Star City is alive. It aches, it watches, and under alien occupation… it reacts.
Every mission the imposters pull off, every ally they help or lose, every mistake they make, every victory they celebrate—all of it sends a ripple through the city’s nervous system. The v’sori feel it. The scattered resistance feels it. Regular people feel it too.
We call that ripple the Pulse.
The Pulse is the campaign’s pressure gauge.
Low Pulse? The team can move quietly, civilians breathe easier, SCPD pretends things are normal.
High Pulse? Patrols tighten, k’tharen are unleashed, and Overwatch eyes turn toward the shadows you thought were safe.
And when the Pulse peaks… they come for you.
Characters need to pay for daily lifestyle expenses between missions and during Downtime. The prices listed here are the daily average for food, drink, lodging, service fees, and occasional entertainment. They are adjusted for Star City, living under alien occupation and the heroes' particular situation.
| Lifestyle | Daily Cost | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Destitute | $0 | Living in shelters, alleys, tunnels, or borrowed floorspace. Invisible to authorities but extremely vulnerable to crime. |
| Meager | $50 | Scraping by on cheap food and unsecured housing. At current Pulse, invisible to surveillance, but street-level trouble is common. |
| Fair | $120 | Crude apartments or hostels, decent food, predictable fees. Public transportation included. At current Pulse, infrequent surveillance and SCPD patrol stops. |
| Comfortable | $200 | Modest apartments, reliable food, reasonable privacy but higher fees. Taxi use included. At current Pulse, subject to casual surveillance. |
| Prosperous | $350 | Nice apartments, preferred status, clean data feeds, good privacy. Personal sedan included. At current Pulse, subject to reviewed surveillance. |
| Lavish | $750 | High-end condos, luxury venues, secure sub-nets, excellent privacy. Personal armored sedan included. At current Pulse, surveillance is obfuscated but present. |
| Opulent | $2,500 | Penthouses, professional security, walled networks, elite services. Armored limousine included. At current Pulse, hidden surveillance overshadowed by political scrutiny. |
Each person living in a shared space enjoys a 20% discount on the average daily cost of Lifestyle. This is capped at Comfortable. Living at a Prosperous Lifestyle or above gains no benefit from shared space due to the various other factors that contribute to higher living: more expensive space, more privacy, more security, better food, more social status, etc.
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Someone can offer their 20% discount to a teammate in a selfless act. They pay 100%, while the teammate pays only 60%.
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Under v’sori rule, all weapons, armors, and their accessories have been outlawed, as well as certain miscellaneous gear deemed dangerous. They can only be obtained through the Black Market and multiply all prices by 10. (NE, p. 14)
Locating any item through the Black Market requires the NETWORK Downtime Activity.
Between missions, our heroes take time to breathe, rebuild, plot, or simply stay alive. Downtime isn’t a break from the story—it’s an engine that drives it forward. Every activity nudges the Pulse of the city (up or down), shapes relationships, gathers resources, and reveals who these characters truly are.
You don’t need to track the Pulse or worry about its number—just know that your choices influence the rhythm of the city.
Downtime encourages teamwork. Most activities benefit from multiple participants, and group efforts often produce bigger, more unexpected results than solo attempts.
Downtime provides opportunity for a different kind of narrative. The stakes are different but the results might be just as compelling as a tabletop mission. It’s storytelling with minimal gameplay interruptions.
Remember, Downtime is a narrative opportunity designed to advance story, promote character development, advance campaign calendar days, and alter Star City's Pulse.
No one may perform more than one Downtime Activity at a time.
Multiple sources grant a free reroll to a Skill. These are allowed and recommended for use in the Downtime Activity Skill roll. Bennies are not available for Downtime.
A character with this modified superpower may accelerate a Downtime Activity by reducing the Duration. Choose ONE of the following options when starting a Downtime Activity:
This Edge grants the character a +2 bonus to Repair rolls, which applies in Downtime Activities. However, the effect of the Edge which reduces repair time based on a Raise does not apply because no Downtime Activities reduce Duration based on a Raise.