Downtime

Here it is, that dreaded mechanic. The monolithic word that all STs, players, and dice bots both hate and love. Our downtime system is patterned after that from the Philadelphia by Night server. Through our love for their system, we've sought to improve and streamline it for SF by night. Because we love you, and remember what it was like to be a terrified young player with no clue how to do downtime, we've made a specific article just to explain downtime. Read this article first. If you are still confused, only then should you contact the STs. Otherwise, don't be shocked if we're irritated with you for bugging us and you haven't even read this gorgeous wiki article we put together.

=The Basics (Start Here)=

Downtime Hours
Downtime hours may be spent to do a variety of things often using a variety of backgrounds. Downtime can also be used to grow/acquire a good number of backgrounds. Exactly what you can do with downtime is described in greater detail later on.

What you need to know about downtime hours:


 * Every IC month (one ooc Cycle) you re-set to 160 spendable Downtime hours.
 * 1 Downtime roll represents 10 hours of Downtime e.g. 1 roll = 10 hours  That's about 16 rolls per month (cycle).
 * Botching a Downtime roll will cause you to spend 20 hours (e.g. you waste 2 of those 16 monthly rolls, instead of 1)
 * Failing a downtime roll means you simply waste those 10 hours (one roll) with no gains.

What the heck is a downtime roll?
A downtime roll is literally any time you roll for a downtime thing. It could be anything from growing influence, to rolling to see if you pick up juicy rumors about an NPC.

The Sheet
When you created your character folder (see Character Creation (San Francisco)) you should've made a copy of a downtime log! This is where you'll track all your downtime actions, rolls, progress in background/influence growth, etc. If you're using downtime, this is your holy bible- er, spread sheet. On your downtime sheet, you'll first notice a number of tabs on the bottom. The sheet has been broken down into different sub-sheets to make our lives easier!

Tracking by Area
Certain influences and backgrounds have to be tracked by area (e.g. you have to build influence separately for Berkeley, SF, and Oakland). On these tabs, you'll track how close you are to your next downtime level, your dice pool for the downtime, and other important details. The following tabs contain tracking tables for backgrounds tracked by area:


 * San Francisco Influence Summary
 * Oakland Influence Summary
 * Berkeley Influence Summary

The "Influence Summary Master Copy" tab can be copied in the event that you accidentally mess up and or a new area is opened up for influence.

Other Summary
This tab tracks downtimes/backgrounds that you can build/grow in game which are NOT dependent on area. E.g. if you have fame 2, that fame applies to all surrounding areas and doesn't have to be built up per area.

Crafting Summary
Yep! It's exactly what it sounds like. This is where you track the progress of items you've crafted, as well as the progress you have towards new crafting levels.

IC Cycle Log
This is where it gets a bit tricky. At creation, you'll notice a tab labeled "Cycle Log Master Copy". DO NOT edit the master copy. Instead, you're going to right click on the tab > duplicate > right click on the "Cycle Log Master Copy Copy" > rename "IC Month, IC Year" You'll copy the master log and rename it for each month in game that you have downtime rolls to track. Make sure to label each tab with both the IC month name and the IC year, so you don't have 5 January tabs floating around.

Record-Keeping and Consequences
As you probably guessed, it is your responsibility to track and record your downtime. Every cycle, you are required to update your influence trackers, your background growth trackers, the status of anything you're growing. You are also required to record all downtime rolls for the month in the appropriate log. Lastly, you are expected to keep your log neat, organized, and filled in correctly.

I love y'all to death, but I'm going to get pretty pissy if I start seeing horribly organized downtime sheets. If you're not properly tracking things or filling things in just "because it's common sense to figure out this column", I will bap you. Fill everything required in. It's there for a reason.

I know mistakes will happen, especially for you noobs, that's chill. But if stuff becomes a regular occurrence or, heaven forbid, we start seeing signs of cheating? We're going to crack down on oversight for downtime and you could be facing getting your downtime privileges revoked. Downtime is a privilege, not a right. If you start abusing our influence system (the one which is honestly the most likely to be taken advantage of) we will take away your influence rights. Whether for a soft cycle long ban, or permanently.

= Downtime Actions by Background = Many backgrounds have corresponding downtime functions/uses or ways to grow and acquire them via downtime! Those backgrounds and what you can do with them are listed below.

Alternate Identity
Downtime can be used to acquire/gain levels in this background.

To grow alternate identity, the typical pool is: Manipulation/Charisma + Subterfuge/performance + Merit (if applicable) + current dot level (For the identity you're growing. Having dots in another identity does NOT get added to the pool to grow another identity)

Each dot of this background requires a set number of successes to acquire (note: as with pretty much all downtime, these successes are not cumulative. The successes are “spent” when you reach each level, resetting you back to 0 successes).

Suxx Requirement per Dot:


 * ● 10 suxx
 * ●● 20 suxx
 * ●●● 40 suxx
 * ●●●● 80 suxx
 * ●●●●● 160 suxx

Animal Connections
Downtime can be used to acquire/gain levels in this background.

To gain/grow your Animal Connections background, the pool is: Charisma/manipulation + Merits (if applicable) + Animal Ken + current dot level at difficulty 6 (lowered by any dots you have in the Animal Retainer Background)

Each dot of this background requires a set number of successes to acquire (note: as with pretty much all downtime, these successes are not cumulative. The successes are “spent” when you reach each level, resetting you back to 0 successes).

Suxx Requirement per Dot:


 * ● 10 suxx
 * ●● 20 suxx
 * ●●● 40 suxx
 * ●●●● 80 suxx
 * ●●●●● 160 suxx

Certification
Downtime can be used to acquire different doccuments/licenses after character creation.

The number of successes required to gain the documents you seek is determined by the dot level of the document. In order to gain a high level document, however, you will be required to "roll your way up" to the dot level. E.g. if you wish to obtain a dot 3 certificate/license, you must roll the required suxx for dot 1 (10 suxx), dot 2 (20 suxx) and then dot 3 (40 suxx) in order to obtain the document. You cannot simply skip and roll the 40 suxx. You have to work your way up the lower levels.

To obtain a certificate/license, you roll your bureaucracy (or other appropriate influence) pool.

If you don't have those influences, then fear not my friend! You can actually ask other characters to use their downtime to get the desired certification for you! Some may do it in exchange for favors, money, blood, etc. Or simply do it out of the kindness of their cold, dead hearts. Some NPCs are also able to get certificates/licenses for you... for a price. In either case, Just make sure to work out the details IC.

Each dot of this background requires a set number of successes to acquire (note: as with pretty much all downtime, these successes are not cumulative. The successes are “spent” when you reach each level, resetting you back to 0 successes).

Suxx Requirement per Dot:


 * ● 10 suxx
 * ●● 20 suxx
 * ●●● 40 suxx
 * ●●●● 80 suxx
 * ●●●●● 160 suxx

Domain
Downtime can be used to acquire/gain levels in this background.

To establish/expand a domain, the attributes, abilities, and merits used are determined by the ST (Depending on the method you use to establish/expand the domain.) You are allowed to have multiple domains, but you must grow and track them separately. The example pool for establishing/building a domain is: Attribute + Ability + Merit (if applicable) + current dot level

Each dot of this background requires a set number of successes (note: these successes are not cumulative. The successes are “spent” when you reach each level, resetting you back to 0 successes).


 * ● 10 suxx
 * ●● 20 suxx
 * ●●● 40 suxx
 * ●●●● 80 suxx
 * ●●●●● 160 suxx

Fame
Fame is most often garnered/grown via RP because it is such a cool/intrinsic background to a character. However, in some cases, it can be grown via downtime rolls at ST discretion.

Currently, the only system we have (and really the only one we've had need of) for gaining fame is designed for musicians/bands. However, the system can be tweaked for solo artists, comedians, actors, radio hosts, etc. Just contact the ST and we'll figure it out.

Because I'm lazy, I've just put a link to the fame rules google doc, which you can find here.

Herd
Downtime can be used to acquire/gain levels in this background.

To create/build a herd, the attributes, abilities, and merits used are determined by the ST (Depending on the method you use to create/build the herd.) You are allowed to have multiple herds, but you must grow and track them separately. Both types of herd background (Hunting and Harvesting) are built/created with the same base mechanics. The example pool for creating/building a herd is: Attribute + Ability + Merit (if applicable) + current dot level.

Each dot of this background requires a set number of successes (note: these successes are not cumulative. The successes are “spent” when you reach each level, resetting you back to 0 successes).


 * ● 10 suxx
 * ●● 20 suxx
 * ●●● 40 suxx
 * ●●●● 80 suxx
 * ●●●●● 160 suxx

Influence
Influence is the heart and soul of downtime, and honestly the whole reason the system exists. Once you know how to use influence, you will know the basics of using pretty much every other downtime-linked background. But enough flavor text that you probably aren't reading. Let's dive in.

There are a number of ways you can use influence, since it is such a versatile background. To reflect this, we have created a number of downtime actions (ways you can use your downtime via rolling dice to get things) for the influence background.

As with every downtime action and background, any usage requires justification. If you're just growing transportation influence to 8 just because you can? You'll probably be stopped by an ST who will ask why your character is doing this. Remember, these aren't just mechanics floating off on a wiki, divorced from the game world. These mechanics reflect in game actions and reasoning. We could force y'all to play out every influence growth, every action, and every situation with zero mechanics. But then, your entire time on the server would be eaten up by an all consuming minigame.

Influence Pool
When first buying influence at character creation, or gaining a new influence through downtime IC, you and the ST will work to set a dice pool. This dice pool will be used for almost all downtime actions you perform using that particular influence (hence why this gets its own tutorial section! It's really important). This is a pool of:


 * attribute + ability + merit (if applicable) + influence dot level*

*the number of dots you have in the influence in a particular city.

The attribute and ability you and the ST set for your influence are used to signify how exactly your character goes about gaining influence. The Influence Background page has example pools listed, though these aren't necessarily the end all be all of influence pools.

For example, Bob the Brujah may roll manipulation + intimidation for his street influence, because his street influence is gained through a ruthless gang he controlls with an iron fist. In contrast, Glob the Gangrel rolls charisma + streetwise, because he gains his street influence through befriending the local hobo population.

There is a separate influence pool for each influence sphere in each city! E.g. you may not use the 4 dots of health influence in Oakland for your pool in San Francisco. You MUST build them separately!

For rules on what specialties you can use with the influence pool and how they apply, please see here

Influence Growth
Influence growth is where you supply/do something to gain an influence and or help said influence expand. Mechanically, this is down by a series of downtime rolls which reflects what your character is doing behind the scenes to grow their small influence empire. The influence growth downtime action has two uses:


 * Used to obtain a particular influence after launch that you didn't start with.
 * Used to grow a particular influence into higher dot levels

Influence growth is the most commonly used downtime action, and the one most easily abused. Many people forget that influence growth is a means to an end. You grow your influence to a point where you can then perform other downtime actions and gain things using said influence. You're not just growing it for the sake of growing it.

As with all influence and downtime actions, if you cannot justify your growth of influence to the STs satisfaction, the STs will cut you off and say "nah fam". Remember, your growth has to make sense. It's ok if you don't spend every cycle power leveling that transportation influence!

We want to encourage players to use downtime actions more as a way to get things in game, investigate, and weaponize against enemies. Not as purely a minigame which is only done as an after thought on Sunday nights before a cycle change.

Mechanics
Typically, you are allowed to buy up to 3 dots of an influence at character creation (at ST discretion with justification) using the base background dots or freebie points. After launch, however, you may build or obtain influence via the influence growth mechanic.

This downtime action will use the Influence Pool for the Influence you are trying to grow.

Each dot of this background requires a set number of successes (note: these successes are not cumulative. The successes are “spent” when you reach each level, resetting you back to 0 successes). You must grow each influence sphere separately and influence in each city is also grown separately. E.g. Bob the Brujah might have transportation influence 4 in Oakland, but only transportation influence 2 in San Francisco. To grow these influences, he has to track and roll for them separately.

Suxx Requirement per Dot:


 * ● 10 suxx
 * ●● 20 suxx
 * ●●● 40 suxx
 * ●●●● 80 suxx
 * ●●●●● 160 suxx

Acquisitions (Acquire Action)
This action will get you physical items. What items you get depend on the levels of influence used. Examples of what you can get are located further down. You will roll your Attribute + Ability + Influence against a difficulty dependent upon the level of the Acquire action. A number of successes equal to 5 x the level of the Acquire action will be required to obtain the item in question.

Acquisitions, aka "the acquire action", is a downtime action where you use your influence to get things. Whether it's skimming funds from churches under your church influence, or getting illegal firearms via underworld influence, the acquire action is used to get those things.

This is one of those downtime actions that everyone forgets about, but is SUPER useful. This is an action everyone should be spamming. Take advantage of your influence and collect all the shiny clink clanks and free mugs!

Mechanics
A lot of people shy away from acquisitions because it's not as hard-and-fast with the mechanics. Basically, you and an ST will get in contact, and you will tell them what you're trying to get using your influence. They will then look things over and determine what dice pool and diff it will be to acquire things.

As for exactly what you can get, there is a general list of example acquisitions found here

This is in no way a definitive list, but it's a great starting guideline to vaguely show you what levels of influence and what types of influence you'll need to get certain items using the beautiful power of nepotism and bribery that is influence!

To acquire a certain thing using influence, you will generally use your Influence Pool for said influence. Though, the pool will sometimes vary if the circumstance is unusual. The difficulty will be set by the ST depending on what you are getting and how difficult it may be to get.

The number of suxx required are also determined by the ST which is set according to the situation, item, difficulty of getting said item, etc.

Attack/Propaganda
With this action one uses influence to hamper another influence in some way. This doesn't have to be physical violence, but something that would damage another person’s sway within the influence.

Mechanics
To use the Attack action, you first must identify your target (you need to know IC via RP or downtime that they have influence in the area you are attacking), then you and the ST will determine your pool and roll!

Note: It should go without saying, but to attack someones influence, you need be able to logically do so. E.g. Bob the Brujah wouldn't be allowed to use his dot 1 transportation influence in berkeley to attack Glerb the Gangrel's dot 5 occult influence in San Francisco. However, he would be able to use his dot 5 occult influence in san francisco to attack glerb's.

With this action, the Attacker rolls their Influence Pool vs target's Influence Pool. If the Attacker scores more successes than the Defender, any net successes take away from the Defender’s pool of successes.

Eg: Bob the Brujah has a vendetta against Glerb the Gangrel and wants to use his transportation influence in to attack Vinny’s Underworld influence. Tommy rolls his Charisma + Leadership + Street influence to convince a gang to go and vandalize Vinny’s meth lab. Vinny rolls his Charisma + Leadership + Underworld influence in defense. Tommy scores 6 successes while Vinny only manages 4 successes. Vinny’s pool of successes towards the next level of Underworld influence is consequently reduced by 2.

Embargo
Embargo works similarly to Attack/Propaganda except that the person being attacked does not get a defense roll.

Mechanics

With this action, the Attacker rolls their Influence Pool at diff 6. The number of successes scored on this roll determines the number of successes the defending player needs to beat to be able to progress their influence until the Embargo is removed.

E.g. Vinny Ventrue wants revenge on Tommy Tremere for attacking his influence, so Vinny uses his Bureaucracy influence to put an Embargo on Tommy’s Industry influence. Vinny rolls his Charisma + Intimidation + Bureaucracy and gets 4 successes. Until Tommy does something to remove the embargo, he needs to roll 5 or more successes to be able to use his Industry influence, only garnering the net successes (1 if he rolls 5, 2 if he rolls 6, etc.)

Influence Investigate/Remove Embargo
You pull on your contacts within your spheres of influence for information. This action is most often used to figure out who is embargoing your influence growth and then to remove the embargo. This action can also be used to figure out who may have certain levels of influence or who is slowly gaining levels in your influence in a city. These are just the main uses of this action's mechanics! There are likely many more ways to use the Influence Investigate action that y'all haven't tried out yet!

Mechanics

Your pool for the downtime action using a particular influence will be Influence Pool + info network for city (If applicable where you get your info/network from must be related to your investigative roll! e.g. someone with a network of hobos probably can't find out about high society shit)

diff = (opponent influence dot lvlx2) -1 to a min of 2 and a max of 10

Information Network
When getting a network at creation or starting to build one IC, you and your ST will determine what attribute + ability + merit (if applicable) + current dot level cocktail works best for the type of network you wanna create. This pool will be the one you use whenever you want to gain dots in the background, or use the background for digging up rumors and such.

The typical pool for this background is; Manipulation/Charisma + Subterfuge/Empathy + Merit (if applicable) + current dot level (For the network you're growing. Having dots in another network does NOT get added to the pool to grow another network).

Grow Network
To grow information network, you use the pool determined by you and your ST (see above).

Each dot of this background requires a set number of successes to acquire (note: as with pretty much all downtime, these successes are not cumulative. The successes are “spent” when you reach each level, resetting you back to 0 successes).

Suxx Requirement per Dot:


 * ● 10 suxx
 * ●● 20 suxx
 * ●●● 40 suxx
 * ●●●● 80 suxx
 * ●●●●● 160 suxx

Using Network
You know you can do stuff with info network besides grow it, right? Jokes aside, you can use your info network to dig up dirt on pretty much anything within your info network's wheelhouse.

To dig up dirt using your network, you will use the poo determined by you and the ST when the network was created. The ST will then set the difficulty depending on how difficult the information may be to acquire (E.g. you can't use an info network of hobos to get high society gossip super easily, so you'll be rolling at a super high diff.). Rolling to find information will eat up downtime hours per roll as usual.

Reputation
Reputation can sometimes be grown with downtime at ST discretion, but more often than not, it is gained/awarded via RP.

To establish/grow your reputation, the attributes, abilities, and merits used are determined by the ST (Depending on the method you use to establish/expand the domain.) The example pool for establishing/growing your reputation is: Attribute + Ability + Merit (if applicable) + current dot level.


 * ● 10 suxx
 * ●● 20 suxx
 * ●●● 40 suxx
 * ●●●● 80 suxx
 * ●●●●● 160 suxx

Resources
Downtime can be used to acquire/gain levels in this background.

To gain/increase your Resources background, the pool is: Intelligence + Finance + Merit (if applicable) + current dot level at difficulty 6.

Each dot of this background requires a set number of successes (note: these successes are not cumulative. The successes are “spent” when you reach each level, resetting you back to 0 successes).


 * ● 10 Suxx
 * ●● 20 Suxx
 * ●●● 40 Suxx
 * ●●●● 80 Suxx
 * ●●●●● 160 Suxx
 * ●●●●●● 260 Suxx
 * ●●●●●●● 400 Suxx
 * ●●●●●●●● 600 Suxx

Retainers
Retainers have a variety of downtime functions/activities they can take part in/perform. We've taken the liberty of outlining them for you below!

Acquiring a Retainer
Acquiring a retainer of any kind can be done IC (obviously). However, sometimes the STs will require that you spend a certain number of downtime hours to represent any training/basic nurturing time, binding time, etc. that you may have spent on the retainer. Likewise, some people in need of a ghoul may not wish to go through the effort of scheduling a scene to meet with and acquire a mundane NPC as a retainer (since gaining retainers via RP is often done organically, and not via forced interaction). In such cases, the player can get in touch with an ST, who will determine the number of downtime hours it will cost to find and acquire a retainer.

Retainers and Downtime
Wait, so retainers get downtime? Yes, yes they do. They get 160 hours per IC month (ooc cycle) same as you!

Though, we're a bit more strict on just how much you can mooch off of their downtime. We've seen retainers turned into "influence bots" in the past (many of the STs are guilty of doing this too. Yes, we're also power hungry) which, isn't necessarily bad, but it can become detrimental to other players when the action economy is eaten up by a ghoul law student who somehow has law influence 6. As hinted at in the retainer background, we will poke you to stop power leveling certain backgrounds if it doesn't make sense for the retainer. Lots of players forget that the main reason for Influence (which is the background most often abused) is to be able to use it for acquisition actions, and not so you can simply power level it into oblivion. Even if your ghoul only has, say, medical influence 2, you can use them to do those low level acquisitions without spending your own valuable downtime for scutwork. Now, some retainers are pretty powerful (such as a city leader or prominent doctor) and those will do "heavy lifting" with downtime. But, a lot of retainers are more there for doing the mundane so you don't have to.

In any case, downtime can be spent for raising backgrounds (same as with player characters), training disciplines (see below, and other downtime actions (same as players). The only difference is, we're going to be more strict on what they're feasibly allowed to do, just to prevent power gaming. Remember, your ghouls are people with lives too, and should only be raising influences or using downtime in a way that feasibly makes sense. So, bob the ghoul with his 1 dot in street influence and lack of any education probably won't realistically be able to get university influence without some major story justification.

Training a Retainer
Taking another leaf out of Philly by Night's book, we are letting players use downtime to train their retainers, instead of dumping your sweet, hard earned exp into bob the ghoul.

Please Note!

Though we've got a system (borrowed from the lovely team over at Philadelphia by Night) that lets you train your retainers in a ton of things via downtime, there are some things you will have to spend your own exp to increase (more details below). Remember, Retainers do NOT generate their own exp.

There are a few ways you can increase your retainers abilities. The specific pool for increasing said abilities is determined by the ST and mostly depends on what they're learning and or how they're learning it!


 * In any case, the pool will always be; attribute + ability + merit (if applicable)

As for teacher, there are a few ways this can be done. Certain abilities/disciplines/etc. may require the vampire or some other source to be the teacher (more details below) but here are the general rules for how teaching works.


 * You yourself can act as teacher, in which case, the base difficulty will be 6 (assuming you are able to teach what the retainer wishes to learn)
 * If the retainer is teaching themselves, the base difficulty will be 7

The suxx needed varies depending on two things; the type of retainer, and what is being learned. Below we've broken down the rules and suxx required for each type of retainer.

Please Note!

Even though you could technically train your ghoul to 5 intelligence, or your pet ghouled muskrat to 5 charisma, you won't be allowed to without justification. If we wrote out rules for exactly what we'll allow people to train their retainers in for every single situation and circumstance, this wiki page would be about as long as your average encyclopedia. The STs will always be working with you to determine what makes sense for your ghoul to train up in, and what you can justify. Just know that we may look at your pet ghouled muskrat, and your request to train them to charisma 5 and say "nah fam, that makes no sense".

We go by logic here. You can use your common sense to know that you probably can't train that muskrat to thaumaturgy 4, or that hobo ghoul to intelligence 5. Though you can technically teach that hobo necromancy, you will need to justify it. The STs reserve the right to tell you no.

Animal and Human Ghouls
Humanity , Virtues and Willpower may only be raised through exp according to the Experience Cost Chart found here

Discipline ratings for Animal and Human ghouls still cannot exceed their Domitor's generation maximum, according to the Optional Maximum Discipline Level found here

Disciplines
When it comes to teaching your Animal and Human Retainers disciplines, they can learn in clan disciplines on their own, with out of clan s (excepting physicals) requiring a teacher. Physicals, if they are not in clan, require a teacher for the first dot ; beyond that, they can be developed naturally, like an in clan.

Human Retainer Training Suxx Required
* Teaching rules go the same as for vampire discipline teaching rules. You can only teach up to one dot below your dot level in the discipline. Because of this, you're never going to see a ghoul with dot 5 in a discipline most likely, unless you are some how gen 4, which you won't be!

Animal Retainer Training Suxx Required
* Teaching rules go the same as for vampire discipline teaching rules. You can only teach up to one dot below your dot level in the discipline. Because of this, you're never going to see a ghoul with dot 5 in a discipline most likely, unless you are some how gen 4, which you won't be!

Brood
Humanity, Virtues and Willpower may only be raised through exp according to the Vampire Experience Cost Chart found here

Disciplines
When it comes to teaching your Brood disciplines, they can learn in clan disciplines on their own, with out of clan s (excepting physicals) requiring a teacher. Physicals, if they are not in clan, require a teacher for the first dot ; beyond that, they can be developed naturally, like an in clan.

Wraiths/Spirit Slaves
Wraiths may increase attributes and abilities via downtime as per usual. However Arcanoi, Passions , Dark Passions , Thorns and Willpower can only be raised through exp, as per the experience cost chart in Wraith: the Oblivion.

Wraith Training Suxx Required
* wraith discipline thingies

= Downtime for Crafting = Our crafting system also uses downtime! Below we've put together the basic downtime rules/actions for said system.

Leveling Crafting via Downtime
Because it's odd to gain levels in crafting from experience gained by combat or social interaction, I'm tentatively implementing a variant way to gain levels in certain crafting through using downtime. The downtime represents time you spend practicing your craft;

Each roll consumes 10 downtime hours

Botches consume 20 downtime hours

Remember, you need adequate materials and equipment to practice!

Base Diff 6 if you have a teacher. The teacher can only instruct you up to 1 dot below their dot maximum in the crafting type.

Base Diff 7 if you are teaching yourself.

Weapon Smithing (base ability): 20-> 40-> 80-> 160-> 200

Roll: (some examples of roll types that may be called depending on your PC)

Difficulty can be lowered by merits and some merits may add dice. Just ask your ST, since we do what you need to roll on a case by case basis! Same deal with what specialties apply.

= Tutorials = Downtime is complicated as heck! Because of this, we've put together some quick tutorials on physically how to roll for things, and how to use the bots. One of the most frequent questions we get about downtime, after all, is how the heck-diddily-eck to roll for it!

How to: Influence Growth
0.) Open up your downtime log and make a copy of the "Cycle Log Master Copy" and re-name it to the month and year of the current cycle (if you haven't done this already).

Right Click on "Cycle Log master Copy" > duplicate > right click on "Cycle Log Master Copy Copy" > rename "ICMonthName ICYear"

e.g. "Cycle Log Master Copy Copy" > "May 1994"

1.) Contact a staff member (@Influence Goddess) to oversee your rolls and fill in the appropriate fields in the cycle's downtime log (this should be self explanatory). Then, scuttle on down to #influence rolls

2.) You will type the following information into the influence rolls channel before you actually roll. We require this of all people rolling just so we have a quick way to reference old rolls, in case of clerical error. It may be a pain, but you'll thank us in the end. Any ways, type/copy-paste the following into the channel (once you get the go-ahead from the ST overseeing things): 3.) the roll command is as follows: "/m x y spec #reason"with x= your pool, y= your diff, spec being the specialty (only for those with dot 4< in influence), and #reason should be formatted as "CityInfluenceGrowth" e.g. "OaklandOccultInfluenceGrowth"

Example for Bob the Brujah's underworld influence growth: /m 10 5 mafia #BerkeleyUnderworldInfluenceGrowth

Then, type the following after each roll: [[File:InfluenceDowntimeGuide2.jpg|thumb|255x255px|3.) roll command syntax,post-roll message

4.) what to do when dot level increases]] "x/y to dot x""x total suxx""x rolls left"4.) Keep rolling until you hit your x/y total suxx requirement to achieve the next dot. STOP on the roll that you hit the next dot, because your pool will increase!

Example for Bob the Brujah's Oakland Occult Influence:

20/20 to dot 2

therefore, the next time he rolls, the pool will be bigger by 1, because he's gained one dot in Oakland Occult influence, so his roll command will now be:

/m 10 6 #OaklandOccultInfluence Growth

5.) What to do on fails/botches

On a fail, you simply get nothing and waste downtime hours. Proceed with downtime as normal.

On a Botch, you spend 20 hours (2 rolls) instead of 10 (1 roll). So, make sure to notate this accordingly on your "x rolls left" message

6.) Finishing up

Once you've finished up with your rolls, make sure to record how many suxx you have until the next dot of influence on the appropriate downtime log tab. As well as making sure to record your total suxx, hours spent, results, etc. on your cycle log tab!

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