How Was Your Winter Phase?

Or: Why I Won’t Be at Chaosium Con

Among the many things that made me fall in love with Pendragon when I first encountered it was the Winter Phase. I love a good downtime mechanic, it must be said. Downtime gives campaigns breathing room. Downtime increases immersion—it’s much more believable that a character would have stretches of the mundane in between those moments of high excitement that constitute adventure scenarios. Downtime mechanics make the world and its characters feel real.

The Winter Phase is downtime turned up to eleven. What it really asks is, “How did the rest of your year go?” It represents your knight looking back and assessing how they grew, what they learned, and how they hurt. It bakes in the core assumption in Pendragon of “one scenario per game year.” And, not incidentally, it makes it really easy to accommodate a Player who can’t make it to that session. Their knight was off somewhere else this year; roll up a Solo Scenario and we’ll catch you next time.

Here in Santa Fe, up at 7,000 feet elevation, the leaves are just starting to bud, the wildflowers and fruit trees just coming into bloom. Yesterday was Easter Sunday. I often start off a new Pendragon year around this time, and for good reason. This is the true end of Winter Phase; it’s time for new adventures.

I had a tough Winter Phase this past year. In game terms, I biffed my Aging roll and suffered several points of Statistic loss. In real-world terms, I got very sick, first with a really nasty flu-like virus (not with Covid, oddly enough), then secondary bacterial infections, culminating in a brief hospital stay and more antibiotics over the course of the weekend than I think I’ve had in a whole lifetime up to this point. I’m recovered from the actual diseases now, but I’m still dealing with the after-effects; specifically, something I didn’t even know about until this year, a condition in which your body essentially develops arthritis because your immune system was driven into overdrive.

The good news is that it’s a temporary affliction, but my rheumatologist (I have a rheumatologist now!) put me on some meds to help curb the damage in the meantime. And those meds have an immunosuppressant effect. Which means no large gatherings for me for the foreseeable future. Which means no Chaosium Con, sadly.

(There has been some talk about maybe getting me in as a virtual member at Sunday’s Pendragon panel. The logistics have yet to be worked out to see if that’s even possible. Stay tuned to my socials for an announcement, should such wizardry come to pass.)

One thing I did discover through my manifold blood tests and consultations throughout January and February was that I also had a vitamin D deficiency! Being on vitamin D mega-doses for the past couple months has done wonders for my overall health and mood. I feel better than I have in years, and very much ready for my next adventure (even if for now it’ll have to be from the comfort of my couch).

(By the way, I learned nearly half of all Americans are deficient, so my public service announcement, regardless of what part of the world you’re in, would be to add a supplement to your diet and maybe ask your doctor to test your levels at your next physical. You’ll be glad you did.)

As I work on restoring my lost points of DEX and CON, I’m curious: do you use downtime mechanics in your games? What are your favorites?

‘Til next time…