Homebrew Downtime Rules

[Akhôrahil]

2 hours ago, Crel said:

I don't think anyone's using an adventure game system to plod through how many fields you plowed of your hide in a given week, or how many bushels of apples you picked each day. The game dips in and out of daily life, focusing on the big moments--holy days, enemy cattle raids, adventures, heroquests. And I think those moments of focus offer enough background texture of daily life seeping through to allow a broader scope to fuzz the elements together.

Interestingly, much of this actually follows from the game's definitions, though. A hide is 80 acres is the amount of land you can plow yearly with an ox-team. If you want to know what percentage of your land you plowed in a week, this can be calculated with reasonable ease.

[Akhôrahil]

On 8/3/2019 at 4:26 AM, Shiningbrow said:

Q: do you allow for changing occupation? And thus, getting a new selection of skills?

I think you definitely should. A farmer turned bandit gets earnings and occupational experience from the bandit occupation (it would be super weird if he still got it from Farmer). 

This is actually great from the point of view of rapidly increasing skills you're bad at, but to compensate, you don't make good earnings initially because of poor occupational skills.

Edited August 4, 2019 by Akhôrahil

[Shiningbrow]

23 minutes ago, Akhôrahil said:

I think you definitely should. A farmer turned bandit gets earnings and occupational experience from the bandit occupation (it would be super weird if he still got it from Farmer). 

This is actually great from the point of view of rapidly increasing skills you're bad at, but to compensate, you don't make good earnings initially because of poor occupational skills.

I suppose the bigger question is , how? Just a statement of intent? Or requires the player to outline and RP the change?

[Akhôrahil]

Just now, Shiningbrow said:

I suppose the bigger question is , how? Just a statement of intent? Or requires the player to outline and RP the change?

Actually doing that work that season. It could be as easy as taking a break from your regular occupation to work at your uncle's farm for a while, or as complicated as getting accepted as a priest at the local temple.

[Shiningbrow]

3 minutes ago, Akhôrahil said:

Actually doing that work that season. It could be as easy as taking a break from your regular occupation to work at your uncle's farm for a while, or as complicated as getting accepted as a priest at the local temple.

Getting accepted as a priest takes being accepted as one. Working at your uncle's farm takes.just showing up.

I.e., some would take rolls and role play. Others just a statement... In my view.

[Akhôrahil]

9 minutes ago, Shiningbrow said:

Getting accepted as a priest takes being accepted as one. Working at your uncle's farm takes.just showing up.

I.e., some would take rolls and role play. Others just a statement... In my view.

I wasn't sure exactly what you meant with "statement" - you can't just say which occupation you want to get checkmarks from, you have to actually be doing that work (for the majority of the season).  This seems to be what you mean as well, though.

[Austin]

14 minutes ago, Shiningbrow said:

I suppose the bigger question is , how? Just a statement of intent? Or requires the player to outline and RP the change?

Wait for the Gamemaster's Guide?

I feel like some mix between skill thresholds and roleplayed change; maybe an enforced change could happen too. Ex, an adventurer is captured and forced to fight as a slave for the Big Bad for season after season. They want to keep their Herder occupation, but just simply can't. The only example we really have in the core book is becoming a Rune priest, which requires 4 cult skills at 50% (and almost certainly means your occupation is Priest, though some cults [like Issaries] vary). So I figure having X skills at 50% means you're good enough at the thing to do it occupationally.

[Akhôrahil]

3 minutes ago, Crel said:

So I figure having X skills at 50% means you're good enough at the thing to do it occupationally.

On the other hand, your uncle is going to be pleased enough with a pair of extra hands at the 30% Farming you get just from being a Sartarite, and you're likely to learn the farming stuff even while you're not being as productive as someone who knows his stuff.

(This, by the way, was something I ran into - the rules don't cover what happens when multiple PCs do their occupation for one economic unit, such as several of them, with varying skill levels, working on the same farm.)

[Austin]

6 minutes ago, Akhôrahil said:

(This, by the way, was something I ran into - the rules don't cover what happens when multiple PCs do their occupation for one economic unit, such as several of them, with varying skill levels, working on the same farm.)

While it's not stated, I think you'd just go with the rule that a hide generates 80L; if you're a tenant, you get 40L and then tithe to Ernalda & Orlanth. If multiple adventurers are working the same hide, I'd say they have to share the income--though worth remembering that apparently 60L is enough for a household of two adults & 3 children. Dunno how to handle multiple skill levels; maybe focus on the leader's skill, and have the others roll to provide an augment?

[Shiningbrow]

3 hours ago, Akhôrahil said:

(This, by the way, was something I ran into - the rules don't cover what happens when multiple PCs do their occupation for one economic unit, such as several of them, with varying skill levels, working on the same farm.)

The crops are still limited by the amount that can be grown and harvested. Having more hands work the land isn't going to change that.

More hands certainly makes a difference if all the land isn't being used productively, but I'd say that this isn't happening regularly (because it doesn't benefit the owner or tenant). More hands herding doesn't bring in more money - because you still have the same number of sheep/goats/cows... Buy more, and you can get more!

 

I'd presume the highest skill level would guide the lower skill levels... just as the tenants would be teaching their kids. You get the skill increases as you learn (preferably from someone else's experience) not to stand right in front of a stampede of cows...

[g33k]

On 8/2/2019 at 7:26 PM, Shiningbrow said:

Q: do you allow for changing occupation? And thus, getting a new selection of skills?

I'd permit it, but not trivially.

RQG has no strong "public school" system in place, no "standardized tests" &c.  12ish years of public school prepares a young adult for "many jobs" or for further trade/technical/professional education.

In Glorantha, I presume a PC's "occupation" usually follows from one of:

• What they were good at, as youths
• Following family footsteps
• Imperative needs, such as soldiers during wartime

An adult changing Occupations will, I presume, seem like an unskilled youth to their new "peers" and to the higher-ups in the new Occupation.  If they change for what others judge as "no good reason," I might have those peers be... disrespectful & distrusting, using mocking nicknames and so on.

Edited August 5, 2019 by g33k

[styopa]

Did you ever check Runequest Cities - that had a nice downtime resolver too.

It would certainly need some machining around the edges to fit in RQG, but it's got good interesting ideas, certainly.

https://rpggeek.com/rpgitem/49956/runequest-cities

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Runequest-Cities-Chaosium-Midkemia-Press-Avalon-Hill-RQ-Great-MegaExtras-/352588458346  ...although at $50 on ebay, ask Anton nicely and you can probably borrow mine. 

[Austin]

3 hours ago, styopa said:

Did you ever check Runequest Cities - that had a nice downtime resolver too.

It would certainly need some machining around the edges to fit in RQG, but it's got good interesting ideas, certainly.

https://rpggeek.com/rpgitem/49956/runequest-cities

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Runequest-Cities-Chaosium-Midkemia-Press-Avalon-Hill-RQ-Great-MegaExtras-/352588458346  ...although at $50 on ebay, ask Anton nicely and you can probably borrow mine. 

Thanks for the suggestion, and will keep in mind! I remember we did some random event stuff in a Glamour downtime; maybe that's where those events came from.