Downtime (Nov 26, Dec 3, Dec 10)

Hi guys, The Black Spider is slain. The heart of the Forge of Spells has mysteriously vanished. A clue calls the party toward a woman named Syndra in Baldur's Gate, far to the south. All of this and more will be explore when our campaign continues in 2018, but for now the mighty Flames of Tresendar are able to rest. Please see my  Downtime Activities post for some background info you'll need to participate in this thread. Given that we're currently on hiatus, I'd like to make use of the new downtime system to allow your characters to make progress before we ramp back up in January. Every week I'll be making a thread that allows you to tell me what your character is up to and we can work out what the results are. Since we've already missed 3 weeks, for this week only I'm going to let you specify what your character did each of the prior 3 weeks plus this week . Please post by 9PM Eastern this Sunday, December 17th! The format of your post should look something like (see  Downtime Activities for your options) Week 1 : Carouse  (I want to meet some of the locals in Phandalin and forge stronger relationships with one or two) Week 2 : Work (I want to work alongside Droop in the shop and make some coin) Week 3 : Work (Keep working with Droop; more coin!) Week 4 : Train (If we're going to help Droop be more awesome maybe I should start studying to learn the use of Carpenter's Tools myself) Note that I make the assumption that you're in Phandalin unless you say otherwise. You can also travel elsewhere if you'd like, but depending on the length of your journey that might be all you do that week. Once you've posted I'll work with you on your specific options (if you're carousing do you want to spend 10gp that week at dive bars in Phandalin, or 50gp to get to know the merchant class in Neverwinter?), what rolls I need from you, and what the results are. If rolls/results in early weeks change your preferences for later weeks we can also work that out. Anyone who doesn't reply by Sunday at 9PM will be assumed to have taken the Relax downtime activity.

Rolen Week 1: Carouse (man we have been working our asses off.  I need a drink.... for a week) (For the next 3 week Rolen disappears into the wilds.  Back to where he feels most comfortable.  Alone, with just the creatures of the wild) Week 2: Religious Service (To Rolen the wild is his religion.  Having been around the evils of the world as much as he has he needs to get back to his religion.  The wild.) Week 3: Research (Having spend so much time in only a select few animal shapes Rolen spends a week taking the form of new animals and creatures he has never tried before.  Feeling quite near to being able to transform into a creature with exciting mobility potential like flight he continues to push himself through the exhaustion) Week 4: Crafting an Item (After extensive combat with his favorite ash staff the softness of this mystical wood is starting to show it's age.  Before something goes terribly wrong Rolen decides to "Retire" this staff to a walking stick and begins the search for the perfect piece of Oak hardwood that will be able to hold up to the riggors of combat.  Specifically Rolen is looking for a branch with a burle on the end to increase the mass and impact of his new weapon.)

Granny Week 1 : Carouse (A few well earned drinks! Granny seeks to get to know some of the villagers by spreading a good many drinks around to encourage business at The Sleeping Giant.) Week 2 : Work (Granny wants to spend a good deal of time with Grista, seeing much of her younger self in the lass, by helping her out around the tavern.) Week 3 : Crime  (Redemption is a long road, Granny can't be expected to give up all of her old habits, can she? She'll reach out to some contacts to try and arrange shipments of... "discounted"* ale and liquor to help keep overheads low.) Week 4 : Carouse (More "community engagement" at the Sleeping Giant. Granny wants to fortify the connections she's already made in town, and hear a few tales along the way.) (* by "discounted" I of course mean bootlegged, not stolen... Granny can still reconcile tax evasion with her conscience :P) (Sorry I didn't get to this sooner - I'd fully intended to get to this over the weekend, but you know how it is.)

Steve Week 1 : Carouse (A few well earned drinks! Steve wants to get to know a little bit more about the town, or at least that portion of the town that drinks a lot. He spends a particular amount of time explaining the parties' adventures to Grista and assuring her that she is now safe from imminent death, and is therefore free to be better at her customer service job. Week 2 : Crime Steve figures he needs to keep his hand in the thieving game to keep the skills he needed as an Neverwinter street urchin sharp.  He runs a string of small confidence scams with travelers through down and arranges a burglary of the town mayor (magister? councilman?) as he was always curious what was in the chest that was there when he broke in the last time. Week 3 :  Research It's clear to Steve that the world is full of secret organizations that are behind most of what's going on.  Steve invests some time to uncover the general motives, structure, and goals of nearby organizations, particularly those thought to be operating in Baldur's Gate. Week 4 : Scribe a spell scroll  Steve reflects on the parties attempts at subterfuge thus far and recognizes the consequence of missed opportunities.  In the hopes that the next time the party needs to be tricky, they can do it more successfully Steve works on transcribing as many scrolls of the "disguise self" spell (granted from invocation mask of many faces) as he can before it's time to move on. Thanks.  Looking forward to getting back into this, for those looking to keep their hand in, Andy has a good thing going with Divinity that could always use more party members.

Week 1: Relaxation - After several adventures and very little rest, Recto needs to rest his body. After all, he regularly took 2 watches per evening, only resting 4 hours at a time. Combine that with the fact that his body is his weapon of choice, that weapon needs to be well rested and taken care of. Week 2:   Carousing - Now rested, Recto seeks to learn more about Phandalin and it's people.  He reintroduces himself to local shop owners, priests, government officials, and volunteers to help with any unfinished jobs or work they may have.  That might be helping Mr. Eldermath collect fruit from his orchard, helping Nomar Barthen tidy up his provision shop, or pulling crops at the Alderleaf farm.  All the while sewing deeper ties to the fabric of the Phandalin community. Week 3: Research - Recto would like to inquire around town about the state of Thundertree.  He also asks about the whereabouts of Reidoth the Druid, who he remembers was rumored to to have traveled to the forsaken town.  He is looking for any out of towners who have come from that direction or folks in town who may have family in that area. He also stops by Sister Garaele's place, a fellow Harper, and asks if the secret organization can provide any information. Week 4: Training - Sun Soul Monks seek physical perfection as a way to help the light shine through them.  Several new abilities have manifested themselves in recent days/weeks and Recto needs to take time to hone these skills using a mix of meditation and physical training.  For the accuracy of his newly learned Sun Bolts, he heads up to Tressendar manor for target practice.  Now that his unarmed strikes have more power (d6 instead of d4), he heads into the local forest to work on the precision of his kicks with a mixture of shadow boxing and "practice dummies" (constructed from downed tree limbs and his hempen rope).  Finally, he continues to meld with his stone fist both spiritually and physically.  Having recently gained the ability to strike faster (2 attacks per turn), he attempts to replicate the new power in his other limbs and use it to fuel his main weapon.

Okay so I’m going to tackle this one downtime week at a time. Might take a bit to get fully caught up! Questions for each of you for week 1: *Rolen* , *Granny* , & *Steve* : given the Sleeping Giant’s reputation as having recently been a haven for the Redbrands you find that the clientele trends toward the less savory denizens of Phandalin. It’ll cost each of you 10gp to carouse for the week and mingle with the riff-raff. That said, the Sleeping Giant’s connection to the famed Flames of Tresendar is also starting to spread throughout the town. With a bit more coin at play (25gp each instead of 10gp) you could attract some of the merchants and other middle-class citizens. How much would you like to spend? *Recto* : What level of lifestyle would you like to have Recto pursue while he relaxes? You can find the various lifestyle levels in the PHB:&nbsp; <a href="https://www.dndbeyond.com/compendium/rules/phb/equipment#LifestyleExpenses" rel="nofollow">https://www.dndbeyond.com/compendium/rules/phb/equipment#LifestyleExpenses</a> . Given the parties investment in Phandalin I’ll rule that you can each maintain a * Poor * lifestyle for free while in Phandalin (which would otherwise cost 2gp per ten-day). I’ll assume those that don’t respond, like Garad & Zigmundo , are choosing / Relaxation / with a / Poor lifestyle /.

Based on our real estate, I'd like to apply for "modest". We have our own shelter and income so why not? Though as a monk anything above modest probably doesn't fly.&nbsp;

Steve, like all urchins, knows that pleasure and money are fleeting, so when it's time to carouse you carouse FULL BORE.&nbsp; 25 gp for me.

Aardvark : I'll give you a 50% discount on Modest while you're in Phandalin. It'll cost Recto 5gp for the week so please go ahead and mark that off on his character sheet. Recto retires to a room above the Sleeping Giant to recover from&nbsp;the near-constant exertion he and the others have had to put forth since being ambushed en route to Phandalin. He finds the room cluttered and messy but works diligently the first morning to clear it out and make it an austere space befitting a Sun Soul monk. The calamitous noises from the festivities below manage to flow around him as he meditates in the middle of the room, like a stream splitting past a rock before rejoining. He orders Grista to spare no expense with his meals and breaks from his meditations only to feast like a king, recovering the precious chi he expended in combat. By the end of the week Recto feels centered and ready for whatever is next. (Note that mechanically the "Relaxation" downtime activity is a no-risk/no-reward activity, so generally nothing happens other than paying your lifestyle costs.)

Chris H : Okay great, go ahead and mark that 25gp off of Steve's character sheet. Their first back in the village proves quieter than expected as Steve and his compatriots find themselves to make up a large percentage of the bar they find themselves owning – not exactly a recipe for success. The next morning Steve heads to the woodworking shop and tears Droop away from his latest project (get this: its a birdhouse) and presses him into service going around town announcing a grand reopening of the Sleeping Giant. Droop quickly causes a scene as the villagers fear a goblin attack, not knowing the Droop is far more likely to ask for directions to the local ornithological&nbsp;society than he is to start pillaging and enslaving. Luckily Sildar Hallwinter arrives on the scene and spends the day alongside Droop introducing him to the still-wary townsfolk, inviting them to the Sleeping Giant that evening, and assuring them that there is a strict maximum goblin occupancy of 1 within the town limits. Having done none of the footwork himself Steve is admittedly unsure what to expect, but is elated to see a steady stream of customers come by the Sleeping Giant shortly after sundown. He quickly has a number of the townsfolk wrapped around his finger listening to grandiose stories of dubitable veracity, but it does the trick of keeping them engaged and purchasing drink. The bar is packed and even Grista cracks a smile when she counts out her tips at the end of the night. Subsequent nights don't quite reach the peak of that first evening, but the effect remains clear: the Sleeping Giant is known to be open for business and villagers of all walks come to eat & drink. Steve even sets up a few backroom gambling sessions and manages to break even. One of the better-off villagers nearly loses their life when suspected of cheating during a hand of Gambit of Ord, but Steve manages to calm the situation (as he believes he has the best hand at the table and would hate to let a bit of bloodshed keep him from the pot). The villager thanks him profusely afterwards and buys him several drinks, promising that if Steve is ever in need of help they'll be there for him. Mechanically you've just received an unnamed allied contact . Here is what the game rules say about those: Contacts are NPCs who now share a bond with the character. Each one either owes the character a favor or has some reason to bear a grudge. A hostile contact works against the character, placing obstacles but stopping short of committing a crime or a violent act. Allied contacts are friends who will render aid to the character, but not at the risk of their lives. *&nbsp;Lower-class contacts include criminals, laborers, mercenaries, the town guard, and any other folk who normally frequent the cheapest taverns in town. * Middle-class contacts include guild members, spellcasters, town officials, and other folk who frequent well-kept establishments. *&nbsp;Upper-class contacts are nobles and their personal servants. Carousing with such folk covers formal banquets, state dinners, and the like. Once a contact has helped or hindered a character, the character needs to carouse again to get back into the NPC’s good graces. A contact provides help once, not help for life. The contact remains friendly, which can influence roleplaying and how the characters interact with them, but doesn’t come with a guarantee of help. The DM can allow the player to make an NPC into a contact on the spot, after carousing. When the characters are in the area in which they caroused, a player can expend an allied contact and designate an NPC they meet as a contact, assuming the NPC is of the correct social class based on how the character caroused. The player should provide a reasonable explanation for this relationship and work it into the game. At any time, a character can have a maximum number of unspecified allied contacts equal to 1 + the character’s Charisma modifier (minimum of 1). Specific, named contacts don’t count toward this limit — only ones that can be used at any time to declare an NPC as a contact.

Zigmundo Week 1: Carouse - Needing to work on his people skills Zigmundo would like to meet some of the locals (the rich kind).&nbsp; He once found a scroll of magical "pickup incantations" that were reported to gain the admiration of women.&nbsp; He wrote them down in his spell book and is eager to try them now that he can almost force interactions with people as partial tavern owner. Week 2: Buying a Magic Item - Always looking for new magical items, Zigmundo seeks out any one who might have some magical item.&nbsp; during his carousing he though he heard of some magical "rubber chicken" that he wants to investigate. Week 3: Religious Service&nbsp;- Always good to pay some homage to&nbsp;Oghma and get some quiet time in the Temples Week 4: Relaxation - Ale and sleeping the day away sound like great activities.&nbsp; Who knows? maybe some of those "pickup incantations" worked and he spends the time with some new friends.

Andrew M : Great, please mark 25gp off of Zigmundo's character sheet. Zigmundo is as surprised as anyone to see the Sleeping Giant packed after Steve Droop finished soliciting half of the town. Amongst the locals that are now somehow enjoying the sub-par ale served by the surly Grista he spots several of the towns most eligible maidens – most of whom he gathers are now quite short on marriage prospects given the toll the Redbrand menace had on the local male population. Zigmundo sneaks off into a corner and cracks open his spellbook to cast Fantana's Pheromone Cloud &nbsp;– a spell he obtained on the cheap from a shady merchant who assured Zig that "Sixty percent of the time, it works every time!" Emerging from a nook in the tavern Zigmundo pushes his way through the crowd toward the two loveliest maidens. They stop their conversation short as he approaches and look to each other, wondering who this dashing elf is. "It's-a me, Zigmundo! The-a famous adventurer!" The girls swoon. Zigmundo finds himself having the night of his life, but Phandalin is a rather small village and rumors of his... social... adventures spread quickly – for good and for ill. Mechanically you've just received an unnamed allied contact . This contact should be used as one of your paramours (or related in some way) in Phandalin. See my post for Steve above for more details on how unnamed allied contacts work!

Andrew R : please mark off 25gp from Rolen's character sheet. The first morning after returning from Wave Echo Cave, Rolen goes by the woodworking shop early in the morning and works with Droop to build a small wooden cafe table and a chair. The goblin struggles at first, but Rolen secretly casts Guidance and both he & Droop marvel at the beautiful detail Droop manages to add to the set. Returning to the Sleeping Giant, Rolen sets up the table and chair on a porch in front of the tavern that likely hosted many of these tables in better days. He passes the day by in peace, enjoying the breeze and sound of distant wildlife in the hills to the east while Grista begrudgingly serves him jug after jug of ale. Awakening mid-day with a terrible headache, a quick cast of Cure Wounds has Rolen ready for more. A few hours after resuming his post he entertains himself by first watching the Droop running from door-to-door – and in particular the reactions of those on the other side of the door – and later doing the same thing with the hulking warrior Sildar at his side. As the sun starts to set Rolen is many mugs of mead in but sees that the party is just getting started – villager after villager flow down the street and into the doors of the Sleeping Giant. Before turning in for the evening Rolen decides to step inside and have "just one more" with the rest of the crowd – he is one of the proprietors of this tavern now, after all. One more, then another, then another. The rest of the evening speeds by in a blur but Rolen distinctly remembers transforming into a brown bear and dancing for an enthralled, laughing crowd at one point. Was there also a... hat? And a... cane? No, that can't be right, he thinks. Unfortunately you did not make any new allied contacts – but at least you didn't create any hostile contacts, either!

Gotta spend money to make money! 25gp it is! (already crossed off, 37-25=12)

I'm pretty pumped that this seems to ramping up again, good stuff Troy.

Anything to know about the outcomes of Steve's crime or research? (also hopefully I managed to get at least one spell scroll done but please let me know if I managed more than that)&nbsp; Thanks for any info available, I'm hoping we get this back on track early in the new year.&nbsp; Happy holidays.

I'd like to change Recto's weeks 3 and 4. Week 3 - Research - Recto would like to take a closer look at "Lightbringer" (the mace we found in wave echo cave).&nbsp; He realized it was used by a Cleric of Lathander, the deity of the Sun Soul monks.&nbsp; He'd would like to take some time to meditate with it and study it, looking for a way to either duplicate it's power or transfer it to his body, in order to increase the power of his magical stone fist.&nbsp;&nbsp; Week 4 - Training - Continuing to seek physical perfection, Recto takes a week to train with his new skills, many of which he has not mastered yet.&nbsp; He partakes in a steady dose of cardio, strength, and mental exercises to better harness the Ki flowing throw his body.

ZIGMUNDO Zigmundo searched the shops of Phandalin to no avail. He did hear rumors of a magic item merchant who had been traveling along the Triboar attempting to sell a strange artifact: a false, floppy chicken that bounced a bit when dropped. When the merchant arrived in Phandalin Zigmundo quickly approached and inquired about the curio. The merchant eagerly brought out a small wooden box from her pack, opened it, and encourage Zigmundo to give it a try – he did not notice how careful she was not to touch the chicken herself. Alas poor Zigmundo had been deceived and tricked into taking ownership of the cursed chicken! The merchant sorrowfully explained that try as he might, Zigmundo will not be able to rid himself of the chicken – it will reappear to him over and over – until he dies or the curse is somewhat lifted. Her father had been cursed with the chicken for 30 years before his recent death and it had nearly driven him mad. In his final lucid moments he urged her to never touch it once he passed, but to rid herself of it as quickly as possible. As she travelled the chicken frequently would appear in unexpected places attempting to trick her into touching it directly; she was convinced she too would be trapped to a life alongside the damned fowl until Zigmundo had strolled up so zealously. As a thank you, the young merchant handed Zigmundo a decanter that she promised would never run dry and left town quickly afterward, headed toward The High Road with a palpable sense of relief. Later as you prayed for insight to Oghma you were divinely inspired with the knowledge that the chicken you carried about was one of the many pranks Cyric – god of trickery and prince of lies – has played upon mortals. You now find yourself the latest owner of Cyric’s Flow Friend as well as your consolation prize: a Decanter of Endless Water .

RECTO As the weeks stretched by Recto continued to train his martial techniques by day and research ways to cure – or at least enhance – his stone fist by night. During one drunken evening in the Sleeping Giant, Granny suggested that the holy radiance of Lightbringer may be able to help heal the petrification. The next morning Granny & Recto set out to Wave Echo Cave where they met up with Gundren & Nundro Rockseeker who were supervising a crew rebuilding much of the forge after narrowly avoiding catastrophe while dispelling the flameskull that guarded the innermost chamber. The brothers gladly accommodated Granny & Recto’s request to use the laboratory that Ziza previously guarded – site of the Forge of Spells itself – to research the power of Lightbringer and how it might help Recto. Unfortunately neither adventurer is terribly well studied and a mishap with the forge ultimately renders Lightbringer inert – but Recto was pleased to find that much of the power of Lightbringer had been imbued into his stone fist! Your fist has now been upgraded to the Fist of the Lightbringer .

STEVE Breaking into Townmaster’s Hall was as easy as pie for someone practiced to the more dangerous alleys of Neverwinter like Steve – especially after a few moderately profitable runs at the wealthier towns folk of Phandalin. The chest inside contained less than he had hoped for though… Steve managed to pull out 200 gold and a few gems (4 emeralds and a ruby) but the rest of the chest was simply filled with a variety of very official – and boring – looking documents. Steve was barely able to contain a bout of riotous laughter when Sildar Hallwinter approached him the next day in the Sleeping Giant to hire him to investigate the burglary. Another 20 gold pocketed with a promise of another 30 gold if he finds the “culprit”, but Steve also recognized that perhaps the heat was getting too high here in Phandalin and decided to repoint his efforts toward more academic pursuits. Ducking out of the Sleeping Giant at night Steve would head off to the Miner’s Exchange where he would spend the evening training under the tutelage of Halia as she helped Steve learn the ins-and-outs of the many secret organizations in Faerun – as well as helping him hawk his wares. One organization that immediately caught his ear was The Spiders out of Baldur’s Gate, led by Syndra Silvane who sometimes went by the nom de plume “White Spider” and was rumored to be affiliated with the Harpers. The Spiders were an adventuring party many years ago but had eventually gone mercenary as spies for hire; they had gone quiet two years past and appeared to no longer be available for hire. You gain 250 gold (the gems were sold via Halia), a scroll of Disguise Self , and a map marking the manor which is rumored to house The Spiders in Baldur’s Gate.