All Rules | Downtime Rules

Downtime

Source Character Operations Manual pg. 150
Not even the most battle-scarred and seasoned mercenary spends every day in combat. Most adventurers have a few days or weeks between jobs, and even if their schedule is packed, interplanetary travel and journeys through the Drift require time—time that can’t be spent fighting foes or exploring. The rules here detail what adventurers might be doing in the quiet times, between the excitement of exploration and the terror of combat.

Click here for the full rules on Downtime.

Analyze Sample

Source Character Operations Manual pg. 150
With time and a physical sample, you can learn a great deal.

Activity: You spend the day analyzing a physical sample of a creature or material. The sample must have at least light bulk, and you must have access to a science lab or similar facilities for the whole day.

Results: You learn information about the creature or material as if you had taken 20 on a skill check to identify it, using the appropriate skill for its creature type (Core Rulebook 133) if it’s a creature, Engineering if it’s a technological or hybrid item, or Mysticism if it’s a magic or hybrid item. You must be trained in the appropriate skill or you gain no benefit. The GM might rule that certain creatures or materials are too rare or unusual to be identified this way.

Multiday: For each consecutive day you spend on this downtime activity, you gain a cumulative +1 circumstance bonus to your check, up to a maximum of +5.

Build Shelter

Source Character Operations Manual pg. 150
You build a temporary shelter in order to mitigate adverse environmental effects.

Activity: You spend the day building a 10–foot-by-10-foot shelter from nearby material that can accommodate one Large creature or two Medium or Small creatures. At the end of the day, attempt a DC 20 Survival check. You can’t take 20 on this check.

Results: On a failure, the shelter lasts for only the following day. On a success, it lasts for a number of days equal to the number by which your result exceeded the check’s DC. While the shelter lasts, occupants of the shelter are protected from cold dangers (Core Rulebook 400) and heat dangers (Core Rulebook 402). This also counts as a shelter for the purpose of Survival checks to endure severe weather (Core Rulebook 148) and protects its occupants from damage from dust storms and thunderstorms (Core Rulebook 399). At the GM’s discretion, a well-built shelter might also provide other protections.

Carouse

Source Character Operations Manual pg. 151
You make the most of your downtime by spending it out on the town or holed up, reveling in whatever hedonistic experiences or substances you favor. This helps you shed the stress of an adventuring lifestyle—or prepares you for it.

Activity: Spend a number of credits equal to 100 × your character level while in a settlement, or else consume an equivalent value of intoxicants while aboard a starship. At the end of the day, attempt a Fortitude saving throw (DC = 10 + half your character level). You take a cumulative –2 penalty to this saving throw for each time you’ve used the carouse activity in the past 7 days.

Results: On a success, you begin the following day with an extra Resolve Point that is lost at the end of that day (double this number of Resolve Points if your character level is at least 10th level). If you fail the Fortitude saving throw by 5 or more, you’re drained by the experience instead and lose 1 Resolve Point; you can’t regain this Resolve Point in any way until after the following day.

Catalog Creature

Source Ports of Call pg. 24
You make a close study of a particular creature in the wild.

Activity: You spend the day recording detailed notes about the behavior, diet, physiology, and other details of a creature or group of creatures that you observe for at least 8 hours. Typically, the creature you observed should have an Intelligence modifier of –3 or lower, though you might be able to catalog a more intelligent creature type at the GM’s discretion. You must have a journal (digital or otherwise) in which to record your observations.

Results: You gain an insight bonus that you can apply in one of three ways when interacting with the studied species: a +2 bonus to your initiative check when fighting the species, a +2 bonus to a saving throw against a special ability of that species, or a +3 bonus to a Charisma-based skill check to influence that species. You must choose to apply the bonus before attempting the roll.

Multiday: If you spend one week cataloging the species, you can use the journal in which you gathered this information as a qualifying data set for the purposes of recalling knowledge about the cataloged creature, identifying related creatures, or performing the research downtime activity about the creature or a closely related topic (at the GM’s discretion).

Celestial Analysis

Source Galaxy Exploration Manual pg. 35
You use a starship’s computer to analyze gravity-well data and determine the nature of one or more celestial bodies.

Activity: You spend the day as a starship’s science officer, analyzing pinpointed gravity wells to identify the type of astronomical objects at their core. The number of gravity wells you can analyze in one day depends on the number of nodes the starship’s computer has: 1 gravity well with a basic computer or mononode, 2 with a duonode, and so on. At the end of the day, attempt a separate DC 30 Computers or Physical Science check for each astronomical object you attempt to identify. You gain a +1 bonus to such checks if your starship has a general science lab or a +2 bonus if it has a physical science lab. You also can apply the bonus normally granted by your starship’s computer. You can’t take 20 on this check.

Results: On each success, you determine whether the gravity well is caused by a gas giant, a terrestrial world, a large asteroid, or an irregular world (including those science fantasy constructions that stretch the concept of a world, per the GM’s discretion). If your result exceeds the DC by 5 or more, you also learn the number of large satellites (such as moons) the astronomical object has, if any.

Channel Divinity

Source Ports of Call pg. 24
You spend time in religious contemplation and reflection, or in direct service of your chosen deity. This activity references anathema, edicts, and blessings associated with a deity; this information appears on pages 100–119 of Galactic Magic for the 20 deities featured in the Core Rulebook. At the GM’s discretion, you can use this downtime activity to commune with a different deity whose anathema, edicts, and blessings use these as guidelines.

Activity: You spend the day communing with your deity through thought or action. Select one of the following activities and attempt a Mysticism check (DC = 15 + 1-1/2 × your level).
Atone: You engage in rituals to appeal to your deity, asking for forgiveness for having taken an action that’s anathema to them.
Espouse: You perform an activity in line with your deity’s edicts. You can’t select this activity if you have taken actions that are anathema to that deity unless you first atone for them.

Results: If you choose the atone activity and succeed at the Mysticism check, you successfully atone for minor activities that are anathema to your deity (at the GM’s discretion) and regain their tacit approval. This doesn’t atone for major infractions outright (which often require significant personal sacrifice or quests), but this activity might be part of atoning for such transgressions.
If you choose the espouse activity and succeed at the Mysticism check, you gain one of that deity’s blessings on the following day. The exact effect of the blessing is determined by the GM, but it typically manifests in a way that conveys your deity’s minor intervention.

Companion Care

Source Ports of Call pg. 24
You spend quality time with your creature companion.

Activity: You spend the day bonding with a creature companion (Starfinder Alien Archive 3 149), whether through exercise, grooming, training, or other focused activities.

Results: If you haven’t yet bonded with your creature companion, you can attempt the Survival check to do so with a +5 circumstance bonus at the end of the day.
If you’re already bonded with your creature companion, you gain three benefits that last until the end of the day. First, the distance at which you can control your creature companion increases by 10 feet. Second, the saving throw DCs of your creature companion’s abilities increase by 1. Finally, your creature companion can score a critical hit on a natural 19 (in addition to a natural 20), though the first time it scores a critical hit on a 19, this third benefit ends until you use this downtime activity again.

Convalesce

Source Character Operations Manual pg. 151
When you’re injured or suffering from certain afflictions, complete bed rest can help speed your recovery.

Activity: You spend the entire day resting. You don’t have to sleep for every minute of the 24-hour period, but you must refrain from movement, combat, spellcasting, skill use, conversation, and any other fairly demanding physical or mental task.

Results: You recover 2 Hit Points per character level, as the rules on page 251 of the Core Rulebook. Additionally, per those rules, any ability damage you have is reduced by 2 points per affected ability score. Finally, you move one step toward healthy on the progression track of each poison you’re affected by, provided you’ve either fulfilled that poison’s cure condition or reached the end of its duration, as the rules on page 414 of the Core Rulebook.
If another character successfully provides you with longterm care (page 155), you can recover even faster.

Cook Feast

Source Ports of Call pg. 25
You turn your culinary talents to your allies’ benefit.

Activity: You spend the day preparing an extravagant meal for up to 15 people (including yourself). You must have access to a kitchen or starship galley and to premium ingredients. Purchasing these ingredients typically costs 5 credits per person fed; alternatively, you can forage for ingredients with the live off the land task for Survival or another character can acquire ingredients you use during the same period using the gather resources downtime task. Attempt a Culture, Profession (cook), or Survival check with a DC equal to 15 + 1 for each creature fed. If you use Profession (cook) for this check, reduce the DC by 5. Allies can aid your skill check as a downtime activity.

Results: Allies who partake of your feast can do so in addition to any other downtime activity they’re performing. If you failed the check by 10 or more, you created an inedible meal. If you failed by 9 or less, the meal is nutritious but provides no special benefit.
If you succeeded at the check, anyone partaking regains an additional Hit Point for every two character levels they have (minimum 1) after their next full night’s rest, and each gains a +1 morale bonus to their next saving throw made against disease or poison within 24 hours. If your check result exceeded the DC by 10 or more, you also increase the morale bonuses anyone partaking in the feast receives from downtime activities by 1 for 24 hours.

Coordinate

Source Character Operations Manual pg. 151
You and your allies practice teamwork exercises, combat routines, and fundamental skills, building a rapport that pays dividends.

Activity: You spend the day training with at least one other creature who is performing the coordinate activity. Up to six creatures can train together this way, as long as each is using the coordinate activity.

Results: On the following day, when you grant a creature you trained with a bonus using aid another, covering fire, or harrying fire, you can increase that bonus by 1.

Multiday: For each consecutive day you spend coordinating with an ally, you increase by 1 the DC of Sense Motive checks to discern secret messages that you and that ally pass to one another using Bluff, up to a maximum of 7 higher. This increase lasts for the number of days you spent coordinating.

Crack Technology

Source Character Operations Manual pg. 151
Sometimes it’s easier to make off with an entire device and break into it at your leisure than to do so under fire.

Activity: You spend all day working to crack a single computer or object whose item level is no more than 2 higher than your character level (a computer’s effective item level is 2 × its tier). The entire computer system or other locked or secured object must be in your possession, and to crack an object, you must have access to a tech workshop or similar facilities. Usually, only one character can use the crack technology activity on a given item in a given day, though depending on its size or complexity, the GM might allow checks to aid another.

Results: You can take 20 on a Computers check to hack the computer system or an Engineering check to disable the device. This triggers defensive countermeasures as normal when hacking a system and has the same consequences for failure as when disabling a device. The GM might rule that certain devices are too powerful to be hacked or disabled this way.

Multiday: For each consecutive day you spend on this downtime activity, you gain a cumulative +1 circumstance bonus to the appropriate check, up to a maximum of +5.

Debrief

Source Ports of Call pg. 25
You study your opponents and review your combats.

Activity: You spend the day reviewing and learning from the previous day’s conflicts.

Results: Based on what you accomplished the previous day, you gain a useful insight that you can expend in one of two ways on the following day.
Learn from Failure: If you rolled a 1 on an attack roll, skill check, or saving throw the previous day, you can expend the insight to reroll a natural 1 on a d20 roll and use the second result.
Learn from Success: If you scored a critical hit, you can expend the insight to roll 1d3 and add the result as a circumstance bonus to one attack roll you just made (after seeing the roll but before learning the result) against a creature of the same creature type that you critically hit to earn the bonus.

Delegate Work

Source Galaxy Exploration Manual pg. 101
You assign menial tasks to others to complete.

Results: The organization performs the chosen downtime activity, using its power modifier for any checks. The downtime activity must be appropriate to the organization (like a military unit building a shelter), and it must be something that can actually be delegated (you can’t delegate carousing, for instance).

Multiday: You give orders and shift personnel so that they can conduct a downtime activity of your choice. You must spend as much time delegating as the downtime activity takes to complete.

Destill Serums

Source Ports of Call pg. 25
You tinker with the potent magic of certain serums.

Activity: You spend the day carefully distilling and monitoring two serums of healing of the same item level. At the end of the day, attempt a Mysticism check (DC = 10 + the level of the serum).

Results: You combine the two serums into a single serum of healing that functions normally for a serum of its level, except it restores additional Hit Points. If you succeed at the Mysticism check, the new serum heals 2 additional Hit Points per die rolled (such as 3d8+6 Hit Points for a mk 2 serum of healing). If you exceed the DC by 5 or more, treat any die result of 2 or less as though it were a 3 to calculate the number of Hit Points the serum restores. If you fail the Mysticism check by 5 or more, the serum is rendered inert and doesn’t restore any Hit Points.

Drill

Source Character Operations Manual pg. 152
You practice a specific task, whether using holovid training materials, running through a computer simulation, or simply repeating a key motion hundreds of times, until its execution becomes muscle memory.

Activity: Choose a single task of a specific skill (such as the balance task of Acrobatics) that takes 1 minute or less. If you are on your starship, you can instead choose a non-gunner starship crew action that doesn’t require a Resolve Point. You spend the day practicing the chosen task or crew action. At the end of the day, attempt a skill check appropriate to the chosen task or crew action—if you chose the overpower crew action, for example, you’d attempt an Engineering check. If you drill a task, the DC for this check is equal to 15 + 1-1/2 × your character level. If you drill a crew action, the DC is equal to 15 + 1-1/2 × your starship’s tier. You can’t take 20 on this check.

Results: On a success, the first time the next day you attempt the chosen crew action or skill check, you can take 10, even if stress or distractions would normally prevent you from doing so. If you exceed the DC of the drill check by 10 or more, you can also take 10 the second time you attempt the chosen action or check.

Entertain

Source Character Operations Manual pg. 152
You coordinate or conduct activities, performances, and other entertainment to help a group relax and pass the time.

Activity: Choose up to 12 willing creatures who are using the lounge downtime activity. Attempt a skill check using a Charisma-based Profession skill you’re trained in (though the GM can allow other skills as appropriate to the lounge activities of the creatures you’re entertaining). The DC of this check is equal to 10 + 1 per creature you’re entertaining + 1-1/2 × the highest character level or CR among those you’re entertaining, whichever is applicable.

Results: Success on this check determines how many creatures you’ve properly entertained. You properly entertain a number of creatures equal to 1 + the number by which your check exceeded the DC. (If you do not properly entertain all creatures you’ve attempted to entertain, the GM chooses which ones receive the benefit from this activity.) Creatures you’ve properly entertained gain double the temporary Hit Points and double the morale bonus to a saving throw that the lounge activity grants. If you properly entertained all creatures you attempted to entertain, you also gain the normal bonuses for the lounge activity. A creature can benefit from the entertain activity at most once per day.

Executive Decisions

Source Galaxy Exploration Manual pg. 101
You issue specific instructions to your organization.

Activity: You spend a day reviewing files and holding meetings, mobilizing your organization to operate at peak efficiency.

Results: Your organization gains a +1 circumstance bonus to a single power check of your choice during the following week. An organization can have a maximum of +5 from these bonuses in reserve at any one time and can use any or all on a single check. Unused bonuses are lost when the week ends.

Explore Futures

Source Character Operations Manual pg. 152
You meditate on the mystical energies of the multiverse, scan alternate realities, write and run complex predictive algorithms, or otherwise gain insight into what the following day might bring. You can explore your own future or the possibilities awaiting someone else, but you must focus your predictions on a single creature you’re familiar with.

Activity: Choose a creature and attempt a Mysticism check or, if you have access to a computer of tier 5 or higher, a Computers check. The DC of this check is equal to 10 + 1-1/2 × the target’s character level or CR. You can’t take 10 or 20 on this check.

Results: On a success, the character whose futures you explored can reroll one d20 roll during the following day. A given creature can gain the benefit of explore futures only once per day.

Find Buyer

Source Ports of Call pg. 169
You look for someone interested in buying your ship’s cargo.

Activity: You spend a day researching markets on the local infosphere, checking with union or guild representatives, meeting with local contacts, and haggling. You must be within a settlement, though the GM might allow you to find a buyer in other locations. At the end of the day, attempt a Diplomacy or Profession (merchant) check (DC = 15 + 1-1/2 × your level).

Results: On a success, you find someone willing to buy your cargo for the sell price (as determined by the GM). For every 5 by which your check exceeds the DC, increase the sell price of the cargo by 1 BP per lot. If you fail, you still find a buyer, but the sell price of the cargo is reduced by 1 BP per lot.
Special: If multiple allies perform this downtime activity during the same day, only one of them attempts the check, but with a cumulative +1 circumstance bonus for each aiding ally (not including the one attempting the check).

Find Cargo

Source Ports of Call pg. 168
You look for suitable cargo to purchase, with the hopes of selling it elsewhere.

Activity: You spend the day searching the local infosphere, talking with merchant contacts, and visiting warehouses or the local starport. You must be within a settlement, though the GM might allow you to find cargo in other locations. At the end of the day, attempt a Diplomacy or Profession (merchant) check (DC = 10 + 1-1/2 × your character level). You take a cumulative –1 penalty to this roll for every find cargo activity you or your allies have previously attempted in this settlement within the last week.

Results: On a success, you find 1d4 lots of cargo available for sale. The cargo can’t be split up; all of the lots must be bought together. The cargo’s total buy price equals 1d4 BP × the number of lots. For every 5 by which your check exceeds the result, you can adjust the size of the cargo by 1 lot in either direction.
The GM determines the type of cargo and might even tell you where you can sell it for a reasonable price. All of the cargo must be transported and sold together, and you and your allies must load the cargo onto your starship yourselves. Some cargoes must be delivered within a certain time frame. When you are told the type of cargo, its buy price, and its destination and its sell price (if applicable), you can choose not to purchase that cargo. However, when you purchase the cargo, it’s yours to decide what to do with—though you might want to perform the find buyer downtime activity (page 169) at another settlement to sell it.
Special: If multiple allies perform this downtime activity during the same day, only one of them attempts the check, but with a cumulative +1 circumstance bonus for each aiding ally (not including the one attempting the check).

Gather Supplies

Source Character Operations Manual pg. 152
You scrounge supplies from the local environment.

Activity: This downtime activity uses the rules for the live off the land task of the Survival skill, but instead of hunting and foraging while on the move, you gather supplies while you remain in a fixed location. This is generally possible only in wilderness, and as with the live off the land task, it may be impossible in especially inhospitable areas (such as lifeless asteroids or deep space).

Results: You can support one additional character for every 2 by which your result exceeds this DC.

Multiday: For every day you spend performing this downtime activity in the same location, you gain a cumulative +2 insight bonus (to a maximum of +10) to your next attempt to gather supplies, as you become more familiar with the area and learn how best to utilize its resources. After 5 days of gathering supplies in a single area, you begin to deplete the area of its resources, reducing this bonus by 2 per day (minimum +0).

Hunt Bargains

Source Character Operations Manual pg. 152
You scour markets, either virtually or in person, bartering, comparing prices, and finding promotions or other discounts to hunt down the absolute best bargains on gear.

Activity: Choose a specific piece of equipment with an item level at least 5 lower than your character level that is available in your current settlement (or one whose markets you have remote access to). Attempt a skill check using either Computers (if you are shopping via an infosphere) or Diplomacy (if you are shopping in person). The DC of this check is equal to 20 plus 1-1/2 × the item’s level. You can’t take 20 on this check, and the GM decides if the item is available at all.

Results: On a success, you are able to find a deal on the specified item and can purchase it for 10% less than normal. On a failure, you are unable to work out any credit-saving deals in that market, but you can still purchase it at full price.

Multiday: If you spend a week hunting bargains, you can choose a piece of equipment with an item level up to 3 lower than your character level.

Inoculate

Source Character Operations Manual pg. 153
When headed into an environment you know to be infectious, such as a settlement stricken by a plague or a toxic jungle, you can spend your downtime taking preventative measures.

Activity: Specify a single disease or poison other than radiation or radiation sickness. You spend all day researching preventive treatments for that affliction. At the end of the day, designate up to six willing or unconscious creatures you can touch. Attempt a Medicine check for each of these creatures; the DC is 5 higher than the DC of the specified affliction. Each creature must choose whether or not to accept your treatment before learning the result of this check. This activity requires access to a medical bay, medical lab, science lab, or equivalent facilities (such as a hospital).

Results: On a success, a designated creature gains a +4 circumstance bonus to saving throws against initial exposure to the specified affliction. This doesn’t apply to creatures currently affected by that affliction, and doesn’t stack with bonuses from medicinals. On a failure, the designated creature takes a –2 penalty to saves against initial exposure to the specified affliction. These effects end after 1 week.

Invest

Source Ports of Call pg. 25
You make an investment of credits you believe (or hope) to be wise.

Activity: You spend the day researching available financial vehicles in which you can invest, such as stocks, property, or commodities. You must have access to the infosphere of a world or system whose economy supports such activity (at the GM’s discretion). You choose to invest a specific amount between 1,000 and 100,000 credits; you lose access to these credits. After one month, roll a d%, and at the GM’s discretion, add your ranks in one relevant Profession skill (such as accountant, corporate professional, or financier) to the result.

Results: Consult the following table, using the result of your d% roll to see the results of your investment. If you have any investment remaining, you can either withdraw the credits or leave them invested and attempt this roll again in one month, repeating the latter until you have no investment remaining.

D%	RESULT
01–15	You lose the entirety of your investment.
16–50	You lose 50% of your investment.
51–75	Your investment increases by 10%.
76–95	Your investment increases by 50%.
96+	Your investment increases by 100%.

Special: This downtime activity could provide exceptional profits during adventures that last many months. The GM might limit the amount you can earn from this activity each level to the wealth of 2 encounters of your level (Core Rulebook 391).

Locate Galactic Destination

Source Galaxy Exploration Manual pg. 34
Finding hints of the existence of an unexplored system or some other unknown destination in the galaxy, you spend the day researching clues to determine its location.

Activity: You spend the day cross-checking clues, consulting star charts, or scouring databases to find more information about the destination for which you’re searching. Attempt a Piloting, Physical Science, Computers, or some other skill check appropriate to the activity (as determined by the GM). The GM also determines the DC of the check. Generally, it starts at 20 and can increase or decrease by up to 5 depending on circumstance, such as access to a reliable data set. You can’t take 20 on this check.

Results: On a success, you gain a new clue as to the location of the system. On a failure, you waste the day searching. If you fail by 5 or more, you gain some faulty piece of information that seems plausible at first. This increases the number of clues you need to ascertain the position of the system by 1. The GM might instead rule that failure has other effects: Maybe some powers don’t want the system found, and the characters’ bungled research has alerted them; or perhaps a jealous or annoyed civil servant bars a particular means of investigation out of spite.
When you have gathered the requisite number of clues (set by the GM; generally 3 to 5), you can treat the destination as unfamiliar and travel to it using the navigation task for the Piloting skill (Core Rulebook 145–146).

Lounge

Source Character Operations Manual pg. 153
One of the most common ways to pass the time while traveling or on days off, lounging can involve casual vidgaming, reading, watching trivids, playing card games, or engaging in other leisure activities.

Activity: You spend the day engaging in any number of easygoing hobbies and entertainments. You must have a comfortable space in which to relax, requiring access to at least good or luxurious crew quarters on a starship, efficiency or suite-level lodgings in a settlement, or similar facilities elsewhere. At the GM’s discretion, you can lounge in other places—for instance, you might hang out in a tech workshop to do some low-key arts and crafts.

Results: On the following day, you gain temporary Hit Points equal to half your character level (minimum 1); this effect ends at the end of that day. You also gain a +1 morale bonus to the first saving throw you attempt that day.

Maintain Equipment

Source Character Operations Manual pg. 153
You maintain a weapon or suit of armor, ensuring it functions at peak performance.

Activity: You spend the day cleaning, fine-tuning, and otherwise maintaining a weapon or suit of armor. You must have access to a tech workshop or similar facility to use this downtime activity.

Results: If you maintained a weapon, the first time you score a critical hit with that weapon the next day, it deals an additional amount of damage equal to half its item level to the first target hit; this damage is of the same type the weapon normally deals. If you maintained a suit of armor, the first time you’re critically hit the next day while wearing that armor, the damage you take is reduced by an amount equal to half the armor’s item level.

Maintain Readiness

Source Character Operations Manual pg. 153
You keep a watchful eye on your surroundings, hoping for the best but preparing for the worst.

Activity: You take up a sentry position, make regular patrols, or monitor your ship’s scanners to watch for trouble.

Results: If this downtime activity is interrupted by combat (including starship combat), you gain a +2 circumstance bonus to the initiative check (or to the first Piloting check to determine turn order, if you are serving as the captain or pilot of a starship) for that combat. This downtime activity doesn’t provide any benefit if you or your allies intentionally seek out combat.

Manage Course

Source Character Operations Manual pg. 154
While starship autopilot systems are fairly efficient navigators, you can shave off a bit of travel time with skilled micromanagement of a ship’s course, taking advantage of opportunities provided by the ever-shifting nature of the Drift or fluctuations in microgravity in normal space.

Activity: As the pilot of a traveling starship, attempt a Piloting check to navigate with a DC equal to 10 higher than the DC for plotting the initial course. You can’t take 20 on this check.

Results: On a success, you reduce your total travel time by 6 hours. If you fail by 5 or more, you instead add 6 hours to the trip. If you fail by 10 or more, you also suffer more serious consequences as normal. You can’t reduce the total travel time below its normal minimum plus the number of days spent managing the course. For example, a trip to the Vast during which the Pilot spends 3 days successfully managing the course can’t be reduced below 8 days (5 minimum for the trip plus 3 days spent managing course). Only one creature can perform this activity for a given starship each day.

Map Star System

Source Galaxy Exploration Manual pg. 35
By moving through a system and making multiple sensor sweeps, you search for any sign of large gravity wells in the system and learn the location of various planets and other astronomical bodies.

Activity: You spend the day as a starship’s science officer, exploring large swaths of a system and making numerous sensor sweeps to search for signs of large gravity wells. At the end of the day, attempt a Computers check with a DC based on the kind of sensors installed in your starship (Core Rulebook 300–301). The DC is 25 when using short-range sensors, 20 when using medium-range sensors, and 15 when using long-range sensors. You can’t take 20 on this check, and you apply your scanner’s modifier to the check. Cut-rate scanners have a DC of 30 or higher, or they may not be usable for this activity, at the GM’s discretion. Only one character per starship can perform this downtime activity each day.

Results: On a success, you are able to pinpoint 1d3 gravity wells (of those you haven’t yet discovered, and at the GM’s discretion). You are then able to perform the celestial analysis downtime activity and travel to those locations.

Marathon Entertainment

Source Ports of Call pg. 25
You fully immerse yourself in a single intellectual property.

Activity: You spend the day watching vids or playing games focused on a single specific intellectual property (such as a single holovid series or multiple instances of entertainment that include the same characters).

Results: For the next week, you gain a +2 insight bonus to Diplomacy checks to improve the attitude of fans of that specific intellectual property. You also gain a benefit for the following day depending on the genre of the entertainment, as listed below.
Action/Adventure: The first time you roll an initiative check, you gain a +2 morale bonus to the check and gain temporary Hit Points equal to your key ability score modifier for 2 rounds.
Comedy: You gain a +1 morale bonus to Medicine checks.
Drama: You gain a +1 morale bonus to saves against emotion effects.
Horror: You gain a +1 morale bonus to saves against fear effects.
Mystery: Choose one Intelligence-, Wisdom-, or Charisma-based skill. You gain a +1 morale bonus to checks made using that skill.
Romance: You gain a +1 morale bonus to saving throws against charm effects.

Mech System Diagnostics

Source Ports of Call pg. 26
You fine-tune one of your mech’s systems, reinforcing it against future damage.

Activity: You spend the day building in redundancies to one of your mech’s components. Choose one of the following: upper limbs, lower limbs, frame, auxiliary systems, power core, or cockpit.

Results: Once per hour on the next day, when your mech experiences system failure and you roll to see which system malfunctions, if you roll the system you chose, you can reroll and use the second result to determine which system is damaged.

Membership Drive

Source Galaxy Exploration Manual pg. 101
You make an effort to grow your organization’s membership.

Results: On a success, you recruit a number of new followers and members equal to 10% of your current numbers, up to the maximum for the organization’s level.

Multiday: You spend a week actively seeking new members. This activity might mean standing on street corners with pamphlets or running sophisticated recruiting campaigns. At the end of the week, attempt a Diplomacy check with a DC equal to 10 + 1-1/2 × your organization’s current level. You can’t take 20 on this check.

Plan Route

Source Character Operations Manual pg. 154
You take extra time to research a viable route, whether across a planet or through the Drift.

Activity: You spend the day learning about a known settlement or star system in Near Space (or, at the GM’s discretion, a well-known destination in the Vast) and the most common routes used to reach it.

Results: You gain a +4 circumstance bonus to your next Piloting check to navigate to that settlement or star system. This benefit is lost at the end of the following day.

Practice Profession

Source Character Operations Manual pg. 154
You spend time working professionally in a chosen field, performing tasks that help you ply your trade more effectively, build your audience or client base, and make connections with other professionals.

Multiday: You can spend 1 week practicing a profession to earn credits; this follows the rules for the earn a living task of the Profession skill.

At the end of each week you spend practicing a profession in a single settlement, choose one of the three areas of focus listed below and attempt an additional Profession check. The DC of this check is equal to 15 + 1-1/12 × the settlement’s maximum item level. If you succeed, you gain the listed benefits. If your profession is based on the ability score listed for that area of focus, you gain a +5 bonus to this check. You can’t benefit from more than one of the following areas of focus at a time.

Build Your Brand and Network (Charisma): You gain a +2 circumstance bonus to Diplomacy checks in that settlement for 1 week.
Create and Refine Processes and Tools (Intelligence): You can reroll your next Profession check to earn a living, as long as that check takes place within the next month. This check does not need to be attempted while in the same settlement.
Adapt to Local Customs and Demand (Wisdom): You can attempt Culture checks to recall knowledge about topics directly related to that settlement even if you are untrained, and the DC of such checks is reduced by 5. The reduction in DC does not stack with any reduction from your theme. This benefit lasts 1 week.

Provide Long-term Care

Source Character Operations Manual pg. 155
You devote your day to caring for a wounded living creature that is using the convalesce downtime activity. This follows the rules for the long-term care task of the Medicine skill.

Multiday: If you provide long-term care to only a single creature, you gain a cumulative +1 circumstance bonus to your skill checks to provide long-term care to that creature for each consecutive day you’ve used this activity, up to a maximum of +5.

Rebuild Drone

Source Character Operations Manual pg. 155
If you’re a mechanic whose drone has been destroyed, you can spend a day of downtime replacing your drone’s body, following the rules on page 74 of the Core Rulebook. This downtime activity can also be used to rebuild an existing drone when you gain a mechanic level, using the same rules.

Multiday: If you spend an uninterrupted week working on your drone, you can change out one of the drone’s mods, one of its feats, or its non-bonus skill unit. In each case, you must choose another feature of the same type for which the drone qualifies.

Refit Starship

Source Character Operations Manual pg. 155
If you have access to a friendly spaceport or safe landing zone, you can refit or upgrade a single starship system or weapon in 1d4 days—provided you have sufficient Build Points to do so—using the rules on page 305 of the Core Rulebook. Unlike most other multiday downtime activities, if you are interrupted while refitting or upgrading your starship, you can resume this activity without losing progress.

Research

Source Character Operations Manual pg. 155
You throw yourself into dedicated study of a single topic, diving into data sets or the local infosphere to learn as much as you can.

Activity: You spend the day studying to gain working knowledge of a single specific topic. This could be a mediumsized corporation, a large settlement, a prominent individual or criminal organization, or something similar; the GM has discretion on what qualifies. Regardless of the topic, you must have access to an infosphere, downloaded data set, or similar source of knowledge that contains information on the chosen topic. You can’t choose a topic that overlaps with your theme’s 1st-level theme knowledge.

Results: For the next week, you can attempt Culture checks to recall knowledge about that topic untrained, and the DC of such checks is reduced by 2. Each time you study a topic in this way, you lose this benefit for the prior topic and gain it for the new one.

Retrain

Source Character Operations Manual pg. 155
Through an apprenticeship or period of self-instruction, you dedicate intense focus to mastering a new skill set—at the cost of others you previously mastered. The extent to which you can acquire new abilities in this manner is relatively limited; those who wish to make more extensive changes often invest in a mnemonic editor instead.

Activity: You spend the day focused on a particular skill in which you don’t have the maximum number of ranks. At the end of the day, attempt a skill check with that skill (DC= 10 + 1-1/2 your level). You can’t take 10 or take 20 on this check.

Results: On a success, you gain a rank in the chosen skill, and you lose 1 skill rank in a random skill with the same ability modifier; if you don’t have ranks in a skill with the same ability modifier, you lose a rank from a random skill instead. If this causes you to no longer meet the requirements for a feat, piece of equipment, or the like, you lose access to that option (and gain any associated penalties) until you again meet its requirements.

Multiday: If you spend a full week retraining, you can instead learn a new feat that requires no prerequisites, in which case you lose a feat of your choice.

Schmooze

Source Ports of Call pg. 26
You get to know the local populace.

Activity: You spend the day in a small settlement (or a neighborhood of a larger settlement) talking to influential and connected locals. At the end of the day, roll a Charisma check, adding 1 to the result for every 3 ranks you have in Diplomacy. In notably friendly or unfriendly areas, the GM might apply a +2 or –2 penalty to this check, respectively, or as much as a +5 or –5 penalty for extraordinarily welcoming or xenophobic places. This activity can be performed only once per week per settlement.

Results: Consult the following table, using the result of your Charisma check to see the results of your activity.

CHARISMA CHECK	RESULT
2 or less	You not only fail to make any connections, but you mistakenly offend an influential local. You take a –2 penalty to Diplomacy checks in this settlement for one week.
3–5	You’re unable to gain a meaningful foothold in the community, but you gather some information that comes in handy, giving you a +2 insight bonus to the first Diplomacy check you attempt in this settlement in the next week.
6–15	You get to know the local movers and shakers personally. The first time in the next week you would fail a Diplomacy check in this settlement, you can reroll that check.
16–24	As 6–15, plus an influential community member likes your style and talks you up around town. You gain a +2 circumstance bonus to Diplomacy checks in this settlement for one week, and your attempts to gather information take 1 hour rather than 1d4 hours.
25+	You become something of a minor local celebrity. You gain the benefits of 6–15 and 16–24 results above, and you also gain a +2 circumstance bonus to Profession checks in that settlement for one week.

Secure Area

Source Character Operations Manual pg. 155
You secure a perimeter and set up camp for subsequent operations by shoring up weak positions, clearing out sight lines to vulnerable positions, and the like.

Activity: You spend the day securing a 50-foot-by-50-foot area over which you and your allies have control. As part of this activity, you can attempt Engineering checks to arm up to eight explosives that you own. You can set the triggering methods for these detonators to be rudimentary trip wires or pressure plates; in this case, each explosive requires its own detonator. The DC of Perception checks to notice these explosives is equal to the result of your Engineering checks to arm them. You can’t take 20 on these checks.

Results: On the following day, you and your allies gain a +2 circumstance bonus to initiative and Perception checks in the secured area.

Social Media Curation

Source Ports of Call pg. 26
You immerse yourself in social media.

Activity: You spend the day crafting or curating a social media profile and interacting with others on it. At the end of the day, roll a Charisma check, adding 1 to the result for every 3 ranks you have in Diplomacy or a relevant Profession skill. At the GM’s discretion, if you have an ability that directly enhances your fame or fan engagement (such as the icon theme’s celebrity ability), you gain an additional +1 circumstance bonus to this check. You can perform this activity only once per week per social media account.

Results: Consult the following table, using the result of your Constitution check to see the results of your activity.

WILL CHECK	RESULT
1 or less	You’re overwhelmed by the apparent successes of others and fall into a funk. Any morale bonuses you would gain for the next day are reduced by 2.
2–5	You maintain your account in good standing.
6–15	You connect with a new subset of users and learn something new. You gain a +2 insight bonus to your next skill check to recall knowledge attempted in the next day.
16–24	Another user, impressed by your skill, hires you for consultation. This pays 50 credits per level and doesn’t require any additional time spent.
25+	A fan or friend is inspired to send you a personal item (from Starfinder Core Rulebook or Starfinder Armory) worth 1000 credits or less.

Spellcraft

Source Ports of Call pg. 26
You devise a magical trick to temporarily enhance a spell.

Activity: You spend the day focusing your energies on a single spell. Choose a spell you know and attempt a Mysticism check (DC = 10 + the spell’s level + your level).

Results: If you succeed at the Mysticism check, once before the end of the following day, you can apply one of the following benefits to the chosen spell. You must choose the benefit as you cast the spell, and some benefits can only be applied to spells from a specific school. If you exceed the Mysticism check’s DC by 10 or more, you can apply a benefit each time you cast the spell before the end of the following day.
Calculated: If you roll one or more dice to determine how much damage the spell deals or how many Hit Points or Stamina Points it restores, the first time you roll these dice, you can reroll any die result of 1 and must use the second result.
Convincing (illusion only): Creatures attempting to disbelieve an illusion you cast as a move action take a –2 penalty to their Will saves. A creature takes no penalty if it interacts with the illusion as a standard action.
Expert: Treat your caster level as 1 higher when casting the spell.
Overpowering: Increase the spell’s saving throw DCs by 1.
Precise: You gain a +1 bonus to any attack rolls you make with the spell before the beginning of your next turn, and those attacks reduce any AC bonus the targets receive due to cover by 1.
Protective (abjuration spells only): One creature affected by the spell gains a +1 bonus to AC for 1d4 rounds.

Starship System Diagnostics

Source Ports of Call pg. 26
You examine and bolster your starship’s systems.

Activity: You spend the day building in redundancies to one of your starship’s systems. Choose one of the following: life support, sensors, weapons array, engines, or power core.

Results: Once per starship combat on the following day, when your starship takes critical damage and you roll to see which system is damaged, if the system you chose would be affected, you can choose to reroll and use the second result to determine which system takes critical damage.

Talk Therapy

Source Ports of Call pg. 27
You offer an ally a friendly ear and a bit of wisdom.

Activity: You spend the day talking with and listening to an ally, and this ally can’t perform any downtime activity for the day except this one, with you as their ally. At the end of the day, attempt a DC 10 Wisdom or Charisma check, adding 1 to the result for every 3 ranks you have in Diplomacy or a relevant Profession skill (such as counselor, manager, or psychologist).

Results: If you succeed, your ally gains a +1 morale bonus to saving throws against mind-affecting effects for the following day. If you exceed the check’s DC by 5 or more, the bonus increases to +3. If you fail the check, decrease the activity’s DC by 5 the next time you and that ally attempt this downtime activity with one another.

Tidy Up

Source Ports of Call pg. 27
You get around to cleaning and organizing your living or traveling environment.

Activity: You spend the day tidying your starship, living quarters, campsite, or other place you spend significant time. At the end of the day, roll a Constitution check or Wisdom check. This activity can be performed only once per week in the same location.

Results: Consult the following table, using the result of your check to determine the results of your tidying. You also gain a +2 morale bonus to initiative checks in that location for one week.

CHECK	RESULT
1 or less	You accidentally dispose of a random consumable item (or 250 of your credits if you don’t have a consumable item).
2–5	You gain the satisfaction of a job (mostly) well done.
6–15	You find 1d20 physical credits.
16–24	You find a personal item of negligible bulk worth 100 credits or less.
25+	You find a personal item or weapon accessory (Starfinder Armory 58) worth 1,000 credits or less.

Tutor

Source Ports of Call pg. 27
You share your skills with an ally.

Activity: Choose a skill in which you have at least 3 ranks. You spend the day teaching a willing ally whose number of ranks in that skill is at least 3 lower than yours; the ally must use their downtime studying with you. At the end of the day, your ally attempts a DC 10 ability check, using the ability associated with the chosen skill.

Results: If your ally succeeds at the check, they count as being trained in that skill until the end of the following day. In addition, before attempting a check with that skill, the ally can add a +3 insight bonus to their check; they can apply this bonus three times during that day.

Work Out

Source Character Operations Manual pg. 155
Whether through aerobic exercise, pumping iron, sparring, or otherwise putting yourself through the paces, you push your body to improve its performance.

Results: On a success, once per day for the following week, you can reroll either a failed Acrobatics check to balance, escape, fly, or tumble, or a failed Athletics check to climb, jump, or swim, depending on the focus of your workout. On a failure, you can reroll a corresponding check only once during that week.

Multiday: Decide whether you’re working on your agility (to improve your Acrobatics) or sheer physical power (to improve your Athletics). You spend 7 days carefully alternating intense training and mindful rest. If this activity is interrupted, you can resume it within 2 days to keep any progress made toward the 7-day total. At the end of 7 days, attempt a Fortitude saving throw with a DC equal to 10 + half your character level—you gain a +2 circumstance bonus to this save if you have access to an exercise-focused recreation suite (such as a gym or sparring arena) or similar facility.

World Analysis

Source Galaxy Exploration Manual pg. 36
You perform a more focused scan of a world from orbit, sifting through a mountain of data to pick out pertinent information.

Activity: You spend the day performing detailed scans of certain aspects of the world and analyzing the data you collect. You must be in a starship orbiting a world to use this activity. Choose one or more of the following elements: the world’s sapient species, threat species, level of technology, level of magic, level of religion, level of accord, general alignment, large settlements, or a single planetary anomaly. The number of elements that can be analyzed in 1 day, per starship, depends on the number of nodes the starship’s computer has (1 with a basic computer or mononode, 2 with a duonode, and so on).
GMs can use the guidance in the Building Worlds section of this book (pages 46–47) to generate results for both the basic elements of a world and most of those listed above. The GM may determine that some aspects of a planet’s physical or cultural attributes are not discernible from orbit. For GM advice on planetary anomalies, see the sidebar below.
At the end of the day, attempt a separate skill check for each element you’re trying to learn more about. The type of skill check depends on the chosen element: Culture for alignment or level of accord, Engineering for level of technology, Life Science for sapient or threat species, Mysticism for level of magic or religion, Physical Science for large settlements. The type of skill check used for planetary anomalies varies by anomaly and is determined by the GM. Regardless of the skill used, the DC begins at 25 and is modified as normal (see the Sensor Modifiers sidebar). You can’t take 20 on this check.

Results: On each successful check, you learn basic information about the chosen element, such as the most populous threat species or the world’s relative level of magic. If you exceed the DC by 5 or more, you might also glean more detailed information at the GM’s discretion.

World Mapping

Source Galaxy Exploration Manual pg. 37
You focus on scanning a specific area of a world to learn more about its geography.

Activity: You spend the day scanning and analyzing data for thousands of square miles of a world’s geography. You must be in a starship orbiting a world to use this activity.
At the end of the day, attempt a Physical Science check. You gain a +1 bonus to this check if your starship has a general science lab or a +2 bonus if it has a physical science lab. You also can apply the bonus normally granted by your starship’s computer. The DC for this check begins at 15 and is modified as normal (see the Sensor Modifiers sidebar). You can’t take 20 on this check.

Results: On a success, you learn the biome of each 12-mile hex in a region, the size of which is determined by the GM (most often a map of the size provided on the Exploration Log on page 158). For every 5 by which your result exceeds the DC, you discover a more detailed feature in one 12-mile hex at the GM’s discretion. This might be a hazard, the presence of a group of sapient or threat species, a planetary anomaly, or even an interesting geological feature.

Archives of Nethys

All Rules | Downtime Rules

Downtime