Impact over quantity

Any PC can propose a downtime action after any game of Solitude. However, not every downtime action proposal will be successfully achieved after each game. Instead of processing every downtime proposal, we instead seek to ensure that each successful downtime action will have a substantial impact on the setting. Your PC won't be the only one affected by any downtime action; you'll be helping or harming an entire faction. The best way to ensure that your downtime action comes to pass is to band together with others who want the same thing.

What you can do during downtime

Any downtime action must target a faction. This can be a faction you are a part of, either by formal enrollment or self-identification, or a faction that you oppose and wish to weaken. During the time between games of Solitude, you'll work behind the scenes to aid, sabotage, persuade, or provoke that faction. This could be because you want to directly bolster or harm that faction, or because that faction can produce a resource or investigate a question you care about for your own purposes.

A typical downtime action with a friendly faction takes the form of "Comrades, join me in...",  "Let me help you accomplish..." or "I'll trade you something for your...". Ultimately, you're relying on the faction having the people and resources to help you meet your goal. Factions won't act against their own interests, but few factions have a formal leadership with firm opinions about what those interests are, so your downtime action can often persuade the loosely organized members of a faction to pursue a goal of yours. Even if there is formal leadership that opposes your plan, every faction has its hangers-on and dissidents that might still put the resources of their faction at your disposal.

When you work against a hostile faction during downtime, you'll need help. There's a time and place for individual heroism... and that's during games. During downtimes, to act against a hostile faction you'll identify another faction that you'll rally against your enemies. You and the members of some other faction will work together to destroy a resource or pry open some secret belonging to your shared enemy. You might make temporary allies out of any faction with the right persuasion, even a normally hostile one.

When you fill out your post-event letter, you'll indicate whether you have a downtime action proposal. If you're selected in the lottery (see below), game staff will reach out to you and ask you to propose a specific downtime action. In your proposal, you'll want to as specific as you can: who do you want to influence, what means will you use to pull a faction towards your goal, and what outcome do you expect to happen? If your downtime action is selected by the lottery process, game staff will reach out to resolve your downtime action 

Downtime action categories

These categories are used during the resolution of downtime actions. You should always say specifically what you are trying to do in your downtime action, rather than just naming a category, but keeping these categories in mind can help you get the outcome you want from a downtime action.

A faction may:

• Conduct diplomacy

• Claim by force

• Infiltrate

• Build a tool

• Supply consumable gear

• Investigate secrets

Some factions may have special action categories available to them.

Success is not guaranteed

A downtime action is an opportunity to generate some excitement in a corner of the world you're excited about. The most common outcome of a downtime action is a mixed result, where the faction you are working with achieves some of your goals but also gets into some fresh trouble as a result.