Lancer: In Golden Flame: Downtime

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The list of unique downtime actions for Calliope:

PITCH IN

You volunteer for extra work shifts and get down to the difficult business of keeping Hell’s Gate running for another week. It’s tiring, dangerous and often thankless. But this is work someone needs to do, and if nobody volunteers, you’re all just drifting.

This could be straightforward work, like maintenance, cooking or farming, or it might be more social, like education, medical care or even entertainment.

Explain the work you’re putting in and roll:

On 9 or less, you do more to hinder than help. You get in the way, make poor decisions or distract other workers. After a couple of days, you’re asked not to show up for shifts anymore. Take +1 difficulty to interactions with the Gate’s residents until the next downtime.

On 10-19, with a staggering amount of effort, and many nights with too little sleep, you’re able to make some headway in tackling the station’s innumerable problems. Gain +1 accuracy on interactions with Hell’s Gate residents until the next downtime.

On 20+, you solve a major problem that was causing a lot of people grief. Tick one segment on the Station Stability clock, and gain +1 accuracy on interactions with Hell’s Gate residents until the next downtime. If multiple characters take this action, roll once for each character and take the best result instead of applying each result individually. The Station Stability clock only gets incremented once, but social bonuses or penalties apply to all participating characters.

TAKE A BREAK

Jerry has added a few days leave to your file – a rare privilege on Hell’s Gate. You decide to spend some of them right now, de-stress and recharge your batteries after the hectic few weeks you’ve had.

Explain how you’re de-stressing, and then roll:

On 9 or less, you just can’t switch off. It’s hard to sleep, and nothing seems to help. You have a rough few days. But one morning, you wake up, step outside and find a little care package with some of your favorite snacks inside. There’s a little note signed by more than sixty people. It says “thank you for keeping us safe.” One of the kids drew your mech. They really do care.

On 10-19, you feel a bit of the weight lift off your shoulders. You catch a good night’s sleep for the first time in ages. Oh, and you made a friend! The GM can roll on the Additional NPCs table, or invent their own.

On 20+, you feel better than you’ve felt in years! You’re more ready to face the world than you ever were before. Take two counters. They represent a well of renewed confidence. During the next mission, you can spend a counter on an attack, check or save you make to treat the result of the d20 roll as a 10.

GO CUBBYING

You strap on a mobility hardsuit, pack a few rations and set off into the Gate’s abandoned sectors. Some only have emergency lighting. Some are without power. Some aren’t even pressurized. But all of them have something interesting hidden inside, if you can find it.

Describe your exploration, then roll: On 9 or less, you get trapped behind a security door, stuck in a vent or just hopelessly lost. You’re forced to call for rescue. Jerry tearfully chews you out for setting a bad example, and has a maintenance team seal off a few common access points that cubbyers use. No other PC can take this action until next downtime, and you are now persona non grata at the Gate’s cubbying club.

On 10-19, you find something interesting on your adventure: a forgotten cache of supplies, a functional console with useful data, an access card to a door nobody’s been able to open, or something like that. You can treat these as a RESERVE, as useful materials for a future downtime action like Get Creative, or as currency to give you +1 accuracy on a few social rolls.

On 20+, not only do you find a bunch of useful stuff, you discover something in a forgotten corner of the station that’s been causing a bunch of those problems the wrenchies couldn’t figure out how to fix. Jerry eases up on the whole cubbying deal, so the station’s cubbying club now thinks you’re rad as fuck. You get a RESERVE, and until the end of the next downtime, anyone else who takes this downtime action gets +1 accuracy on the roll.

GET THE MILITIA IN SHAPE

You take a look at the duty roster, review recent combat footage and knuckle down to the task of strengthening the militia. This could mean leading combat drills in the simulators, finding new recruits to fill holes in the lineup, negotiating a contract for better equipment or direct one-to-one mentoring.

Being mech pilots, it’s most likely that you’re working with, training and equipping other mech pilots, but the militia also includes conventional infantry and subline spacecraft, so expertise in these fields is also useful.

Outline your approach, then roll:

On 9 or less, you’re running into issues at every turn. The budget isn’t there, or the equipment is for shit, or the new recruits can’t tell one end of a rifle from the other after six tries. It’s going to take way more work before you can fix this mess, but some progress has been made, at least. Next time you take this action, upgrade your result to the next best result (i.e. 9 or less becomes 10-19 and 10-19 becomes 20+).

On 10-19, tick a segment on the Militia Readiness clock, but only if you do one of the following:
• contribute some of your own money or equipment
• give up a lot of your time, energy and attention
• do a serious, difficult favor for someone

If you commit to one of these options, play out a scene or two to explain how you accomplish it.

On 20+, your ideas meet with remarkable success, and you start to see improvements almost immediately. Tick a segment on the Militia Readiness clock. If multiple characters take this action, roll once for each character and take the best result instead of applying each result individually.

JOIN A SALVAGE CREW

Now that the scanning array is back online and the pirates are out of the way, salvage runs are starting up again. You check your hardsuit seals, pack your bag, join a crew and spend a couple of weeks out in a wreckfield. If you’re not the salvaging type, you can still bring your mech, keeping the team safe while they work; guardians get a cut, just like everyone else.

Create a six-segment Salvage clock on your character sheet, then roll:

On 9 or less, fill in one segment on the Materials clock.

On 10-19, fill in two segments on the Materials clock, and gain one item of particular interest. Roll 1d20 to see what you find. This can be used as RESERVES, pilot gear, or to gain +1 accuracy on a relevant skill check.

On 20+, due to your stellar performance on this run, the team votes you for first pick. Fill in three segments on the Materials clock, then roll 2d20, choosing one result.

You can clear segments on the Salvage clock for the following benefits: • 1 segment: Gain +1 accuracy on one skill check to invent, create or repair items, or on one skill check to barter, negotiate or bribe. • 2 segments: During any downtime, gain one piece of Mech Equipment and Gear (Lancer, p. 51) as Reserves. • 6 segments: During any downtime, permanently obtain a piece of EXOTIC GEAR which your character knows about.

FIGHT IN THE HELLFIRE LEAGUE

You paint a logo on your mech, practice your interview voice and pay sign-up fees to compete in Calliope’s most popular sport: gladiatorial mech violence. This isn’t the same as tactical combat: it’s as much about looking good for the camera as it is about blowing holes in your opponent, and you have to be very careful not to kill them. Plus, your usual work doesn’t require you to craft a persona or cut compelling promos.

The only league still accepting sign-ups this late in a season is the Hellfire League. The Thunderstorm and Moon Glacier Leagues are too selective about their membership to allow new entries at this time.

This downtime action is specific to the Icebreaker. The PCs can only take advantage of it when on the station, but if a future downtime is at least a few weeks long, a PC could take a shuttle from wherever they currently are to the Icebreaker to indulge in a little luxury R&R.

This action is only available until the end of Act 1, after which the current season ends.

Create an Arena Performance clock with eight segments, and then make three rolls:

The first roll is about crafting your persona, cutting good promos and developing good on-screen chemistry with opponents. It requires skill triggers like Charm, Lead or Inspire, Take Control or Threaten.

The second roll involves sizing up your opponents, understanding the “meta” of the league and developing a fighting style. It requires skill triggers like Investigate, Read a Situation, Spot or Word on the Street.

The third roll involves actually fighting in the arena, trading blows, surviving an enemy’s attacks, controlling the environment, winning the battle and looking good doing it. It requires skill triggers like Assault, Blow Something Up, Show Off or Take Someone Out.

Each roll has the potential to fill in some segments on the Arena Performance clock.

For each roll of 9 or less, don’t tick any segments.
For each roll of 10-19, fill in one segment.
For each roll of 20+, fill in two segments.

Your Arena Performance clock remains between missions, so you can take this action over multiple downtimes to accrue successes.

If you finish a run with no segments ticked, you’re a disappointment. You don’t have the acting chops to make an interesting character, your style isn’t engaging to watch and you don’t have much in-ring talent. Sorry, you’re just not league material. They ask you not to come back. You can’t take this downtime action again.

If you finish a run with 1-3 segments ticked, you’re fine. You don’t win anything, but you’re at least able to make someone else higher up the ladder look good, and the crowd doesn’t hate you. You get paid enough to cover your repair bills, and gain +1g on all checks to interact with fans of the sport until the next downtime.

If you finish a run with 4-7 segments ticked, you’re doing numbers! You aren’t championship level yet, but you have a combination of charisma, style and skill that’s pleasing the crowd. You gain +1g on all checks to interact with fans of the sport until the next downtime, and enough winnings to secure a single RESERVE.

If you finish a run with 8 segments ticked, you’re dynamite! You’ve got that rare blend of personal magnetism, unique styling and combat skill that makes a star. There are whispers in the sports bars and the Omninet forums: you might do it. You might go all the way. You get all the benefits of 4-7 segments, plus you get an invitation to the next league championship, which will take place at the end of Act 1.

THWART THE CULT

An insidious presence is hiding amongst the Faith of the One. You got a taste of it on the Icebreaker, enough to know that it goes much deeper than a few random fanatics. Now you’re seeing the signs on Hell’s Gate.

You’ve made a resolution: it won’t happen here too.

Create a three-segment Cult Investigation clock on your character sheet, then roll:

On 9 or less, fill in one segment. On 10-19, fill in two segments. On 20+, fill in three segments.

Once you have segments ticked, you know – or at least strongly suspect – the identity of an important member of the Cult in Hell’s Gate.

From now on, when not actively engaged in a mission, you can clear segments on your Cult Investigation clock for the following benefits:

1 segment: You may ask the GM one question about the Cult’s current activities. They must answer truthfully and as fully as possible.
2 segments: You make a risky move against the Cult member you’re investigating. It will definitely succeed, unticking one segment of the Cult Influence clock, but it’ll cause controversy; untick a segment of the Station Stability clock too.
3 segments: You make a confident move against the Cult member you’re investigating, and you either have ironclad evidence or can do it quietly. Untick one segment on the Cult Influence clock, tick one segment on the Station Stability clock.