How to Use Downtime In and Out of Game

No amount of careful planning or clever GMing can get around it; any longer game such as a campaign is going to have downtime. The players may be pausing between quests (or just procrastinating), or perhaps someone needs to look up some unknown rule. Not a lot is happening. So how do you make the most of your time? 

The answer depends on your group of players and your own needs as GM. But in general, certain positive activities lend themselves best to certain circumstances. This guide will walk you through what to do in each circumstance that you may have some downtime. 

Let's start with something obvious that some GMs nevertheless need to hear. At the beginning of a session, it's important to have a bit of social time in what is likely some downtime as people assemble and prepare to play. But even if you don't have incidental downtime here, it's worth creating it. I have had the great fortune as a GM to teach many people to play and a healthy number to run their own games. And one lesson that seems to have stuck with all of my acolytes is that it's healthy for players to have positive relationships outside of the game--it actually creates or heightens the trust necessary to enjoying roleplaying. So make some time and foster some relationships between your players (respectfully and at their comfort). 

But what about more ambiguous moments, like in the moments between people's turns in combat? There's often some space between players' actions that can sap energy and momentum out of a fight. I think that one solution is to keep adding description to the scene. You can describe the battlefield more closely, provide narration of enemies' body language and facial expressions, and get really involved in the details of combat narration. Details like this help to fill the downtime with potentially useful information that might inspire the player, and it also can help to keep combat focused (in my experience, combat makes for chaotic conversation). An example of this tactic in action: "The barbarian you're facing off against is standing about five feet from a boulder. He's favoring his right leg after the last strike you got on him. He's glaring at you but is grimacing with pain. You can see he has two bulging coinpurses at his side." All of these details are minor, but they might lead the player to use "Stone Shape" and fashion the boulder into stocks around the barbarian; they might focus their attacks on the barbarian's revealed weak spot; they may prioritize looting differently with the coinpurse information. All of these would affect the outcome of the scene, and all of it comes from a bit of added detail in these downtime moments. 

One of my favorite cases for downtime is when players feel like they just need a break from the stress of questing and seek out in-game fun. This circumstance is close to my heart because it's basically an opportunity to goof around with your friends. A lot of times, this situation starts with a player character deciding to go to a bar. Now, very rarely are player characters really looking for bars--they're really looking for a place where something interesting is likely to be happening. We all assume that a tavern is full of drunk folks doing wild things, and so that's the shorthand; we want craziness, so we say "bar." 

Now, there are a few ways to respond to this. You could allow the players to easily find a bar, and the important thing is that they are able to find a rowdy bar. Maybe the first tavern or two is a little lowkey, but they should find a bar with some bizarre goings-on. Remember, they're looking for something interesting, so give them something interesting. We're talking about a traveler with a talking rat interesting, minimum. 

You could also recognize the spirit of the request and give them something they'll like just as much or more. If you have players setting the bar for interesting at "maybe there'll be a fight," and you give them a wizard duel in the street or a parade of circus animals, you're going to give them a good time. So the idea here is basically to allow the player characters to look for a bar, but have them interrupted by the more interesting thing that they were really looking for. This approach uses improvisation pretty heavily, but it's definitely worth it for the reactions it gets. 

The last approach I would recommend for players needing to unwind is actually stepping back and allowing them some relatively quiet time and seeing how they react. Sometimes, especially with roleplaying-centric groups, an activity like going out to the bar is once again not really going to a bar, though it's also not exactly an invitation to adventure; it's a simulation of real-life socialization. Taverns are where people carried out social business, and roleplayers want time and space to express their characters outside of all the immediate stresses of the game's story. If you have player characters who are reflecting on their emotional experiences associated with recent events, you have absolutely found a roleplayer doing what they play for, so let them have that time when you can. 

Depending on your gaming setup, you may have to contend with bathroom breaks. To a certain extent, this should be obvious; people need to go to the bathroom, and usually find times to use the bathroom when their character is not as involved. I concede this is obvious. However, I have played in games where the forward momentum of the story carried us well past the point several of us needed bathroom breaks, but we didn't want to say anything since the GM was so into it. The fact that it's happened to me means that it's happened to others, and to those GMs, I say, "Yes, the pacing matters. So do your friends' bladders." Always choose being considerate as a GM--remember that the point is fun, and it's hard to have fun when you're not being treated considerately. 

Different GMs take different policies on side-chatting during the game. This one really is up to your discretion, but I think that it's best dictated by what type of game you're playing. If your game is more casual, I think side-talk should be not only allowed but encouraged. The point of a casual game is to have social fun, so it should include a social focus. More serious games--both roleplaying and combat--tend to need a little less side-talk. Roleplayers need immersion in the world, and hardcore combatants need to focus on the tactics and strategy. However, your tolerance for a lack of focus on your game is ultimately the most important factor, so use your best judgment and give yourself your best position to GM well. 

A conceptual note about downtime: this discussion is predicated on a division between time spent playing the game in the way all assembled parties have chosen to do so and time spent doing anything else. I hope that my explanations above help to show that this division does not have to exist. I have run a very casual hijinks campaign for about a year and a half that mostly plays to be silly and hang out. Essentially 100% of their time by the above definition is downtime. They don't do quests very efficiently, and mainly they want to entertain each other with antics. And that's totally fine! I spend a lot of my time trying to add bizarre things in their way, like they're constantly looking for a bar (but not really). And that's just life as a GM--you adapt to your players. 

So what do you do when you encounter downtime? You make it serve your game! Whether you add details to combat, wild chaos to the story, or some personal time between players, you can really benefit from treating downtime as an opportunity. So get out there, figure out what best serves you and your players, and start getting the most from every session.

That's all for now. Coming soon: common misconceptions in my homebrew world, why you don't have to recreate modern society's problems in your homebrew setting, and how to create an in-game newspaper. Until next time, happy gaming!

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Time Loop One-Shot: The Mystery of Standstill Cove

I'm fascinated by time travel--that's probably why my most complete custom tabletop game utilizes it as the main gameplay mechanic. But even short of entire game systems, I like to experiment with time travel in games, and that's why I've developed a one-shot that allows players to explore and exploit time loops to complete an adventure. 

If you're thinking of 1993 Bill Murray movie Groundhog Day, you're on the right track. The adventure below contains scripts for events occurring all over a small town so that you can present a living, breathing world for your players to interact. Then it's up to them to figure out how to stop catastrophes from occurring across town and thwart the mysterious and evil plans of their foe. Read on for the full one-shot. 

If you want to play another time loop adventure (maybe a darker one), consider playing the Hourton City Time Loop. Or perhaps a time loop focusing on environmental storytelling, like the Distant Star Space Station Time Loop.

Overview: 

There are 8 locations to visit in Standstill Cove. Each day will allow the players to visit a total of 5

locations. The players cannot split up, or they will become ghostly static creatures which the townsfolk

cannot see. The locations are: 

1. Standstill Cove City Hall

2. The Museum of Natural History

3. Standstill Cove Dockyard

4. Marshall Lighthouse

5. Standstill Municipal Bank

6. Sunrise Village Mall

7. Portia Standstill Community Theater

8. Peter Standstill High School

The adventure begins at 2pm and ends at midnight. The players are able to choose to spend two

hours at each location. Travel time is factored into time spent at a location. 

Unbeknownst to your players at the beginning of the adventure (unless you choose to tell them),

they are trying to foil the obscure and evil plans of a figure named Obedience Foster. Foster, like

them, is stuck in a time loop. They have begun to manipulate the time loop to get what they want,

and the players will need to stop Foster in order to complete the adventure. 

The gameplay will generally go as follows: For the beginning of the game, ask which location the

players want to begin with; then, describe that location and give them some narration about what’s

happening when they get there. This is where the timeline descriptions below will help you–just

describe what you read with as many extra details as you’re comfortable inventing. The players

may interact with the world and the people in it; simply do your best to offer a realistic or interesting

reaction. The players might be more inclined to either observe to learn what a location is like, or they

may interact a lot to try to shape things. Either of these approaches or anything in between should

work well enough. The focus should be on the players’ ability to explore and investigate. 

A basic map of Standstill Cove. 

Then, when the players have interacted with or observed a place, they may move to a new location

(or stay there–that’s fine too!). You may run this in whatever way you choose; you can have time

move realistically depending on what players do and charge them appropriate time given the map

below to get to the next location, or you might instead simply say that the day is broken up into 5

slots, and each slot means being at a location the whole time. I recommend the first approach, but

you can make the game more strategic by adding the second stipulation. 

When midnight arrives, a bright flash of light envelopes

everyone, and they awaken back where they were at 2pm.

Because the game is supposed to be a time loop, one necessary component is that things work the same way every time. I recommend paying very close attention your first time through a place/time so that you can remember what people do and say with good detail. To that end, I advise keeping things as simple as you can; opt for short and memorable with actions and words. It will help to make the time loop idea work at the table. 

The end goal is to figure out what’s happening and fix it. Here’s the short version: mysterious figure

Obedience Foster wants to use time loops to kill a rival, make a fortune, and skip town. To do that,

they try to forge a key to a treasure chest, divert a ship with magical treasure, and stage an accident

that will kill their rival. Please see the list below for a more complete guide to their plans. 

Beyond that, just have fun! I deliberately made this little world to be interesting and strange and an

easy host for all kinds of tabletop shenanigans. So when in doubt, go with what will entertain your

party, and don’t forget to have fun yourself. 

Obedience Foster in the Timelines

2pm - 4pm: at Sunrise Village Mall buying a blank key and precision cutter

4pm - 6pm: at The Museum of Natural History observing the locked treasure chest

6pm - 8pm: at Portia Standstill Community Theater replacing the prop sword with a real sword

8pm - 10pm: at Marshall Lighthouse turning off the light to crash the ship

10pm - 12am: at Peter Standstill High School getting directions out of town

Player Creation: 

Players must come up with a first and last name. The character is in a small coastal town in 1970s

New England. There are no powers, dice, or mechanics–only the choices the players make. The

only stipulation about characters is that they cannot have any money with them at the beginning

of the adventure. 

Location Timelines: 

Standstill Cove City Hall

• 2pm-4pm:

• At 2pm, Standstill Cove Mayor Ernest Tannenbaum holds a press conference to

• announce a new civic policy: all vehicles in town are to be serviced at a reduced

• rate for low-income, similar to food stamps. The announcement is met with polite

• applause and a smattering of dissent, particularly in the form of debate over what

• income constitutes low-income. At 2:45pm, Mayor Tannenbaum ends the press

• conference despite a large amount of unanswered questions from the public. The

• crowd largely disperses and then reforms with new members at 3:30pm in a protest

• over the new measure. The protesters are largely led by restaurant owner Tabitha

• Green, who argues that the measure unfairly punishes the middle class. 

• 4pm-6pm:

• The protest continues until 4:30pm, when Mayor Tannenbaum calls the police and

• announces to the crowd that police are on their way. Most of the crowd is gone by

• 4:45pm, and police arrive at 5pm. Police Chief Ty Hanford personally tends to the

• remaining dissenters and then meets with Mayor Tannenbaum until 5:30pm, when

• he leaves. Tannenbaum leaves work at 5:45pm and stays at home for the rest of

• the night. Civil staff work until 6pm and then close the City Hall, locking it for the

• night. 

• 6pm-8pm:

• Beginning at 6:15pm, local farmers start to set up stalls and display their various

• wares. Farmer Agnes Larson sells fresh produce–the beets are renowned throughout

• the county–rancher Bruce Sherman sells homemade jerky, and apiarist Susan Redd

• sells a range of honeys, among many others. A big hit at tonight’s market is farmer

• Whitney Vance’s massive hound Cobalt, who soaks up attention from any child who

• notices him. At 6:30pm, the farmer’s market opens, and business runs smoothly

• until 7:30pm, when the farmers begin to pack up. The City Hall square is clean and

• empty by 7:45pm. 

• 8pm-10pm:

• Under cover of darkness, Tabitha Green and 12 other protesters put on masks, and

• at 8:15pm, they arrive at City Hall and vandalize the building and the square before it.

• They paint “COMMUNIST” and “TRAITOR” in big red letters across the entrance and

• use sledgehammers to break the fountain (depicting drinking doves) in front of City

• Hall. By 8:30pm, they are done with their destruction and run off into the night. The

• scene is quiet until 9:15pm, when a passing squad car’s headlights illuminate the

• damage done; Officer Jamie Burkett investigates and radioes back to the precinct

• at 9:30pm. He watches the scene and investigates further. Backup arrives at 10pm. 

• 10pm-12am:

• At 10pm, three more officers arrive (Liza Foote, Victor Clarke, and Betty Reilly) and

• help secure the area. At 10:30pm, Mayor Tannenbaum returns to City Hall to determine

• the extent of the damage. He is shocked by the vandalism and answers questions

• from the officers until 11:15pm. He identifies Green as a probable suspect. Tannenbaum

• returns home at 11:30pm, and by 11:45pm, the police have left City Hall marked off as

• a crime scene. 

The Museum of Natural History

• 2pm-4pm:

• An exhibit on evolution features illustrations of ancient animals, their various

• descendants, and their modern day equivalents; visitors look on in wonder or disgust

• as Professor of Evolutionary History at nearby Chapel University Kurt Bismuth lectures

• on the beautiful mechanism that is natural selection. The lecture goes well until, at

• 3:30pm, logger Matt Harris interrupts and says that it violates the Bible. Bismuth tries

• to argue otherwise, but Harris winds up a few other visitors, and they leave together.

• Bismuth finishes his lecture but is frustrated and loses the attention of much of the

• audience. At 3:45pm, custodians quietly open a display of a locked treasure chest

• from the year 58. 

• 4pm-6pm:

• From 4pm to 6pm is “Kid’s Time” at the Museum of Natural History, and dozens of

• young people flood into the museum with their parents trailing behind. Museum

• employees circulate dressed as various exhibits; the T-Rex costumed-employee is

• beset with children of all ages pulling at him. Starting at 4:30pm, one branch of the

• museum projects the movie Charlotte’s Web on a wall, and children and their families

• watch sprawled out on blankets. At 5pm, a cloaked figure (Obedience Foster)

• investigates the locked treasure chest until 5:30pm. 

• 6pm-8pm:

• The Museum performs its final duties (a small reptile petting zoo, decorating fake

• fossils, and a puppet show involving animals from nearly every time period), and

• begins closing duties around 7:30pm. By 8pm, everyone has been ushered out,

• including a few vandals who removed part of the label on the Titmouse display.

• Museum Curator Nora McLaren locks the doors with herself and the museum guard

• (Bernie Hanford) inside and retires to her office to do some last work for the day. 

• 8pm-10pm:

• McLaren works in her office, heading to the kitchenette at 9:15pm to make a cup of

• tea and returning to her office at 9:30pm. Hanford patrols the museum slowly and

• deliberately; it takes him 15 minutes to perform a full lap of the museum. At 9:30pm,

• Hanford takes a break and eats a donut with coffee in the kitchenette while reading

• the newspaper. As he and McLaren encounter each other there, the ground shakes. 

• 10pm-12am:

• McLaren works on various financial information and a potential acquisition (an example

• of early tools from Mesopotamia) in her office until 10:30pm, then says good night to

• Hanford and leaves. Hanford continues to patrol until after 12am, but takes another

• break at 11:30pm to eat another donut with coffee and read more of the newspaper. 

Standstill Cove Dockyard

• 2pm-4pm: 

• Company Safety Training (employee Greg Haskell recently lost a finger in an

• accident). Safety Supervisor Rhett Engleson is exasperatedly leading a company-

• wide training full of reminders that they should have learned this stuff already. After

• an hour-long lecture, “safety games” are played in which employees are quizzed on

• safety procedures. 

• 4pm-6pm: 

• A ship (the Hughes Shipping vessel S1182765) has arrived, and the docks are in a

• rush to unload it and reload it. Using forklifts and a crane, it takes the dockworkers

• two hours to unload the ship. The unloaded containers are filled with consumer goods

• and are marked en route to Sunrise Village Mall. 

• 6pm-8pm: 

• The ship unloaded, the dockworkers begin to reload it with its new cargo. The new

• cargo is containers filled with raw materials gathered in the surrounding area–lumber,

• mined stone, and refined fuels. The dockworkers are especially careful with the loading

• process due to the dangerous materials, but manage to load the ship within two hours. 

• 8pm-10pm: 

• At 8:15pm, the dockworkers kick off a party with barbeque and beers. Dockyard

• Manager Mark Vannard makes a short speech praising their work and promising

• good holiday bonuses this year, which gets applause and hollering. The dockworkers

• joke and play games like cornhole and horseshoes. [Note: If the ship has been

• rerouted: Everyone is taken by surprise at 9:30pm, when the ship docks quietly.

• When investigated, no one is on the ship. Vannard immediately calls the police. If

• the ship crashes into the promontory, the dockyard shakes at 9:30pm, but no one

• is able to figure out what happened.]

• 10pm-12am: 

• At 10pm, the police arrive and search the ship. After a thorough search (10:45pm),

• the police announce that no one is anywhere on the ship. They order the dockyard

• closed until further investigation can be performed. This causes an outcry from

• Vannard, who demands to be able to work. The police, led by Deputy Chief Tricia

• Wellington, refuse, closing the dockyard for the duration of the day. 

• [Note: If the players steal onto the ship, they find it totally empty except for hundreds of

• keys scattered on the floor. An ominous creaking sound is apparent everywhere on the

• ship. In the hold is a collection of stuffed animals in a cell, all arranged carefully to be staring

• at whoever is outside the cell. In the middle of the stuffed animals is a large brass key. The

• key glows, and it creates a phantom version of itself which sticks with you through days. The

• key opens the chest in the Museum of Natural History. Inside is just sand, but opening the

• chest breaks the cycle.]

Marshall Lighthouse

• 2pm-4pm: 

• Public Tour: The steward of Marshall Lighthouse, Rhea Barnes, conducts a tour of

• the Lighthouse and its grounds at 2pm and again at 3pm. The tour lasts nearly an

• hour and involves seeing the promontory on which the lighthouse sits, hiking around

• the area to see the lighthouse from different angles, and finally climbing to the top

• and seeing the sea and the light itself. Barnes watches carefully to make sure that

• no one tampers with the light. If it has been turned off between tours, she resets it. 

• 4pm-6pm: 

• After the tours, Barnes sets to cleaning and maintaining the lighthouse. During

• today’s duties, she scrubs the lighthouse glass, sweeps and mops the floors and

• entryway, and performs the accounting duties involved with the tours. Around 5:45pm,

• Barnes locks the lighthouse to the public. 

• 6pm-8pm: 

• As the sun sets, Barnes ensures that the light is on and rotating properly. She returns

• to check the light every two hours (so again at 8pm, 10pm, and 12am). When she is

• not checking the light, she is either reading (Raise High the Roofbeam, Carpenters

• by J.D. Salinger) or writing her own novel (The Stars Below). [Note: Barnes keeps

• an unloaded shotgun by the door to scare trespassers.]

• 8pm-10pm: 

• Barnes continues to read and nods off at 8:15pm and doesn’t wake up until a distant

• train whistle rouses her at 9:45pm (or the ship crashes at 9:30pm, whichever comes first).

• When she wakes up, she checks the visitor center and then returns to her private

• quarters. At 8:45pm, Obedience Foster climbs the lighthouse and turns off the light.

• If the players don’t stop him, the ship crashes at 9:30pm. If they reset the light, the

• ship docks at the docks at 9:30pm. [Note: If the ship crashes, Obedience tries to

• board the ship and search it.]

• 10pm-12am: 

• If the ship has not crashed: Barnes checks the light at 10pm, returns to her

• quarters, makes toast and tea, and sits reading in the kitchen until 11:45pm,

• when she cleans up and makes a final round of the property before checking the

• light again at 12am. If the ship has crashed: Barnes runs to the exterior of the

• lighthouse and surveys the damage. She notices the light out and races to the

• top to relight it. After setting things as right as possible, Barnes calls the police,

• who arrive by 11pm and close the lighthouse but allow Barnes to continue operating it. 

Standstill Municipal Bank

• 2pm-4pm: 

• Bank Guard Wallace Norman begins his shift at the bank at 2pm promptly by

• taking a seat behind the desk and starting a crossword puzzle. He takes a long

• sip of coffee and says to a nearby teller, “This stuff goes through me like crazy–

• wish I didn’t need it to stay up!” He cackles to himself and returns to his crossword

• puzzle. Head Teller Debra Fields monitors the bank and occasionally takes

• customers when it gets busy. Norman finishes his coffee at 3pm but doesn’t

• get up to get more. 

• 4pm-6pm: 

• Business is relatively slow from 4pm to 5pm; a couple takes out a home loan, a

• young man asks the finer points of financing a new business, and a young woman

• makes several large deposits from local businesses–the tellers seem to recognize her

• right away. At 5pm, a flood of customers getting off work comes flooding in. Norman

• has to escort an unruly customer to the door at 5:15pm, and the bank closes without

• further event at 6pm. 

• 6pm-8pm: 

• The bank closes at 6pm, and bank employees immediately begin to transform the

• lobby into a decorated public space for an art show. False walls are erected to

• create more space for display, and around 7:30pm, the space is set, and the paintings

• and sculptures are placed. Security is loose in this phase, and the back door is

• unlocked from 6:30pm to 7:15pm.

• 8pm-10pm: 

• The art show begins. Patrons in expensive formalwear stream in and take martinis.

• The Bank Manager (Robin Flanders) and the Art Curator (Mindy Bishop) greet guests

• and introduce artists to the flock of viewers. The backstage area is heavily monitored

• throughout the art show. Towards the end of the party (9:30pm), drunken patron Grant

• Redmond spills his drink on an oil painting when the ground shakes, damaging it, and

• the artist is furious; the party is unceremoniously shut down early at 9:50pm. 

• 10pm-12am:

• The bank employees and cleaners set to returning the bank to its former state,

• collapsing false walls and repacking art. Flanders and Bishop try to console the

• artist (Edwin Packard), but he insists that the damage cannot be remedied; Flanders

• offers to buy the painting for the bank as-is, and Packard eventually agrees to a

• negotiated sum of $500. The bank is cleaned and ready for another day of business

• by 11:45pm and locked for the night. 

Sunrise Village Mall

• 2pm-4pm: 

• The mall is abuzz but mostly quiet until a shopper, Alan Gordon, tries to report a family

• of Asian tourists for disturbing the peace. Mall security guard Jenny Nguyen-Smith

• finds his report upsetting and argues with the man; when Head Security Officer Kevin

• Harlow intervenes and sides with Gordon, Nguyen-Smith quits in disgust and storms

• out of the mall. For the rest of the day, Harlow intermittently patrols Nguyen-Smith’s

• beat and watches at the security center. For even hours, Harlow is patrolling, and for

• odd hours, he is at the security center. A cloaked figure (Obedience Foster) enters

• Grossman Hardware and purchases a blank key and a handheld precision cutter. 

• 4pm-6pm: 

• Grossman Hardware is having a grand reopening after being partially damaged by a

• storm. Store manager Tim Grossman is personally overseeing a celebration with local

• food, giveaways, and the unveiling of a new product. From 5pm to 6pm, Grossman

• gives away a pair of electric hedge trimmers, a butane torch, a steel-frame 12 ft

• ladder, a sledgehammer, a nailgun, and a high-beam flashlight (one giveaway every

• 10 minutes). This culminates in the reveal that Grossman Hardware now carries

• all-terrain vehicles, which is announced as two helmeted riders speed through the

• store on ATVs. 

• 6pm-8pm: 

• The food court grows busy during the period, and a fistfight between two shoppers

• breaks out over who was first in line at the Sbarro. Retiree Kimmy Rutledge and life

• coach Heather Phillips take a few swings at each other before being broken up by

• bystanders, chiefly high school student Pam Weller. Both Rutledge and Phillips

• apologize after calming down; Rutledge claims low blood sugar, and Phillips claims

• lack of sleep. During the distraction, a group of denim-clad teenagers led by Dylan

• Jefferson steal their fill of ready-made meals from the Boston Market. [Note: Jefferson

• and his group are able to be blackmailed about their theft–they are on their final

• warning.]

• 8pm-10pm: 

• The mall’s movie theater opens with showings of the newest films on its three screens:

• Serpico, Soylent Green, and Goncharov. Each begins a showing at 8pm; Serpico and

• Soylent Green have another screening–Serpico at 10:30pm, Soylent Green at 10pm–

• and Goncharov ends just after 11pm without a second screening. During the movies,

• a good deal of the mall’s visitors crowd into the theater, leaving the mall much more

• deserted. At 9:30pm, the ground shakes, and the mall loses electrical power for a few

• seconds; the films take a few minutes to reset and match up audio and visual. Fewer

• people attend the second screenings, so the mall is progressively more populated

• again after 10pm. 

• 10pm-12am: 

• A public concert is being held in the center of the mall; local band Helium Soul plays

• upbeat soft rock to the crowd from 10:15pm to nearly 11:30pm. Shoppers gather

• around the performers and are entranced. [Note: players can more easily achieve

• stealth goals in this circumstance.] At 10:45pm, there is an electric short that causes

• a 5-minute delay in the show during which the mall is completely dark. [Note: If the

• players didn’t reset the light, and the boat crashes, the mall loses all of its power for

• the rest of the night; it’s evacuated, but if the players can remain in the mall, they can

• explore it unimpeded.]

Portia Standstill Community Theater

• 2pm-4pm:

• Acting teacher Roxy Anderson is leading Beginning Drama for a class of mostly

• young adults who are paying fairly close attention. Anderson discusses various

• acting methods, being careful to describe both the advantages and disadvantages

• of each one. A student in a hoodie asks about method acting, and Anderson says

• it’s not always a safe approach, instead suggesting a few of the more radical

• approaches to acting. The students file out at the end of class (just before 4pm),

• and Anderson leaves for a bathroom break before her next class. 

• 4pm-6pm:

• Anderson holds an Advanced Acting class that begins just after she returns at 4pm.

• She has the students do acting exercises such as mirroring one another and vocal

• warm-ups, then transitions into rehearsing scenes that the students have been

• working on. Partners perform scenes from movies and occasionally from plays; the

• highlights are a young girl performing a monologue she had written and a pair of

• adolescent boys performing Hamlet’s clown gravediggers scene with extreme

• deliberate overacting. 

• 6pm-8pm:

• After class, Anderson tidies the theater along with a group of actors, and by 6:30pm,

• the theater is nearly ready for the public. From there, the actors begin decorating the

• set and applying the more cumbersome wardrobes and makeup. Rehearsals continue

• on and off, and by 8pm, the stage is literally set for the play: Absurd Person Singular

• by Alan Ayckbourn. Finally, a lit marquee is placed outside and the doors are opened

• at 8pm sharp. At 7:45pm, as the actors are most distracted, a cloaked figure (Obedience

• Foster) sneaks backstage and replaces the fake sword with a real sword. 

• 8pm-10pm:

• People stream into the theater and stand talking in the entryway as tickets are

• purchased and popcorn is popped. The actors are backstage with Anderson, who

• tries to keep actors from losing their nerve. Around 8:30pm, the people have taken

• their seats, and the show begins. It follows three couples, and during the second

• couple’s section, the female lead holds up an old sword to inspect it. At 9:30pm, as

• the sword is handled, the earth shakes, the actress (Nicole Peyton) accidentally

• thrusts the sword into her co-star (Brad Geiger). If medical attention is not gotten for

• Geiger (and the ambulance will show up too late), he will bleed to death by 9:40pm.

• [Note: If the ship is diverted, Geiger remains safe.] The performance is cancelled, and

• the audience evacuated by 10pm.

• 10pm-12am:

• Police officers arrive not long after the ambulance, at 10pm. They interrogate both

• Peyton and Anderson to determine if charges need to be pressed; they initially decide

• to allow Peyton to go free until more evidence is gathered, but Anderson is cuffed, and

• accusations of manslaughter are mentioned. Anderson is driven away in police custody

• at 11pm. The theater is covered in police caution tape but remains unguarded, and the

• bloodied sword is still inside. 

Peter Standstill High School

• 2pm-4pm:

• Classes are in session until 3pm; until then, about two hundred students sit in classes

• with teachers like Jim Rutledge from Biology and Kerry Quinn from History. At 2:45pm,

• student Billy Anchorage leaves class “for the bathroom” and vandalizes the boys’

• bathroom with red paint and animal excrement. He is caught at 2:55pm by school

• counselor Cal Donahue and sent to detention. At 3pm, detention begins, with junior

• Anchorage, sophomore Julie French, and freshmen Ryder Winters and Trent Bateman.

• Aside from grumbling, the students generally behave for English teacher Florence

• Tuthill. 

• 4pm-6pm:

• At 4pm, drills begin for the boys’ football and girls’ soccer teams. The boys take the

• football field and warm up with stretching and running, then scrimmage with light

• contact to avoid injuries before the game tonight. The girls take the area between

• the track and practice passing and run laps. At 5pm, a group of students is caught

• smoking weed and cigarettes under the bleachers by football coach Don Waverly

• and taken to the principal’s office. These students (Rita Gillespie, Vinny Worthington,

• Nancy Zinn, and leader Ollie Morris [female]) meet with Principal Tina Hoffman at

• 5:15pm and are held until the police arrive at 5:30pm to lecture and give a warning

• to the students. 

• 6pm-8pm:

• From 6pm to 7pm, Principal Hoffman and several members of staff work quietly, then

• head to the field. At 6:45pm, student volunteers set up at the entrance to the field and

• begin selling tickets to the arriving families. At 7pm, student Alyssa Whitford sings the

• national anthem, and the game between the Standstill High Blue Waves and the

• Lowland Glen Cougars begins. The Blue Waves finish the first half ahead 17-7 (their

• two passing touchdowns and a field goal giving them the advantage). The crowds are

• full of spectators, mostly clad in blue. 

• 8pm-10pm:

• At 8pm, the halftime show starts–the school band performs a complicated routine

• inspired by the animated movie Robin Hood, complete with anthropomorphized animal

• costumes and a medieval-flavored horn section. They finish their piece to great

• applause and a standing ovation with their arrangement for “Whistle Stop,” the opening

• song in the film. At 8:15pm, the game resumes. At 9:15pm, the game ends with a final

• score of 30-13 (Standstill High’s rushing touchdown and two field goals besting Lowland

• Glen’s two touchdowns). By 9:45pm, the stands are mostly empty, and the scoreboard

• still displays the final score proudly. Some families linger in the parking lot, but even it

• is empty by 10pm. 

• 10pm-12am:

• The school is deserted until 10:15pm, when Ollie Morris and her crew return to the

• space under the bleachers. They smoke weed and cigarettes and play a long game

• of truth or dare. The game ends at 11pm, when Nancy Zinn refuses to streak for a lap

• around the track despite Rita’s daring her to do so. They prepare to go but are a

• pproached by a figure in a long cloak (Obedience Foster), who asks them directions

• to Chicago. Vinny recommends getting on the interstate west, and the figure begins

• to walk west. The group grows quiet and awkward and splits up; by 11:15pm, the

• school is silent and empty. 

That's all for now. Coming soon: how to use downtime in and out of game, common misconceptions in my homebrew world, and why you don't need to recreate the real world's problems in your gameworld. Until next time, happy gaming!

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