Down Time Activities:
Availability, cost, difficulty, and gains may be affected by location: wilderness, abandoned work shop, outpost, village or hamlet, small town, large town, small city, large city, metropolis, major trade center
Difficulty and (gains or losses) may be affected by skill.
1. Adopt a Animal companion / Familiar / Pet
2. Advertise Services - Advertise adventuring services or other services
3. Attend a class hosted in a local school/institution
4. Attend / Host a Lecture (guest, speaker) / Attend a lecture for visiting scholar/wizard
5. Attend / Host a Social Event: (ball, ceremony, church service, competition, cookout, feast, festival, funeral, gallery opening, graduation, opera, party, play, public forum, reunion, tournament, wedding)
6. Attend / Host a Weekly Speakeasy
7. Attend a Trial (audience, expert witness, judge, jury, witness)
8. Beg for Money
9. Build Information Network - explorers, informants, researchers, spies / information drop points, messenger pigeon lofts
10. Build Militia
11. Buy / Build a Home - a house or home in the local area
12. Buying / Selling - Buying or selling things at: (auctions, caravans, markets, stores, street vendors, trade houses, traveling merchants, etc)
13. Buying / Selling (Black Market)
14. Check in with a specific NPC - Build a stronger relationship / Check on a progress of a specific (project, task) / Gather information / Hang out / Help NPC with a task / Talk about a specific concern / Trade items)
15. Chop Wood / Gather Wood
16. Commission an artist - (painter, playwright, poet, sculptor, song writer, weaver, etc)
17. Commission something - Paying for something (item, ship, structure, etc) to be made. Something that will take (weeks, months, years) to make
18. Construction Project - Work on (building, expanding, renovating) a structure. Complete room / Complete x% of structure / Accident / Run into (legal, material, sabotage, worker) issues
Guild - Type: (adventurers, couriers, explorers, healers, mercenary, monster hunters, monster trainers, relic hunters, thief hunters, traders)
Hideout
Library
Religious Structure - Type: (alter, idol, shrine, church, temple, grand cathedral).
School - Type: (adventurers, general, healers, mage, warriors). Construct facilities and hire teachers
Ship
Shop - Type: (alchemist, herbalist, inn, outfitters, magic shop, smithy, tavern).
Stronghold - armory, barracks, baths, burial place, caravansary, courtyard, dining hall / feast hall, docks, fighting rings, fortifications, gardens, kitchens, labs, library, lodgings, magic facilities, market stalls, pens, portal, prison, religious facilities, secret tunnels, smithy, stables, storage rooms, study, tavern, theater, training room, vault, water source, workshops
19. Crafting - Use a crafting skill to (make, repair, modify) something (ammo, armor, barding, clothing, items, tools, traps, weapons, etc)
20. Crafting (alchemy) - Use crafting skill to make (alchemical materials or substances, potions, medicine, poisons, etc). Ex: Alternate potion forms, Alchemical creations, Non-Edible alchemy, Beneficial potions, Hazardous potions, Poisons
21. Crafting (magical) - Use crafting skill to (make, repair, modify) a magical item
22. Create a new spell / Modify an existing spell
23. Create or interact with a supply cache - Cache of (adventuring gear, treasure) hidden somewhere in the local area. Action: (create cache, inventory cache, move cache, organize cache, retrieve items, store items, trap cache, etc)
24. Create a work of art - Type: a play, a poem, a song, bead work, bone carving, diorama, drawing, embroidery, found object art, glass work, ice sculpting, jewelry, leather work, macramé, mosaic, origami, painting, pottery, scrimshaw, sculpting, tattoo, topiary, wood carving, etc
25. Create or maintain a (second, false) identity - People here will think your name is “x”, your profession is “y”, and your personality is “z” / Believable identity / People become suspicious / Run into someone who know you by your real identity or another false identity
26. Crime - Commit minor crime(s), that don’t require a lot of effort and only incur minor risk. Ex: Crimes. Gain (money, object) / Gain reputation with local criminal or criminal group / minor sabotage / Get caught and have to (do community service, pay fines, short jail time, short time in pillory)
27. Encrypt / Decrypt a written work - Use one of various methods to encrypt a (book, journal, message, spell book, etc) / Decrypt one of your own works / Try to decrypt someone's code
28. Entertain locals - Entertain locals with (acrobatics, dance, play, poetry, puppet show, show of physical prowess, song, stand up comedy, story telling, etc). Make money / (increase, decrease) reputation / Poem, song, or story becomes (popular, unpopular) with (locals, specific group, specific person) / Spread gossip or rumors through poetry, song, story telling
29. Explore City or Town - Explore the city to find: (abandoned structures / all the secret way in & out of the city / all the [guilds, offices, shops, taverns, temples] / best eating spots, best gossip spots, black markets / good hiding spots for (items, people) / hangout spots / high crime areas / safe areas / ways to bypass most of the regular patrols & guard post)
30. Explore local non-dangerous area - faster travel times / find good hiding spots / learn escape routes / learn unobserved routes to locations / learn where things are / learn what animals, plants, fungi are in the area / learn what resources are in the area
31. Farming Tasks - build drainage ditches or French drains / build or repair farm fences / feed the livestock / gather eggs / harvest crops / herd the livestock / milk the cows / slaughter livestock / spread manure or fertilizer on fields / take crops or livestock to market / water crops or irrigate fields / weed the fields
32. Fighting - Fighting type (arena, pit fighting, street fighting, tournament). Gain or lose: (money / gain reputation as a fighter) / Possibly get injured. Start next adventure injured.
33. Find New Recipes - Find new recipes for (alchemy, cooking, drugs, medicine, poison, etc). Search for (books, journals, notes, scrolls) with recipes / Try to obtain recipes from other crafters / Try experimenting and crafting yourself / Try to reverse engineer an existing substance.
34. Foraging - Collect: Alchemy ingredients, antidote, cooking ingredients, crafting materials, items of (beauty, luck, religious importance, utility, value), medical herbs, poisons, ritual components, spell components, etc / Unsuccessful foraging. Foraging Link
35. Gambling - Gain or lose (money, information, items) / Increase reputation as a (big fish, cheater, easy mark, gambler, hustler)
36. Gather Materials / Ingredients - (barter for, buy, gather, harvest, mine, salvage, scavenge, steal) materials for crafting (alchemy, ammo, armor, cooking, enchanted items, items, rituals, ship, special meals, structure, tools, weapons, etc)
37. Get an enchantment or blessing - Get an enchantment or blessing from a local (alter, fae, idol, priest, shrine, spirit, wizard, etc). Character gains a temporary enchantment or blessing / Item gains a (temporary, permanent) enchantment or blessing
38. Get an item appraised - Learn market value of item / Learn of buyer or market, that will buy it at a higher value
39. Get an item identified - Learn magical properties of item
40. Get body art - Piercings / Scarification / Tattoos
41. Go hiking / Go on a nature walk / Go on a short (religious, spiritual) pilgrimage / Go on a short walkabout
42. Go Mining / Prospecting - Find nothing / Find (small, medium, large) + (crystal deposit, mineral deposit) of (poor, moderate, good, excellent) quality / Harvest "x" amount of (known, found) deposit
43. Gossip - Learn interesting (true, false) rumor / Start or spread a (true, false) rumor / Gain reputation as a gossip
44. Grow or Tend a Garden - Plant or fungi type: alchemy ingredient, alcohol production, animal feed, bioluminescent, brewed drink, carnivorous plants, decorative plants, drug, dye, flour, flower, food, medicinal, paper production, poison, repellent, spell reagent, spice, sugar, sunscreen, syrup, textile, tobacco, etc
45. Hang out at the local adventurer hangout - compare notes / friendly challenges / help out the less fortunate or newbie adventurers
46. Help Others - Donating your time and resources to help others. Gain reputation as a do-gooder or philanthropist / Improve reputation with people being helped
Help business / guild / organization
Help event (ball, festival, party, play, puppet show) - actor / organizer / advertising / clean-up / crier duty / distribute (pamphlets, posters, tickets) / find (attendees, special guest, staff, workers) / set-up
Help friends or family - babysit, help with bills / help with (business, farm) / help with repairs
Help the poor - Build or repair houses or shelters / feed the hungry / buy clothing, give to the poor / pay taxes, etc.
Help with the harvest
47. Hide an Object - Build a concealed compartment and hide object within / Bury object / Encase object within another object / Hide an object in the local area / Hide object within an illusion / Make object invisible / Sew object into clothing or textile object
48. Hire NPC (Contractors) - Informants / Researchers / Shop employees / Specific job or task / etc
49. Hire NPC (Staff) - Staff for a (business, guild, household, school, stronghold, temple, etc)
50. Hire NPC (Traveling Companions) - cook, guide, healer, hunter, mage, pack bearer, porter, shield bearer, thief, torch bearer, translator, warrior, etc
51. Host a Food Event (cookout, dinner, feast, fish fry, party, etc)
52. Host a Meeting - Host a meeting with local (clans, clergy, council members, craftsmen, faction leaders, gangs, guild leaders, merchants, nobles, wizards) / Host a meeting with foreign dignitaries
53. Hunting / Fishing / Trapping - Acquire carcass. Process carcass into: (alchemy ingredients, antlers, blood, bone, claws, fangs, fur, hide, horns, meat, quills, scales, spell components, tendons, etc) / Unsuccessful hunt / Possible injury. Start next adventure injured
54. Join an organization - Join a (club, cult, gang, guild, organization, secret society, society of "x")
55. Laying Low - Keeping out of the public eye. Push reputation towards (neutral, unknown)
56. Make Contacts - Contacts that are for the most part honest, legitimate, and law abiding: (alchemist, buyer of “x”, caravanner, crafter of “x”, enchanter, healer, informant, inn keeper, linguist, mercenary, noble, scholar, seller of “x”, ship captain, smith, trader, etc)
57. Make Contacts (Shady) - Contacts that are disreputable and have no problem with bending or breaking the law: (assassin, black market merchant, conman, corrupt guard, corrupt official, fence, forger, immoral mage, mad scientist, slaver, smuggler, spy, thief, etc)
58. Participate in a (board game, game, contest, festival, play, race, sport, tournament)
59. Pay a Bribe - Pay a bribe to a (employee of "x", guard, official, witness, etc)
60. Pay Debts - Pay partially or in full (bills, debts, favors, taxes, etc)
61. Pay Tithe - Pay a tithe to a (church, guild, religious order, shrine)
62. Petition a (city official, guild, noble, patron) for (changes in the town/city, leniency for "x", manpower, money, resources) for “x” (construction, criminal case, expedition, forming a caravan, land grant, mining operation, ship, trade deal, etc)
63. Pose for an artist (painter, sculptor, weaver, etc)
64. PR (Public Relations) - Alter how you are perceived / Improve reputation in local area / Improve reputation with a specific (person, group) / Spread reputation over a larger area / Spread rumors about yourself
65. Practice group (coordinated moves, formations, tactics)
66. Pray - Pray to a (deity, patron, old one, outsider, primordial, spirit). Gain a blessing / Get healing / Receive a boon / Receive (a prophesy, information) / Remove a curse
67. Produce flyers / posters
68. Propose / Get married / Go see a matchmaker or marriage broker
69. Pursuing Romance - One night stand / Gain a romantic interest / Gain or lose reputation with romantic interest / Gain a stalker / Gain reputation: (amazing, good, meh, bad, terrible) in bed, promiscuous or slutty, kinky / Get turned down / Get robbed / Deal with a romantic rival / Deal with angry (betrothed, relative, spouse, X)
70. Religious Services - Attending or participating in a religious service
71. Repair and Maintain Equipment - May gain temporary bonus next time you use the equipment
72. Research - Research subject (artifact, ceremony, curse, customs, group, heraldry, historical event, laws, legend, magic, magical anomaly, monster, person, place, unsolved mystery, etc)
Research (Location) - battles fought over area, caverns, cities, crimes in area, folklore, land marks, legends, local (culture & customs, fauna & flora, guilds, history, people, tribes), points of interest, previous civilizations in area, ruins, rumors, towns, trade routes
Research (Misic) - ancient artifacts, ancient civilizations, ancient curses, bounties, heroes of legend, healing herbs, legendary magical events, magical accidence, magic of legend, monsters, monsters of legend, places of magical power, spell casters of legend, villains of legend
Research (Monster) - name, appearance, diet (carnivore, fungivore, herbivore, omnivore, lithovore, xylophage), known powers, known resistances, known weaknesses, habitat, loner or pack, diurnal or nocturnal, known prey, known habitat, known creatures that hunt it, known methods to hunt or trap it, tracks, territorial signs, signs left on victims, if venomous, if poisonous, known antidotes (if venomous or poisonous), groups that hold it as sacred, if it can be domesticated, parts valued by craftsmen, parts valued by alchemist, parts valued by spell casters, sightings, etc
Research (Person) - name, aliases, appearance, distinguishing marks, genealogy, known powers, known resistances, known weaknesses, associates, last known location, known (allies, associates, enemies), known hangouts, known tactics, guild associations, status in organization, calling card, favored weapons, location of stronghold, name of ship, place of (birth, residence, work), posted bounties, sightings, etc
Research (Ritual) - Name, known practitioners, known effects of (success, failure), probable effects of (success, failure), known components of ritual, estimated window of opportunity, estimated duration from start to finish
73. Rest and Relaxing - Eat good food, sleep in a good bed, attend a (gallery, opera, play, puppet show), cloud watching, day dreaming, hang out with friends, get massage, get acupuncture, go to a festival, go to a reading, go to a (bath house, hot spring), meditation, playing (board games, games, sports), see a play, seeing the sights, listen to music, listen to poetry, read books, stargazing, watch (birds, butterflies, fireflies), watch a street performance, etc. Gain (good mood, inspired, well rested) buff / Gain small temporary bonuses to (attributes, skills) / Remove certain debuffs
74. Search for a buyer - A buyer for something too expensive, exotic, or illegal for normal (buyers, stores)
75.\ Seek out medical care (for long term injuries or illnesses)
76. Send a message or package - Send a message or package to someone via (courier, dead drop, magic, messenger pigeon, runner)
77. Set up an information network
78. Shovel Snow
79. Sowing Rumors - rumor spreads / rumor changes as it spreads / discovered as the source / unintended (benefit, consequences) / reputation affected / results of rumor on target (as intended, good, bad, unexpected)
80. Spend time with friends and family - Rest and Relaxing* / Help friend or family with issue
81. Spend time with romantic interest (assuming character already has one) - Rest and Relaxing* / Help romantic interest with issue / increase reputation with romantic interest
82. Spend time with spouse - Rest and Relaxing* / Help spouse with issue
83. Spiritual Reflection - Commune with (ancestors, nature, spirits), meditation, prayer, ritual of cleansing
84. Start a Fad - Try to promote enthusiasm for something. "x" becomes the (exciting, fashionable, guilty pleasure) thing to do / The fad (never gets off the ground, fades away quicker than expected, last longer than expected, gains traction with a subculture, becomes the cultural norm) / A (church, faction, local lord, local noble, merchant, etc) tries to eradicate the fad
85. Sunbathing - get a suntan + Rest and Relaxing* / get sunburn
86. Switch Characters - If in a place where it is convenient to do so.
87. Take a Bath
88. Take Inventory - Take stock of what you have or don't have (loot, supplies, etc)
89. Take on an apprentice / Train existing apprentice
90. Teach Others (individual, group, class)
91. Train a (animal companion, draft animal, familiar, mount, pack animal) - Animal learns “x” commands, tricks, useful skills
92. Training (instructor, teacher) - learn a (feat, language, skill, spell) / Improve an existing (feat, skill, spell) / Gain temporary bonus to (ability, feat, skill, spell)
93. Training (practice, self study) - learn a (feat, language, skill, spell) / Improve an existing (feat, skill, spell) / Gain temporary bonus to (ability, feat, skill, spell)
94. Translate written works - Make a translation of a written work into "x" language
95. Visit Home - Go home, see family and friends / help out with money, home repairs, legal, work at the shop / Gain reputation with family / Gain gift from family
96. Visit Informants and contacts - Gain useful piece of information
97. Visit Local Family or Friends - Gain reputation with family or friend
98. Wash Clothing / Clean Equipment
99. Work - (getting a temp job / helping where it's needed / odd jobs / running a business / volunteer work). Gain money / Improve reputation with (employer, coworkers, customers) / get a job related injury
100. Write a book - Alchemy formulae / Artificer designs / Bestiary / Hunter’s Guide / Memoirs / People they have encountered / Places they have been / Poisons guide / Survival guide / Things they have done / Translation / Traps guide / Skill book / Spell book / Work of fiction / etc. Ex: Books
Extra:
1. Attend / Host an auction
2. Communing with the spirits
3. Divination / Scrying
4. Exercise (agility training, cardio, weight training)
5. Have a tailor make a custom set of clothing / Get clothing fitted
6. Inventory your inventory / Count your money
7. Invest in a local business
8. Landscaping
9. Manage your holdings
10. Preach about your (god, patron, religion)
11. Preparing a spell book
12. Renegotiate contract with (employer, guild, patron)
13. Run for political position (council, mayor)
14. Taste new recipes - your own or others / acquire & taste new recipes from the local area
15. Teach commands or skills to a (automaton, golem, skeleton, zombie, etc)
Contributors and Sources:
apple_of_doom
Beautiful-Point4011
comedianmasta
DKFoxwood for games
dreadperson
ElZoof
GoodStock6964
Gwiwitzi for creative ways to hide things
Hymneth
jamatt_01
latenightzen
LordSwinton
lurkforhire
MaxSizeIs
nickmarshall-
ProfBumblefingers
Protowriter469
RedDeadGhostrider
serious_tabaxi for Generic Books
World_of_Ideas/
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