What do you want to see from the bastion system?


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Olrox17

Hero
What we need is a money sink. 5e characters accumulate wealth at a breakneck pace but have little to spend it on beyond plate armor and some basic potions.

I’ve been using the ACKS (adventurer conqueror king system) stronghold building, domain management, and battlefield combat rules for 5e. I think they work great, and would love to see 5.5’s bastion system being a simplified version of those mechanics.
 

I mean obviously the base will have a number of rooms equal to your proficiency bonus, each of which will support a number of followers equal to your proficiency bonus of a level equal to your proficiency bonus.
If the base is damaged it will simply take a long rest to recover completely, so no structure will ever not be at full hit points the next day. That is why sieges are so difficult, the attacker probably has to roll two 20's in a row to do enough damage to the base to take it to 0 HP so it can't recover....
 

Horwath

Hero
What we need is a money sink. 5e characters accumulate wealth at a breakneck pace but have little to spend it on beyond plate armor and some basic potions.

I’ve been using the ACKS (adventurer conqueror king system) stronghold building, domain management, and battlefield combat rules for 5e. I think they work great, and would love to see 5.5’s bastion system being a simplified version of those mechanics.
We buy magic items :D
 


Horwath

Hero
That is one way to consume money, yes, but it’s also a way to inflate PC power level very quickly, especially in 5e with its bounded accuracy.
Plus, magic item markets and PCs fully decked out in magical gear work for some campaign settings, but much less so for others.
Just make items without +X to attack, AC, saves, DCs, and ability scores.
Items that set abilities to 19, reduce to 16.

everything else works great; bonus damage, bonus attack(s), bonus speed, bonus HPs or damage reduction. New abilities or spells. Extra spell slots.
 

Not sure why we need this system? I don't hate it and think it's cool but I've been doing this since the first starter set. My players were gifted the Red Brand hideout. They've had to spend money to maintain it and pay retainers.
 

Alzrius

The EN World kitten
I'd like to think that this won't stop at the costs/logistics of building a stronghold, and will venture further into rulership territory (ideally with a heaping helping of advice for how to make rulership be the gateway to new types of adventuring, rather than the death of it).
 

I'd like to think that this won't stop at the costs/logistics of building a stronghold, and will venture further into rulership territory (ideally with a heaping helping of advice for how to make rulership be the gateway to new types of adventuring, rather than the death of it).
This, seems to me, to encourage an entirely new game, and where perhaps the traditional style would become a mini-game within this now unlocked style. I'm not convinced D&D is the best game suited to explore such style, but would be happy to be proven incorrect.

EDIT: Let me add, the reason I have concerns is because of the level of power individual PCs are able to wield. I could see this working within a low level magic setting or even a game such as E6 where levels are capped at a certain point - but in 5e the publishers appear not have a great handle on high level play nevermind adding dominions to the mix.
 

Alzrius

The EN World kitten
This, seems to me, to encourage an entirely new game, and where perhaps the traditional style would become a mini-game within this now unlocked style. I'm not convinced D&D is the best game suited to explore such style, but would be happy to be proven incorrect.
It was once. Maybe it could be again.

 

It was once. Maybe it could be again.

Yeah. 5e certainly feels like a different beast - than 1e, 2e and BECMI.
I find your proposal so daunting without a major reworking of the entire current system. I leave it to more creative types. :)
 

Xamnam

Loves Your Favorite Game
It was once. Maybe it could be again.

I get the appeal, but this exactly why I want this system to not come with those extensions. Land and follower management is very disconnected from what I find interesting about having a home base, and doesn't feel intrinsic to why I play the core game. It's why Strongholds and Followers ended up being more valuable to me as inspiration than as actual mechanics.
 
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Tonguez

A suffusion of yellow
Upgradable bases where the upgrades give bonuses to stats/skills or feats. Eg if I upgrade a base with an archery range gain +2 bonus to range attacks kinda thing, or add a Hospital to my Temple and get bonus healing.

Also fun NPC interactions
I mean obviously the base will have a number of rooms equal to your proficiency bonus, each of which will support a number of followers equal to your proficiency bonus of a level equal to your proficiency bonus.
proficiency + cha at least
 



payn

He'll flip ya...Flip ya for real...
I'd love to see something that focuses on the action coming home to roost on the PCs. Infiltration, mass combat, social impact, etc..
all your base GIF
 

The series is so much fun. I started reading them not long before I played my first game of D&D.

Don't forget the werewolves!

Oh man, been a while since I've thought about that series.

You make a point that beyond just being a cool place to hang out, the base system needs to be actionable and help create adventure hooks.

I'd love to see something that focuses on the action coming home to roost on the PCs. Infiltration, mass combat, social impact, etc..
all your base GIF
 

Clint_L

Hero
I don't think the "Bastion" system, skeletal as it is, is very important to most campaigns. Very few use it. It is still interesting to me, though, as it is a throwback to D&D's origins in wargaming. Originally, D&D was supposed to tie into larger wargaming campaigns, and an explicit goal was to build up your stronghold and followers.

That stated, if I was going to an actual Bastions campaign, I would use Warhammer rules for it.
 

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