Campaign News December 28

There are no updates on characters, players, or schedule since the last news posted on the 17th, so it's just Tip & Tricks today.

TIPS & TRICKS

All we have to decide is what to do with the time we are given. - Gandalf

How to Not Waste Downtime

Characters have limited lifespans. Although their "natural" longevity could be as high as 139 years or as low as 62, it's most commonly it's 92 to 97 years. With 1:1 time, who cares what we do with their time between sessions? The character, which is likely in his or her teens or 20s at the start of play, will outlive the player anyway, right? Well, not likely.

Besides the fact that characters are subject to far more deadly violence than we players are, using magic and sustaining attacks from the supernatural creatures in the game can unnaturally age the characters. They are checking monthly against the (albeit fairly unlikely) chance of random death by disease or infection too. In any case, what our characters accomplish in their fictional lifetimes isn't so much the question as what we, as their players, accomplish with them as our game pieces.

A week or two of time passes in both the real world and the game world between each session. Each session our characters miss adds "slack" to their game clocks as the other characters who did play in the session advance the "global clock." If your characters don't use that time, they lose it. They can only use it if their players give orders for the use of their time to the referee in advance of that time passing. As such, as soon as you have ended a session with your character you should be issuing down time orders for what they're doing next. Every day you wait deciding, or getting around to it, they lose to inaction.

One source of resistance in players against issuing down time orders seems to be uncertainty about what they can do, and what would be valuable for them to do. As in session play, your character is operating with "tactical infinity" to take any action. The actions are only limited by the rules of the game and the integrity of the fictional world which, in most physical, social, economic, and other respects generally resembles our own real world. To that is added magic and monsters and the supernatural, creating a great latitude of possibilities. This wide ranging freedom of action often leads, ironically, to less action being taken.

Here are some suggestions to help players cut through the unlimited possibilities to reach some of the most practically useful choices early in their careers.

• Learn to read & write.
  The culture of the Erin1478 setting is not pervasively literate. Player characters cannot read and write unless they have acquired literacy as part of their class training (clerics, magic-users, and illusionists) or their family background skills (most commonly mercantile). The practical benefits of literacy, even in the fictional AD&D world, are legion. As characters progress in levels, social standing, and political power, illiteracy will increasing become a serious handicap. Acquiring literacy can be accomplished in as little as two months, and the rules are built in a way that attempts to simulate the reality of acquiring the ability while permitting the character to interlace that activity with session play, provided the player pays attention to the rules constraints.
• Gather information.
  Most general information such as the existence of nearby dungeons, the general political situation, recent regional news, and so on, is automatically acquired with a week's worth of effort. No skill or charisma checks required. Specialized information: what is monster XYZ's weakness, where can this rare item / plant / animal be found, or are there any higher level NPCs of a particular class around here, can likewise be found with a little more time or with specific actions such as hiring a sage.
• Plan your next expedition.
  This is the number one best thing you can do as a skillful player. Talk with other players about the next session and get the legwork for it done. Hiring mercenaries, upgrading equipment, figuring out what more information needs to be researched and researching it in downtime uses your between session days instead of your in-session days. It also means that more of the actual session time is available for taking actions that acquire gold and experience.
• Sort out your character's domestic situation.
  A few character classes are required to limit themselves to the wealth that they can carry and that is a significant handicap. If your character is so limited, or has to donate some part of his wealth, sort this out outside the session. Convert coins to gems. Buy a mount. Find a good cause to support. Whatever it is your class requires. If you're not so limited, find a place to stash your stuff. Hire people to guard it and make sure they're loyal. Carrying pounds and pounds of treasure into the dungeon or wilderness makes no sense.
• Find a patron.
  For lower level characters, hiring on as a henchman can be helpful in a number of ways. Most obviously, the money. Henchmen are paid 100 gold per level per month (their upkeep costs) plus gifts and treasure shares. A patron can also give the player who is unsure what he or she wants to do with his character some direction. Perhaps the character will be a loyal minion, then trusted lieutenant, and maybe even heir to their patron. Maybe the player will learn that he or she has been playing for the wrong team. In any case, treasure and experience flows to the character from this relationship. The player who researches possible patrons in downtime will more likely end up with a compatible match and a satisfactory mission in session.

Anyone who feels unsure about how to couch their down time orders, or in what order to do things, or isn't feeling clear and confident about the concept, should just reach out to the referee. I will be very happy to help however I can!