Exalted Downtime Rules
Each swathe of downtime has several factors to it: Downtime Experience Points, Downtime Background Dots and Momentous Scenes.
Downtime Experience Points
Experience points gained from downtime are spent as normal Experience Points. Generally speaking, characters who have managed to earn more Experience Points than their age would normally suggest gain fewer Experience Points over the span of downtime.
| Age | Normal Total | XP (Above Normal) | XP (Below Normal) |
| Exaltation to 99 years | Years x10 XP | 5/year | 10/year |
| 100 - 249 | 10 XP/year past Exaltation | 3/year | 5/year |
| 250 - 499 | 750 + 5/year past 249 | 2/year | 4/year |
| 500 - 999 | 1000 + 3/year past 499 | 2/year | 3/year |
| 1000+ | 1500 + 2/year past 999 | 1/year | 2/year |
Downtime Background Dots
Generally speaking, a character is likely to gain Background Dots equal to the normal amount of Experience Points gained during downtime (regardless of actual Experience Point total; i.e. always using the last column on the above table).
These Background dots are spent to reflect the sort of things the character engages in during that time: building a kingdom, fighting wars, spying on others and that sort of thing. These points are spent to purchase or increase Backgrounds. As with character creation, however, the fourth and fifth dot of these purchases are double.
Optional Rule (Essence): The Storyteller may permit a character that spends a significant portion of time meditating under the sun, contemplating his own Essence, to turn these points into Experience Points, on a one-to-one basis, which may be spent only on Virtues or Essence.
Momentous Scenes
Finally, each player is given the benefit of at least one scene per Downtime Period in which to play through situations of interest. Interactions with major Storyteller Characters, the decisive battle to secure a kingdom, the winning - or the death - of a love, the discovery of a long-lost Manse and similar, epic scenes are the focus of these scenes.
Players must, of course, give the Storyteller time to prepare these scenes. Additionally, they may invite one or more of the other players in the troupe to participate in these scenes as well, providing opportunities for characters to assist one another in Downtime.
These scenes are intended to allow players to play through momentous situations that the storyline dictates must occur during the Downtime. If the player chooses not to play through the downtime scene, he may "cash in" each such scene for 2 XP, which is added to the Downtime XP total gained for that period of downtime.
