How it Works
In between expeditions Cartographers will have plenty of time to earn some money, train & develop their skills, or just relax and recover.
These downtime activities are tasks that usually take a workweek (5 days) or longer to perform. These tasks can include buying or creating items, pulling off crimes, and working at a job. A character selects a downtime activity from among those available and pays the cost of that activity in time and money. The DM then follow the rules for the activity to resolve it, informing the player of the results and any complications that ensue.
Resolving Activities
The description of each activity tells you how to resolve it. Many activities require an ability check. Follow the steps in the activity, and determine the results.
Most downtime activities require a workweek (5 days) to complete. Some activities require days, weeks (10 days), or months (30 days). A character must spend at least 8 hours of each day engaged in the downtime activity for that day to count toward the activity’s completion.
The days of an activity don’t need to be consecutive; you can spread them over a longer period of time than is required for the activity. But that period of time should be no more than twice as long as the required time; otherwise you should introduce extra complications (see below) and possibly double the activity’s costs to represent the inefficiency of the character’s progress.
Complications
The description of each activity includes a discussion of complications can be throw at the characters. The consequences of a complication might spawn entire adventures, introduce NPCs to vex the party, or give the characters headaches or advantages in any number of other ways.
Each of these sections has a table that offers possible complications. The DM can roll to determine a complication randomly, pick one from the table, or devise one of their own, and then share it with the player.
Downtime Activities
The following activities are suitable for any character who can afford to pursue them. The DM has the final say on which activities are available to the characters. The activities and results allowed might depend on the nature of the area where the characters are located, or what resources are available.
For example, you might disallow the creation of magic certain items or decide that the characters are in a town that is too isolated from major markets for them to buy such items. In Varna's case, as the land has only recently been reconnected to the weave of magic, new magical items are few to find, and can be unfathomably expensive. Though ancient magic items may lurk among the unknown and untraveled lands.
