Downtime Activities, including Crafting¶
Downtime in the Hungry Frontier is drawn from a number of official D&D sources: Downtime Activities in Xanathar's Guide to Everything, Crafting Equipment in the Player's Handbook, and Crafting Magical Items in the Dungeon Master's Guide.
Downtime Activities¶
Xanathar's Guide to Everything, Chapter 2 — Downtime Revisited
- Many activities take a number of days; an 8 hour day, generally a workweek [5 days] or more, to complete.
- Activities call for both gold and days to be used in completing the activity. With some requiring skill checks to determine success.
- If an activity requires the use of a tool, you (the PC) must be proficient in the tool being used.
List of available activities in the Frontier¶
| Activity | Skill Check | Tool Used | Cost | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Carousing | Persuasion | n/a | 10 / 50 / 250 gp, 1 Workweek | Make contacts in a town or settlement. |
| Gambling | Insight, Deception, and Intimidation | Game Set (may replace one Skill) | 10–1000 gp, 1 Workweek | Partake in games of chance to win a fortune… or lose one. |
| Relaxation | n/a | n/a | 7 Days | Relax and/or recover from non-magical afflictions. |
| Religious Service | Religion or Persuasion | n/a | 1 Workweek | Partake in service to a temple/church. |
| Research | Intelligence, +1 per 50 gp spent (max +6) | n/a | 50 gp per +1 Bonus, 1 Workweek | Delve into lore concerning a monster, a location, a magic item, or some other particular topic. |
| Training | n/a | n/a | (10 − INT mod) Workweeks, 25 gp per Workweek |
Work towards gaining proficiency in a language or tool set. |
| Work | Athletics, Acrobatics, or Performance | Tool (INT) or Musical Instrument (CHA) | 1 Workweek | Earn some gold working an honest job. |
| Craft Equipment | See Below | See Below | See Below | Craft mundane equipment, scribe spell scrolls and brew potions of healing. |
| Craft Magic Item | See Below | See Below | See Below | Craft magical items, enchant mundane equipment, and brew alchemical concoctions. |
Crafting Equipment¶
Player's Handbook, Chapter 6 — Equipment
To craft a nonmagical item, you need tools, raw materials, and time, each of which is detailed below. If you meet the requirements, you make the item, and you can use it or sell it at its normal price.
Tools. See the Tools section located in Chapter 6 to see what items can be made with certain tools. If an item isn't listed, it is up to the Guide to determine which tool set is required for the crafting project. All characters involved in the activity must have proficiency in the tool set being used.
Costs. You need enough raw materials equal to half the item's market value in gold pieces. The activity will also require a number of days equal to the item's market value divided by 10 (rounded up to the nearest day). The Guide determines whether appropriate raw materials are available.
Assisting in Crafting. Characters can combine their efforts to shorten the crafting time. Divide the time needed to create an item by the number of characters working on it. Normally, only one other character can assist you, but the DM might allow more assistants. The time needed cannot be shortened to less than 1 day.
Scribing a Spell Scroll¶
Prerequisites. Proficiency in the Arcana skill or with the Calligrapher's Supplies and must have the spell prepared each day of the inscription. You must also have any material components required by a spell; if the spell consumes the components they are consumed when you finish the inscription. The Scroll's spell uses the character's Spell Save DC and Spell Attack Bonus. In the case of Cantrips, the spell acts using the level of the Inscriber.
Cost. See table below.
| Spell Level | Time | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Cantrip | 1 day | 15 GP |
| 1 | 1 day | 25 GP |
| 2 | 3 days | 100 GP |
| 3 | 5 days | 150 GP |
| 4 | 10 days | 1,000 GP |
| 5 | 25 days | 1,500 GP |
| 6 | 40 days | 10,000 GP |
| 7 | 50 days | 12,500 GP |
Brewing Potions of Healing¶
A character who has proficiency with the Herbalism Kit can create a Potion of Healing. Doing so requires using that kit and 25 GP of raw material over the course of 1 day (8 hours of work).
Crafting Magical Items¶
Dungeon Master's Guide, Chapter 7 — Treasure
Project Source. At the Guide's discretion, a PC may require a Project Source; anything that gives the player character the knowledge to start the process of crafting a magical item. This can take the form of written information (a book, scroll, schematic, and so forth), an expert tutor with wisdom to share, a master artisan with skills to teach, a supernatural manifestation of the project's scope and secrets, or any other form of the Guide's determination.
Arcana Proficiency. You and any assistants must have proficiency in the Arcana skill.
Tools. See table below. You must use the required tool to make an item and have proficiency with that tool. Any assistants must also have proficiency with it.
| Item Category | Required Tool |
|---|---|
| Armor | Leatherworker's Tools, Smith's Tools, or Weaver's Tools *depending on the kind of armor as noted in the tools' descriptions |
| Potion | Alchemist's Supplies or Herbalism Kit |
| Ring | Jeweler's Tools |
| Rod | Woodcarver's Tools |
| Scroll | Calligrapher's Supplies |
| Staff | Woodcarver's Tools |
| Wand | Woodcarver's Tools |
| Weapon | Leatherworker's Tools, Smith's Tools, or Woodcarver's Tools *depending on the kind of weapon as noted in the tools' descriptions |
| Wondrous Item | Tinker's Tools or the tool required to make the nonmagical item on which the magic item is based |
Spells. If a magic item allows its user to cast any spells from it, you must have all those spells prepared every day you spend crafting the item.
Work per Day. For each day of crafting, you must work for 8 hours. If an item requires multiple days, those days needn't be consecutive.
Assistants. Characters can combine their efforts to shorten the crafting time. Divide the time needed to create an item by the number of characters working on it. Normally, only one other character can assist you, but the DM might allow more assistants. The time needed cannot be shortened to less than 1 day.
Time and Cost¶
| Item Rarity | Time* | Cost* |
|---|---|---|
| Common | 5 days | 50 GP |
| Uncommon | 10 days | 200 GP |
| Rare | 50 days | 2,000 GP |
| Very Rare | 125 days | 20,000 GP |
| Legendary | 250 days | 100,000 GP |
* The time and cost are halved for a consumable item other than a Spell Scroll, whose crafting time and cost are given in the Player's Handbook.
Raw Materials. The cost in the table represents the raw materials needed to make a magic item. The DM determines whether appropriate raw materials are available.
If a magic item incorporates an item that has a purchase cost (such as a weapon or a suit of armor), you must also pay that entire cost or craft that item using the rules in the Player's Handbook. For example, to make +1 Armor (Plate Armor), you must pay 3,500 GP or pay 2,000 GP and craft the armor.
Guide's Discretion — 05/26/2026
Currently only magic items from Frontier Legal Books may be crafted, at Guide's Discretion.
How to Downtime in the Frontier¶
What is Downtime?¶
Downtime is that period between adventures and expeditions, the long rest(s) spent in town, the time spent recuperating after a crazy outing in the Wilds of the Frontier. Downtime allows player characters to pursue side interests between adventures and also encourages players to become more invested in the campaign world.
How to use Downtime in the Frontier?¶
All downtime activities make use of two currencies, gold pieces (gp) and days, which are acquired from playing in a session. These currencies can then be spent in the 3 Downtime Markets found in the marketplace located in the westmarches app:
- Frontier Sabbatical: downtime activities like gambling, research and training.
- Community Crafting District: crafting mundane items and equipment and brewing potions of healing.
- Premium Crafting Workshops: crafting magical items, brewing potions and scribing spell scrolls.
Most activities require a third currency in order to be spent, the Downtime Token. The downtime token (like a magic shop token) is needed for activities requiring the attention of a Guide either due to needing a skill check or due to a prolonged process.
To request a downtime token, create a thread in Crafting District and Recreations with the title being your Player Character's name. Then you may comment your request along with any future downtime activities within that thread for that character. Please make a separate Thread for each Player Character.
How to Roll?¶
We will be utilizing the Avrae bot to help us roll within discord. When prompted by a Guide, input !roll then the die being used, generally 1d20. The Avrae bot will roll for you and display it immediately. You comment your total to the Guide and viola! Downtime completed.
How to get Days?¶
Currently there are two ways to accumulate days:
- You earn 3 days at the end of every session.
- You can earn 3 days for writing an adventure journal for that session.