Page 131 - Dungeon Master's Guide

S OWING R UMORS CREATING D OWNTIME AC T IVITIES
waying public opinion can be an effective way to bring
Your players might be interested in pursuing downtime
down a villain or elevate a friend. Spreading rumors
activities that aren't covered in this chapter or in
is an efficient, if underhanded, way to accomplish that
the Player's Handbook. If you invent new downtime
goal. Well-placed rumors can increase the subject's
activities, remember the following:
-randing in a community or embroil someone in
scandal. A rumor needs to be simple, concrete, and hard An activity should never negate the need or desire for
o disprove. An effective rumor also has to be believable, characters to go on adventures.
playing off what people want to believe about the person Activities that have a monetary cost associated with
in question. them provide opportunities for player characters to
Sowing a rumor about an individual or organization spend their hard-won treasure.
-equires a number of days depending on the size of the Activities that reveal new adventure hooks and
community, as shown in the Sowing Rumors table. In a previously unknown facts about your campaign can
own or city, the time spent must be continuous. If the help you foreshadow future events and conflicts.
character spreads a rumor for ten days, disappears on For an activity you expect a character to repeat
an adventure for another few days and then returns, with variable degrees of success, consider creating
rhe rumor fades away without the benefit of constant a random outcome table, modeled on the ones in
:-epetition. this chapter.
• If a character belongs to a class or has a proficiency or
S OWING RUMORS background that would make him or her well suited
to a particular activity, consider granting a bonus to
Settlement Size Time Required
ability checks made by the character to complete that
Village 2d6 days
activity successfully.
Town 4d6 days
City 6d6 days
The character must spend 1 gp per day to cover
- e cost of drinks, social appearances, and the like.
_ r the end of the time spent sowing the rumor, the
-haracter must make a DC 15 Charisma (Deception
r Persuasion) check. If the check succeeds, the
community's prevailing attitude toward the subject shifts
ne step toward friendly or hostile, as the character
ishes. If the check fails, the rumor gains no traction,
and further attempts to propagate it fail.
Shifting a community's general attitude toward
a person or organization doesn't affect everyone in
- e community. Individuals might hold to their own
pinions, particularly if they have personal experience
'"' dealing with the subject of the rumors.
-RAINING TO GAIN LEVELS
- a variant rule, you can require characters to spend
:.owntime training or studying before they gain the
oefits of a new level. If you choose this option, once a
aracter has earned enough experience points to attain
"' new level, he or she must train for a number of days
: fore gaining any class features associated with the
- w level.
The training time required depends on the level to be
, ained, as shown on the Training to Gain Levels table.
e training cost is for the total training time.

RA INING TO GAIN LEVELS
Level Attained Training Time Training Cost
2nd-4th 10 days 20 gp
5th-10th 20 days 40 gp
11th-16th 30 days 60 gp
17th-20th 40 days 80 gp

CHAPTER 6 I BETWEEN ADVENTURES