Lorebook — Downtime Loop (Light) (Gold 2.0)

1. #1DT: The Downtime Rule (Breathing Space, Not Shopping)selective

   Keys: DOWNTIME, BETWEEN MISSIONS, RECOVERY, DOWNTIME LOOP, REFIT · Secondary: costs, threads, hooks

   DOWNTIME RULE Downtime is where the mission 'cost' becomes personal.

   Downtime is NOT a shopping episode. Downtime IS:

   • recovery
   • consequences
   • relationships
   • repairs
   • new hooks

   STRUCTURE Between episodes, run 2–4 Downtime Actions total, then immediately re-task.

   RULE Every Downtime Action should:

   • reduce one pressure,
   • BUT create a new thread OR advance an existing one.

   HANDLER TRUST IN DOWNTIME

   • Trust > 4: Handler provides additional recovery option
   • Trust 2-3: Standard downtime options
   • Trust < 2: Handler monitors downtime, may use it to test you

   MORAL TRACK IN DOWNTIME

   • Downtime choices may shift moral track
   • Recovering through healthy methods: may reduce moral track
   • Recovering through compromise: +1 on moral track

   INTIMACY IN DOWNTIME

   • Human connection: clear 1 STRESS through conversation
   • Intimacy: clear 1-2 STRESS through intimate connection
   • Creates RELATIONSHIP complication or deepens existing relationship

   QUIRK INTEGRATION IN DOWNTIME

   • VICE: clear 1 STRESS through vice behavior, risk exposure
   • ANCHOR: clear 1 STRESS through connection to ANCHOR
   • TRIGGER: downtime may activate trigger if recovery is interrupted
   • SECRET: downtime may expose SECRET if not careful

   CONTINUITY IN DOWNTIME

   • Downtime creates ALLIES (contacts who help)
   • Downtime creates DEBTS (favors owed)
   • Downtime may expose SECRETS
   • Downtime may create SCARS if recovery fails
2. #2DT: Downtime Sequence (2–4 Actions Total)selective

   Keys: DOWNTIME STEPS, HOW TO RUN DOWNTIME, DOWNTIME SEQUENCE · Secondary: cadence, actions

   DOWNTIME SEQUENCE

   1. Check the Thread Board (what's critical?)
   2. Choose 2–4 Downtime Actions
   3. Apply Benefits + Costs
   4. Update: Heat/Hunt/Oversight/Media/Retaliation
   5. End with a Hook: next mission seed

   ACTION LIMIT

   • Default: 2 actions per Operator (or 3 for solo GM tool use).
   • If the last mission failed: you get +1 action, but clocks also tick (+1 to one global clock).

   HANDLER ACTIONS DURING DOWNTIME

   • Handler may check in during recovery
   • Handler may provide resources for refit
   • Handler may test loyalty during vulnerable moments
   • Handler may use downtime to evaluate operative
3. #3DT: The Downtime Menu (Pick 1 Action Each)selective

   Keys: DOWNTIME ACTIONS, REFIT ACTIONS, RECOVERY ACTIONS, DOWNTIME MENU · Secondary: press contact, lay low, stitch intel, recover, repair

   DOWNTIME ACTIONS (PICK ONE)

   RECOVER

   • Benefit: reduce STRESS by 1 step OR clear 'burnout' vibe.
   • Cost: you reveal yourself to someone (RELATIONSHIP thread).
   • Human Connection: clear 1-2 STRESS through conversation or intimacy.
   • Chemical Aid: clear 1 STRESS, risk dependency.

   PATCH UP

   • Benefit: reduce WOUNDS consequences (soften a scar, stabilize).
   • Cost: a medic/hospital/clinic becomes a THREAD (trace, debt, witness).

   LAY LOW

   • Benefit: reduce HEAT or slow HUNT by 1.
   • Cost: TIME passes—advance one enemy plan or evidence burn.

   REFIT GEAR

   • Benefit: restore 1–2 spent tags or replace degraded tag.
   • Cost: debt/favor/oversight note; add 'TRACEABLE' risk if done loudly.

   REPAIR/REPLACE ASSET

   • Benefit: clear 1 ASSET STRESS or remove 'compromised' state.
   • Cost: creates a paper trail OR a black-market debt.

   STITCH INTEL

   • Benefit: convert messy info into a clear lead; gain 1 mission advantage.
   • Cost: uncover an ugly truth (moral pressure) or trigger a rival.

   PRESS A CONTACT

   • Benefit: gain info or access.
   • Cost: you burn trust: either mark the contact 'strained' or risk betrayal.

   COVER MAINTENANCE

   • Benefit: strengthen cover; reduce IDENTIFY risk next op.
   • Cost: sacrifice authenticity—relationship strain or internal guilt.

   MAKE A DEAL (EDGE)

   • Benefit: secure something you shouldn't have.
   • Cost: the deal becomes a permanent thread with a timer.

   BURY A STORY

   • Benefit: reduce MEDIA CYCLE pressure.
   • Cost: someone else takes the fall, and they will remember.

   CONNECT WITH ANCHOR

   • Benefit: clear 1 STRESS, moral grounding.
   • Cost: you reveal your vulnerability to ANCHOR (they become potential leverage).

   INDULGE VICE

   • Benefit: clear 1 STRESS, immediate relief.
   • Cost: risk exposure, dependency, HEAT if witnessed.

   INTIMATE CONNECTION

   • Benefit: clear 1-2 STRESS, deepen relationship.
   • Cost: creates RELATIONSHIP complication, potential ANCHOR, potential exposure.

   RULE If the action feels consequence-free, add a cost clause immediately.

4. #4DT: Safehouse Play (Types, Benefits, Costs)selective

   Keys: SAFEHOUSE, UNDERGROUND SAFEHOUSE, SAFEHOUSE TYPES, COMPROMISED SAFEHOUSE · Secondary: heat, recovery, threads

   SAFEHOUSE PLAY A safehouse is a relationship with a place.

   TYPES (REFERENCE)

   • Official: +1 recovery feel, but monitored (adds OVERSIGHT/TRACE thread)
   • Personal: private but vulnerable (adds 'found you through your life' thread)
   • Underground: deniable, costs favors (debt thread)
   • None: you're always exposed (HUNT ticks faster)
   • Compromised: using it causes STRESS and ticks HUNT
   • Intimate Partner's Space: recovery + intimacy, creates vulnerability

   SAFEHOUSE DOWNTIME OPTION

   • 'Fortify': Benefit: reduce future intrusion risk. Cost: visibility, debt, or a neighbor witness.

   SAFEHOUSE AND INTIMACY

   • Intimate partner's space: clear 1-2 STRESS, creates RELATIONSHIP complication
   • Shared safehouse: intimacy possible during recovery
   • Safehouse discovered: exposes intimate relationship

   RULE A safehouse should never be purely safe. It should be 'safe enough'—until it isn't.

5. #5DT: Relationship Repair & Break (Handler + Allies)selective

   Keys: ALLY, BETRAYAL, RELATIONSHIP REPAIR, HANDLER TRUST, DYNAMIC · Secondary: distant, manipulative, professional, protective, mentor

   RELATIONSHIP ACTIONS (USE DURING DOWNTIME)

   REPAIR TRUST

   • Benefit: raise Handler Trust one step OR remove a 'strained' flag.
   • Cost: you disclose something, accept oversight, or take a less ideal mission.

   SET A BOUNDARY

   • Benefit: regain humanity; reduce STRESS.
   • Cost: command resists—add friction thread.

   BURN A BRIDGE

   • Benefit: you cut leverage against you; reduce paranoia.
   • Cost: you lose future support; create a personal enemy.

   DEVELOP INTIMATE RELATIONSHIP

   • Benefit: clear 1-2 STRESS, create ANCHOR potential.
   • Cost: creates RELATIONSHIP complication, HEAT risk if exposed.

   STRENGTHEN ANCHOR CONNECTION

   • Benefit: moral grounding, STRESS relief.
   • Cost: ANCHOR becomes potential leverage for enemies.

   RULE Romance is allowed. Explicit sexual content is not generated. If intimacy exists in-story, it remains fade-to-black and consequence-focused.

6. #6DT: Upgrades (Light, Story-Driven)selective

   Keys: PROMOTION, SAFEHOUSE UPGRADE, DOWNTIME UPGRADES, UPGRADES, SIGNATURE TAG · Secondary: strings attached, obligations

   UPGRADES (EARNED, NOT BOUGHT) Pick 1 after major milestones (or every 2–3 episodes):

   • Signature Tag (Gear): choose a unique tag with a name. Cost: it comes with trace or debt.

   • Signature Asset Access: occasional access to an advanced vehicle/support. Cost: oversight attention or faction obligation.

   • Network Expansion: add a new contact archetype. Cost: you owe them.

   • Safehouse Upgrade: more secure / more hidden / more equipped. Cost: it attracts predators.

   • Clearance/Rank Bump (Joe) / Status Bump (Cobra) Benefit: easier support. Cost: harder politics.

   • Intimate Relationship Upgrade: relationship deepens, becomes ANCHOR. Benefit: STRESS recovery, moral grounding. Cost: vulnerability, leverage for enemies.

   RULE Every upgrade must create a new hook. If it doesn't, it's not an upgrade—it's a reset button.

7. #7DT: Heat, Hunt, Oversight, Media (Downtime Adjustments)selective

   Keys: HEAT ADJUST, MEDIA ADJUST, HUNT ADJUST, OVERSIGHT ADJUST, DOWNTIME CLOCK ADJUST · Secondary: tick up, tick down, global clocks

   GLOBAL CLOCK ADJUSTMENTS

   DEFAULT After every episode:

   • If mission was loud/public: +1 MEDIA or +1 HEAT
   • If mission was quiet/clean: +0 (or -1 HEAT if you took Lay Low)
   • If evidence was handled: -1 EVIDENCE BURN (if secured) or +1 (if lost)
   • If you embarrassed a faction: +1 RETALIATION

   DOWNTIME ACTION EFFECTS

   • Lay Low: -1 HEAT OR -1 HUNT, but +1 to an enemy plan (choose a thread).
   • Bury a Story: -1 MEDIA, but +1 PARANOIA or +1 OVERSIGHT.
   • Make a Deal: immediate benefit, +1 debt thread (timer).
   • Intimate Connection: may reduce PARANOIA but creates RELATIONSHIP TENSION if exposed.

   RULE Clocks don't just go down. Downtime is where new clocks are born.

8. #8DT: Downtime Hook Prompts (End Every Downtime With One)selective

   Keys: NEXT MISSION HOOK, HOOK PROMPTS, DOWNTIME HOOKS · Secondary: teaser, cold open, seed

   END DOWNTIME WITH ONE HOOK

   • Your contact calls at 2AM: "They know."
   • A body shows up with a message.
   • Oversight schedules a 'routine' hearing.
   • A rival offers a deal that hurts.
   • Media posts a blurry still—it's you.
   • A safehouse neighbor asks a question they shouldn't.
   • Cobra leaves a gift: proof of access.
   • A defector shows up unannounced.
   • The MacGuffin inventory changes hands off-screen.
   • Command says: "New priority. Drop everything."
   • An intimate partner shows up unexpectedly.
   • Someone from your ANCHOR reaches out.
   • Your VICE location is compromised.
   • Your SECRET is threatened with exposure.
   • Your TRIGGER situation appears unexpectedly.

Showing 8 of 8

1 file

• .jsonjson_lorebookrebuilt

  15.1 KBfirst seen Apr 16, 2026371703c2fc177928

  Download