An Interlude is an extended period of downtime that takes place between Adventures. During the Interlude, characters may take Actions to expand their character’s personal stories, take part in world-building for the campaign, practice their Specializations, craft iconic gear, or otherwise perform tasks that take a lot of time and are not easily included AS part of a typical Adventure. In game terms, an Interlude is an opportunity for characters to perform one to three Actions, each of which may require weeks or months of effort.
Playing an Interlude #
An Interlude lets the players tell the story of what the characters do between Adventures and rewards the characters for their efforts. An Interlude begins after wrapping up the last Adventure but before starting the next one. Depending on the nature of your campaign, the characters might already know what the next Adventure is, which may dictate the Actions they choose during the Interlude, or they may not know what is coming next.
Some examples of Interludes are:
- The heroes decide to winter at the hunting lodge, waiting for spring before they set out on their next adventure.
- With the Dark Lord defeated, the heroes part ways, returning to their homes until the next call to adventure.
- The heroes agree to spend the next year building a permanent base of operations in the ruins of the abbey.
- Everyone agrees that after the last adventure, they deserve a few weeks of rest and relaxation in the sunny town of Good Hope.
Interlude Length #
Interludes are short, Long, or extended. A short Interlude lasts a few weeks, a Long Interlude lasts a few months, and an extended Interlude can last up to a year. The players and Adventure Guide must decide at the start of the Interlude how Long the Interlude will last. The Adventure Guide has the final say on the Interlude’s length. The length of the Interlude determines how many Actions each character can take.
Interlude Actions #
During an Interlude, each character may perform one to three narrative Actions. The maximum number of Actions the character may attempt during the Interlude depend on its length.
Short Interlude = 1 Action per character
Long Interlude = 2 Actions per character
Extended Interlude = 3 Actions per character
The Actions must be things the character could reasonably complete during the Interlude. Note that Interlude Actions are not a simulation of everything the character could possibly do during the Interlude but rather a way to give each player a chance to contribute to the story. The Actions the player describes are the character’s primary activities, but assume the character fills the remaining time dealing with personal matters, visiting friends, doing chores, and otherwise busying themselves with the business of life. Normally, the Adventure Guide should not allow a character to repeat a successful Action during an Interlude.
Select and resolve Actions using the standard rules for Action Checks found in Chapter 2: Actions and Action Checks. The player declares their character’s Action and the Adventure Guide helps determine what sort of Action Check is required, the Difficulty Score, and the outcome of the Action. AS with normal Actions, a player may use their character’s Action to help another character. Just like standard Actions, the Adventure Guide might rule that no Action Check is required to succeed.
If the Action fails, and the character has Actions remaining, they may try again. This represents a difficult task that took longer than expected. In some cases, the Adventure Guide may rule that the thing the character wants to accomplish should be broken up into multiple Actions. For instance, if the character is crafting an item using the rules found in Chapter XX: Crafting Iconic Items, the Adventure Guide may rule that finding a master craftsperson uses one Interlude Action and crafting the item requires a second Interlude Action.
The characters may act in any order the players choose, and typically only the Player Characters take Actions. If the characters get more than one Action during the Interlude, all the characters must complete their first Action before any character may perform their second Action, and all the characters must complete their second Action before any character may perform their third.
The table of Interlude Action Examples provides examples of Actions appropriate for a cut scene and possible outcomes. These are just examples. The character may perform any Action the player and Adventure Guide feel are appropriate.
Interlude Action Examples #
| Action | Outcome | Example |
| Cram | The character spends time cramming on a particular topic. During the next Adventure, the character gains a Benefit to Action Checks related to the subject area. | Ezarel knows the heroes are traveling to the Land of the Dead in the spring, so he spends time poring over books about undead to ensure he is ready for the adventure. |
| Craft Iconic Items | Use the Crafting Icon Items rules to create a specialized piece of equipment. (See Chapter: Crafting Iconic Items). | Drayac spends every waking hour working on a new bow, carved from one of the spines of the giant porcupine they defeated. |
| Gain Contact | The character seeks out a new Contact. On a success, the character gains a new Contact at score 0. | Spyder frequents a tavern where cutthroats and thieves like to hang out. While there, he befriends an elderly cutpurse who knows all the players in the city’s crime world. |
| Practice Specialization | The character spends extra time practicing one of their Specializations. On a success, during the next Adventure the character gains a Benefit to the Action Scores for any Actions where their Specialization applies. This is in addition to the standard Benefit for having the Specialization. Practice Actions do not stack. | Every day Warheart heads out the yard and practices attacking with his Longsword. He repeats the motions until they are AS natural AS breathing. |
| Spend Story Points | The character makes an Action Check to see if they achieve the desired outcome when spending Story Points. If the Action Check is successful the Story Point cost is halved. | Amicus spends her free time fighting in the arena, slowly building a positive Reputation among the people of the city. |
| Strengthen Contact | The character strengthens the bond they have with one of their Contacts. On a success, increase the Contact’s score by 1. | Warheart decides to spend time at the side of his liege lord, performing services AS needed and strengthening their bond. |
| Travel | The character travels to a distant land. Such travel is usually undertaken to facilitate another Interlude Action, such AS acquiring a rare item once they arrive. A single Action includes travel to the destination and back home again. | Bloodwind’s axe is broken and only the master smith of her village can repair it. She gathers her things and heads north to make the arduous journey to her homeland. |
| Work | The character spends time performing their profession. If you are using the Lifestyle rules found in this chapter, on a success, the character may skip 3 months of Lifestyle payments. The Adventure Guide may allow characters to perform this Action multiple times. | Laria returns to the university where she conducts classes, and teaches the students about the exotic locations she visited during her adventures. |
Interlude Action Costs #
If the character is spending Story Points to achieve the desired outcome, typically there are no additional costs associated with the Actions, but the final decision is up to the Adventure Guide. Since it normally takes no time or Action Checks to get the reward for a Story Point expenditure, if the character agrees to use an Interlude Action and make an Action Check to use their Story Points, on a success the Story Point cost is halved. On a failure, the character pays the normal amount. This rule does not apply when Crafting Iconic Items, since those rules already require the character to spend time on the task.
If the character is not spending Story Points, the character may need to pay to achieve the outcome they desire. The Interlude Action represents the work required to achieve the outcome, not the cost of the materials. The Adventure Guide determines what it costs to achieve the goal. This cost must be paid upfront. If the character fails their Interlude Action Check, typically they can try again without paying any additional costs.
Gamemaster Guidance: Interludes #
If your group really enjoys the roleplaying part of roleplaying games, Interludes are a great way to build out the stories of the characters, their world, and their place within that world. The characters only get a limited number of Actions and concrete outcomes, but there is no limit to the storytelling you can engage in during the Interlude. AS Long AS the characters aren’t making additional Action Checks, feel free to engage in AS much roleplaying during the Interlude AS the players like.
On the other hand, if you’re not a group that gets into the roleplaying, Interludes provide an excellent way for players to engage in storytelling and worldbuilding purely through game mechanics. Interludes are a great mechanical framework for adding narrative depth to a game where the Adventures are more “rollplay” than “roleplay.”
Interlude Actions represent Long periods of time filled with smaller activities that make up the whole. Try to keep these Actions to one Action Check and one outcome. If you and the players find yourselves tempted to make Action Checks for every step of an Interlude Action, especially if doing so is fun, consider playing the Interlude Action out AS a full Encounter instead. The characters can still take their allotted Interlude Actions, but drop the Encounter into the Interlude AS a sort of side quest.