Downtime

Income

• Every character receives 18 rings at the start of every event they attend

Characters attending an event automatically receive eighteen rings. This represents the wealth the character has accumulated in the months leading up to the event. It is up to the player to interpret how they have earned this money in a way that is appropriate to the setting and their character.

Character with personal or campaign resources that produce money, receive this in addition to their 18 rings.

Retraining

• Every character can retrain a single skill, crafting option or two rituals after each event they attend
• New players can retrain any skills after their first Empire event

After each event you attend you have the option to retrain a single skill that your character knows. You can choose one skill your character knows to drop. You can only retrain a skill if it's not a prerequisite for another skill you know. For example if you have the hero skill and the mortal blow skill - then you won't be able to drop hero because it is a prerequiste for mortal blow. If you want to retrain hero then you will need to drop mortal blow first; you will then be able to retrain hero after the next event you attend.

If you retrain a skill, then you will be refunded whatever the skill cost to buy. The refunded experience points are locked to that character, so they can only be used to buy new skills for that character. If you retrain an extra recipe skill or extra spell then the appropriate recipe or spell will be dropped at the same time. If you retrain a realm lore skill or a crafting skill then you may have to drop one or more rituals or crafting options as appropriate. The website will inform you which options are being dropped or ask you to pick which options to drop as appropriate.

As an alternative, if you are an artisan, you can retrain a single crafting option after each event instead of any other retraining. If you are a ritualist then you can retrain two rituals after each event instead of any other retraining.

Operating a Resource

• Every character can operate a single personal resource after each event they attend

You should choose a personal resource for your character when you create them. Your resource will automatically produce money or materials for your character to use at each event they attend.

Some personal resources, such as a fleet or a military unit always provide you with some very simple options that you can choose from each downtime. To access these options you should log on to the Profound Decisions website and choose your current character from the list of characters shown. If you attended the last event, then your character screen will display a "submit downtime" button that allows you to choose one or more options for your resource.

All resources can be improved, if you hand in the right materials, white granite, weirwood, or mithril. You can also hand in money to pay to make a resource such as a herb garden, mine or forest provide even more materials than usual. These options are all accessed by pressing the "submit downtime" button on your character details screen.

Making Items

• Artisans can make up to three magic items after each event they attend

A character who has purchased the artisan skill has three months each downtime to make items. There is no monetary cost to make items, but the character must have the rare materials needed to make the item. Most enchantments take a month to complete but some weak enchantments require two months to make rather than using any materials. A character can continue to operate their personal resource while crafting items.

Enchanted items last for a single year from the day of creation. This means that they can be used at the following four events before the magic is lost. If an artisan has access to enough ilium then they can use it to make a permanent magic item.

Roleplaying Between Events

Coronavirus Update

For the week commencing the 20^th April, we are operating a relaxed set of rules regarding in-character posts, both text and video, online. Please see the updated rules for online roleplaying which apply during this week only.

Keeping the game live

• We want the important IC discussions and decisions to happen live at the events

Profound Decisions are very keen for the key IC activity of the Empire world to take place at events. We believe your game will be busier and better if everything that can happen in the field, does happen in the field. Trade negotiations, religious debates, military planning, magical discourse and political discussions and appointments are all examples of activities that should happen at events.

While it would be logical to expect some decisions and interactions to take place between Imperial summits, Empire is a live-roleplaying game not a real-time simulation. Every IC communication you have between events is one you cannot have face to face.

Forums and IC roleplaying

• No IC forums for nations or Imperial political bodies
• Emails and group forums are fine

Our core goal is to ensure that important game decisions are taken at events, rather than between events. For this reason IC forums for ten nations or for any of the core Imperial political bodies - the Senate, Synod, Bourse, Military Council and the Conclave are not allowed.

Although it is fine to send IC communications by email or use forums and facebook groups for banners, covens and sects, we would ask that you don't engage in important IC discussions of the kinds listed above unless you are at an event. It is ok to advertise IC services on the Empire Facebook group, provided you don't then get drawn into IC negotiations with other players for those services. Please save this for when everyone is in-character at the event.

Communication with NPCs

• You cannot send winged messengers between events
• We ask our NPCs not to send IC communications between events

You are welcome to send IC communications to egregores and Anvil civil servants between events but all our staff have been asked not to respond until the next event. They may choose to bring such IC communications with them to the next event and act on them there.

Rituals cannot be performed in downtime so you cannot perform Call Winged Messenger unless you are at an event.

Please also appreciate that our crew are all volunteers. While they may choose to respond to questions, Profound Decisions do not expect crew to handle any OOC communications between events. If you need a response, please email Profound Decisions instead.

Hand-in Baggies

• Put anything that you wish to use in downtime in your baggy at the end of the event
• Make sure you complete a hand-in slip listing the materials

If you want to make use of any money, materials or items during downtime then you must hand them in to GOD at the end of the event. Plastic bags are available in GOD for everyone handing in resources. You will find a personalized slip for your character in your pack that you collect from GOD. You should list everything that you are handing in on the slip and put it in the bag when you hand it in.

Any money or resources handed in will be available for use automatically for standard downtime actions such as crafting magical items or upgrading a resource. If you character needs to take an unusual action - such as paying for an Imperial Senate commission then you need to email Profound Decisions to make sure that we are aware that you wish to pay for this. We will remove the money or resources from your inventory as soon as we are aware that you wish to make a payment. If anything is removed from your inventory by us that you did not wish to use in this way then please let us know as quickly as possible.

Further Reading

• Characters
• Playing the Game
• Referees & GOD
• Safety
• Conduct
• Downtime