Orion Sphere LRP

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====== Downtime ======

After each Orion Sphere LRP Main Event, players who attended that event can perform some abilities that are collectively referred to as Downtime. This represents the activities of their characters in certain areas in the abstracted time between events. While most of the activity of characters in Orion Sphere LRP is focused on live roleplaying at events, there are a few things that are easier to manage for the game team outside of the field.

Importantly, __**Orion Sphere LRP does not have a freeform downtime system**__. What you can do in your downtime is restricted to certain specific activities, and many of those activities are restricted to characters with certain Character Skills.

===== Downtime Process =====

  * Items you intend to use in your downtime activities must be submitted in a bag at the end of the event.
    * Items submitted are logged on our character database after the event.
  * A few weeks after the event an email will go out to all players who attended the event.
    * This email contains a summary of your character’s current status, and what they submitted.
    * There will be a link to a Downtime Submission Form for the previous event.
    * There will be a link to a Feedback Form for the previous event.
    * The email will contain a deadline by which all Downtimes must be submitted.
  * If you wish to perform Downtime actions, please fill in the form using the relevant sections.
  * After the deadline has passed, submissions are processed and prepared for the next event.
    * If some things are unclear from your submission, we may contact you to figure out the details.

At the end of each event, there is a box, usually located at Games Ops, where you can place materials you wish to make use of in your downtime. If you wish to place anything in your downtime submission pack, please write down your details and a list of everything you are submitting on one of the associated hand-in slips and include the slip in your pack - this lets us find anything that is missing or slips out of the bag. Some items (usually Artefacts with physreps provided by us) must be handed in after each event. Items that are too large to fit in a hand-in bag can be tagged with your character ID or name and placed in the box.

After the event, all of the Submission Packs are processed and the details put up on our database. When this is complete, we send out an email to everyone who attended the event with a summary of their character details, a link to the Downtime Form, and a deadline. Players who wish to perform Downtime Actions should fill out the Downtime Form before the deadline - after which the submissions are processed and everything is made ready for the next event. Normally you will receive the results of your downtime in your character pack at the next event you attend, but occasionally some results may arrive via encounters, rumours or plot that happens at the event.

We also send out a Feedback form to get your feedback on the event just gone - we really appreciate people filling out the Feedback form, as it helps us figure out what changes and improvements to prioritise for future events. The Feedback form also allows attendees to sign up for one or more of our Working Groups - opt-in groups that allow us to improve accessibility and run changes past affected groups. These Working Groups usually convene one or twice a year via webchat.

===== Downtime Actions =====

  * All characters can spend Character Points they accumulate after each event to buy new character skills.
  * After your first OSLRP event, you can re-spend all your character points for free.
  * If you have ranks of Reputation, you can make a single request for information from the relevant Faction authority or MegaCorp.
  * If you know the name of certain off-screen NPCs you can send a message to them for 10EC.
  * If you have the Scientist Skill, you can perform Research.
  * If you have the Engineer Skill, you can maintain or modify equipment.
  * There is a field at the end of the form for other information you wish to tell us.
    * You can purchase basic equipment from the Equipment List page in this field.
    * This field does not allow you to perform a “free text” description of what your character is doing between events.

==== Spending Character Points ====

After attending each event, you gain 1 character point to spend on skills. You can spend this straight away, or hold it until later. Unspent character points from attending events carry over if your current character dies or retires. You must be eligible to purchase certain skills, such as Species Skills or Psionics. If you purchase a skill that gives additional options, such as Ceremonies or Engineer Mods, you can note them in this field. If you purchase or improve a skill that offers downtime benefits (such as Engineer Work slots or Research Points), you do not get the benefits in the current downtime, and must wait until your next event to use them.

Characters with the Engineer Skill can swap out one of their known Mods with another each event. If you wish to do this then please indicate it in this field.

==== Character Point Respend ====

New players have the opportunity to re-spend their 10 starting character points. So if there are skills that you don't think you used, or aren’t part of the game you think you want to play now that you have a better idea of the system, you can rework your character to something you might enjoy more. You can also add things that you didn’t have in your initial character build (like Mods). Respending your character points using this method __does__ allow you to make use of the downtime abilities of the new skills (but not the old ones).

In addition, characters whose skills have been affected by OoC changes to the rules can also re-adjust their character skills in light of the new changes. There are In-Character methods for changing your Skills in-game for other reasons.

==== Reputation Requests ====

Characters with [[Reputation_Skills|Reputation]] (either purchased or earned) can use one of their Reputations to make a request for information from the associated Faction or MegaCorp authorities. The response will usually come in your character pack at the next event you attend, but may be delivered by an NPC or plot character. Note that the quality and type of information you receive will be informed by how many ranks of Reputation you have with the relevant group, as well as any other Reputations you have. Higher Reputation is more likely to give you more useful and accurate information. Some requests may not produce a useful answer, usually because the group you are asking does not have the required knowledge.

==== Contacting Named NPCs ====

The [[Spacer Collective]] offers a messaging service to send messages across the Orion Sphere to named contacts. You can use this facility to send a message to an NPC contact whose name you know. Each message you send using this method costs 10 Energy Chits, and does not guarantee a response. Longer messages may cost additional Energy Chits, so shorter messages are encouraged. 

Sending messages in this way is one of the primary means of engaging with political powers that normally operate above the abstraction layer of the game, and can also be done in uptime at events.

==== Engineering ====

Engineers can do work on [[Devices]] between events, [[Devices#Maintenance|Maintaining]] them to extend their life or [Devices#Modifying]] them to improve their abilities. For every rank of the [[professional_skills#Engineer]] skill you have you can work on 1 item in your inventory, paying its Maintenance or Mod cost in Energy Chits to buy the required parts to do the work. After each such item indicated on your downtime email will be two numbers with a forward slash between them. The first number is the Maintenance Cost, and the second (usually bigger) number is the Modding Cost.

Some Devices expire over time. Ones that will have expired before the next event will be marked on your downtime email as [Expiring], while ones that have already expired will be marked [Expired]. Once an item has expired, its powers and abilities cannot be used. An Engineer can use one of their engineering slots to Maintain an expired item, extending its duration for another 4 events from the next event. Expired items remain valid and possible to maintain for 4 events after their original Expiry - items that are about to become invalid are marked [Final Expiring], and if they are not maintained they will be deleted.

Many game items can be modified to improve their abilities. If you want to add [[Mods]], you should indicate this on your form, noting which item and the Mod you wish to apply to it. You must know a Mod in order to apply it - if you have unused Mod slots and you attempt to apply a Mod that you do not know, that Mod will be added to the list of your known Mods, consuming a slot in the process. If you purchase any equipment from the [[Downtime Equipment List]] you can use your Engineer Work slots to Mod or Maintain it in the same downtime period.

Engineering Work always costs [[Game_Items#currency|Energy Chits]] - if you intend to do some Engineering Work, it is a good idea to put some Chits in your downtime submission bag along with the items. If you have an account with [[Galactic Continental]] or the [[Clearance Organisation]], Energy Chits will first be taken from your downtime submission pack, and then any excess taken from your Account. If you do not have enough Chits to perform a requested task, it will not be performed.

==== Science & Research ====

Scientist characters can do [[Research]]. The Scientist skill and each rank you have in Science Specialisations give 1 Research Point of the associated type (Generic, Etheric, Corporeal or Life). Research Points can be used in the following ways:
  * Researching an object such as a Sample or Artefact.
  * Helping with another character's research.
  * Teach another character something you've already researched.
  * Create or find exotic substances.
  * Try to Invent something new or work on an existing Invention.

The [[Research]] page gives the greatest amount of detail on what you can do with your Research Points.

Your downtime email will indicate the items in your inventory or your group’s inventory that you can research - you can research anything with any other character, but if they are outside your group you will need to get their details yourself and put them on the form.
The most common items to Research are Samples and [[game_items#Artefacts]] - both will indicate the type of Research Points that can be used to research them. Samples usually only require 1 of the relevant research type, while Artefacts are complex items that have many powerful tiered abilities that require considerable research to unlock fully.

If you have any unassigned Research Points they will normally be assigned to creating [[Exotic Substances]].

==== Any Other Info ====

There is also a field at the end of the downtime form for additional information. If you have any other Downtime-relevant information, such as updates to your character concept/bio, moving to a new Group, changing your character’s name, long-term Conditions you acquired during the event, etc - please note it down here.

You can also use this field to purchase new items from the [[Downtime Equipment List]] page. Indicate any items you wish to purchase in this field. Note that the Equipment List contains only the most common items - less common or available items can be purchased from the relevant NPCs at events.

{{tag>rules downtime}}
Orion Sphere LRP

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