D&D Downtime Activities and Events
Refreshing will generate new results for relevant activities. Most activities take a week unless stated otherwise. For all activities, complications can result in creating new rivals for the players. You can also reskin these activities to suit whatever your players come up with.
Lifestyle | Services
Buy Magic Item | Carousing | Craft Magic Item | Craft Mundane | Crime | Renown | Gambling | Pit Fighting | Sacred Rites | Religious Service | Research | Business | Scribe Scroll | Sell Magic Item | Rumors | Training | Work
Maintenance Costs
| Property | Per Day | Skilled Hirelings | Unskilled Hirelings | Initial Cost | Construction Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Abbey | 20 gp | 5 | 25 | 50,000 gp | 400 days |
| Farm | 5 sp | 1 | 2 | 2,500 gp | 30 days |
| Guildhall | 5 gp | 5 | 3 | 5,000 gp | 60 days |
| Inn, rural | 10 gp | 5 | 10 | 2,500 gp | 30 days |
| Inn, city | 5 gp | 1 | 5 | 2,500 gp | 15 days |
| Keep / Small Castle | 100 gp | 50 | 50 | 50,000 gp | 400 days |
| Lodge, hunting | 5 sp | 1 | - | 2,500 gp | 15 days |
| Noble Estate & Manor | 10 gp | 3 | 15 | 25,000 gp | 150 days |
| Outpost or Fort | 50 gp | 20 | 40 | 15,000 gp | 100 days |
| Palace / Large Castle | 400 gp | 200 | 100 | 500,000 gp | 1,200 days |
| Shop | 2 gp | 1 | - | 2,500 gp | 30 days |
| Temple, large | 25 gp | 10 | 10 | 50,000 gp | 400 days |
| Temple, small | 1 gp | 2 | - | 2,500 gp | 30 days |
| Tower, fortified | 25 gp | 10 | - | 15,000 gp | 100 days |
| Trading Post | 10 gp | 4 | 2 | 5,000 gp | 60 days |
| Hireling, Unskilled | 2 sp | ||||
| Hireling, Skilled | 2 gp |
Lifestyle Expenses
| Lifestyle | Cost / Day |
|---|---|
| Wretched | 0 |
| Squalid | 1 sp |
| Poor | 2 sp |
| Modest | 1 gp |
| Comfortable | 2 gp |
| Wealthy | 4 gp |
| Aristocratic | 10 gp+ |
Services
| Service | Pay |
|---|---|
| Coach cab, travel | 3 cp / mile |
| Coach cab, taxi | 1 cp |
| Messenger | 2 cp / mile |
| Road / Gate Toll | 1 cp |
| Ship's Passage | 1 sp / mile |
Buy Magic Item
Spend at least a week and 100 gp, then make a Persuasion check with a +1 bonus for each additional week or 100 gp spent (over the base) up to a max of +10. -10 penalty for low magic campaigns (and double cost), and +10 bonus for high magic. Compare the result with table below (include items below your roll) and check Magic Item Prices for the cost. Additionally, the item is the key to freeing an evil entity.
Carousing
You are jailed for 1 day(s) at the end of the downtime period on charges of disorderly conduct and disturbing the peace. You can pay a fine of 10 gp to avoid jail time, or you can try to resist arrest.
Craft Magic Item
You must have blueprints, relevant tool proficiency, and cast any relevant spells each day. DM can additionally require special materials or locations to craft. Check Magic Item Prices for individual items. You must work for 8 hours each day, and complete 25 gp worth of the total cost each day. Items can require hunting exotic monsters, with a CR based on the rarity below. Additionally, a competitor spreads rumors that your work is shoddy and prone to failure.
| Rarity | Min Level | CR Hunt |
|---|---|---|
| Common | 3rd | 1-3 |
| Uncommon | 3rd | 4-8 |
| Rare | 6th | 9-12 |
| Very rare | 11th | 13-18 |
| Legendary | 17th | 19+ |
Craft Mundane
Requires relevant tool proficiency. You must work for 8 hours each day, and complete 7 gp worth of the total cost each day.
Crime
Spend a week and 25 gp gathering information. Then make 3 checks with a DC selected by the player based on the table below. The checks are Stealth, Dexterity with Thieves' Tools, and finally the player's choice of Investigation or Perception or Deception.
If all checks fail, the character is caught and jailed, with a fine equal to the loot value and a number of weeks in jail based on the table below. With one success they get no loot and escape but your victim calls in a favor from a guard, doubling the efforts to solve the case. With two successes, they get half the payout and only get the one success complication if their rival was involved.
| DC | Loot Value | Jail Time |
|---|---|---|
| 10 | 50 gp, robbing a struggling merchant | 2 weeks |
| 15 | 100 gp, robbing a prosperous merchant | 4 weeks |
| 20 | 200 gp, robbing a noble | 8 weeks |
| 25 | 1,000 gp, robbing the richest person in town | 40 weeks |
Gain Renown
Spend a number of days equal to your renown times 10 to increase your renown by 1.
Gambling
Spend a week and bet a stake of 10 gp to 1000 gp. Make three checks: DC 20 Insight, DC 18 Deception, and DC 17 Intimidation. You can use a relevant gaming set proficiency instead of any relevant skill check. Results based on the table below. No additional complications.
| Result | Value |
|---|---|
| 0 successes | Lose all the money you bet, and accrue a debt equal to that amount. |
| 1 success | Lose half the money you bet. |
| 2 successes | Gain the amount you bet plus half again more. |
| 3 successes | Gain double the amount you bet. |
Pit Fighting
Spend 1 week. Make three checks: DC 24 Athletics, DC 20 Acrobatics, and DC 19 Constitution with a bonus equal to your largest Hit Die. The player can replace one of the skill checks with a weapon attack roll instead. Results based on the table below. No additional complications.
| Result | Value |
|---|---|
| 0 successes | Lose your bouts, earning nothing. |
| 1 success | Win 50 gp. |
| 2 successes | Win 100 gp. |
| 3 successes | Win 200 gp. |
Sacred Rites
Spend 10 days performing sacred rites to gain inspiration at the start of each day for the next 7 days.
Religious Service
Requires access to a temple that worships your god. Make a Religion or Persuasion check, on a 1-10 you fail to make a lasting imrpession, on 11-20 you earn a favor, and 21+ you earn two favors. A favor can be 50% cheaper service, or something the DM determines. You can have a max number of favors equal to 1+CHA mod (min 1). No additional complications.
Research
Requires access to a library or sage. Spend 50 gp for expenses and 1 week. Declare the focus of research (a person, place, or thing) and make an Intelligence check with a +1 bonus for each additional 100 gp spent to a maximum of +6. Get advantage if the library is well-stocked or sage is very knowledgeable. Result is based on table below. No additional complications.
| Check Total | Outcome |
|---|---|
| 1-5 | Learn nothing. |
| 6-10 | You learn 1 true statement. |
| 11-20 | You learn 2 true statements. |
| 21+ | You learn 3 true statements. |
Run a Business
You must pay half the business's maintenance cost for each of the days. Profits cover the other half.
Scribing A Scroll
Spell Level:
Must be trained in Arcana and have the spell known as well as the components. It takes 1 day(s), and costs 15 gp. No additional complications.
Sell Magic Item
Rarity:
Make a DC 20 Investigation check per item. On fail, spend 10 days and find no buyer. On success, it takes 4 day(s). You find a buyer offering 0.5, and a shady buyer offering 1.0.
Sowing Rumors
Make a DC 15 Deception or Persuasion check and spend the number of days and cost from the table below. On success, the community's attitude shifts one step towards friendly or hostile as the player wishes. On fail, the rumor fails and can no longer be propagated.
| Settlement | Days Spent | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Village | 6 days | 6 gp |
| Town | 15 days | 15 gp |
| City | 24 days | 24 gp |
Training
Intelligence modifier:
You can learn a new language or proficiency in a tool. It takes 10 weeks, and costs 250 gp. Additionally, your teacher is a spy sent to learn your plans.
As a variant, you can require characters to spend downtime training in order to gain a level once they reach the xp requirement. Levels 2-4: 10 days, 20gp. 5-10: 20 days, 40 gp. 11-16: 30 days, 60 gp. 17-20: 40 days, 80 gp.
Work
Spend 1 week and make a skill check choosing from one of the following: Athletics, Acrobatics, Intelligence with a set of tools, Performance, or Charisma with a musical instrument. The result determines your wages from the table below. No additional complications.
| Check Total | Earnings |
|---|---|
| 1-9 | Poor lifestyle for the week |
| 10-14 | Modest lifestyle for the week |
| 15-20 | Comfortable lifestyle for the week |
| 21+ | Comfortable lifestyle for the week +25 gp |
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