CHAPTER 11: SEASONS & DOWNTIME
The Known World runs on a four-season calendar. Summer and Spring are the working months — trade routes open, the Inner Sea cooperative, and expeditions into the Dead Lands are possible for those willing to pay the cost. Autumn is the preparation season: harvests, supply caches, the last convoys moving south before the passes close. Winter stops most of it.
In the northern territories, winter temperatures drop to −20°C and lower. The Dead Lands are inaccessible — the terrain is treacherous, the cold kills independently of whatever lives there, and the paths through the Northern Wall accumulate drifts that make resupply impossible. The Inner Sea freezes at its shallow edges; ice floes make shipping through the Bay of Kings a calculated risk rather than routine commerce. Life in the Inner Nations slows to what can be done indoors.
But things still happen. Contracts get negotiated, weapons get made, spells get studied, and wounds that never quite healed during the campaign season finally get the rest they need. The characters who use this time well arrive at the next season ahead of the ones who spent it waiting.
THE SEASONAL PHASE
A Seasonal Phase occurs at the end of each active season — Spring, Summer, and Autumn — before the party returns to active missions. Winter is handled differently and described separately at the end of this chapter.
The Seasonal Phase has three steps, run in order:
- Upkeep — each character pays their cost of living for the season
- Downtime Action — each character takes one action from the list below
- The Ancestry Question — each player answers one question; the GM may call for a roll
The phase does not require extensive table time. Most groups resolve it in 20–30 minutes. The GM runs the Ancestry Question at the start or end, not in the middle of choosing Downtime Actions.
STEP 1: UPKEEP
Each character pays a seasonal cost of living. This is not itemized spending — it covers housing, food, gear maintenance, and the incidental costs of existing in a settled place for three months. Characters who do not pay Upkeep drop to Subsistence regardless of their previous lifestyle.
Table 11.1: Seasonal Upkeep
| Lifestyle | Cost per Season | What It Covers |
|---|---|---|
| Subsistence | 50 gp | A shared room, poor food, no non-essential spending |
| Common | 150 gp | Private room, regular meals, standard gear maintenance |
| Comfortable | 400 gp | Good lodging, quality food, access to guild facilities and instructors |
| Noble | 1,000 gp+ | Private estate or equivalent, staff, unrestricted social access |
Lifestyle is not purely cosmetic. Certain Downtime Actions require a minimum lifestyle to access. A character living at Subsistence cannot retain the kind of instructor or workshop that serious study demands. A character at Noble has access to institutional knowledge, faction leadership, and social circles that lower tiers cannot reach.
Characters may share costs — a group renting a common building, for example — as long as each character's individual lifestyle is accounted for. The GM determines what arrangements are available in the settlement where the party is wintering.
STEP 2: DOWNTIME ACTIONS
Each character takes one Downtime Action per seasonal phase. Actions with a duration longer than one season consume the following active season as well — a two-season action means the character is not available for missions in Spring if they began the project during Winter's extended phase. See Winter below for exceptions.
A note on resources: Every Downtime Action requires something that does not appear in a settlement's general market. Trainers must be found and cultivated. Research materials must be sourced. Crafting components must be gathered or bought from specific suppliers encountered during play. This is deliberate. The downtime system and the mission system feed each other: what you do in the field determines what you can accomplish at rest, and what you build during rest determines what you can attempt in the field.
A GM who allows players to hand-wave resource requirements is removing the mechanism that makes both systems matter.
TRAIN
Duration: 1 season
Minimum lifestyle: Common
Required resource: A trainer at Specialized level or above in the relevant skill or weapon group, OR a comprehensive written reference (a manual, a collected treatise) on the subject
Gain 1 skill point, spendable only on a Non-Combat skill the character does not already possess, or reduce the XP cost of the next Weapon Proficiency advancement by half. Requires a trainer who holds the relevant skill, or a complete written reference on the subject.
Characters cannot train themselves past their current ceiling via study alone. An instructor who has reached the limit of their own knowledge cannot advance a student past that same limit.
STUDY
Duration: 1 season (Novice); 2 seasons (Trained)
Minimum lifestyle: Common
Required resource: A written source containing the subject matter (a single specialized volume for Novice; a complete collection or institutional library for Trained). The source must be physically present, not merely referenced.
Learn a new Non-Combat Proficiency from scratch. Gain 1 skill point, spendable only on a Non-Combat skill the character does not already possess. Two consecutive seasons of Study in the same subject grant 2 points — enough to acquire a skill costing 2 points without paying a trainer.
For Mage characters: Study can substitute for the standard spell research process for spells of levels 1–3. The character must have access to a scroll or a fully transcribed version of the spell. One season of Study produces a spell ready for inscription into the spellbook at standard material cost. Higher-level spells require Research.
RESEARCH
Duration: 2 seasons
Minimum lifestyle: Comfortable
Required resources: Access to a dedicated workspace (a laboratory, a library with restricted archives, or an equivalent facility); specific materials or sources relevant to the subject; spending of 100 gp × the complexity category below
Research covers work that Study cannot: spell development for levels 4 and above, analysis of magical items, investigation of historical or factional intelligence, and development of new formulae.
Complexity categories:
| Category | Examples | Additional Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Standard | Spells levels 4–6; common magic item analysis; documented historical events | 400–600 gp in materials |
| Rare | Spells levels 7–8; unique or ancient magic items; suppressed historical records | 700–1,000 gp in materials + a rare ingredient (see below) |
| Exceptional | Spells level 9; artifact analysis; knowledge destroyed or hidden by institutional effort | GM-determined; always requires field work to acquire materials |
Research always produces a concrete result: a spell added to the spellbook, a documented property of a magic item, an intelligence report accurate enough to act on. If the research fails — due to inadequate materials, interruption, or a poor Ability Check at the GM's discretion — the time and cost are lost. The character knows they failed. They do not know precisely why.
CRAFT
Duration: Variable (see Table 11.2)
Minimum lifestyle: Common (standard items); Comfortable (masterwork or magical)
Required resources: Raw materials at 50% of the finished item's value (standard); 75% (masterwork); plus appropriate tools and workspace
Characters with relevant proficiencies can produce weapons, armor, alchemical goods, and other equipment during downtime. Crafting a standard item takes one season regardless of quantity, up to a reasonable workshop output. Masterwork items take two seasons each.
Magical items cannot be crafted through the basic Craft action. They require a dedicated Research phase first (to develop or reverse-engineer the enchantment), followed by a Craft phase (to produce the physical item), followed by a separate Enchantment phase (handled through the magic rules in Chapter 13). A complete magical item is a multi-season project. Treating it otherwise produces a cursed item or a mundane one, at the GM's discretion.
Crafted items produced for sale can recover a portion of material costs. Standard market value is 100% of the finished item's stated price; a character selling through an established merchant contact (see Faction Work below) may reach 120%.
RECOVER
Duration: 1 season
Minimum lifestyle: Subsistence (any level suffices)
Required resources: None beyond Upkeep
Clear all lingering injury conditions carried over from the previous active season. Make one Fortitude save against any disease or poison contracted during the previous active season that has not yet been resolved — success clears it; failure means it persists and the GM makes a private note. Restore ability score points lost to non-permanent damage.
Recovery is the only Downtime Action available at Subsistence lifestyle without restriction.
FACTION WORK
Duration: 1 season
Minimum lifestyle: Common
Required resources: An existing relationship with the faction (at least Bond 1); a completed task or demonstrated value to the faction during the previous active season, OR an investment of 100 gp in introductions, gifts, or operational support
Advance one faction relationship one step on the Bond scale (1–3), or accept a faction-assigned task in exchange for resources, intelligence, or access. Faction tasks are not safe assignments — they are the kind of work that moves the relationship forward precisely because they involve risk.
Factions encountered during active seasons are the source of Bond 1 relationships. Bond 2 requires either a season of Faction Work or a significant deed done in the faction's interest during play. Bond 3 requires both. A Bond 3 relationship is a mutual commitment; the faction expects things from a character who has reached it, and the character has a claim on the faction's resources and protection in return.
The specific factions available in any given settlement, and what they offer, are detailed in Book II.
PROJECT
Duration: 2–4 seasons (see Table 11.2)
Minimum lifestyle: Variable by project type
Required resources: Variable (GM-set before the project begins)
Anything outside the above categories. Establishing a workshop, writing a treatise for distribution, constructing a fortification, recruiting and training a small organization, establishing a trade route. The GM determines the season cost and required resources before the project begins. Once begun, a Project cannot be abandoned without losing all time and cost invested.
A completed Project produces a permanent result: a physical installation, a published work, an ongoing organization, a persistent relationship that exists in the Known World independent of the character. The Vithurian Orchestra takes an interest in Projects of sufficient scale and consequence.
Table 11.2: Project Guidelines
| Project | Seasons | Min. Lifestyle | Resources Required |
|---|---|---|---|
| Copy spell into spellbook | 1 | Common | Scroll or library access containing the spell; inscription materials (50 gp/spell level) |
| Learn new language (Novice) | 1 | Common | Native speaker willing to teach, or immersion in relevant community |
| Learn new language (Fluent) | 2 | Common | As above; consecutive seasons |
| Research spell, levels 1–3 | 1 | Comfortable | Laboratory; components (100 gp × spell level) |
| Research spell, levels 4–6 | 2 | Comfortable | Laboratory; rare components (300 gp × spell level) |
| Research spell, levels 7–9 | 3 | Comfortable | Full laboratory; very rare components (GM-sourced); field expedition likely required to acquire materials |
| Craft: standard weapon or armor | 1 | Common | Raw materials (50% item value); workshop access |
| Craft: masterwork weapon or armor | 2 | Comfortable | High-quality materials (75% item value); specialist tools |
| Brew common potion | 1 | Common | Recipe; standard components (cost by potion type in Chapter 13) |
| Brew longevity potion | 2 | Comfortable | Rare ingredients (see Longevity Potions below) |
| Identify magic item | 1 | Comfortable | Library access or Identify scroll; 50 gp in reagents |
| Establish safe house | 2 | Common | 500 gp; faction contacts at Bond 2+ |
| Outfit a workshop or laboratory | 2 | Comfortable | 1,000–3,000 gp depending on type; construction materials |
| Write and distribute a treatise | 2 | Comfortable | Library access; 200 gp for materials and copying costs |
| Recruit and train a small unit | 3 | Common | Wages for recruits during training period (GM-set); training facility |
| Establish a trade route | 3 | Comfortable | Merchant contacts (Bond 2+) in both settlements; initial goods investment (GM-set) |
| Construct a permanent fortification | 4 | Noble | Land, labor, construction materials (costs set by GM based on scale) |
STEP 3: THE ANCESTRY QUESTION
After Downtime Actions are resolved, each player answers one question specific to their ancestry. Some require a roll; all require an honest answer.
The GM asks the questions directly, without preamble. This is not a sidebar activity — it happens at the table, as part of play.
BADAKI — "What did you do with the time?"
Mark one Season on the character sheet. The number of seasons a Badaki character has lived is tracked cumulatively across all Seasonal Phases and Winters. The maximum number of seasons is derived from Table 11.3 below.
After marking, make a Fortitude save (DC 12 at Adult stage; DC 14 at Middle Age; DC 16 at Old Age).
- Success: Gain one Legacy Token. Legacy Tokens are spent to gain a one-time +2 bonus to any single roll related to a goal the character has declared and pursued during active play. They do not expire. When a Badaki character dies, their Legacy Tokens become a permanent record: each one represents a specific deed the character accomplished and intended to be remembered for. The Vithurian Orchestra treats a Badaki's Legacy Tokens as automatic candidacy for recognition — a life measured in tokens rather than years.
- Failure: Take a permanent −1 to a physical ability score of the player's choice (Strength, Dexterity, or Constitution). This cannot be healed, only accepted. The body runs on a tighter schedule.
HUMAN — "What are you building that will outlast you?"
The player states one thing — a relationship, a project, a reputation — that the character is actively working to establish before they die. Make a Wisdom save (DC 10).
- Success: Advance one Non-Combat Proficiency one tier at no XP cost. The character found the time to practice what they care about.
- Failure: The GM records the stated goal as an Unfulfilled Objective. Before the next Seasonal Phase, the GM introduces a complication directly related to it — a rival, an obstacle, a cost that arrives before the character is ready to pay it.
AELÁR — "What pattern do you recognize this season that you've seen before?"
The player identifies one situation, faction, or political dynamic from the current campaign that mirrors something the character has lived through. Make a Wisdom save (DC 10).
- Success: Gain one Lore Token for the identified subject. A Lore Token grants a +4 to the governing attribute for one skill check related to that specific faction, institution, or type of situation. The token is spent when used.
- Failure: The Aelár has misread a pattern — their confidence in recognizing this situation was premature. The GM notes this; once per active season, they may invoke this failure to have the Aelár's assessment of a relevant social situation be specifically, consequentially wrong.
HÚLDAR — "Who in this group do you still see clearly?"
The player identifies one companion — party member or NPC — whose urgency, priorities, or way of experiencing time the Húldar has actively tried to understand this season. Make a Charisma save (DC 12).
- Success: Clear one Detachment mark (see below).
- Failure: Gain one Detachment mark.
Detachment tracks the cumulative drift of a Húldar's emotional calibration across centuries of outliving the people they care about. It begins at 0 and is tracked on the character sheet.
- At 3 marks: −1 to all Charisma-based rolls with non-Húldar companions in situations where emotional attunement matters (the GM identifies these in the moment, not in advance).
- At 5 marks: The GM may, at significant moments, ask the player to roleplay the Húldar's inability to feel the urgency their shorter-lived companions feel. This is not a control transfer, but a roleplay prompt with teeth.
Detachment clears by one mark per successful Ancestry Question. It also clears by one mark when the Húldar takes a meaningful action, prioritizing a companion's goals over their own, at real cost.
DUARDEEN / DUERGAR — "What did the clan require of you this season?"
Duardeen and Duergar characters name one obligation — to their clan, to an ancestor's debt, to a clan-held agreement — that made a claim on them during the downtime period. No roll is required. The GM notes the stated obligation and introduces it as an active element before the end of the next active season.
If a player cannot name a credible obligation, the clan names one for them. The GM determines what it is.
ÛRGON — "What did the elders say about this?"
The Ûrgon character consults their people's oral tradition — internally, or through actual contact with their herd if the campaign allows it — and applies the Living Archive. No roll required. The GM confirms or denies whether the archive holds relevant knowledge about the current political situation, enemy, or location. On a confirmed hit, the character gains a specific piece of historical information at the GM's discretion.
VAL'ARIAN — "What did you read in the tide?"
Val'arian characters check the deep-current patterns of the Inner Sea — whether through direct observation, through reports from their trade networks, or through the particular literacy their people have developed for interpreting what commerce reveals about political intent. Make a Wisdom save (DC 10).
- Success: Gain one piece of actionable intelligence about a faction or region relevant to the current campaign. The GM determines the specificity.
- Failure: The intelligence the character received this season was wrong or planted. The GM notes this for later use.
VARTRAN — "What did the old blood show you?"
Vartran characters check their innate magical sensitivity against the current state of the Abyss. No roll required; the GM answers honestly: the background corruption level is either Stable, Shifting, or Rising. This has no immediate mechanical effect, but the information is real. A Shifting or Rising state means something is happening in the Known World that is moving the fundamental balance. What that is, the character does not yet know.
LIFE STAGES & AGING THRESHOLDS
Table 11.3: Life Stages by Ancestry
Characters advance through five life stages. Youth characters are not available for play (Badaki begin play at Adult regardless of rolled age). The aging effects at Middle Age, Old Age, and Venerable are cumulative, as described in Chapter 2.
| Ancestry | Youth | Adult | Middle Age | Old Age | Venerable | Max Age |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Badaki | 0–6 | 7–14 | 15–21 | 22–29 | 30+ | 30 + 1d10 |
| Human | 0–14 | 15–44 | 45–59 | 60–89 | 90+ | 90 + 2d20 |
| Val'arian | 0–14 | 15–59 | 60–79 | 80–119 | 120+ | 120 + 2d20 |
| Ûrgon | 0–14 | 15–74 | 75–99 | 100–149 | 150+ | 150 + 3d20 |
| Vartran | 0–14 | 15–74 | 75–99 | 100–149 | 150+ | 150 + 2d20 |
| Aelár | 0–19 | 20–99 | 100–132 | 133–199 | 200+ | 200 + 3d20 |
| Duardeen | 0–39 | 40–124 | 125–166 | 167–249 | 250+ | 250 + 2d100 |
| Duergar | 0–44 | 45–149 | 150–199 | 200–299 | 300+ | 300 + 2d100 |
| Húldar | 0–99 | 100–249 | 250–332 | 333–499 | 500+ | 500 + 4d100 |
Badaki Season Counter. Because Badaki life stages pass within a playable campaign's timeframe, Badaki characters track their age in seasons rather than years. One year equals four seasons. A Badaki starting play at age 8 has lived approximately 32 seasons. Middle Age arrives at Season 60. The counter is recorded on the character sheet and incremented at each Seasonal Phase and each Winter.
LONGEVITY POTIONS
The extension of life through alchemical means is a documented practice across the Known World, contentious in different ways depending on who is doing it and for how long.
The Church of Tar'amaan holds no official position against longevity potions used by humans — mortality is considered natural, and nudging it slightly is within mortal prerogative. Their position toward non-human ancestries using such potions to extend already-long lives beyond "natural" duration is significantly less tolerant. This distinction is theological in their framework. Its practical effect is that a Badaki purchasing longevity ingredients in a Cadmano-controlled city needs either a reliable supplier or a willingness to explain themselves.
The Draft of Seasons
The standard longevity preparation extends the current life stage by 1d10 years before the next threshold triggers. A human who takes the draft at age 44 — one year before Middle Age — does not enter Middle Age until their rolled extension expires. A Badaki who takes it at age 13 gains a random extension before the body shifts.
The draft does not prevent aging — it delays the calendar. A character who reaches the end of their extended stage enters the next stage normally. There is no compounding effect; a second draft taken during the same stage has no effect. The next draft only functions once the character enters a new stage.
Brewing the Draft of Seasons
- Duration: 2 seasons
- Minimum lifestyle: Comfortable
- Required proficiency: Herbalism or Alchemy at Trained or above; or access to a professional alchemist willing to contract the work (cost: see below)
Required Ingredients:
| Ingredient | Source | Approximate Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Pale ichor, rendered from Dead Lands wraiths | Dead Lands expeditions; cannot be purchased on the open market | Priceless to those who want it; the price is the expedition |
| Goldmoss, dried | Found in the Emerald Corridor's deep forests; available from specialist herbalists | 80–120 gp per batch, seasonal availability |
| Vithurian black salt | Refined from mineral deposits in the Vithurian Mines; export-controlled | 200–400 gp per batch; subject to availability and politics |
| Binding agent, ancestry-specific | Duardeen: cave spring water aged in stone vessels. Aelár: sap of a century-old tree. Badaki: blood from a creature older than the character. Others: GM-determined | Variable; some cannot be purchased at all |
A character who brews the draft successfully has a single dose. The dose cannot be stored indefinitely — it degrades over one full year if not consumed. Selling it is legal in most jurisdictions outside Cadmano-controlled territory, illegal in others, and carries a price that reflects both its rarity and its buyer's desperation.
Ancestral Differential. The same draft produces different results across ancestries, proportional to their lifespan:
| Ancestry | Years Extended | Proportional Equivalent |
|---|---|---|
| Badaki | 1d10 years | Significant — up to a third of remaining life at Young Adult stage |
| Human | 1d10 years | One additional life stage portion |
| Val'arian | 1d10 years | Moderate — extends a comfortable middle age |
| Ûrgon / Vartran | 1d10 years | Moderate |
| Aelár | 1d10 years | Minor by percentage; meaningful by absolute years |
| Duardeen / Duergar | 1d10 years | Minor — their constitution already resists threshold advancement |
| Húldar | 1d10 years | Negligible as a percentage; Húldar rarely pursue longevity potions and suppliers know it |
A Badaki for whom the draft extends their life by 8 years has been given, roughly, the equivalent of a third of an additional lifetime. The price of the expedition to harvest pale ichor is understood differently when framed this way.
WINTER
Winter is not a third Downtime Action tacked onto a shortened active season. It runs as its own phase, longer and more structured than the seasonal breaks.
Duration: Winter lasts approximately three months of in-game time. At the table, it is a single extended Seasonal Phase.
Upkeep: Double cost. The combination of heating, preserved food, reduced supply lines, and increased maintenance pushes costs up regardless of lifestyle tier. Characters paying Subsistence in summer pay Common rates in winter. All tiers shift up one level for Upkeep purposes.
| Winter Lifestyle | Effective Cost |
|---|---|
| Subsistence | 100 gp |
| Common | 300 gp |
| Comfortable | 800 gp |
| Noble | 2,000 gp+ |
Downtime Actions: Each character takes two Downtime Actions during Winter. Two-season projects begun in Winter carry over into Spring of the next active year, meaning the character is unavailable for the first active season's missions. Plan accordingly.
Travel restrictions:
- The Dead Lands are inaccessible. The Northern Wall passes close at temperatures that kill unprotected travelers; the Dead Lands themselves are impassable. No exceptions are built into the rules — GMs who want to run winter Dead Lands missions should treat them as exceptional circumstances requiring exceptional preparation, not as normal seasonal play.
- Inner Sea shipping: routes through the Bay of Kings and the northern Inner Sea require Fortitude saves for crew and navigation Proficiency checks at DC 14. Failure on either indicates serious consequences: damaged cargo, lost crew, or the ship itself.
- Overland travel costs double in movement time due to weather, reduced daylight, and road conditions.
The Ancestry Question runs twice during Winter — once per Downtime Action. Badaki characters mark two seasons on their counter. Húldar characters make two Detachment saves.
EXPERIENCE & DOWNTIME
Downtime does not generate XP independently. At the start of each Seasonal Phase, the party receives XP equal to 10% of the total XP earned during the previous active season, distributed equally. This represents the compounding value of structured rest — lessons absorbed, skills consolidated, relationships maintained.
A season in the field where the party earned 3,000 XP produces 300 XP of downtime credit. A season where they earned nothing produces nothing. The downtime reward tracks active performance rather than replacing it.
This amount is intentionally small. Groups who attempt to optimize downtime over active missions will find the math does not support it.