Downtime.pdf

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DOWNTIME
DEFINITIONS
Downtime comprises any period of time where the PCs are not engaged in adventures. Usually
downtime will be a period of rest in a settlement, but it could also encompass other situations. For
example, a river journey where the PCs are passengers could be downtime. The exact circumstances of
the downtime will determine what can and cannot be done. In the case of the river journey, a blacksmith
would, for example, be unable to practise his trade.
Downtime is measured in basic units of weeks. Periods of less than one week are disregarded. Weeks
are each assumed to be eight days long, in line with the Imperial convention. Characters are assumed
to have 10 hours available to them per day, or 80 hours per week, to engage in various activities.
CAREERS
As mentioned above, downtime can be used to address activities relating to careers. These are often
difficult to incorporate into uptime. In downtime, however, PCs can more easily seek work, study,
practise and train. It is suggested, therefore, that all aspects of careers are usually reserved for downtime.
These include: earning a living, receiving and giving tuition, learning skills, advancing characteristics
and changing careers.
For the purposes of this framework careers are categorised into different types:
Career groups.
These resemble career classes and reflect the nature of work and social status.
The groups are Servant, Labourer, Rogue, Ranger, Entertainer, Trader, Artisan, Academic,
Wizard, Priest, Military and Noble.
Career ranks.
These reflect ranks within careers. They are Basic, Intermediate and
Advanced. Basic corresponds with the normal
WFRP1
definition of the term. Advanced
careers as normally defined are split between Intermediate and Advanced ranks.
I have not provided a full breakdown of careers into types, but GMs should be able to allocate careers
into the framework without great difficulty. For example, Mercenary would be Military/Basic,
Mercenary Sergeant Military/Intermediate and Mercenary Captain Military/Advanced. Artisan’s
Apprentice would be Artisan/Basic, and the Artisan advanced career would be divided between
Artisan/Intermediate and Artisan/Advanced based on how far the character had advanced; a journeyman
would be Intermediate and a master artisan would be Advanced. Wizards would be split as follows:
Apprentice Wizard/Basic, Levels 1 and 2 Wizard/Intermediate and Levels 3 and 4 Wizard/Advanced.
It should be noted that ranks reflect status
within
a career group. They are not comparable across
different groups. A Level 2 Wizard is likely to be far more experienced than a journeyman Artisan. This
is reflected in the mechanics below.
Nobles are a special case in
WFRP1.
It is here assumed that Noble characters have in some way turned
their backs on their privileged life. They preserve some of the advantages and disadvantages of nobility,
but are not fully engaged in their former aristocratic life. Therefore, the notes on Nobles below are
partial and will need to be adapted to the precise circumstance of the PC Noble.
ACTIVITIES
In this framework downtime activities are broken down into four categories:
1.
2.
3.
4.
Live
Work
Learn
Events
LIVE
This comprises meeting the character’s needs, be they physical, social or spiritual.
SUSTENANCE
Physical needs are food, clothing and accommodation. This can be dealt with by means of a daily cost
of living, which will depend on the character’s social station.
Accommodation.
WFRP1
(p297) details the prices to purchase various dwellings. Based on data for
mediaeval England, I have expanded the list and added weekly rental costs.
Using this data the following table of weekly accommodation costs can be drawn up:
Food.
WFRP1
(p293) describes daily food costs. Based on this and some extrapolation, the following
weekly food costs can be put together:
Staff.
In some cases characters could be expected to keep servants or retainers. These would add the
following additional costs.
In aggregate these components lead to the following total costs of living:
These costs can also be summarised in terms of the lifestyle they imply:
A failure to meet the required cost of living can lead to a loss of social standing, hunger and
homelessness. These hazards can also be caused by bad luck. For example, a character could be evicted
after a dispute with a landlord. See
Events,
below.
If a character should suffer these hazards, he or she may be required to make a mandatory career change
to reflect the situation, for example to Labourer or Beggar. Membership of a guild or other organisation
can provide a safety net against such problems, in the form of a stipend or provision of accommodation.
SOCIAL LIFE
Social needs include friendship, love, marriage, children, divorce,
etc.
Since
WFRP‘s
style of play does
not lend itself to characters enjoying family lives, this is probably best dealt with in minimal terms.
Characters that marry and settle down would effectively be retired.
RELIGIOUS LIFE
Downtime can also encompass aspects of religious life, such as prayer, attendance at ceremonies,
pilgrimages, sacrifices, donations and tithes. This is not covered here, however.
TRAVEL
Travel could form part of downtime. Again this is not addressed here, but the movement rates in
The
Enemy Within
(p6) might be useful if the PCs are engaging in travel.
WORK
Work involves characters earning an income from the provision of services. This is based on the
character’s career.
If characters have substantial capital investments, they can earn their income from asset management,
instead of work. However, that is inconsistent with
WFRP‘s
general style of play, so it is here assumed
characters do not have such investments. If characters do own, for example, an estate or a fleet of
merchant vessels, the GM will need to construct a more elaborate resource management game.
Work is dealt with in three steps:
1. Availability of work
2. Duration of work
3. Earnings
Availability of work.
This combines both the economy’s needs for services and the character’s
suitability for providing those services. The availability of suitable work can be determined randomly
with reference to a number of factors:
Size of the local economy, as measured by the settlement’s size and wealth ratings
Skills of the character, reflected by the character’s career
Guild membership, as guilds allocate work among members
Reputation of the character, using a mechanism like
Maelstrom‘s
Renown or Skill (op
cit
pp178-180).

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