Time Keeping
Timekeeping will not be rigid to an IG daily calendar.
- One RT (real time) month is 1 season (~3 months).
- Characters will have a limit based on the RT month for earning Experience Points (XPs) and Downtime Actions (DTAs). (See rules for Character Advancement and Downtime Activities.)
Exploration
Exploration and mapping are core concepts in Dark Below. As you venture into the unknown, your characters will most likely create maps to document your findings. This will help you keep track of your discoveries and share information with other players.
- The world map is placed on a hex grid, which will be covered in a Fog of War.
- The starting town and the 6 surrounding hexes will be revealed at game start.
- Hexes can be revealed by exploring the hex (WWN pg. 50).
- Simply passing through a hex will not reveal a hex.
- In cases where characters opt to pass through uncharted lands to reach a destination, the players may draw and make notes on the Foundry map as they see fit. However, GM's will not confirm accuracy.
- Travel times will be calculated per the Overland Travel rules, WWN pg. 49.
- Traveling may require a Survival roll to stay on track. The difficulty will be based on the terrain. Areas that have been explored (and FoW removed) will have lower difficulties. Generally, these rolls will be once per day, however dense forests and mountains may call for more frequent rolls.
Quests and Jobs
- Quests are short-term work that require leaving the safety of towns and venturing out into the wilderness to complete the task. These are generally one-time tasks and require at least one gaming session to complete.
- Jobs are ongoing work that can be done within the safety of towns and cities and require the expenditure of at least one DTA.
- Characters may earn Renown for completing quests and jobs, and renown may be awarded by GM's for other in-game activities that they feel warrant it. Renown can be spent to complete Projects (WWN pg. 322), and there may be other ways to use renown in-game. (hint hint.)
Lifestyle
Lifestyle costs
WILL be tracked in Dark Below. At the beginning of each Season, every character will need to choose a lifestyle and deduct the cost from their character's wealth. Any effects from the Lifestyle apply for the whole season. Characters who use their Connect skill during DTA's to improve their available lifestyle to common or above can select the new lifestyle for the next season. As long as a character can and does pay for the lifestyle, they do not need to roll Connect to keep that lifestyle. So long as you pay your rent, you probably won't get evicted, but if you give up your spot it'll get rented to someone else. Lifestyle costs are assumed to be 1/2 food and 1/2 housing. If your character does not eat or drink, their lifestyle costs are halved.
Lifestyle
| Lifestyle |
Cost/Season |
Effect |
| Destitute |
free! |
Destitute lifestyle covers no food or shelter. Destitute characters have little or no food and sleep out in the open. Heroes who can afford nothing better suffer a -1 penalty to all social skill checks due to their unkempt state and start every expedition with 2 system strain due to poor nutrition. Destitute characters take a -2 penalty to their physical save against the Grippe. |
| Impoverished |
50 silver |
Impoverished lifestyle costs cover only the bare minimum of food and a sleeping spot under a tarp or in a shared tent. Heroes who can afford nothing better suffer a -1 penalty to all social skill checks due to their unkempt state. Impoverished characters take a -1 penalty to their physical save against the Grippe. Owning Wilderness Travel Gear (WWN pg. 33) reduces the cost to 25 sp. |
| Common |
200 silver |
Common lifestyle fees for an adventurer usually cover adequate food and spot in one of several pavilion tents, or a smaller private tent. Heroes with a Common Lifestyle do not have any penalty to their save against the Grippe. A character must own Wilderness Travel Gear or pass a DC 6 Connect/CHA roll to achieve this lifestyle. Owning Wilderness Travel Gear reduces the cost to 100 sp. |
| Wealthy |
1,000 silver |
Wealthy lifestyle includes well-prepared food and a room in a secure building. Heroes with a wealthy lifestyle gain a +1 bonus to their physical save against the Grippe. The only building capable of supporting this lifestyle is the Temple. Gaining residence in the Temple requires a DC 10 connect roll to make connections with one of the noble houses currently residing there. |
| Rich |
5,000 silver |
Rich lifestyle costs generally include a rented townhouse, a small staff of servants, and social entree into high society circles that are forgiving of the nouveau riche... at least, as long as their coin remains good. The rich gain a +2 bonus to their physical save against the Grippe. The servants that are part of this lifestyle do not count as Henchmen for the purposes of limits imposed by the character's Administrate. There currently is no housing that can support a Rich lifestyle. |
| Noble |
25,000 silver |
Noble lifestyles provide the very best the community can offer in fine lodging, luxuriant food, sycophantic servants, and the provisional friendship of useful parasites. Once per game session, the PC can ask a favor of a hanger-on in their retinue, who will perform it if it is not more than mildly humiliating, dangerous or illegal. Those with a noble lifestyle do not have to roll to avoid contracting the Grippe. There currently is no housing available that can support a Noble lifestyle. |
