Stronghold for PC's

[Seirun]

Thanks for your answers.

I was thinking of quest, maybe series of quests, that would reward PCs with some sort of keep. I was also thinking of quests related to upgrades (major/rare ones, not getting the stables a new roof) and/or repairs (like if they got a keep that hasn't been used for years or was inhabited by some monsters).

Good idea about the treasure parcels, maybe I should remove some of the monetary parts and use it as net income?

Are there any prices for houses or something like that? Because at some point, the PCs will want to up build some additions and I'd like to know how much should I charge. The closest thing (in terms of money) I found is Sailing ship for 10,000 gp (PHB page 222).

I would like to note that English is not my first language, but I try my best. Feel free to correct me, but I don't want a topic about how bad my English is .

 

[Saeviomagy]

Are there any prices for houses or something like that? Because at some point, the PCs will want to up build some additions and I'd like to know how much should I charge. The closest thing (in terms of money) I found is Sailing ship for 10,000 gp (PHB page 222).
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IMO, charging the PCs for this stuff is a very bad idea. The game is balanced around the assumtion that the PCs spend all their money on combat or adventure-oriented items. If they go spending significant amounts of money on non-adventure stuff (especially things that have ZERO game influence) the balance will start to fail.

I'd suggest you just have the PCs say what they want built, and then assume that things all cancel out. If they're really desperate to spend money, make sure you recompense them for it, so that they're not really spending it at all.

 

[JohnnyO]

Adventurer's Vault 2 has some stuff that you can use for your lair, sounds like you'd like to check it out:

http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/4ex/20090803

(Not sure if you need a DnD insider account to see that or not)

 

[Ryujin]

IMO, charging the PCs for this stuff is a very bad idea. The game is balanced around the assumtion that the PCs spend all their money on combat or adventure-oriented items. If they go spending significant amounts of money on non-adventure stuff (especially things that have ZERO game influence) the balance will start to fail.

I'd suggest you just have the PCs say what they want built, and then assume that things all cancel out. If they're really desperate to spend money, make sure you recompense them for it, so that they're not really spending it at all.

This is the issue that our group ran into. I've been trying to get a place that we can call home for a very long time. Our GM gave me a list of places, from a 1000gp shack to a 10,000gp manor house, that we could buy. Given what that money could be used for, it didn't make any sense to buy. If the options don't improve then I'll just use the Earthen Ramparts and Excavation rituals to build something myself.

 

[JohnnyO]

This is the issue that our group ran into. I've been trying to get a place that we can call home for a very long time. Our GM gave me a list of places, from a 1000gp shack to a 10,000gp manor house, that we could buy. Given what that money could be used for, it didn't make any sense to buy. If the options don't improve then I'll just use the Earthen Ramparts and Excavation rituals to build something myself.

See, I think this would make for a really interesting game mechanic, where the players could design their lair (including traps/hazards/etc) and then the DM could send in a squad of baddies to capture/kill them.

Nothing like fighting on your own turf, and as the DM, you'd get to hand off the mapmaking task to your players.

As long as you incorporate the manor into a number of different aspects of the campaign, I don't think it would be a waste of money at all. On the other hand, if its just an RP prop where you hang out in your downtime, then it would be a waste of resources.

 

[Halivar]

In old-school D&D, didn't the players have to go out and clear a keep if they wanted one? And they had to come back periodically and clean it out again?

 

[DracoSuave]

In old-school D&D, didn't the players have to go out and clear a keep if they wanted one? And they had to come back periodically and clean it out again?

Not necessarily. They had to reach ninth level.

The DM had the option to make them adventure for it, but they were entitled to it at ninth. After that point, the character's stronghold would attract followers who would take care of the upkeep.

 

[Ryujin]

In old-school D&D, didn't the players have to go out and clear a keep if they wanted one? And they had to come back periodically and clean it out again?

Or clean out a dungeon and build a keep over it. Rock to Mud / Mud to Rock makes for some pretty good fortifications.

 

[DracoSuave]

Or kill a king. They like to put the 'You' in 'Usurper.'

 

[On Puget Sound]

Have a second category of "treasure" rewards that cannot be used for magic weapons, armor, and such. This treasure does NOT need to be doled out in carefully measured parcels and can be much more influenced by the players' success or failure. Call it "stronghold points" if you like, at least to yourself, but represent it to the players as specific rewards...a magic ballista (NO, you can't mount it on a cart and take it to the dungeon), a dispel magic field, a permanent portal to a major market town (or to Sigil if you are at that level), the friendship of a neighboring lord, a local weather control ritual. Not every quest will yield stronghold points. In fact, most quests that do may be player-initiated.

Occasionally you can threaten the stronghold with disaster, forcing a quest to protect the stronghold points they have already accumulated. Now it's no longer goblins raiding an iron mine, it is goblins raiding YOUR iron mine.