Last time we discussed Faction Play in the Sojenka Campaign.
Time in the Campaign
Healing takes time.
Recruiting hirelings and henchmen takes time.
Magic Users can scribe spells onto scrolls, which takes time.
All these and more can be done between sessions, in Downtime.
1:1 Timekeeping allows characters to do things when they aren't actually adventuring. This helps create a realistic world-in-motion.
Session Time
Time in the Campaign passes at a flexible rate during a play session. It's possible for a party to spend a day gathering supplies (for example, April 1st), three days traveling, and April fifth & sixth exploring a dungeon or ruin. On the seventh day, they will need to spend the day resting. Then they spend three more days getting back home, for a total elapsed time of 10 days. The party will be available to start adventuring again on April 11th.
If the next session is scheduled for April 8th, this party of characters will be "in the future", and the Players will need to run a different set of characters. These "new" characters become part of each player's troupe of PCs.
While the new PCs are having an adventure session, the original group is returning from their expedition. After returning home, they will have four days, April 11-14, for Downtime activities.
If the second group makes it home again before the 14th, the Players will be able to choose how to team up the various characters for the next adventure session.
Campaign Time & Downtime
As the Campaign progresses, players will likely have characters in different places on the map, and at different times in the calendar. Players can use these time differences to their advantage by having characters that are not in active play work on assorted activities.
Characters in downtime may pursue actions like writing scrolls, rumor-mongering, recruiting, or treasure-hunting.
Characters can extend their reach even further by sending their various henchmen to work these Hijinks as well.
The henchman network in Downtime is the true power of Faction play.
Downtime Activities: Hijinks
Spying is the clandestine retrieval of secrets from powerful
and influential figures. For spying to succeed, the perpetrator must make a
successful Intelligence TR roll. If the TR roll is successful, the
perpetrator learns advanced intelligence, secret facts, or other highly
valuable information from the perpetrator's area of operation. The boss earns
2d12x100 GP per level of the perpetrator exploiting the valuable secret. (If
desired, the Referee can provide specific secrets valuable within the ongoing
campaign instead of money). If the (skill check) TR roll is a Basic Failure,
the perpetrator learns nothing. If the (skill check) TR roll is a Terrible
Failure, the perpetrator has been caught. If caught, determine charges with a
1d6 roll: eavesdropping (1-3), sedition (4-5), or treason (6). If the (skill
check) TR roll is a Catastrophic Failure, the perpetrator has been caught for
Treason and the penalty is likely Death.
Treasure-hunting covers all manner of skulking and
scavenging for treasure maps and rumors of hidden wealth. For treasure-hunting
to succeed, the perpetrator must make a successful Wisdom TR roll. If
the TR roll is successful, the perpetrator finds a treasure map to a random
hoard worth 1d6 x 1,000 GP per level of the perpetrator. The Referee determines
the exact location of the hoard; hoards will generally be 6 miles away from the
boss’s hideout for each 1,000 GP value. If the (skill check) TR roll fails, the
perpetrator finds nothing. If caught, determine charges with a 1d6 roll (add +2
for Catastrophic Failure): trespassing
(1-3), theft (4-5), or burglary (6).
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