Hey there! Hope this post finds everyone safe and well.

I recently released a DM’s Guild product of my own called Downtime Scenes, so I’m going to talk about how you can use this in your game!

So, Downtime Scenes help you run those day-to-day moments in your game that happen between adventures. For example, let’s say your adventurers have just completed an adventure and are waiting a few days in town. This isn’t long enough for you to take advantage of the official downtime rules because those operate on weeks at a time.

But, your PCs might want to engage in some sort of activity in between adventures. Maybe they want to catch up with an NPC they haven’t gotten to talk to in a while. Maybe they want to see what the townspeople know about something they discovered. Maybe they want to come up with a battle strategy, or spend time communing with their deity.

(Or maybe they don’t, because they didn’t know those options were available to them!)

Downtime Scenes has a handful of Player Scene options that give players the opportunity to get a mechanical benefit from roleplaying in a Scene. This benefit could be something like getting advantage on a roll in a certain situation. You can also make use of DM Scenes that have similar effects but are initiated by you, the DM, instead of your players.

For example, your party is spending a few days in town, so you (the DM) decide that everyone can have a round of Scenes. This gives each player the opportunity to initiate a Scene using the Player Scene options.

So, if you have three players in your group, that means each player can initiate a Scene for a total of three Scenes for this round. You could also insert a DM Scene into the round. Scenes aren’t mandatory, but they’re a great way to encourage more roleplay from your group.

For this example, let’s say one of your players wants to commune with their deity for their Scene. They don’t want to use the tables to determine the location of the Scene, because they already have an image in their head for where they want this to happen (at the quiet local shrine, perhaps). Then, they roleplay out the Scene however they wish, describing how their character reaches out for their deity’s presence, what words they say or actions they take. You might roleplay how the deity responds (if there is a response) as well.

After the Scene has finished, it’s time for the Scene check, which uses the character’s proficiency bonus and has a set DC determined by the Scene option. If the check succeeds, the character receives the mechanical benefit. For the “Commune with Your Deity” option, this means that the character will receive advantage on the next skill check they make to further their deity’s ideals/goals.

The next player might choose to catch up with an NPC in town. They’d use the “Form or Strengthen a Bond” Scene option and pick the NPC they want to involve in the Scene. It’s up to your discretion whether that NPC is available or a valid participant in the Scene. Assuming they are, the player can then use the Scene Tables to generate a setting to use. You can roll on both the Scene Locations and the corresponding table. Or, if you already have a general setting in mind, you can skip generating a location and just roll on the Town Square Scenes table, for example.

The Scene Tables are meant to give players some inspiration for where they set their Scenes. Some players may always use them, while others may only use them occasionally (or not at all).

After roleplaying out the scene between the player character and the NPC, it’s time to make the Scene check. If the check succeeds, the PC has advantage on their next skill check they make to interact socially with the NPC.

Additionally, none of this needs to happen at the table. These Scenes are meant to be short roleplaying moments that can take place over text, Discord chat, email, and so on if you don’t want them taking up time during the session.

And you can make your own Scene options to suit your campaign! Downtime Scenes has some tips for making custom Scenes that fit in with the other Scene options.

You can find Downtime Scenes on the DM’s Guild, along with my other DM’s Guild supplements—Additional Aasimar Subraces, Secrets of Rune Magic, and Additional Master Runes! Check ‘em out and let me know what you think!

Thanks for reading! Drop a comment below if you have any questions about Downtime Scenes or any other thoughts!