Downtime Actions

Where to Submit

Post your downtime actions in your character thread channel on Discord.

Submission Format

Use this template for all downtime submissions:

**Character:** [Your character's name]
**Action Type:** [Research / Investigation / Crafting / Social / Territory / Training / Other]

**What I'm Doing:**
[2-4 sentences describing the action in plain terms]

**Relevant Traits:**
[List the Attribute + Skill you think applies, plus any relevant Merits, Gifts, or Rites]

**Resources I'm Using:**
[Contacts, libraries, equipment, pack assistance, etc.]

**What I Hope to Learn/Achieve:**
[Your goal — what question are you trying to answer or what result do you want?]

Example Submission

**Character:** Marcus Cole
**Action Type:** Research
**Time Period:** Week 2 of November 2026

**What I'm Doing:**
Marcus is spending his evenings at the Loussac Library going through their Alaska history section, looking for any references to unusual events in the Chugach Mountains — disappearances, strange lights, indigenous warnings about forbidden places.

**Relevant Traits:**
Intelligence 3 + Academics 2 (Research specialty) = 6 dice
Also have the Contacts (Librarians) Merit at 1 dot

**Resources I'm Using:**
- Loussac Library's Alaska Collection (+2 from Library: Academics 2 Merit)
- My librarian contact who can pull archived materials (Contacts 2)
- Sarah Nanuq mentioned her father kept journals — asking if she'll share relevant passages

**What I Hope to Learn/Achieve:**
Looking for historical patterns — has anything like the spiral murders happened before? Any records of the "147-year cycle" the Pure archives mention?

✅ GOOD Downtime Actions

Research & Investigation

• Searching archives, libraries, or databases
• Investigating a location between active scenes
• Analyzing evidence or documents found during play
• Tracking down historical records or patterns

Social & Networking

• Cultivating contacts or allies
• Gathering rumors from a social circle
• Building reputation in a community
• Checking in with NPCs between scenes

Crafting & Creation

• Creating fetishes (requires the Rite)
• Crafting mundane equipment
• Preparing ritual materials
• Building or improving a safe place

Territory & Pack

• Patrolling territory borders
• Monitoring spiritual health of your territory
• Maintaining pack loci
• Watching for intruders or changes

Training & Development

• Justifying XP expenditures (learning a new rite, developing a skill)
• Practicing with packmates
• Seeking out teachers for specific knowledge

Spirit Work

• Negotiating with spirits over time
• Performing chiminage
• Scouting the Shadow in your territory
• Building relationships with local courts

❌ NOT Appropriate for Downtime

Things that should be scenes instead:

• Confronting antagonists or NPCs with major plot significance
• Entering dangerous locations (RD-13, the Wound, etc.)
• Actions that could result in combat
• Major social confrontations or negotiations
• Anything involving other player characters (do this in RP!)

Things that are too vague:

• "I investigate stuff"
• "I do research"
• "I talk to people"
• (Be specific about what, where, and how)

Things that skip required RP:

• "I complete the Tunraq trial" — No, that's a scene
• "I secure Site 4" — No, that requires active play
• "I convince Tom Begich to help us" — No, that's a relationship built through RP

What Affects Response Time?

• Faster: Clear submission, straightforward goal, good dice pool, relevant resources
• Slower: Vague submission, complex goal, touches metaplot, involves major NPCs

If You Haven't Heard Back

• Check if your submission followed the format
• Give it the full expected time before following up
• Tag the ST if it's been longer than expected response time
• Complex actions may result in "let's do this as a scene" — that's not a rejection, it's an upgrade!

Simple Actions (One Roll)

Before you post your action you may go ahead and roll your dice pool, apply modifiers, and post the results (along with a link to the dice roll) with the action. The ST will then respond back with what you discovered.

Example: "Marcus, with your 3 successes on your library research. You find a 1932 Anchorage Times article about 'strange lights in the Chugach' and a reference to indigenous warnings about a 'place where the sky touches the earth.' The librarian mentions there's more in the university archives if you want to dig deeper."

Extended Actions (Multiple Rolls)

The ST determines target successes and interval, then rolls over the in-game time period.

Example: "Crafting that talen is an extended action — 5 successes needed, one roll per day. You can roll 1x per day or roll all the days at once and we will resolve it on the day it's finished, but let me know if you hit any complications or fail. When you are done post all rolls to your action thread and we will go from there."

Actions Requiring Scenes

Some downtime requests are too significant for off-screen resolution. The ST will let you know and help schedule a scene.

Example: "Approaching the aurora spirit at Flattop for negotiation is too important to handle as downtime — let's schedule a scene for this. Are you free Thursday evening?"

Modifiers and Bonuses

Your downtime effectiveness can be modified by:

Positive Modifiers

• Relevant Specialty: +1 die
• Appropriate Equipment: +1 to +3 dice
• Quality Workspace: +1 to +2 dice
• Helpful Contact: +1 to +2 dice
• Pack Assistance: Teamwork bonus (if narratively appropriate)
• In Your Territory: +1 die for territory-related actions
• Relevant Merit: As described by the Merit

Negative Modifiers

• Rushed (less than normal time): -1 to -3 dice
• Poor Resources: -1 to -2 dice
• Distractions: -1 to -2 dice
• Outside Your Territory: -1 die (for some actions)
• Working Against the Clock: Increased difficulty

Research

Use when: Looking for information in books, archives, databases, or records.

Typical Pool: Intelligence + Academics (or Computer for digital research)

What to Include:

• What question are you trying to answer?
• Where are you looking? (Library, internet, Pure archives, indigenous records)
• Do you have any leads to follow?

Example Questions Research Can Answer:

• "Has this pattern appeared before in history?"
• "What do the Pure archives say about [topic]?"
• "Are there news reports about [event]?"
• "What's the official record on [location/person]?"

Investigation

Use when: Examining a location, following leads, or piecing together clues.

Typical Pool: Wits + Investigation (or Intelligence for puzzle-solving)

What to Include:

• What location or evidence are you examining?
• What are you looking for specifically?
• Are you doing this in the Flesh, Shadow, or both?

Example Investigation Goals:

• "I want to examine the spiral murder site for anything the police missed"
• "I'm checking my territory's Shadow for signs of corruption"
• "I'm following up on that license plate we spotted"

Crafting

Use when: Creating objects, fetishes, talens, or improving equipment.

Typical Pool: Intelligence + Crafts (or other appropriate combination)

What to Include:

• What are you making?
• What materials do you have?
• For fetishes/talens: Do you have a spirit? Have you negotiated terms?

Special Note on Fetishes: Creating a fetish requires the Fetish Rite, a willing (or bound) spirit, and appropriate materials. The spirit negotiation should happen in active RP; the crafting itself can be downtime.

Social

Use when: Building relationships, gathering rumors, or cultivating contacts.

Typical Pool: Manipulation or Presence + appropriate Social Skill

What to Include:

• Who are you talking to? (Specific contact, social circle, or community)
• What are you trying to learn or achieve?
• What are you offering in return? (Time, favors, money, information)

Example Social Goals:

• "I'm checking in with my police contact about unusual reports"
• "I'm spending time at the Native community center, building trust"
• "I'm hitting the bars in Spenard to hear what locals are saying about [topic]"

Territory

Use when: Maintaining, patrolling, or improving your pack's territory.

Typical Pool: Varies — Wits + Survival for patrols, Presence + Intimidation for marking, etc.

What to Include:

• What part of the territory?
• Flesh-side, Shadow-side, or both?
• What are you watching for?

Example Territory Actions:

• "Patrolling the Mountain View borders for intruders"
• "Checking the health of our locus"
• "Monitoring the resonance around the old warehouse"

Training

Use when: Justifying XP expenditures or preparing for future challenges.

Typical Pool: Usually not rolled — this is narrative justification

What to Include:

• What are you learning or improving?
• How are you learning it? (Self-study, teacher, practice)
• For Gifts/Rites: Who or what is teaching you?

Example Training:

• "I'm spending time with Tom Begich learning about Tunraq traditions (justifying Occult increase)"
• "My packmate is teaching me the Messenger Rite"
• "I'm practicing at the gun range (justifying Firearms purchase)"

Example 1: Research (Simple)

**Character:** Elena Voss
**Action Type:** Research
**Roll Result:** 3s

**What I'm Doing:**
Searching the University of Alaska Anchorage archives for any academic papers or geological surveys that mention unusual formations or anomalies in the Chugach Mountains, particularly anything that might be near the locations marked in the Pure archives.

**Relevant Traits:**
Intelligence 3 + Academics 3 (Research) = 7 dice
Eidetic Memory Merit

**Resources I'm Using:**
- UAA Library access (I'm enrolled as a part-time student)
- Pure archive map for reference points

**What I Hope to Learn/Achieve:**
Trying to find mundane explanations — or lack thereof — for the seven sites. If geologists have noted anything weird, I want to know about it.

Example 2: Social (Moderate)

**Character:** Jake Tanner
**Action Type:** Social
**Roll Results:** 6s

**What I'm Doing:**
Spending time at the Spenard bars where pipeline workers and oil field contractors hang out. Buying rounds, shooting pool, listening more than talking. Trying to hear if anyone's seen anything weird out in the bush — strange lights, places that feel wrong, areas their GPS glitches out.

**Relevant Traits:**
Manipulation 2 + Socialize 3 = 5 dice
Contacts (Blue Collar Workers) 2
Barfly Merit

**Resources I'm Using:**
- Money for drinks (Resources 2)
- My cover as a fellow contractor

**What I Hope to Learn/Achieve:**
Looking for mundane witnesses to supernatural phenomena. Pipeline workers and bush pilots see a lot of remote Alaska. Someone might have seen something near the Chugach sites without knowing what it was.

Example 3: Territory (Simple)

**Character:** Maria Santos (Pack: Shadow Stalkers)
**Action Type:** Territory
**Roll Results:** 4s

**What I'm Doing:**
Running our weekly border patrol of the Spenard territory, both Flesh and Shadow sides. Checking for intrusions, spirit activity changes, and any shifts in resonance since the first yellow aurora event.

**Relevant Traits:**
Wits 3 + Survival 2 = 5 dice
Pack Territory bonus (+1)

**Resources I'm Using:**
- Our territory's established patrol routes
- Packmate running the Shadow while I run the Flesh

**What I Hope to Learn/Achieve:**
Standard patrol — looking for anything unusual. Specifically watching for: new spirits moving in, resonance changes, and any sign that the yellow aurora affected our territory's Shadow.

Example 4: Crafting (Extended)

**Character:** Owen Redhawk
**Action Type:** Crafting

**What I'm Doing:**
Creating a talen — a "Tracker's Charm" that will help locate a specific person once activated. I've already negotiated with a minor search-spirit who agreed to inhabit the charm in exchange for being released after use.

**Relevant Traits:**
Intelligence 2 + Crafts 3 (Carving) = 6 dice
I know the Fetish Rite

**Resources I'm Using:**
- Caribou antler I carved during a hunt
- The search-spirit I negotiated with last session
- My workshop in the pack's safe house

**What I Hope to Learn/Achieve:**
A single-use talen that will help us track someone. Planning to use it to find where Tulip goes when she disappears.

Example 5: Investigation (Moderate)

**Character:** Detective Amy Chen (Wolf-Blooded)
**Action Type:** Investigation
**Roll Results:** 5s

**What I'm Doing:**
Using my access as APD detective to pull cold case files on any unsolved deaths or disappearances in the Chugach over the past 50 years. Looking for patterns — seasonal timing, locations, victim profiles, anything that matches what we know about the cycle.

**Relevant Traits:**
Intelligence 3 + Investigation 4 (Cold Cases) = 8 dice
Status (Police) 2

**Resources I'm Using:**
- APD database access
- Cold case archives
- My partner who owes me a favor and won't ask questions

**What I Hope to Learn/Achieve:**
Building a timeline of Chugach-related deaths. If the cycle affects things for years before the solstice, there should be a pattern in the data. Also checking if there were unusual deaths in 1878-1879 (the last cycle year).

Q: How many downtime actions can I submit per week?
A: Generally, one significant action per in-game week. Minor actions (quick checks, brief conversations) can be bundled together.

Q: Can I do downtime for my Wolf-Blooded/mortal character?
A: Yes! Wolf-Blooded and mortals can absolutely submit downtime. They're often better at certain research and social tasks than Uratha.

Q: What if my downtime action overlaps with another player's?
A: Great! Let the ST know and we might combine them into a collaborative action or even a brief scene.

Q: Can downtime lead to XP or Beats?
A: Discoveries made during downtime can absolutely contribute to Aspirations or conditions that grant Beats. Significant revelations might be worth a Beat.

Q: What if I want to do something that's not on this list?
A: Ask! If it makes sense as something your character does between scenes, we can probably make it work.