether or not creatures notice a hidden threat is determined by their passive Perception scores.

When players encounter other characters or creatures while traveling, both parties can choose what happens next. Either party can choose to attack, talk, flee, or wait to see what the other group does. In addition, a Game Master can decide whether or not a party is surprised by the other if combat ensues.

Stealth

A party looking to avoid threats can choose to travel at a slow pace and employ stealth, making a group Stealth check, typically using Dexterity.

A party with reasonable cover can do more than avoid ambushes — they may well surprise or sneak past their enemies.

The Environment

Not all dangers while adventuring are from enemies, monsters, and beasts. Whether urban or rural, the very environment a hero must traverse in order to complete their quest (or the battlefield they find themselves on) can present a multitude of hazards.

Be sure to pay attention to the environment around your character as they move through it, and be wary of any hidden threats — or anything you can leverage to get the upper hand in a fight.

Falling

When a creature falls, it takes bludgeoning damage and lands ☠️Prone. The amount of damage the Creature takes is calculated as follows:

The Creature falls less than or equal to 50 ft: The Creature suffers 1d6 damage per 10 ft. it falls.
The Creature falls between 50 and 150 ft: The Creature suffers 2d6 damage per 10 ft. it falls.
The Creature falls between 150 and 300 ft: The Creature suffers 3d6 damage per 10 ft. it falls.
The Creature falls 300 ft. or more: The Creature instantly dies.

A creature that falls into water takes half damage, or no damage if it dives with a successful Athletics check (DC equal to the distance it falls divided by 5).

Suffocating

See ☠️Suffocating for more information.

Drowning, strangulation, smothering, strange alternate planes of reality with no air — many situations can lead to suffocation. A creature can hold its breath for a number of minutes equal to 1 + CON (minimum of 30 seconds). Once a creature is out of breath, it begins suffocating and gains 2 ☠️Fatigue and 2 ☠️Strife at the end of each of its turns. When a Creature can breathe again, it removes all levels of Fatigue and Strife gained from suffocating.

Underwater

A creature that cannot breathe water begins to suffocate underwater once it cannot hold its breath.

In addition, creatures without swim speeds have DISADV on attacks made using any weapon other than a dagger, dueling dagger, javelin, shortsword, spear, or trident. Ranged weapon attacks automatically miss beyond their normal range underwater, and bludgeoning and fire damage are halved. A creature that takes damage while holding its breath underwater must succeed on a 🎲Concentration Save or immediately begin suffocating as if its breath had run out.

Vision and Light

Most creatures rely on sight for even the most mundane, everyday tasks. Adventurers are no different, and the amount of light in a given area impacts their ability to perform both in and out of combat. Other environmental features {like fog or heavy rain) may obscure a creature’s vision and cause difficulty.

A 💡Lightly Obscured area is one that creates a minimal, but not insignificant, amount of visual impairment. A moderately wooded area, lingering smoke from a sacked town, dim lighting, and the like can all cause an area to be lightly obscured.

When within this area, creatures have DISADV on Perception checks that rely on sight. See also: 💡Dim Light.

An area that is 💡Heavily Obscured may be a shoreline cloaked in dense fog, a jungle full of thick foliage and hanging vines, or darkness (magical or otherwise), that obstructs vision completely. A creature in this area is considered ☠️Blind.

Three types of lighting exist within an area: bright light, dim light, and darkness.

💡Bright Light is the most common. Even on a cloudy day the sun provides bright light, as do torches, bonfires, magical lights, and other similar sources (though often within a limited radius). Most creatures suffer no penalties from being in a brightly lit area.

💡Dim Light creates a 💡Lightly Obscured area. Dim light is typically found on the outer reaches of artificial light sources, such as the depths of a room lit only by candles or the outer ring of a bonfire. Dim light can also be found during dawn or twilight, or beneath a full moon.

💡Darkness creates a 💡Heavily Obscured area. Creatures venturing out at night, delving underground, or traveling into a windowless dungeon without any alternate sources of light will find themselves at a distinct disadvantage.

Blindsight

Not everything relies on vision to sense the world. A creature with 👁️Blindsight is not affected by 💡Darkness or other 💡Heavily or 💡Lightly Obscured areas, and can see through ☠️Invisibility, within a certain radius. Creatures adapted to the darkness (like bats and moles) or creatures without eyes (like purple worms) have blindsight.

Figments: Creatures that do not rely on visual sight, noted as having blindsight (blind beyond this range), are immune to visual illusions (such as those created by minor illusion).

Darkvision

Many creatures within the realms of medieval fantasy are gifted with sensitive sight. 👁️Darkvision allows a creature to see within 💡Darkness as if it were 💡Dim Light, and dim light as if it were 💡Bright Light, though the creature cannot perceive colors while in darkness, only shades of gray.

Truesight

Some especially powerful creatures, like particularly old dragons, have 👁️Truesight. This allows a creature to see in normal or magical 💡Darkness, perceive ☠️Invisible creatures and objects, automatically detect illusions and succeed on its saving throw against them, and perceive the original form of a shapechanger or creature that is transformed by magic.

A creature with truesight can also see into the Ethereal Plane.

Food and Water

Creatures need to eat and drink in order to survive, and often in the wilderness, the opportunity to find fresh food and water can be limited. Characters can circumvent hunger and thirst with dry food supplies, water stores, magic, and more. A creature that takes a long rest must consume food and water (Supply) or it suffers a level of fatigue.

Objects

The world is full of chandeliers and tree branches to be swung from, doors to be kicked in, and eldritch statues full of ruinous power to meddle with. There are numerous objects bristling with possibility for the intrepid and the bold. Adventurers can perform many actions with an object—they might pick up a vase to secure treasure, throw a glass sculpture to create a diversion, or try and hack their way through hastily set up barricades.

When interacting with an object, a creature might use a trait, feature, or combat maneuver, or it might simply make an attack. In general, given enough time and the right equipment, any adventurer can usually accomplish what they want with an object.

An object is a single inanimate item like a rug, vase, axe, painting, boulder, door, section of wall, or a bureau full of clothes (which themselves are many objects).

Interacting with Objects

Most physical interactions with the environment simply require a player to announce their intentions to the Game Master. A statement like, “I open the wardrobe,” is normally all that is necessary to set an action into motion.

Some interactions, however, may require an ability check. A wardrobe that won’t open might require a Dexterity (thieves’ tools) check to pick a lock or a Strength check to pull it open despite rusted hinges.

The Game Master sets the DC for the check based on the difficulty of the task. A Strength check can also be used to break an object. The Game Master sets the DC for the check.

Creatures can also damage objects with both physical attacks and spells. Objects are immune to psychic and poison damage, but otherwise they can be affected by damage just like creatures. The Game Master determines an object’s AC and hit points, and if it has any damage resistances, immunities, or vulnerabilities. Objects always fail Strength and Dexterity saving throws, but are immune to effects that require other saves. When an object drops to 0 hit points, it breaks.

Statistics for Objects

In the middle of a tense situation where time is of the essence, the Game Master can assign an Armor Class and hit points to a destructible object, as well as determine what immunities, resistances, and vulnerabilities to damage it might have.

When a creature is trying to do something besides destroy the object, the Game Master determines what ability checks are appropriate.

Armor Class

An object’s Armor Class represents how tough the object is to damage. Especially tough objects might be harder to damage — the Object Armor Class table has suggested values for objects based on the materials they are made from.

Object AC

Hit Points

An object’s hit points determine how much damage it can take before it is destroyed. A particularly sturdy object (resilient) might have more hit points than

more delicate objects (fragile). The Object Hit Points table has suggested hit points for objects based on their size.

Object Hit Points

Huge and Garganutan Objects

Against Huge or Gargantuan objects, normal weapons or tools are of little effect. Against a castle wall or treasure vault door, a hammer or sword won’t get the job done — but determined creatures might try just the same. If the Game Master decides a Huge or Gargantuan object is vulnerable to a creature’s attacks, divide it into separate smaller sections that are each Large-sized and track the hit points of each section independently. For example, a Huge windmill might fall apart when the axle holding the blades is destroyed.

Objects and Damage Types

When damaging an object some damage types might be more effective than others, depending on the object’s composition. For example, slashing damage might help cut through a rope, but be less effective for smashing the legs of a stone statue. Flammable objects are typically vulnerable to fire, and unless noted otherwise (such as with inanimate plants) objects are immune to poison and psychic damage. The Game Master determines the effectiveness of any given attack on an object.

Damage Threshold

Objects built to endure attack (like the reinforced walls of a towering fort or the armored hull of a skyship) often have an extra measure of protection: a damage threshold. If an object has a damage threshold it is immune to damage unless an attack or effect deals damage equal to or greater than the damage threshold. Any attack or effect that deals damage less than the damage threshold instead deals no damage at all.

Social Interaction

While combat and exploration are a large part of the game, social interaction is one of the key pillars of play. Whether interacting with the rest of the party or NPCs portrayed by the Game Master, the way your character moves through their world will have a heavy impact on what they are able to achieve. Talking down a frightened victim to get important information, using fast talk to get out of a tense political situation, or even negotiating a better rate at the local potion shop — all of these require interactions that can either succeed or fail, depending on a creature’s skill.

Roleplaying

Roleplaying is the method that you — and, by proxy, your character — interact with the world your Game Master has created. Technically, you’re roleplaying anytime you have your character do anything, from opening a door to swinging a maul, but social interactions are where roleplaying can be the vital difference between victory or defeat.

There are two types of roleplaying: descriptive roleplaying and active roleplaying. Some players prefer one over the other, but feel free to choose the style that is most comfortable for you and fits best with the type of game your table is playing. Often, players will employ a mix of both active and descriptive roleplaying. No matter the style of roleplaying you decide to take on, have fun with it!

Descriptive Roleplaying

With descriptive roleplaying, you describe your characters words and actions to the other players and the Game Master. You paint a mental picture of what your character is doing and how they do it, often focusing on their emotional state. For example, Sarah plays Gorza, the orc barbarian.

Gorza is quick to laugh and quick to anger. The party is discussing their strategy for clearing out the giant rats that have nested in the town’s sewers — a task Gorza thinks will be laughably easy. Sarah, in her normal speaking voice, says: “Gorza laughs and leans on her axe, and sarcastically suggests that the group should invest in rat poison and cheese. Then she asks how long this meeting will be…she wants to get back to the tavern.”

Sarah has made clear here what Gorza thinks of the entire experience, giving the Game Master and the other players a glimpse into her motivations and providing them with something they can react to and roleplay with in turn.

When using the descriptive approach to roleplaying, it’s important to convey your character’s emotional state, what they are doing, and how others might perceive it. You can be as descriptive as you like or keep it simple.

Active Roleplaying

Active roleplaying is more akin to acting than description. Though there may still be many actions that need to be described, you take on your character’s voice and demeanor when speaking for them, sometimes even adopting accents, verbal tics, and specific speech patterns. You talk to the other characters the same way you would speak to the players sitting beside you.

With active roleplay, Sarah is playing Gorza in the same scene, but this time, she speaks as Gorza as well as describes her actions. The result looks something like this: Sarah says (in her normal voice): “Gorza leans on her axe and shakes her head.” Then, with a gravelly voice, Sarah laughs and says as Gorza: “We’d be better off investing in some cheese and arsenic and just calling it a night. I saw a new cask of Hilltop Ale downstairs that has my name on it.” In this situation, the other players can hear what Gorza sounds like, and they might have to infer what Gorza’s true feelings are based off of what she says and how she says it.

Results of Roleplaying

The Game Master will use your character’s actions and attitude to decide how an NPC reacts to them. An NPC lackey with little loyalty may buckle under pressure or threat of violence and spill his gang’s secrets, whereas one who finds turncoats to be despicable will fight rather than give up any information. Flattery may take you far with a vain fey, but when used on a chaste paladin it might sour their demeanor toward you.

When interacting with NPCs, pay attention to not only what they say, but how the Game Master portrays them: the attitude, demeanor, and actions will all be important in how you interact with them. Roleplaying will help you discern their emotions, desires, and what approach will work best. Observing and conversing with an NPC can give you hints as to whether they’re bribable, for instance — or if an attempted bribe will prick at their strongly-held integrity and end up with you turned over to the city guards.

Ability Checks

Along with roleplaying, ability checks are a vital way your character interacts with the world. Though many actions simply require a declaration, such as walking across a room or pulling a lever, there are times when the Game Master may call for an ability check to determine if your character is successful at their intended action. For instance, if you’re trying to cross the deck of a ship during a tumultuous storm, the Game Master may require a Dexterity check to stay on your feet and avoid any flying debris.

Similarly, roleplaying can affect an NPC’s attitude or demeanor, but the Game Master may decide an ability check is warranted to determine the outcome of a conversation or social interaction. A particularly smooth-talking bard may make a Persuasion check to get information from a patron, or a hulking barbarian may use Intimidation to scare off opponents and avoid a fight. While Charisma is the ability utilized in most social interactions, other abilities may come into play. When approaching a social situation, your party should consider the character best equipped to handle each interaction the same way you’d approach a role in combat.

Resting

Rest is a fundamental necessity for most living creatures. While the exact amount of rest each type of creature needs may vary, they all still must rest in order to recuperate from wounds, rid themselves of fatigue and strife, and replenish their spell slots.

Short Rest

A short rest is a period of no less than an hour, in which the character does nothing more strenuous than reading, writing, talking, and binding wounds.

At the end of a short rest, a character may expend one or more Hit Dice to restore any lost hit points, up to their maximum number of Hit Dice. For each Hit Die expended, the player rolls the dice (as determined by their class) and adds their Constitution modifier. A player can decide to roll an additional Hit Die after each roll.

Long Rest

A long rest is a period of time of at least 8 hours, 6 of which must be spent asleep. The remaining hours can be spent doing light activity like eating or standing watch. If this period is interrupted by strenuous activity for more than an hour, such as walking, fighting, or casting spells, the characters gain no benefit and the time period resets. To fully recuperate, characters need to take a rest in a haven, a safe place where they can rest uninterrupted.

After a long rest has been completed in a haven, a character regains all lost hit points. The character also regains expended Hit Dice, up to a maximum of half of the character’s total number of them (minimum of 1).

For example, a character with 10 hit dice who has expended 8 would regain 5 Hit Dice after a long rest.

A character recovers from one level of fatigue and one level of strife after finishing a long rest in a haven where they have consumed Supply.

When taking a long rest and consuming Supply without a haven, a character can recover only from the first level of fatigue or strife and regains only hit points equal to half its hit points maximum. That character doesn’t regain any Hit Dice.

A character cannot benefit from more than one long rest in a 24-hour period, and must have at least 1 hit point at the start of the long rest to benefit from it. Any character that does not consume at least 1 Supply suffers a level of fatigue when they finish a long rest.

Roughing it

There is a difference between bare survival and comfort, and many environmental conditions can make adventurers’ rests less rewarding. If any of the following conditions apply to you during a long rest, you regain half the usual number of hit dice. Should you have any levels of fatigue or strife, neither is reduced upon finishing the long rest.

• Slept in medium or heavy armor other than hide.
• Slept without a bedroll or similar bedding on rocky, wet, or uneven terrain.
• Slept exposed to the elements during inclement weather conditions.
• Slept without warmth in an environment of extreme cold.
• Slept without mosquito netting or similar precautions while in a swampy or otherwise insect-ridden area. Some adventurers, such as rangers, may have features which allow them to ignore the effects of roughing it.

Between Adventures

Though an adventurer is typically defined by the dangers they face, the bulk of their time is often spent traveling, healing, preparing, or simply living. Some spend their time with families, others contribute to the communities that they protect, develop relationships, or simply kill time until the excitement begins anew.

This period between adventures, called downtime, can represent the passing of a season, a period spent traveling, or the time necessary for an ally or NPC to secure a vital piece of information or permission for the party to travel through guarded lands.

Additionally, the mental and physical stress of adventuring often necessitates time off, which can prevent characters from jumping from 1st level to 11th level in a single month! While it is not necessary to meticulously describe each and every day that PCs spend in this way, providing key details can help to bring the setting to life, create the feeling of time passing, and foreshadow events to come.

When considering these key details, think about significant life events for the adventurers and their friends or allies — weddings, birthdays, funerals, holidays, festivals or other seasonal events, political trends, or significant events occurring abroad that come as news. Any of these can be used to foreshadow future plots.

Lifestyle

Some adventurers choose to live lavishly between quests while others are content to rent a room at their favorite drinking establishment. A character’s lifestyle (poor, moderate, or rich) impacts some of their downtime activities.

An adventurer’s lifestyle can also impact their interactions with those around them. The Game Master may provide advantage or disadvantage on Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma checks made against people that perceive a PC to be of a different lifestyle than themselves, depending upon the circumstances — an adventurer with a poor lifestyle has a harder time getting along with rich nobles and vice versa.

Downtime Activities

Downtime activities represent specific and intentional activities that a character undertakes to achieve a benefit. A character can undertake one downtime activity per week of downtime, although they do not necessarily occur sequentially.

A downtime period consists of 10 days (treated as a week) each involving at least 8 hours of engaging in a downtime activity. In most cases, an unfinished week does not count towards progress, but in some situations the Game Master might allow specific days to add to the total. At the end of each downtime period, any check required is made and success or failure is determined. Some downtime activities may require more than 1 week to complete. If a downtime activity mentions a month it assumes 3 weeks.

Extended Downtime. When a party of adventurers is experiencing a particularly long period of downtime, such as a year or longer, the Game Master may extend the length of the downtime period to 1 month and allow players to roll one check per 3 weeks of downtime activity. A success on an extended downtime check is treated as 3 successful weeks of a downtime activity, a failure is treated as 2 successful weeks, and on a failure by 5 or more the character makes no progress at the downtime activity.

For even longer periods of downtime, the Game Master can extend the downtime to seasons (treating a success as 12 weeks, a failure as 6 weeks, and a failure by 5 or more as 3 weeks), or even years (treating a success as 36 weeks, a failure as 18 weeks, and a failure by 5 or more as 9 weeks).

Characters may wish to work together to complete downtime activities. At the Game Master’s discretion, one character may assist another. Both characters must spend their downtime on the chosen activity.

Brewing Potions

The process of brewing procces differs slightly from other items. To craft potions you need proficiency in alchemist’s supplies. A crafted potion costs half the amount the potion would normally cost.

Brewing Potions

Craft

Adventurers with tool proficiencies may use their downtime to create weapons, armor, or other items. The Craft activity can be used to create weapons, armor, tools, clothing, other equipment, or a work of art.

All crafted items require materials. Poor quality items can be made with materials equal to 1/8th the base cost of the item that the character wishes to create. Normal quality work requires materials equal to 1/4th the base cost. If a character wishes to craft a fine item, they must acquire fine materials equal to 1/2 the item’s base cost. If a character wishes to craft a masterwork item, the materials cost is equal to the base cost of the item.
Special Materials. :: Rarely a smith might happen upon special materials. These materials can only rarely be purchased and must often be found. When attempting to craft using adamantine, mithral, or other wondrous materials, increase the DC to craft the item by 2.
Time Required. :: The time required varies depending upon what a character is attempting to craft, as per Table: Crafting Time. At the end of the required time, the character makes a check based upon the desired quality level. On a success, the materials are consumed and they create the item. On a failure, they create an item of one quality level lower than they desired or may salvage the materials. When a character fails by 5 or more, they produce a poor quality item and the materials are consumed.
Quality. :: The quality of an item affects the time, cost, and difficulty of crafting it. Items of fine quality or masterwork quality also offer special benefits. A fine item also costs an additional 25 silver to produce, and a masterwork item 125 silver.
Engineering. :: The Craft downtime activity can also be used for buildings, engineering devices, and other projects. Each check requires a week of work and access to an amount of silver worth of materials. The DC and materials cost are determined by the project’s complexity. The scope of the project determines how many checks are required to complete it.

Table: Crafting Items

Table: Engineering Items

Table: Engineering Time

Table: Crafting Time

Gather Information

The Gather Information activity is used to uncover secure or secret information about individuals, events, organizations, or other things that still exist within living memory. Gather Information is typically done by word-of-mouth on the street or in taverns.

The character specifies a particular individual, event, organization, or place from which they wish to learn more declares a specific piece of information that they’re seeking to learn, making an Investigation check. The time, DC, and costs are included below.

On a success, the character learns what they are looking for along with a point of Key Knowledge.

Success by 5 or more grants an additional fact or useful piece of information and an additional point of Key Knowledge. Failure means that the character learns nothing, and on a failure by 5 or more they instead learn an incorrect piece of information that could lead them astray or cause some trouble.
Key Knowledge. :: Key Knowledge represents clues, secrets, or other insights into a particular location, individual, or event. Each point of Key Knowledge is specific to an individual, creature, or location. These points may be spent to gain advantage on an attack roll or ability check made in relation to the subject.

At the Game Master’s discretion, these points can also be spent to introduce a small fact to the story. Perhaps a character learns of a friendly bartender while Gathering Information about the next town or discovers a potentially safe cavern while Researching the dungeon they plan to enter.
Limitations. :: The Game Master may decide that there is simply no way that a piece of information can be gleaned by the Gather Information activity. In this case, the Game Master should inform the player before the check is attempted.

Table: Gather Information

Recovery

Sometimes it is necessary to recover from the dangers faced by an adventurer. In order to take the Recover activity, a character must have or temporarily pay for at least a moderate lifestyle. Each week that a character takes the Recover activity, they may:

• Make a Constitution saving throw against one effect that is preventing them from regaining hit points.
• Make one additional saving throw against one disease or poison currently affecting them.

If a character is tended to by someone with a healer’s satchel, they have advantage on the above checks.

Religious Devotion

Religious Devotion allows a character to engage in acts of piety in an attempt to appease the gods and earn their favor. In order to engage in this downtime activity, a character must have access to a shrine, temple, or other sacred site and spend the required silver on sacred

offerings to make a Nature or Religion check against a DC from Table: Religious Devotion.

On a success, the character gains 1 point of favor, plus 1 additional point of favor for every 5 points their result exceeds the DC.
Favor. :: A point of favor can be spent to represent a minor but helpful boon that aligns with a deity’s portfolio. A point of favor from a war god might allow a character to find a weapon after they’ve been disarmed, while a point of favor from a nature god might make it easier to find a safe place to camp.

The specific details are left up to the Game Master, but in general, this should represent advantage on a roll, the discovery of a small but useful item, or a helpful chance encounter. For 2 favor points, the Game Master may allow a character to benefit from the effects of a 1st-level spell that aligns with a deity’s portfolio. Game Masters are free to come up with other uses.

If a character acts against the interests or philosophy of a deity during an adventure, any points of favor are immediately lost.

Table: Religious Devotion

Research

Research is used to uncover obscure information about individuals, events, organizations, or other things that have faded beyond living memory but still exist in recorded history. Alternatively, Research can be used to find facts or information contained within bureaucratic records.

In order to conduct the Research activity, a character must have access to a library or libraries that might conceivably contain the information that they are searching for — a noble villa’s private library might contain original ownership records, but is unlikely to contain information regarding alien interlopers from the last age. The character makes an Arcana or History check (determined by the topic of Research) against the DC listed on Table: Research, taking an appropriate amount of time and spending the indicated amount of silver.

On a success, they learn what they are looking for along with a point of Key Knowledge (see Gather Information). Success by 5 or more grants an additional fact or useful piece of information and an additional point of Key Knowledge. Failure means that the character learns nothing, and on a failure by 5 or more they instead learn an incorrect piece of information that could lead them astray or cause some trouble.

The cost of research is reflective of bribes, library fees, and other related expenses. At the Game Master’s discretion, a character may dispense with these if they already have access to a library that might contain the information.

Table: Research

Scribing Spell Scrolls

With time and patience, a spellcaster can transfer a spell to a scroll, creating a spell scroll. Scribing a spell scroll takes an amount of time and money related to the level of the spell the character wants to scribe, as shown in the Spell Scroll Costs table. In addition, the character must have proficiency in the skill, that most represents their spellcating (Arcana (sorcerer, warlock, wizard), Nature (druid, ranger), Performance (bard), or Religion (cleric, paladin)) and must provide any material components required for the casting of the spell. Moreover, the character must have the spell prepared, or it must be among the character’s known spells, in order to scribe a scroll of that spell.

If the scribed spell is a cantrip, the version on the scroll works as if the caster were 1st level.

Spell Scroll Costs

Spellcraft

This downtime activity allows spellcasters to create rare spells by refining their knowledge.

Pick a common version of a spell that the character knows and choose one modification from the modifications table.
\column
The character makes an ability check using their spellcasting ability and Arcana (sorcerer, warlock, wizard), Nature (druid, ranger), Performance (bard), or Religion (cleric, paladin). The DC of the check is based on the spell level as per Table: Rare Spell Crafting and is increased by the desired modification.

Each check requires 1 week and the amount of indicated materials. A character requires a number of successful study weeks as listed on Table: Rare Spell Crafting. If a character succeeds the check by 5 or more, that week counts as 2 weeks for the purposes of completion. On a failure, the character makes no progress that week and the materials are consumed, and on a failure by 5 or more the materials are consumed and a week of progress is lost. The rare spell is finished when the final check succeeds.

In order to invent a rare spell, a character must have access to the appropriate type of library. Wizards and sorcerers require a collection of arcane tomes. Clerics and paladins must have access to books of esoteric lore and theological texts. Druids and rangers need a sacred place of nature untouched by civilization. Bards utilize folios of magical compositions. Warlocks require forbidden texts and works of the occult.

Creating rare spells should be a collaboration with the Game Master. As always, the Game Master must approve any new rare spell.

In addition to crafting rare spells, it is possible to create entirely new spells. This process typically requires years of work and often represents the pinnacle of a spellcaster’s career. If a character wishes to create their own spell, it should require at least 2 months per spell level and 500 silver per spell level each week. DCs for such checks and the other specifics are determined by the Game Master, using the rules for crafting rare spells as a guideline.

Table: Rare spell modifications

Table: Rare Spell crafting

Train

The Train activity allows a character to learn a new weapon, language, or tool proficiency, or it can be used to swap a class feature or feat that they learned previously.
Language or Tool. :: Learning a new language or tool proficiency requires a character to spend a number of months equal to 12 – their Intelligence modifier and pay 50 silver pieces per month to retain a tutor. If a character does not wish to pay for or does not have access to a tutor, they must have another reliable means of learning and the time required is doubled. At the end of this period, the character acquires the proficiency.
Weapon. :: Learning a new weapon proficiency requires a character spend a number of months equal to 6 – their Strength or Dexterity modifier (whichever is highest) training and pay 50 silver pieces per month to retain a tutor. At the end of this time period, the character acquires the weapon proficiency.
Relearning. :: A character may also relearn class features. This activity does not require spending any silver. The time required is 1 week to change a feature gained at 1st–5th level, 2 weeks to change a feature gained at 6th–10th level, 3 weeks to change a feature gained at 11th–15th level, and 4 weeks to change a feature gained at 15th–20th level. This activity cannot be used to swap out spells that have been entered into a spellbook.
Feat. :: To swap a feat gained through leveling to another feat, a character may spend a number of months equal to 8 – their proficiency bonus and pay 50 silver pieces each month to acquire practice materials and advice from experts in the feat they are learning.
Subclass. :: A character can change to a different subclass for their class by spending 12 weeks mastering the new archetype, at which point they are able to select it. When they do, any class features gained from their previous subclass are lost and replaced by the class features of their new archetype. Changing from one class to another requires the use of powerful reality-altering magic (like the wish spell or the direct intervention of a deity).

Work

A character can use the Work activity to pay their cost of living expenses and earn some coin between adventures. Work is broken down into two categories. On a successful check after spending a week on this downtime activity, a character supports a lifestyle (poor, moderate, or rich), and earns silver as listed on Table: Work.
Legal Work. :: Legal work allows a character to practice a trade or profession without fear of consequence. The character selects a tool proficiency or skill approved by the Game Master and makes an ability check, consulting Table: Work to determine the lifestyle their profits support and the extra silver earned. On a result of 5 or less, a character earns nothing, supports no lifestyle, and has disadvantage on the next Work check that they make using the same skill or tool.
Illegal Work. :: Illegal work allows a character to sustain themself and make some coin by engaging in petty crime. First, a character selects the type of crime that they would like to engage in and selects an appropriate skill or ability check approved by the Game Master. They then select the difficulty of criminal activities as per Table: Work. On a failed check, a character receives no earnings and must cover the cost of their lifestyle themselves. If they fail by 5 or more, the character must lay low and cannot take a downtime activity for the following week, and on a failure by 10 or more they are caught and suffer consequences or complications determined by the Game Master.

Table: Work

Prestige Rating

A character’s Prestige rating represents how prominent they are, either as an ally or enemy, and can influence how easy it is for the character to call in favors from their allies, or determine how much effort their enemies will put into defeating them. Most Prestige ratings range from 0 to 6, although some deities and extraplanar beings may have higher ratings.

Player characters start with a Prestige rating of 1. Each time a character enters a new tier of play at 5th, 11th, and 17th level their Prestige rating increases by 1. Additionally, characters may gain Prestige when acquiring a stronghold, and the Game Master may award Prestige when they accomplish great deeds during play. Finally, some class features may grant Prestige bonuses.

Additionally, Prestige determines how many followers a character can have at any one time. This number is equal to the character’s Prestige rating.
Prestige Center. :: A character’s Prestige rating distinguishes how widely known they are. If they travel beyond their home, the character may find that people do not know who they are. Prestige applies in an area whose size is determined by a character’s Prestige score, starting from as small as a village to as large as an entire world. When creating a character, the player should work with the Game Master to determine where their Prestige is centered from. Often this will be the starting area of a campaign.
Prestige Check. :: To determine whether somebody has heard of a character, or to call in a favor (see below), the character makes a Prestige check by rolling 1d20 and adding their Prestige rating. The DC of a Prestige check is equal to 12 + double the tier of the region the character is in (or when extremely far from their Prestige Center, triple the tier). When outside the area described by their Prestige rating, the character has disadvantage.

For example, Zidi Wheatling, the “Halfling Titan”, has a Prestige rating of 5. She is known across the county for her great strength, and stories of how she beat a minotaur in an arm-wrestling match have become a regional legend. She has traveled all the way to the country’s capital (a tier 2 region) and seeks an audience with a wealthy noble. Zidi rolls a Prestige check with disadvantage, adding 5 to the roll (from her Prestige rating) against DC 16.

Unfortunately the result is an 11— the noble has not heard of her and will not grant her an audience. Zidi has to find some other way to attract their attention!

Table: Prestige Rating

Optional Rule: Calling In Favors

Most fantasy adventurers are free agents with no boss but themselves, usually out on the edge of civilization with few allies they can call on in a pinch. Over the course of a campaign however, player characters may want to call in favors from a friendly baroness, the local police, or other power groups. Prestige provides a quick guideline of how much clout the party has, whether they’re calling in a mage to perform a ritual beyond their ken, or trying to get their hands on a rare battle wand before assaulting a criminal stronghold.

In addition to acting as a handy track of a character’s notoriety, Prestige can be used to call in favors. Use the following guidelines to determine the level of a favor. Calling in a favor normally takes 1d6 hours and requires a Prestige check. The party as a whole can call in one favor per day. As a default, favors can get people to help for up to half an hour. Any task that requires a few hours or more increases the level by 1, or if for a day or more by 2.

The favor ratings below are just guidelines. The Game Master can impose modifiers at their discretion, or state that certain favors are impossible.

Example Favors

Here are some sample favors.
Level 0 (Unknown). :: Urchins to watch a street. A scribe to look through documents or handle paperwork. A carriage-driver to provide discreet passage around a district.
Level 1 (Local). :: Audience with the guard captain. A ferry-man to give discreet passage around the city. A craftsman to make a custom mundane item (the character pays the normal price). A minor noble to bend the rules. A bard to tell a story.
Level 2 (Village). :: Audience with the mayor. A docker to create a distraction that might get them into trouble. A bard to spread a false tale that could have serious consequences. A major noble agreeing to converse for a few minutes.
Level 3 (Town). :: Audience with a minor noble. A gang of bandits to commit some crimes. A small group of concerned citizens to rally and protest somewhere.
Level 4 (City). :: A large crowd of protesters to block off a whole building or street. A temple’s acolytes to come out and use their skills for the common people. A ship captain to smuggle something.
Level 5 (Region). :: Audience with a powerful noble. A noble to take a stand for something that might cost them their position. A city-wide search for a missing person. A local celebrity to put on a private show.
Level 6 (Country). :: Audience with a monarch. A citywide protest. A call for all citizens to take arms against a threat.
Level 7 (Continent). :: A national uprising against a tyrannical monarch. Royal pardon for a heinous crime. Borrow an artifact.
Level 8 (World). :: Coronation as a monarch.
Level 9 (Plane). :: Audience with a deity.
Level 10 (Multiverse). :: Audience with a pantheon.

Quellen

Quellen

Art: Created by nareerat jaikaew from Noun Project