Downtime activities are encounters used in between the beats of other encounters and are often used to prepare for whatever the future holds, though this is entirely up to the characters and the GM. A general list of Downtime activities are provided below;
Commerce & Trade
The characters may dedicate their time to buying and selling goods, making investments, or managing a shop of their own.
Research & Investigation
The character may research a ritual/seance, item/object, creature or whatever topic they choose to subject their research to provided they have the means.
Socializing & Bonding
The characters may choose to socialize with familiar or unfamiliar NPCs or other PCs in order to bolster relationships. This could include things such as sightseeing, gambling, or attending an event.
Training & Practice
Training a skill or a tool takes time and requires many amounts of successes that can lead to an exceeding amount of failures. For skills that may be Trained in, the trainee must make 30 successes overall with a check that is being Helped with a Trained or Expert individual. For each 10 successful checks one die in your dice pool increases, (i.e after 10 successes 3d6 + Ability modifier becomes 2d6+1d8+Ability modifier and so on).
For those who would like to be an Expert in a skill, they must be successful 75 times, with each dice pool upgrade every 25th success.
Those who are not Experts may not teach others to be an Expert and those who aren’t Trained cannot teach others.
Using a Tool or Workshop
Tools and workshops are specialized downtimes depending on what the desired result of the character is trying to achieve.
Workshops may cost money or not depending on the circumstances. For example, there might be a rental fee for the space provided, or you may be a part of a guild that allows free usage and some basic supplies provided.
Perform a Ritual or Seance
Some forms of magic do not come directly from the spirit, but rather it requires a form of component in conjunction to the spirit. These types of magics can be used for things like traveling between Planes of existence (Planeshifting), communion with the dead/deities, or channeling the power of a magical force such as creating a homunculus or breaking a curse. Rituals and Seances require much preparation and care and are often prone to complications if done haphazardly.