The town is not where the adventure happens. It is specifically where adventure doesn't happen, so there's no political dealings or strangeness to overcome. Town is where people are trying to get away from all the craziness of the wasteland, that and make a nice profit.
Every time you return to town it is assumed that you spend enough time there to recover any lowers stats. Any conditions you may be under must be attended to by professionals trained in dealing with your ailment.
There are 3 stages between Expedition
It costs money to get by at the edge of civilization. The cost depends on how you want to live. Whenever you return to adventuring after spending time in a settlement, your lifestyle will have a table to roll on to see the outcome of that lifestyle. Roll 2d6+ CHA
5 cyphers per visit town
Living Poorly means taking the run down rooms at the inn, or renting a hovel in the slums, and surviving off street food everyday.
| Roll | Result |
|---|---|
| 2-6 | Life has not been kind to you. You have lost all your money, beat up for 1 HP damage, and made no useful contacts, although you may know several people who took advantage of you. |
| 7-9 | You managed to get through relatively unscathed, but roll d6 on the table: • 1-2 you had to pay a lot more than you thought, room cost doubles. • 3-4 you couldn't get a decent night's sleep +1 System strain • 5-6 you got a late start to leave -1 to scouting ahead. |
| 10+ | You survive your time in town without any lasting damage. |
10 cyphers per visit town
This is the most reliable way to get through your time in town with the lowest amount of base risk involved.
| Roll | Result |
|---|---|
| 2-6 | Something happens that drives you out of your comfy accommodations, banned to live Poorly next time you return to town. |
| 7-9 | Well fed, well rested, and fully healed. Gain a bonus to your first action in the wilderness |
| 10+ | Somebody took notice of you. A weak Patron took notice of you during your time there, they may have work for you when you visit town next |
25 cyphers per visit town
| Roll | Result |
|---|---|
| 2-6 | You have run into a spot of trouble. Choose one: • An ally, contact, or friend of yours (GM chooses who) is in danger and you have become involved, to one degree or another. • You have offended the community (+1 Resentment). • You have gained an enemy. • You have lost all your money. • You have lost an important possession or two (GM chooses what). |
| 7-9 | All Ailments are healed and you are eager to head back out +1 to initiative, scouting, and movement until your first rest in the wilderness |
| 10+ | Your antics gain a reputation. Gather a strong rumor, and a strong Patron takes notice of you and will have work for you next time you're in town |
While you are in town you can look for contract work from Patrons. There are Strong & Weak Patrons that will offer you work. The strength is associated with your bond to them rather than their quality, so a Weak Patron may be the most powerful person in town who just doesn't know you that well.
The work you can get will really depend on what sort of name you made for yourself. For example you might make a name for yourself killing great big monstrous creature, so you'd be offered work along a similar line. Likewise the people you befriend will also start to define the type of work you get. If you make friends with a blacksmith, they may ask you to recover rare materials. If you befriend a merchant, they may ask you to broker a deal between them and a tribe from the wasteland to get access to some resource they have.