Valinard's Tower

These actions give players a way to tease information out of the game world, uncovering answers to pressing questions and leads on new adventures or avenues of research.

Often as a player I’ve been faced with something in the game world – say, a mysterious magical barrier, or a conspiracy afoot – and just felt stumped. I’d try trial-and-error, but soon begin to feel that there was not experimental way to get through the barrier, that it was a matter of waiting for the story to spit out the specific magical amulet that would let us through. We’d find the trail of bodies left behind by the conspiracy, but instead of doing legwork to cut the killing spree short we’d just have to follow the trail to its end.

This is largely a problem of modern adventure design, but information gathering downtimes provide an alternative by giving players levers to pull and choices to make, while the DM gets a dispenser into which he can feed little pellets of information. It’s good for world building, for nudging the players in a particular direction, and for pacing the unfolding story.

Action: Research Information

This action entails poring over old tomes and archives for hidden lore. The player must specify what question they are attempting to answer, and which sources of information they are consulting.

The DM provides a clock. Each tick of the clock reveals more information about the topic, with the final tick answering the question asked if such information is available. The clock may be designed with branches, where some steps unlock further questions and new clocks to answer them, or walls, where a new source of information must be found before proceeding.

Roll modified by INT:

• Good: Seredipity: Gain one tick, and advance a second clock one tick (the PC may propose a new question if there are no other open clocks to advance.)

• Mixed: Gain one tick.

• Poor: Gain one tick, but a complication arises.

The DM will determine the nature of the complication. If the research is sensitive, enemies may learn of it. An additional tick with false information may be added to the clock. A wall may be added to the clock where current sources of information are inadequate.

Action: Gather Intelligence

Choose a place, person, organisation or community and ask around. Each tick provides a rumour or piece of news or gossip about the target.

Roll modified by CHA:

• Good: Gain 1d3+1 ticks.

• Mixed: Gain a tick.

• Poor: Complication. Roll 1d6:

1-3: “What’s it worth?” Bribes of d6xd6x10 cn are required to make progress.

4-5: Someone doesn’t like you asking. The DM prepares an encounter.

6: Sources clam up, and won’t reveal more until you find out what they’re afraid of.

Action: Spying

The DM creates several clocks: One representing each question you seek to answer about the organisation, and a six-tick clock to represent ‘heat’ – how suspicious the organisation is of you.

Relationship tiers count as walls within the information clocks – certain secrets cannot be obtained without gaining access to the inner circles of the organisation.

If the organisation expects your regular participation, each week you don’t use this action gives you -1 to the roll.

Roll modified by WIS:

• Good: Gain three points to spend on either reducing heat or advancing clocks.

• Mixed: Advance a clock and heat by one.

• Poor: Roll on the heat table.

Heat Table

Roll 1d6. If the result exceeds your current level of heat, ignore it and increase heat by 1 instead.

1. Associations: People outside the target organisation see you fraternising with it and think you’re allied. Reduce heat by 1.
2. Fancy Meeting You Here: Someone you know is involved in the organisation; or someone in the organisation is getting too friendly. Add 1 heat.
3. Suspicions Aroused: They’re unsure of your loyalty, and will try to get you to prove it, either by forcing you to make a morally dubious choice, by grilling you and listening keenly to your answers, or by demanding you make significant personal sacrifice or take on a difficult mission for the organisation. If you pass their tests, reduce heat by 2, otherwise increase it by 2.
4. Caught, Sort Of: You’ve been caught, but either by another spy observing the organisation for their own reasons, or by a less-loyal member who would rather blackmail you than rat you out. Reduce heat by 1, but the NPC can blow your cover at any time if you don’t keep them happy.
5. Ghosted: They may not know you’re a spy, but they aren’t going to risk it any more. The organisation cuts you off.
6. Caught!: The organisation confronts you and accuses you openly. How this turns out depends on the organisation; they might seek to abduct or kill you, shake you down, or simply scold you and send you on your way.