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Clues vs Downtime
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<blockquote data-quote="overgeeked" data-source="post: 9322363" data-attributes="member: 86653"><p>Both of these. If you end one adventure with a clue to another, have them use downtime to research the clue. Charging in blind is deadly. They need to know the location, what’s there, the terrain, the kinds of monsters, what’s guarding the treasure, etc. All great uses of downtime. Keep the initial clue vague so they have to research things. They hear a rumor of a powerful artifact up north. Any further info is locked behind downtime research. </p><p></p><p>As above. There’s also prepping for journeys. You can’t always find weeks worth of supplies for a party of adventurers at the drop of a hat. Seasonal and weather changes. Connections, obligations, and faction play all help push downtime. Bring back magical research so casters have to actually spend downtime researching their new spells rather than just ding and know them. Training to level also pushes downtime. Crafting rules, even if basic, push downtime. Putting the breaks on NPCs providing info also pushes downtime. Instead of an NPC just knowing something, they have to research it. They know enough to know where to look, but not so much they just know the answer. </p><p></p><p>You can also change the resting rules to push downtime. Gritty realism and safe haven resting are popular options. </p><p></p><p>Secrets and Clues from Return of the Lazy Dungeon Master. </p><p></p><p>You can also have the players make proactive characters with goals in mind when you start play. Build your adventures around their goals and they’ll never stop pushing the game forward. It’s also a great way to lighten your load. You can also push for those goals to be gated behind stretches of downtime research as above. Anything that’s a version of I want to find, learn, make, create, etc is going to require large chunks of downtime. </p><p></p><p>Players want to achieve their goals. If their goals require downtime, they’re happy to do downtime. Just don’t bog it down with lots of mechanics or over-long narration. “A week has passed so mark off one week for any one ongoing project or research.” That’s more than enough.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="overgeeked, post: 9322363, member: 86653"] Both of these. If you end one adventure with a clue to another, have them use downtime to research the clue. Charging in blind is deadly. They need to know the location, what’s there, the terrain, the kinds of monsters, what’s guarding the treasure, etc. All great uses of downtime. Keep the initial clue vague so they have to research things. They hear a rumor of a powerful artifact up north. Any further info is locked behind downtime research. As above. There’s also prepping for journeys. You can’t always find weeks worth of supplies for a party of adventurers at the drop of a hat. Seasonal and weather changes. Connections, obligations, and faction play all help push downtime. Bring back magical research so casters have to actually spend downtime researching their new spells rather than just ding and know them. Training to level also pushes downtime. Crafting rules, even if basic, push downtime. Putting the breaks on NPCs providing info also pushes downtime. Instead of an NPC just knowing something, they have to research it. They know enough to know where to look, but not so much they just know the answer. You can also change the resting rules to push downtime. Gritty realism and safe haven resting are popular options. Secrets and Clues from Return of the Lazy Dungeon Master. You can also have the players make proactive characters with goals in mind when you start play. Build your adventures around their goals and they’ll never stop pushing the game forward. It’s also a great way to lighten your load. You can also push for those goals to be gated behind stretches of downtime research as above. Anything that’s a version of I want to find, learn, make, create, etc is going to require large chunks of downtime. Players want to achieve their goals. If their goals require downtime, they’re happy to do downtime. Just don’t bog it down with lots of mechanics or over-long narration. “A week has passed so mark off one week for any one ongoing project or research.” That’s more than enough. [/QUOTE]
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