The shortest span of game 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, such as exploring a room, take a length of time using minutes. Hours are appropriate for exploring a city or a limited area of land. Days are generally used for long periods of time during a journey or adventure.
When it comes to determining movement, the most important factors are the Speed of an individual or party and the terrain being traversed.
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 movement that take place over minutes, hours, or days.
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.
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 two 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 Narrator may apply additional checks in certain scenarios, such as climbing a particularly slippery surface or swimming in churning water.
The distance a creature can jump is determined both by the method attempted and their Strength score.
A running 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 up to its Strength score. Each foot covered by a jump costs the same in movement. A standing long jump allows a creature to jump up to half its Strength score.
A Narrator 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, the creature must make an additional DC 10 Dexterity (Acrobatics) check to land on its feet. Should it fail, it 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, clearing a number of feet equal to 3 + its Strength modifier (minimum of 0 feet). To make a standing high jump, a creature need 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 move up to 10 feet beforehand and make the 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.
First, a creature can raise its arms up to half its height during a jump. Thus a jumping creature can reach the height of the jump plus 1.5 times its height. In addition, the Narrator may allow a creature to make a Strength (Athletics) check to jump higher than it could otherwise.
When it’s relevant to the game, the Narrator 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.
Whether or not creatures notice a hidden threat is determined by their passive Perception scores.
When players encounter other characters or creatures while traveling, either party can choose to attack, talk, flee, or wait. In addition, a Narrator can decide whether or not a party is surprised by the other if combat ensues.
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.
When a creature falls, it takes 1d6 bludgeoning damage for every 10 feet it falls (maximum 20d6) and lands prone.
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).
A creature can hold its breath for 1 plus its Constitution modifier minutes (minimum of 30 seconds). Once a creature is out of breath, it begins suffocating. After suffocating for a number of rounds equal to its Constitution modifier (minimum 1 round), at the start of its turn the suffocating creature drops to 0 hit points and is dying. It cannot regain hit points or be stabilized until it can breathe again.
A creature that cannot breathe water begins to suffocate underwater once it cannot hold its breath. In addition, creatures without swim speeds have disadvantage 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 check or immediately begin suffocating as if its breath had run out.
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.
A lightly obscured area is one that creates a minimal, but not insignificant, amount of visual impairment. When within this area, creatures have disadvantage on Perception checks that rely on sight.
An area that is heavily obscured 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.
Most creatures suffer no penalties from being in an area of bright light.
Dim light creates a lightly obscured area.
An area of darkness is heavily obscured.
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 or creatures without eyes 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).
Some creatures have darkvision within a certain radius. 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.
Some especially powerful creatures have truesight. This allows a creature to see in darkness (both mundane and magical), perceive invisible creatures and objects, automatically recognize illusions and succeed on its saving throw against them, and discern the true form of a shapechanger or a magically transformed creature. A creature with truesight can also see into the Ethereal Plane.
Most physical interactions with the environment simply require a player to announce their intentions to the Narrator. Some interactions, however, may require an ability check. The Narrator 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 Narrator sets the DC for the check.
Creatures can damage objects with both physical attacks and spells. Objects are immune to psychic and poison damage, and the Narrator determines any other resistances, immunities, and vulnerabilities, as well as an object’s AC and hit points. Objects always fail Strength and Dexterity saving throws, but are immune to effects that require other saves. Reducing an object to 0 hit points breaks the object.
An object’s Armor Class represents how tough the object is to damage. The Object Armor Class table has suggested values for objects based on the materials they are made from.
TABLE: OBJECT AC
| OBJECT | ARMOR CLASS |
|---|---|
| Cloth, paper, rope | AC 11 |
| Crystal, glass, ice | AC 13 |
| Wood, bone | AC 15 |
| Stone | AC 17 |
| Iron, steel | AC 19 |
| Mithral | AC 21 |
| Adamantine | AC 23 |
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.
TABLE: OBJECT HIT POINTS
| OBJECT | SIZE | HIT POINTS (FRAGILE) | HIT POINTS (RESILIENT) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Game piece, vial | Tiny | 2 (1d4) | 5 (2d4) |
| Chair, painting | Small | 3 (1d6) | 10 (3d6) |
| Crate, Medium door, table | Medium | 4 (1d8) | 18 (4d8) |
| Large door, 10 ft. × 10 ft. section of wall | Large | 5 (1d10) | 27 (5d10) |
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 Narrator 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.
When damaging an object some damage types might be more effective than others, depending on the object’s composition. For example, wooden objects might be vulnerable to fire. The Narrator determines the effectiveness of any given attack on an object.
Objects built to endure attack 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.
Roleplaying can affect an NPC’s attitude or demeanor, but the Narrator may decide an ability check is warranted to determine the outcome of a conversation or social interaction. 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.
A short rest is a period of no less than an hour, in which the character performs light activities like reading, writing, talking, eating, and binding wounds. At the end of a short rest, a character can expend one or more of their Hit Dice to restore any lost hit points. 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.
A long rest is a period 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 the rest is interrupted for more than an hour, for instance by walking, fighting, or casting spells, the characters gain no benefit and the time period resets.
After a long rest has been completed, a character regains all lost hit points. The character also regains a number of expended Hit Dice equal to half of their total number of Hit Dice (minimum of 1).
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, and adventurers are only able to truly recuperate within a haven (see Exploration). 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.
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.
Some adventurers, such as rangers, may have features which allow them to ignore the effects of roughing it.
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 Narrator 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.
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 5 days (treated as a week) each involving at least 8 hours engaging in a downtime activity. In most cases, an unfinished week does not count towards progress, but in some situations the Narrator 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 4 weeks.
Extended Downtime. When a party of adventurers is experiencing a particularly long period of downtime, such as a year or longer, the Narrator may extend the length of the downtime period to 1 month and allow players to roll one check per 4 weeks of downtime activity. A success on an extended downtime check is treated as 4 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 Narrator 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 52 weeks, a failure as 26 weeks, and a failure by 5 or more as 13 weeks).
Characters may wish to work together to complete downtime activities. At the Narrator’s discretion, one character may assist another (as the Help action). Both characters must spend their downtime on the chosen activity.
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 gold to produce, and a masterwork item 125 gold.
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 gold 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 TIME
| ITEM | CRAFT TIME |
|---|---|
| Dual-wielding weapon* | 2 per week |
| Martial or simple weapon* | 1 week |
| Heavy weapon* | 2 weeks |
| Ammunition | 50 per week |
| Light armor | 1 week |
| Medium armor | 2 weeks |
| Heavy armor | 4 weeks |
| Tool or equipment | 2 per week |
| * Rare weapons may require longer crafting times determined by the Narrator. |
TABLE: CRAFTING ITEMS
| QUALITY | TIME | DC | MATERIALS | PRODUCTION COST | SELL PRICE | BENEFIT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Poor | ×1/2 | 10 | ×1/8th | — | Half | Gains the Broken condition after each use |
| Normal | Base | 15 | ×1/4 | — | Up to full | — |
| Fine | ×2 | 20 | ×1/2 | +25 gp | At least full price | Can be enchanted to become a magic item of up to uncommon rarity |
| Masterwork | ×5 | 25 | ×1 | +125 gp | No less than double full price | Never has damage vulnerabilities, and can be enchanted to become a magic item of any rarity |
TABLE: ENGINEERING ITEMS
| COMPLEXITY | DC | COST PER WEEK | EXAMPLES |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rudimentary | 13 | 10 gp | Barge, basic cart, rowboat, single-room building |
| Simple | 18 | 50 gp | Basic sailboat, geared mechanism, one-story building, short bridge, wagon |
| Moderate | 22 | 250 gp | Basic steam engine, complex geared mechanism, large or fortified building, long bridge, seafaring vessel, siege weaponry |
| Advanced | 26 | 500 gp | Castle, lock and damworks, locomotive, ship of the line |
| Revolutionary | 29 | 1,000 gp | Airship, power plants, railroad networks |
| Incredible | 32 | 2,000 gp | A sapient clockwork construct |
| Note: Not all technologies are available in all settings, and ultimately the machines a character is able to craft using Engineering are at the Narrator’s discretion. |
TABLE: ENGINEERING TIME
| OBJECT SIZE | SUCCESSFUL WORK WEEKS REQUIRED | EXAMPLES |
|---|---|---|
| Tiny | 1 | Pocket watch, a clockwork code cypher |
| Small | 2 | Prosthetic hand or prosthetic leg for a Medium-sized creature |
| Medium | 4 | Cabinet of automated minstrels |
| Large | 8 | Self-propelled wagon, a one-room building |
| Huge* | 32 | Small airship, a clockwork giant, a locomotive engine, a villager’s house |
| Colossal* | 64 | Steam-powered city gates, a bascule bridge, a large airship, a noble’s city estate |
| Monumental* | 128+ | A dam, a massive clocktower, an airship port, a palace |
| *Projects of this size often require a team of assistants and laborers. |
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 or 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 Narrator’s discretion, these points can also be spent to introduce a small fact to the story.
Limitations. The Narrator 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 Narrator should inform the player before the check is attempted.
TABLE: GATHER INFORMATION
| OBSCURITY | DC | TIME | COST | EXAMPLES |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Uncommon | 10 | 1 week | 10 gp | The bar where a local crime boss conducts business, where a local noble likes to drink |
| Esoteric | 15 | 2 weeks | 25 gp | The name of the best fence in a particular city, where to go to get illicit magic ingredients |
| Hidden | 20 | 3 weeks | 100 gp | The location of the duke’s secret prison, the name of a dragon’s agent in a city |
| Secret | 25 | 5 weeks | 500+ gp | The identity of the leader of a guild of assassins, what the king keeps in the secret room below his chambers |
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:
If a character is tended to by someone with a healer’s satchel, they have advantage on the above checks.
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 gold 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 Narrator, 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 Narrator may allow a character to benefit from the effects of a 1st-level spell that aligns with a deity’s portfolio. Narrators 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
| PHILOSOPHICAL SIMILARITY | DC | OFFERING* | DESCRIPTION |
|---|---|---|---|
| Strongly Aligned | 10 | 10 gp | The character’s personal ethos and actions closely mirror the deity’s philosophy and teachings. |
| Aligned | 15 | 25 gp | The character’s personal ethos and actions are generally similar to the deity’s philosophy and teachings. |
| Neutral | 20 | 50 gp | The character’s personal ethos and actions do not align with or oppose the deity they are beseeching. |
| Opposed | 25 | 100 gp | The character’s personal ethos and actions are generally counter to the deity’s philosophy and teachings. |
| Strongly Opposed | 30 | 500 gp | The character’s personal ethos and actions run directly counter to the deity’s philosophy and teachings. |
| *The Narrator may allow specific actions by the character to reduce or eliminate this cost. |
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. 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 gold.
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 Narrator’s discretion, a character may dispense with these if they already have access to a library that might contain the information.
TABLE: RESEARCH
| OBSCURITY | DC | TIME | COST* | EXAMPLES |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Uncommon | 10 | 1 week | 10 gp | The original name of a particular village |
| Esoteric | 15 | 2 weeks | 25 gp | The original owner of a piece of land or business, the location of an ancient tomb |
| Hidden | 20 | 3 weeks | 100 gp | The true history of the founding of a dynasty, the real lineage of the local ruler |
| Secret | 25 | 5 weeks | 500+ gp | The name of a fiend, the location of a city destroyed by the gods in the last age |
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. Alternatively, with the Narrator’s permission a character may choose one rare spell provided it is of a level they can cast.
The character makes an ability check using their spellcasting ability and Arcana (sorcerer, warlock, wizard), Nature (druid), Performance (bard), or Religion (cleric, herald). 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 heralds must have access to books of esoteric lore and theological texts. Druids 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 Narrator. As always, the Narrator must approve any new rare spell. When in doubt, use preexisting rare spell effects for inspiration.
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 gold per spell level each week. DCs for such checks and the other specifics are determined by the Narrator, using the rules for crafting rare spells as a guideline.
TABLE: RARE SPELL MODIFICATIONS
| MODIFICATION | DC MODIFIER | EFFECT |
|---|---|---|
| Altered Effect | +0 | The spell’s primary effect is changed. This can be used to add or alter a spell’s damage type, affect what the spell targets, or otherwise modify its core effect. Examples include an invisibility spell that targets objects instead of creatures, a fireball that deals cold damage, or a lightning bolt that has a cone area. |
| Lingering Effect | +1 | The spell has a secondary effect that occurs after the spell has ended. Examples include a fireball that causes the target to take ongoing fire damage or a slow spell that leaves a target fatigued after its duration has ended. |
| Additional Effect | +2 | An additional effect is added to the spell’s primary function. Examples include an ice storm that freezes a target in place for the duration. |
| Additional Target | +2 | This spell has the means to target additional creatures. Examples include a paralyzing effect that spreads by touch or a suggestion to new targets through conversation. |
TABLE: RARE SPELL CRAFTING
| SPELL LEVEL | DC | COST PER WEEK | SUCCESSFUL STUDY WEEKS |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | 15 | 100 gp | 2 |
| 2nd | 16 | 150 gp | 3 |
| 3rd | 17 | 200 gp | 4 |
| 4th | 18 | 300 gp | 5 |
| 5th | 19 | 500 gp | 6 |
| 6th | 20 | 1,000 gp | 7 |
| 7th | 21 | 1,500 gp | 8 |
| 8th | 22 | 3,000 gp | 9 |
| 9th | 23 | 5,000 gp | 10 |
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 gold 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 gold 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 gold. 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 gold pieces each month to acquire practice materials and advice from experts in the feat they are learning.
Archetype. A character can change to a different archetype 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 archetype 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).
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 gold 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 Narrator and makes an ability check, consulting Table: Work to determine the lifestyle their profits support and the extra gold 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 Narrator. 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 Narrator.
TABLE: WORK
| DIFFICULTY | DC | LIFESTYLE | EARNINGS |
|---|---|---|---|
| Easy | 10 | poor | 1d6 gp |
| Average | 15 | moderate | 3d6 gp |
| Hard | 20 | rich | 6d6 gp |
| Very Hard | 25 | rich | 10d6 gp |
TABLE: PRESTIGE RATING
| RATING | WELL- KNOWN ACROSS | CAN GET AUDIENCE WITH | NOTORIETY |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | Unknown | Nobody | The character is viewed with disdain, as a buffoon or pariah. People do not take them seriously. |
| 1 | Local | Shopkeep | The character is relatively unknown, but some local folks know them. |
| 2 | Village | Guard captain | The character has done a few noteworthy things, but most people don’t know them or assume they won’t do anything else interesting. |
| 3 | Town | Mayor | The character has become known across town, or across a district of a city. |
| 4 | City | Minor noble | The character is known across an entire city, or a single town plus its immediate environs. |
| 5 | Region | Noble | The character has distinguished themself across the region, and most influential people know about their actions and talents. |
| 6 | Country | Powerful noble | The character is known all across the land. People pay close attention to them, either viewing them as a powerful ally or a dangerous enemy. |
| 7 | Continent | Monarch | The character is well known by those in more than one country. Monarchs and important rulers typically have this level of Prestige. |
| 8 | World | Emperor | The character is one of the most famous people in the world, known well to monarchs and powerful figures. A lot of resources are devoted to either helping them out or taking them down. |
| 9 | Plane | Minor deity | The character is known not just on this world, but on other worlds on the same plane of existence. They might have saved or threatened the entire world. |
| 10 | Multiverse | Greater deity | The character is known not just across the world, but by powerful beings on other planes. |
| 11 | Multiverse | Greater deity | When the character seeks the audience of powerful beings like gods they are noticed. |
| 12 | Multiverse | Greater deity | When the character seeks the audience of powerful beings like gods they are answered. |
| 13 | Multiverse | Pantheon | When the character seeks the audience of powerful beings like gods they are answered in a timely manner. |
| 14+ | Divine | Anybody | This level of Prestige is usually the province of deities and other powerful extraplanar beings. The character is widely known on multiple worlds or planes. |
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 Narrator 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 Narrator 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.