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Message: <blockquote data-quote="the Jester" data-source="post: 6491106" data-attributes="member: 1210">Just a quibble here- pcs did not get dwellings; they got followers once they acquired or constructed an appropriate stronghold/thieves' guild/what have you.Sure, but the default is a much slower process than in (say) 3e, at least for magic items. Time and money. The crafting rules are there; they are optional (for things like magic items), but the DM can certainly use them.   This is a campaign playstyle issue, but I'd suggest that the 'problem' in this case is the presence of a 'story arc', or at least one on a timer. In other words, this is a pacing issue.If the pcs never have downtime, of course they won't be able to stop to make magic items, build a castle, etc. If the pcs are in a 1st-to-20th-level-in-three-months style campaign, this kind of thing will never happen.Personally, I think downtime is a beautiful thing. I want the 20th level pcs to have been at it for years, to have seen time pass and their influence on the world gradually build up. I think it's very good for the pcs to morph from traveling vagabond murderhobos to people with an investment in their community, with a nice home hanging with tapestries and trophies. And I'm quite good. PCs aren't legendary monsters; lair actions are part of the way 5e makes certain monsters capable of handling an encounter with a party of adventurers without any lackeys around. It's a matter of fixing the action economy so that a 1-on-5 fight isn't over before it starts. OTOH I do kind of like the idea of lair actions as epic boons.    Again, this is a playstyle issue, but I'll be quite happy to put the days of easy magic-item crafting by pcs behind us. Do Not Want. I like the notion that crafting a magic item is hard and takes time and effort- it's probably an adventure in itself, or at least you probably have to go on an adventure to get the components (want to make a cloak of displacement? Go get an intact displacer beast hide).The DM always has final word on it. I do think it's good for those groups who want to enable easy magic items to have a system that allows them to do so, but I'm not running that group. That's not my style. As to strongholds, if you want to both run a fast-paced, little or no downtime campaign and include strongholds, consider the option of the pcs clearing out an old tower or something and then moving in and taking over. Or they could be granted an existing, currently-vacant castle, mansion or other dwelling. They might find a deed as treasure, or find a place for sale that they want to invest in. You're absolutely right, though, that if the DM is going to run them all around the world (with no easy quick travel home) and not allow much downtime, they don't have much of a motivation to get involved with a stationary place. In that case, there are always portable strongholds, if you want to go there- a Daern's instant fortress, a could castle, a stronghold on wheels drawn by great monsters, a mansion built on the back of a giant tortoise or other monster, etc.In the end, it's all about playstyle and pacing. For me, if the pcs want to build, buy, take over, rent, etc. a stronghold, they can do so; they just have to make it happen. The pcs in my 5e game have rented a fancy house and built a goat enclosure on top of the roof (don't ask). They're only 4th level (at highest). Eventually, I wouldn't be surprised to see them do the work to build something better. I like the downtime, as I said, and sometimes even enforce it (winter time is not when you typically go adventuring in certain climates, nor do you strike out overland or at sea in a terrific storm).</blockquote>

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