Downtime

Downtime activities and lifestyle maintenance are done when you’re not adventuring. They help to define adventurers outside their normally extraordinary adventures, and can have an impact on how others perceive them.

If you want your character to engage in a downtime activity between episodes or adventures, you have the following options available to you. All of these options are found in the basic rules or the Player’s Handbook.

Activities
Crafting. You can craft nonmagical objects. However, multiple characters may not combine their downtime days toward the crafting of a single item.

Practicing a Profession. You can use this downtime activity to maintain a lifestyle, effectively spending your downtime to keep a standard of living.

Recuperating. If you’re affected by a debilitating injury, disease, or poison and you haven’t found a way to get rid of it by the end of an episode or an adventure, you can use downtime to attempt to shake it off. If you don’t succeed, or if you don’t spend downtime days to rid yourself of the condition, you begin the next episode or adventure affected by it.

Training. You can spend downtime days to work toward learning a new language or set of tools.

Spellcasting Services. If you finish an episode or adventure, need a spell cast, and have access to spellcasters, you can spend one downtime day (and pay lifestyle expenses) to have an appropriate spell cast. Spellcasting services are available in settlements of town size or larger, and have a cost associated with them. See the Spellcasting Services page for more information. Alternatively, another party member can provide the service. Both you and the spellcaster in your party spend one downtime day to have the spells cast. Anyone in the party can pay the cost for consumed material components for spells such as raise dead.

Catching Up. Sometimes the rest of your party levels up a bit before you do. Instead of watching them go on higher-level adventures while leaving you at home, you can catch up. When you’re catching up, your character is assumed to be going on a small side adventure, such as guarding a caravan or patrolling the wilderness. Catching up is a special downtime activity only available at 4th level and 10th level, to get your character to the next tier of play. At 4th level, you can spend 20 downtime days to level up to the start of 5th level. At 10th level, you can spend 100 downtime days to level up to the start of 11th level. You still pay lifestyle expenses when you spend downtime catching up

New Options. New activities will unlock over time.

Other Activities. Certain adventures might have special downtime activities available, and higher ranking faction members get access to special downtime activities exclusive to their faction.