Goal: one session = arrival, a hub, 2–4 player choices, one consequence that points to the next adventure.
Mechanics: Morelord Gaming Tools run most of this in Foundry. Downtime runs the session, Marketplace handles shops and selling, and Craftworks handles crafting. Everything else is GM-run. This page covers what to offer and how to run it at the table.
Rule of thumb: montage the routine, play scenes for anything with a decision, an NPC, or a complication.
Open with a strong sensory snapshot: biting cold off the northern Sword Coast, snow on the rooftops and sea fog rolling in; through it, the Neverwinter River steams, the only water in the city that never freezes. Add rebuilt walls and scaffolding, Lords' Alliance banners, and bundled-up crowds at the gate.
A gate or dock beat: a toll, a guard asking their business, or a rumor shouted by a crier. Give one hook right away.
Establish a home base (an inn or patron's house) so players have a place to come back to.
Present the city as a short menu of 4–6 named places rather than an open map. Each place offers a service, an NPC, and a rumor.
Say how much time they have (e.g. "You have a tenday before the caravan leaves").
Have each player pick their downtime activity and one location to visit.
Result is routine (buying rope, a week of work) — A choice matters or the price is negotiable
Only one player cares — An NPC with an agenda is involved
The roll just sets a number — A complication was rolled
You're short on time — It sets up a plot hook
Montage format: each player describes their week in 1–2 sentences, rolls (module), you narrate the result in one line plus one detail.
Spotlight rotation: give each player one short scene (5–10 min) before anyone gets a second.
Arrival — Time: 15 min — Content: Gate, first impression, first hook
Hub + picks — Time: 10 min — Content: Menu of places, everyone chooses an activity
Downtime montage — Time: 30 min — Content: Rolls and quick results
Spotlight scenes — Time: 90 min — Content: One per player, complications played out
City event — Time: 45 min — Content: One shared scene: a street fight, a summons, a fire, a cult sign
Wrap-up — Time: 15 min — Content: Rewards, rumors, what's next
Keep a clock: when time is low, collapse remaining activities into a montage.
End on a hook, not on shopping.
A list of 10 names for random NPCs, and 3 rumors (one true, one half-true, one false).
A one-line price guide and a "what's not for sale" list.
One combat-ready encounter in case the table gets restless.
*How each activity normally works. Numbers come from the source rules; where the rules leave it to the GM, the entry says so.*
Crafting — Source: 2024 — Time · Cost · Roll · Result: Needs the right tool proficiency. Raw materials cost half the item's price; time scales with price. Magic items need a recipe/formula. Result: the item. — Run with: Craftworks
Crafting an Item — Source: XGE — Time · Cost · Roll · Result: Progress of 50 gp of value per workweek; materials cost half the price. Magic items need a formula plus an exotic material. Result: the item. — Run with: Craftworks
Scribing a Spell Scroll — Source: 2024 / XGE — Time · Cost · Roll · Result: Needs a prepared spell and Arcana proficiency. Time and gold go up with spell level (see the PHB/XGE table). Result: the scroll. — Run with: Craftworks, if a recipe exists
Training — Source: 2024 / XGE — Time · Cost · Roll · Result: XGE: 10 workweeks minus Int modifier, 25 gp per workweek, with an instructor. 2024: the GM sets time and cost. Result: a language or tool proficiency. — Run with: Downtime (instructor)
Buying a Magic Item — Source: 2024 / XGE — Time · Cost · Roll · Result: XGE: 1 workweek + 100 gp to search, then a Persuasion check sets what turns up. 2024: the GM sets availability by rarity and city size. Result: the item, at its price. — Run with: Marketplace
Selling a Magic Item — Source: 2024 / XGE — Time · Cost · Roll · Result: XGE: 1 workweek + 25 gp, then a Persuasion check sets the offer, usually below list price. Result: gold. — Run with: Marketplace
Commission (hire an NPC to make or do something) — Source: GM ruling — Time · Cost · Roll · Result: The GM sets the price and the days. Result: the item or service when the time is up. — Run with: Downtime (commissions)
Carousing — Source: XGE — Time · Cost · Roll · Result: 1 workweek; 10 / 50 / 250 gp for lower, middle or upper class. A d100 roll + level sets contacts or trouble. Result: a contact, an ally or a complication. — Run with: GM-run
Work — Source: 2024 / XGE — Time · Cost · Roll · Result: 1 workweek. An ability check with a skill or tool sets pay. Result: covers a lifestyle and may pay a little extra. — Run with: GM-run
Research — Source: 2024 / XGE — Time · Cost · Roll · Result: XGE: 1 workweek + at least 50 gp; Int check, +1 per extra 100 gp spent. Result: 0–3 pieces of lore. — Run with: GM-run
Recuperating / Relaxation — Source: 2024 / XGE — Time · Cost · Roll · Result: 1 workweek at a modest lifestyle or better. Result: end one lingering effect, or advantage on saves vs. one disease or poison. — Run with: GM-run
Crime — Source: XGE — Time · Cost · Roll · Result: 1 workweek + 25 gp. Three checks (Stealth, thieves' tools or disguise, and one more) vs. the target's DC 10–25. Result: loot, or jail. — Run with: GM-run
Gambling — Source: XGE — Time · Cost · Roll · Result: 1 workweek; stake 10–1,000 gp. Insight, Deception and Intimidation checks vs. DC 5 + 2d10. Result: lose the stake, or win up to double. — Run with: GM-run
Pit Fighting — Source: XGE — Time · Cost · Roll · Result: 1 workweek. Athletics, Acrobatics, and Con or an attack roll vs. DC 5 + 2d10. Result: 0–200 gp. — Run with: GM-run
Religious Service — Source: XGE — Time · Cost · Roll · Result: 1 workweek. Religion or Persuasion check. Result: favors from the temple. — Run with: GM-run
Complications: roll or pick one for every activity (or every other week), and play the good ones as scenes. One idea: the Zhentarim are scouting pit fighters with ties to Conyberry.
*All settings below are suggestions for tonight. Adjust prices, days and stock as you like.*
Party in Neverwinter: Clara (wizard), Nissa, Breith, Drax (dragonborn Hexblade warlock, Summer Court) and Vaelthar (ice dragonborn warrior, Winter Court). Erik and Bjorn are retired, so leave them out.
Link: https://morelordgaming.com/tools/morelord-downtime?utm_source=legendkeeper&utm_medium=guide&utm_campaign=neverwinter_downtime (needs Tools Premium or Champion)
Place — Neverwinter
Hours — 10 days of downtime hours
Included characters — Clara, Nissa, Breith, Drax, Vaelthar (all 5 PCs)
Allowed activities — Training, crafting, commissions, shopping
Publish — Publish when the party settles at their inn
Carryover — Unfinished training, crafting and commissions carry over to the next downtime
Journeys — Advance the calendar 10 days when the session closes
Training with an instructor (suggestion): Brother Aldous, a scribe-priest at the House of Knowledge, teaches calligrapher's supplies. A fit for Clara's scroll work.
Training with an instructor (suggestion): Hylda Frostmantle, a retired sea captain at the docks, teaches the Draconic or Sylvan language. A fit for Drax or Vaelthar and their fey courts.
Commission (suggestion): Vaelthar commissions a custom greataxe (or his main weapon) with a frost-wolf pommel from the Protector's Enclave smith. Ready in 10 days, with any unfinished time carrying over.
Link: https://morelordgaming.com/tools/morelord-marketplace?utm_source=legendkeeper&utm_medium=guide&utm_campaign=neverwinter_downtime
Compendiums for sale — SRD items + adventuring gear; magic items limited to common and uncommon
Sale rate — 50% (players get half price when selling)
GM approval — On for magic-item purchases and all sales to the fence
Scene vendors
Protector's Enclave smith: "Ironhand Forge" — Weapons, armor, shields, tools · list price · restocks weekly
Arcane shop: "The Frosted Sigil" in the Enclave — Arcane focuses, components, potions, a few common/uncommon magic items · +20% · restocks every 10 days
House of Knowledge scriptorium — Spell scrolls, spell components, ink and paper · +10% · restocks weekly
Temple of Tyr healer, Hall of Justice — Healing potions, antitoxin, healer's kits · list price · restocks weekly
Fence, Blacklake docks: "Silt" Marrow — Buys stolen or odd goods; small, odd stock · buys at 30–40%, sells at +25% · restocks randomly · GM approval on
Link: https://morelordgaming.com/tools/morelord-craftworks?utm_source=legendkeeper&utm_medium=guide&utm_campaign=neverwinter_downtime
Recipes — Free: SRD 5.1/5.2. Premium adds PHB/DMG and lets characters finish the item. Champion adds Monsters of Drakkenheim.
Harvested materials — Materials and recipes the party picked up since Thundertree and Conyberry
Requirements — The crafter needs the right tools and proficiency, and still makes the check
Clara (suggestion): scribe a spell scroll with Craftworks if a recipe exists. If not, run it as GM-run scribing.
Any PC with smith's or alchemist's tools (suggestion): turn harvested materials into gear or potions with a recipe.
Carousing, work, research, recuperating, crime, gambling, pit fighting and religious service. Use the activity table above.
Related pages under Downtime: Shop for Magic Items, Buy a Specific Magic Item, Carousing, Learn New Skill.
Neverwinter is a cold northern Sword Coast city: long, harsh winters, frequent snow, and thick sea fog.
The exception is the Neverwinter River. Mount Hotenow heats it, so it steams and never freezes. The city's name comes from the river, not from a mild climate.
At the table: lodging, firewood and warm clothes matter. Fog and snow make good cover for crime, chases and ambushes.
Protector's Enclave — Main market and center of the rebuilt city. Shopping, crafting, work, buying magic items.
Hall of Justice — Temple of Tyr. Recuperating, religious service, legal trouble, bounties.
House of Knowledge — Temple of Oghma. Research, scribing scrolls, identifying items.
Castle Never — Lord Neverember's seat; political scenes and Lords' Alliance business.
Blacklake District — Wealthy nobles' quarter. Upper-class carousing, selling rare items, patron scenes.
Neverwinter River — Heated from below by Mount Hotenow, the river runs warm and steams in the cold air, staying unfrozen even in the harsh northern winter while the rest of the city lies under snow and fog; bridges such as the Winged Wyvern Bridge. Dock work, smuggling, strange creatures.
Docks and the Moonstone Mask — Famous inn/festhall. Carousing, gambling, rumors, information brokers.
Neverdeath Graveyard — Undead trouble, Cult of Kelemvor or Thayan interest; a dark side quest.
Chasm District / Ruins — Areas still damaged by the Mount Hotenow eruption. Danger, scavenging, Aberrant or monster hooks.
Lord Dagult Neverember is the Lord Protector of Neverwinter; he has ruled it as a political base and rebuilt much of it.
Use him or his agents for patron scenes, rewards, or conflict over the Lords' Alliance.
Lords' Alliance — What they want in the city: Order, trade, Neverember's authority — Downtime hook: Hire the party; reward with contacts.
Harpers — What they want in the city: Watch threats quietly — Downtime hook: Ask the party to investigate a rumor.
Order of the Gauntlet — What they want in the city: Fight evil openly — Downtime hook: Recruit fighters and clerics; tie to the Hall of Justice.
Zhentarim — What they want in the city: Profit, smuggling, mercenaries — Downtime hook: Pit fights, fencing items; links to the Conyberry outpost.
Emerald Enclave — What they want in the city: Balance with nature — Downtime hook: Warn of corruption from beneath the earth.
Thieves and smugglers — What they want in the city: Money — Downtime hook: Crime downtime, selling stolen goods.
Rumors of the Obelisk: a scholar at the House of Knowledge is studying strange obelisk fragments and wants help or bodyguards.
Cult signs: a carousing or work complication turns up symbols of an aberrant cult in the docks or sewers.
Sick dreams: NPCs in the city report strange dreams; a clue about aberrant influence spreading.
Zhentarim reach: a pit fighter mentions the Conyberry operation, putting the party face to face with Zhentarim agents in the city.
Patron offer: an agent of Lord Neverember offers coin for help with trouble in the Sword Coast countryside.
Phandalin connections: a merchant or noble with ties to Phandalin asks the party to deliver goods or news.
Recap gold spent and gained, new items, contacts, and rivals.
Plant one clear lead for the next session.
Note complications that are still open, to pay off later.