Downtime Activities

When the adventure is over, and the party has time to rest, unwind and go about their business, every character does two of the following downtime activities (you can choose the same activity twice).

You can also take additional downtime activities by hiring people to do them for you. Spend one coin per additional downtime activity you want to take. This represents money you spend on healers (for Recover) or at the market (for Restock) or in similar fashions.
You can not spend coins to gain additional Train or Work activities. Activities that require a die roll based on an ability roll a fortune die (1d6) when purchased with a coin. The GM is the final arbiter of which downtime activities are possible depending on your current location and circumstances.

Characters can take their downtime activities in any order. In fact, it is often beneficial to discuss them and put certain activities first that other activities can benefit from, especially the Acquire Asset activity.
You can also choose an activity and resolve it before choosing your second activity. This is useful if, for example, you are badly wounded or stressed - you can choose Recover or Relax and see how much it helps before deciding if you need a 2nd Recover/Relax activity.

If you don't know what to do, the Train activity is never wrong.

In most locations, characters do not pay for room and board during downtime, and are assumed to do a small job here and there or otherwise find the coin necessary. The GM may rule, however, that some form of upkeep is to be paid in locations where this isn't possible for the party.

Recover

Roll physical to heal wounds.

If you have access to a healer (for example due to an Acquire Asset activity), add +1 die.

Penalties from harm do not apply to this recovery roll.

Infobox

Healing Outcome

Roll Result Move left
critical success 3 boxes
full success 2 boxes
partial success 1 box
bad outcome nothing
terrible outcome add 1 lesser harm

You heal wounds by moving all wounds left one or more boxes depending on the roll, removing any wounds that move "off the bar". See the "healing outcome" table.

If you roll a terrible outcome, your wounds have become infected. Add 1 lesser harm following the rules in Consequences > Harm.

Forged in the Dark

These healing rules are intentionally slightly deviating from the one in the Blades in the Dark SRD but ultimately contain the same steps.

Relax

Roll either mental or social (your choice, whatever fits to the type of relaxation your character chooses) and clear as many stress points as the highest die shows.

Penalties from moderate harm do apply to this recovery roll, temporary dice penalties from lesser harm do not.

Recharge

Roll magical and clear as many mana burnout points as the highest die shows.

Penalties from moderate harm do apply to this recovery roll, temporary dice penalties from lesser harm do not.

Restock

Trade your items, buy and sell. Clear your equipment on hand. You can select new equipment up to your equipment rating representing the trade-ins you made, or you can just leave it open, either to reduce your load or to choose later according to the normal rules for Equipment & Coins > Equipment On Hand.

If your party does not spend downtime in a city or market town, someone in the party must use the Acquire Asset activity first to find traders, smiths, etc.

Restocking also clears out damaged equipment, which you can then take again as an undamaged item, representing repairs done by craftsmen.

Work

Spend time doing odd jobs or working in a profession you have. Roll an ability of your choice (relevant to the jobs you do) and gain/restore:

  • critical success: 3 coins
  • success: 2 coins
  • partial success: 1 coin
  • bad outcome: nothing (you earned so little that it all went for living)

Work can not be purchased with coins.

Train

Gain 1 character point.

Train can not be purchased with coins.

Long-Term Project

Long-term projects cover a wide variety of activities that take considerable time and effort to achieve, such as complex research, crafting, creating magic artefacts, construction work, building up a social network and other legwork, managing a property or business and many others.

Infobox

Long-Term Project Progress

Roll Boexs
critical 5
full success 3
partial success 2
bad outcome 1

To start a long-term project, describe what you wish to accomplish and how you go about it. The GM will set a progress bar for the project and decide how many boxes it will have, depending on your approach and the complexity of the task.
A typically long-term project will have between 4 and 8 boxes, but shorter or longer projects are possible.

Every time you spend a downtime activity on this project (including the first time when you start it), describe what you are doing and together with the GM decide which ability best fits your attempt to move the project forward. Your approach must make sense in relation to the goal.
Roll the selected ability and mark boxes according to the result as in the table on the right.

In order to work on a project, you might first have to achieve the means to pursue it. The GM may decide that you need to Acquire Asset first if, for example, your project requires a laboratory or library. This needs to be done only once, when you start the project.

Enchant

(magic users only)
Create a one-use magical item, such as a scroll or a potion. The caster must know both the enchant magic path and the path the to-be-stored spell belongs to.
Roll magical:

  • crit: great effect
  • success: standard effect
  • partial: lesser effect
  • bad outcome: the enchantment fails

If the item isn't used during the next adventure, its magic fades away.

Acquire Asset

Gain temporary use of an asset such as:

  • a vehicle or transport opportunity for the entire party.
  • a service (such as a healer, smith to repair items, etc.) also useable by the entire party.
  • one special item or a set of common items for the party. Roll social for the quality of item(s) you manage to secure. The GM may set a minimum success level you must reach to find such an item at all. This item or items are available only for the next adventure, and do not require equipment boxes to be marked.