Downtime

Between scores, your crew spends time at their liberty, attending to personal needs and side projects. These are called downtime activities (see the list below). During a downtime phase, each PC has time for two downtime activities. When you're at war, each PC has time for only one.

• Acquire Asset
• Long-Term Project
• Recover
• Reduce Heat
• Train
• Indulge Vice

You may choose the same activity more than once. You can only attempt actions that you're in a position to accomplish. If an activity is contingent on another action, resolve that action first.

A PC can make time for more than two activities, at a cost. Each additional activity from the list costs 1 coin or 1 rep. This reflects the time and resulting resource drain while you're "off the clock" and not earning from a score. When you complete a new score, you reset and get two "free" activities again.

Activities on the downtime list are limited; normal actions are not. During downtime, you can still go places, do things, make action rolls, gather information, talk with other characters, etc. In other words, only activities that are on the list are limited.

For any downtime activity, take +1d to the roll if a friend or contact helps you. After the roll, you may spend coin after the roll to improve the result level. Increase the result level by one for each coin spent. So, a 1-3 result becomes a 4 or a 5, a 4/5 result becomes a 6, and a 6 becomes a critical.

GM: If a player can't decide which downtime activity to pick, offer them a long-term project idea. You know what the player is interested in and what they like. Suggest a project that will head in a fun direction for them.

"Remember how you had that weird vision at the altar to the forgotten gods? Yeah, do you want to get to the bottom of that? Okay, start a long-term project—six segments—called... ‘Weird God Vibes.' What do you do to work on that?"

Acquire asset

Gain temporary use of an asset:

• One special item or set of common items (enough for a gang of your Tier scale).
• A cohort (an expert or gang).
• A vehicle.
• A service. Transport from a smuggler or driver, use of a warehouse for temporary storage, legal representation, etc.

"Temporary use" constitutes one significant period of usage that makes sense for the asset—typically the duration of one score. An asset may also be acquired for "standby" use in the future. You might hire a gang to guard your lair, for example, and they'll stick around until after the first serious battle, or until a week goes by and they lose interest.

To acquire the asset, roll the crew's Tier. The result indicates the quality of the asset you get, using the crew's Tier as the base. 1-3: Tier -1, 4/5: Tier, 6: Tier +1, critical: Tier +2. You can spend coin to raise the result of this roll beyond critical by spending 2 coin per additional Tier level added.

The GM may set a minimum quality level that must be achieved to acquire a particular asset. For example, if you want to get a set of Warden uniforms and masks, you'd need to acquire a Tier IV asset. A lower result won't do.

If you acquire the same asset again, you get +1d to your roll. If you continue to re-acquire an asset every time it's used, you can effectively rent it indefinitely.

Alchemicals, poisons, bombs, and dangerous gadgets are highly restricted. When you acquire one of these items (rather than crafting it yourself), you take +2 heat.

If you want to acquire an asset permanently, you can either gain it as a crew upgrade or work on it as a long-term project to set up a permanent acquisition.

Zamira the Whisper is a duelist in the Iruvian style, and would like a fine sword to add to her permanent items. Her player starts a long-term project: "Get My Family Sword Back from the Pawn Shop." The GM says this is an 8-clock (she can work on it by Consorting or Swaying the pawn shop owner or maybe rolling her lifestyle level to represent small payments).

Long-term project

When you work on a long-term project (either a brand new one, or an already existing one), describe what your character does to advance the project clock, and roll one of your actions. Mark segments on the clock according to your result: 1-3: one segment, 4/5: two segments, 6: three segments, critical: five segments.

A long-term project can cover a wide variety of activities, like doing research into an arcane ritual, investigating a mystery, establishing someone's trust, courting a new friend or contact, changing your character's vice, and so on.

Based on the goal of the project, the GM will tell you the clock(s) to create and suggest a method by which you might make progress.

In order to work on a project, you might first have to achieve the means to pursue it—which can be a project in itself. For example, you might want to make friends with a member of the City Council, but you have no connection to them. You could first work on a project to Consort in their circles so you have the opportunity to meet one of them. Once that's accomplished, you could start a new project to form a friendly relationship.

Recover

When you recover, you seek treatment and heal your harm. You might visit a physicker who can stitch your wounds and soothe your mind with anatomical science or a witch who specializes in healing charms and restorative alchemy. If you don't have a contact or fellow PC who can provide treatment, you can use the acquire asset activity to gain access to a healer, who can provide service for the whole crew.

Recovery is like a long-term project. Your healer rolls (Tinker for a PC with the Physicker special ability or the quality level of an NPC) and then you mark a number of segments on your healing clock. 1-3: one segment, 4/5: two segments, 6: three segments, critical: five segments.

When you fill your healing clock, reduce each instance of harm on your sheet by one level, then clear the clock. If you have more segments to mark, they "roll over."

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Cross has two injuries: a level 3 "Shattered Right Leg" and level 1 "Battered." During downtime, he gets treatment from Quellyn, a witch friend of the crew's Whisper. Quellyn is a competent healer, so the GM says quality 2 makes sense. The player rolls 2d to recover and gets a 6: three segments on the healing clock. He decides to spend 1 coin to improve the result to a critical to get five segments instead. Four segments fill the clock—all of Cross's harm is reduced by one level, then he clears the clock and marks one more segment. His level 3 harm "Shattered Right Leg" is reduced to level 2 harm. His level 1 harm "Battered" is reduced to zero and goes away. Cross is left with one injury on his sheet: level 2 "Broken Leg."

You may heal yourself if you have the Physicker special ability, but you take 2 stress when you do so. You can also choose to simply tough it out and attempt to heal without any treatment—in this case, take 1 stress and roll 0d.

Note that it's the recovering character that takes the recovery action. Healing someone else does not cost a downtime activity for the healer.

Whenever you suffer new harm, clear any ticks on your healing clock.

Reduce heat

Say what your character does to reduce the heat level of the crew and make an action roll. Maybe you Consort with your friend who's a officer and she arranges for a few incriminating Watch reports to disappear. Or maybe you Command the fear of the local citizens so they're afraid to snitch.

Reduce heat according to the result: 1-3: one, 4/5: two, 6: three, critical: five.

Train

When you spend time in training, mark 1 xp on the xp track for an attribute or playbook advancement. If you have the appropriate crew Training upgrade unlocked, mark +1 xp (2 total). See Crew Upgrades. You can train a given xp track only once per downtime.

Indulge vice

Visit your vice purveyor to relieve stress.

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When you indulge your vice, you clear some stress from your character's stress track. Say how your character indulges their vice, including which purveyor of vice they use to satisfy their needs. This indulgence takes time, so it can only be done when the crew has downtime. Alternately, you may choose to release your character to be "lost in their vice" during a game session, allowing them to indulge off-camera while you play a different PC. A gang member, friend, or contact of the crew might be created as an alternate character to play, thus fleshing out the landscape of PCs.

You roll to find out how much stress relief your character receives. A vice roll is like a resistance roll in reverse—rather than gaining stress levels, you clear stress levels. The effectiveness of your indulgence depends upon your character's worst attribute rating. It's their weakest quality (Insight, Prowess, or Resolve) that is most in thrall to vice.

Make an attribute roll using your character's lowest attribute rating (if there's a tie, that's fine—simply use that rating). Clear stress equal to the highest die result.

Overindulgence

If your vice roll clears more stress levels than you had marked, you overindulge. A vice is not a reliable, controllable habit. It's a risk—and one that can drive your character to act against their own best interests.

When you overindulge, you make a bad call because of your vice—in acquiring it or while under its influence. To bring the effect of this bad decision into the game, select an overindulgence from the list:

• Attract Trouble. Select or roll an additional entanglement.
• Brag about your exploits. +2 heat.
• Lost. Your character vanishes for a few weeks. Play a different character until this one returns from their bender. When your character returns, they've also healed any harm they had.
• Tapped. Your current purveyor cuts you off. Find a new source for your vice.

Ignoring your vice

If you do not or cannot indulge your vice during a downtime phase, you take stress equal to your trauma. If you don't have any trauma, you're free to ignore your vice. It doesn't have a hold over you (yet).

Roleplaying & XP

Along with your character's heritage and background, their vice tells us what kind of person they are. This obsession impacts their motivations, goals, and behavior. When you ponder what your character might do or say next, you can always consider their vice to help you think of something. As an added benefit, by playing to the nature of your character's vice, you earn xp at the end of the session.

NPC & faction downtime

NPCs and factions also do things when the PCs have downtime. The GM advances their project clocks and chooses a downtime maneuver or two for each faction that they're interested in at the moment. Choose any maneuver that makes sense for that faction to pursue. For example:

• Seize a claim or increase hold, make an enemy vulnerable, or reduce the hold of a vulnerable enemy.
• Gather information on the PCs (may be opposed by a PC roll) or another subject.
• Achieve a short-term goal they're in position to accomplish.
• Acquire a new asset.
• Call in a favor from another faction.
• Employ political pressure or threats to force someone's hand.

GM: Choose downtime maneuvers and advance clocks for the factions you're interested in right now. Don't worry about the rest. Later, when you turn your attention to a faction you've ignored for a while, go ahead and give them several downtime phases and project clock ticks to "catch up" to current events.

If you're not sure how far to progress a faction's clock, make a fortune roll using their Tier as the base trait, modified up or down depending on the opposition or circumstances. Tick 1 segment for a 1-3 result, 2 segments for a 4/5 result, 3 segments for a 6 result, or 5 segments for a critical result.

When factions do things that are known in the criminal underworld, tell the players about it through one of their friends or contacts or vice purveyors. These rumors and bits of gossip can lead to future scores and opportunities for the PCs.

Downtime Activities Summary

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Coin and Stash

Coin

Coin is an abstract measure of cash and liquid assets.

The few bits PCs use in their daily lives are not tracked. If a character wants to spend to achieve a small goal (bribe a doorman), use the PC's lifestyle quality for a fortune roll.

Monetary values

• 1 coin: A full purse of silver pieces. A week's wages.
• 2 coin: A fine weapon. A weekly income for a small business. A fine piece of art. A set of luxury clothes.
• 4 coin: A satchel full of silver. A month's wages.
• 6 coin: An exquisite jewel. A heavy burden of silver pieces.
• 8 coin: A good monthly take for a small business. A small safe full of coins and valuables. A very rare luxury commodity.
• 10 coin: Liquidating a significant asset—a carriage and goats, a horse, a deed to a small property.

More than 4 coin is an impractical amount to keep lying around. You must spend the excess or put it in your stash (see below). A crew can also store 4 coin in their lair, by default. If they upgrade to a vault, they can expand their stores to 8 and then 16 coin. Any coin beyond their limit must be spent as soon as possible (typically before the next score) or distributed among the crew members.

One unit of coin in silver pieces or other bulk currency takes up one item slot for your load when carried.

Coin Use

• Spend 1 coin to get an additional activity during downtime.
• Spend 1 coin to increase the result level of a downtime activity roll.
• Spend coin to avoid certain crew entanglements.
• Put coin in your character's stash to improve their lifestyle and circumstances when they retire.
• Spend coin when you advance your crew's Tier.

Stash & Retirement

When you mark your character's final trauma and they retire, the amount of coin they've managed to stash away determines their fate. Your stash tracker is on your character sheet.

• Stash 0-10: Poor soul. You end up in the gutter, awash in vice and misery.
• Stash 11-20: Meager. A tiny hovel that you can call your own.
• Stash 21-39: Modest. A simple home or apartment, with some small comforts. You might operate a tavern or small business.
• Stash 40: Fine. A well-appointed home or apartment, claiming a few luxuries. You might operate a medium business.

In addition, each full row of stash (10 coins) indicates the quality level of the character's lifestyle, from zero (street life) to four (luxury).

Cross wants some alone-time with a prospective new friend, but he can't take them back to the hidden lair where he lives, so what to do? Ryan, Cross's player, says he wants to rent a nice room for the evening, so the GM asks for a fortune roll using Cross's lifestyle rating to see what quality of room Cross can manage.

Removing coin from your stash

If you want to pull coin out of your stash, you may do so, at a cost. Your character sells off some of their assets and investments in order to get some quick cash. For every 2 stash removed, you get 1 coin in cash.

Rituals

To enact a ritual is to come into contact with these abyssal forces and entreat them to do your will. It is a practice not without considerable risk.

Finding a ritual source

A PC with the Ritual special ability begins with one known ritual, already learned (answer the questions below to create it). To learn a new ritual, a PC must first find a source. A source may be secured as payoff from a score—perhaps you steal a ritual book when your crew robs the Museum of Antiquities. You might also secure a source as the goal of a long-term project—by consorting with cultist friends, studying ancient texts, or some other method you devise.

Learning a ritual

Once the source of a ritual is found, you may undertake a long-term project to learn the ritual. Most rituals will require an 8-segment progress clock to learn. The player and the GM answer questions about the ritual to define what it will do in play and what is required to perform it (see below). The player records these answers in their notes for future reference.

Ritual Questions

1. GM asks: "What does the ritual do and how is it weird?" Player answers.
2. Player asks: "What must I do to perform the ritual, and what is its price?" GM answers. A ritual takes at least one downtime activity to perform and inflicts stress on the caster according to its magnitude. If performance of the ritual is dangerous or troublesome in some way, it requires an action roll (usually Attune). A ritual may also have additional costs, such as a sacrifice, rare item, the start of a dire progress clock, etc.
3. GM asks: "What new belief or fear does knowledge of this ritual and its attendant occult forces instill in you?" Player answers.

Example Ritual Answers

Player: "The ritual wards a person so that the ghosts of their victims cannot find them. It's weird because... as long as the ward is in place, the person sometimes weeps tears of black blood."

GM: "Spend a downtime action to prepare a mixture of tobacco, dream smoke, and crematory ash from a victim—which the target then smokes. You take at least 3 stress when you perform the ritual, which will be its quality for a fortune roll when it's challenged by a spirit—so you might want to take more stress to make it more potent."

Player: "Gotcha. My new fear is what will happen if the spirits figure out where the ward came from and turn their vengeance on me, instead."

Performing a Ritual

To perform a ritual, you must have the Ritual special ability, then follow the method outlined by the answers to the ritual questions. Most rituals will take one downtime activity to complete, though the GM may call for two (or more) downtime activities for very powerful or far-reaching rituals. Some rituals may be partially performed during downtime and then fully manifested at-will later by completing the last incantation or ritual action. In this case, simply make a note that the ritual has been "primed" and may be unleashed at a later time.

When you perform a ritual, you take an amount of stress as established by the ritual questions, according to the magnitude of the forces brought to bear. The GM uses magnitude as a guideline for setting the stress cost—it may be higher or lower at their discretion to better describe the nature of the ritual. Some claims and special abilities also reduce the stress cost for ritual casting (like the Cult's Ancient Obelisk claim).

Rituals take time to cast. Use the duration examples on the magnitude table to reduce the stress cost based on the time needed, generally no less than an hour.

The GM may also tick a progress clock when you perform a ritual—to advance the agenda of an arcane power or entity, or to show the steady approach of a dark outcome that is a consequence of the ritual's use.

If a ritual is dangerous or troublesome to perform, make an action roll (usually Attune) to see if unpleasant consequences manifest. If a ritual has an uncertain effect then a fortune roll should be made to see how well it manifests. Because a ritual is a downtime activity, you may spend coin 1-for-1 to increase the result level of your fortune roll (this represents the expenditure of expensive or rare ritual materials). If a ritual is both dangerous and uncertain, then both rolls may be called for.

Each performance of a ritual is a unique event, and may not always work the same way each time. The GM or players may call for a round of questions to establish a ritual anew. Rituals are a way to bring in a wide variety of arcane effects into the game. Use with caution! If you ever go overboard, address the questions again to establish new weirdness and costs if things have gotten out of hand. The abyssal forces are not playthings and cannot be considered a reliable or safe source of power.

Magnitude

Supernatural entities and energies have a wide variety of effects and power levels. To help the GM judge these forces consistently, the magnitude scale is provided. See the master table of magnitude at right. Magnitude measures the quality level of a ghost or demon or different aspects of an arcane force: its area, scale, duration, range, and force. Whenever you need to assess an entity or power, use the magnitude scale as a guideline to judge how it compares relative to the examples given on the table.

You can use the magnitude of an entity or power as a dice pool for a fortune roll to see how much effect it has, if it's not obvious or certain.

A sea demon summons a crushing wave at the canal dock where the PCs are landing their boat. How badly does this damage the vessel and the crew? Obviously it's gonna be bad for them, but are they merely sinking or are they immediately wrecked and sunk? The GM makes a fortune roll using 6d (the magnitude of the demon). On a 1-3, the wave has only little effect (for a huge wave), causing the craft to take on water and begin sinking. On a 4-5, the wave has reduced effect, fully swamping the boat and throwing some of the characters and their cargo overboard. On a 6, the wave has full effect, immediately sinking the boat and dragging the crew and cargo under. On a critical, the boat is sunk, and also the crew and cargo are badly harmed by flying debris and the crushing force of the wave.

You can add levels of magnitude together to describe a combination of effects, or simply focus on one key feature for the magnitude assessment, ignoring other elements, even if they're on the magnitude scale. They're not always additive.

In the example above, the demon generated magnitude 6 force and the GM included its area of effect "for free" as part of the power. A huge wave at a dock should affect the boats and the crews there, in their judgment.

In a different session, a Whisper wants to accomplish a ritual that will unleash a hurricane across the district. The GM says that this is a very significant effect, so they add two levels of magnitude together: force 6 and range 5. To create such a devastating power, the Whisper will suffer 11 stress! The GM offers a compromise: the ritual will take a few hours to complete, so the stress cost will be reduced to 8, but some people in the affected area may realize what's happening and flee before the full storm hits.

The magnitude table is provided as a tool to help the GM make judgment calls. It's not meant to be a rigid restriction or mathematical formula to replace those judgment calls. Use the levels as a guideline for setting a magnitude number that seem appropriate to you.

This table can also be used as a guide to quality level when a PC acquires an asset or crafts an alchemical or gadget.

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Crafting

During downtime, a PC can Tinker with special materials and tools to produce strange alchemicals, build (or modify) items, create spark-craft gadgets, or enchant arcane implements or weapons. The system for each method is similar, with different details depending on the nature of the project.

Inventing

To invent a formula for a new alchemical concoction or the plan for a new item of your design, you need to Study it as a long-term project. Most new formulas or designs will require an 8-segment progress clock to invent and learn. The player and the GM answer questions about the invention to define what it will do in play and what is required to create it (see below). The player records these answers in their notes for future reference.

Creation Questions

1. GM asks: "What type of creation is it and what does it do?" Player answers. A creation might be mundane, alchemical, arcane, or spark-craft. If a PC has an appropriate special ability (Alchemist, Artificer, Strange Methods), they get bonuses when inventing and crafting certain creation types.
2. Player asks: "What's the minimum quality level of this item?" GM answers, with the magnitude of the effects the item produces as a guideline.
3. GM asks: "What rare, strange, or adverse aspect of this formula or design has kept it in obscurity, out of common usage?" Player answers.
4. Player asks: "What drawbacks does this item have, if any?" GM answers by choosing one or more from the drawbacks list, or by saying there are none.

A PC with the Alchemist, Artificer, or Strange Methods special abilities invents and learns one special formula when they take the ability (they don't have to take time to learn it).

Once you've invented a formula or design, you can craft it by using a downtime activity (see Crafting, below). No one else can craft this invention unless they learn your design as a long-term project. If you acquire a formula or design invented by another tinkerer, you may learn to craft it by completing a long-term project.

Common alchemicals and ordinary items don't require special formulas or designs to learn. Anyone may attempt to craft them by using commonly available instructions.

Crafting

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To craft something, spend one downtime activity to make a Tinker roll to determine the quality level of the item you produce. The base quality level is equal to your crew's Tier, modified by the result of the roll.

The results are based on your crew's Tier because it indicates the overall quality of the workspace and materials you have access to. If you do the work with the Workshop upgrade for your crew, your effective Tier level is one higher for this roll.

The GM sets a minimum quality level that must be achieved to craft the item, based on the magnitude of the effect(s) it produces. The GM uses magnitude as a guideline for setting the quality level—it may be higher or lower at their discretion to better describe the nature of the project. An item may be crafted at higher quality if the player wishes to attempt it.

You may spend coin 1-for-1 to increase the final quality level result of your roll (this can raise quality level beyond Tier +2).

Modifying an item

Adding a feature or additional function to an item is simpler than creating something new. You don't need to invent a special formula or plan. Make a crafting roll to modify an item (the baseline quality of an item that you modify is equal to your crew's Tier, as usual).

• A simple, useful modification requires Tier +1 quality. A rifle that breaks down into two sections to be more easily concealed.
• A significant modification requires Tier +2 quality. Strengthening the barrel and powder load of a gun to fire further.
• An arcane, spark-craft, or alchemical modification requires Tier +3 quality. A dagger that can harm a demon. An electrified hull on a boat to repel boarders or ghosts. An outfit coated with chemicals to mask you from deathlands predators.

Modified items, like special creations, may have drawbacks.

Drawbacks

A creation or modification may have one or more drawbacks, chosen by the GM.

• Complex. You'll have to create it in multiple stages; the GM will tell you how many. One downtime activity and crafting roll is needed per stage.
• Conspicuous. This creation doesn't go unnoticed. Take +1 heat if it's used any number of times on an operation.
• Consumable. This creation has a limited number of uses (all alchemicals must have this drawback, usually one use).
• Rare. This creation requires a rare item or material when it is crafted.
• Unreliable. When you use the item, make a fortune roll (using its quality) to see how well it performs.
• Volatile. The item produces a dangerous or troublesome side-effect for the user, specified by the GM. A side-effect is a consequence, and may be resisted.