Part of designing expansions for half-year old content is going back and reconsidering the rules. Especially so when I made most of these rules from whole cloth.
This piece of homebrew is something I'm pretty proud of, on the whole, but it had plenty of rough edges. Having only two drafts of a project this large was never what I really wanted, and it gives me a good deal of satisfaction to have fixed errors that have been with this project for this long.
The way it is now, I feel this content is finally in shape to be expanded upon. Which is good, because I also have its first expansion complete and ready to publish.
CHANGELOG:
- Minor modifications to many rooms, with the intention of fixing verbage and adding clarity.
- Several rooms now directly generate income, because that made much more sense than just shrugging and expecting the DM to figure it out.
- Moat and Defensive Walls have been removed, and will be reintroduced in a new form in a coming expansion. Until that is introduced, feel free to use the rooms in the second draft of this option.
- Barracks and Lodgings have been combined, because it didn't make a whole lot of sense to say ONLY SOLDIERS CAN SLEEP HERE.
- Merchants have been reworked, in preparation for an upcoming expansion.
CONCERNS:
- Nothing really. I think I've hit all the major points that have come up in the past half-year, but feel free to remind me of anything I've missed.
WHAT I LEARNED:
- It's amazing how much this project has proliferated. Turns out, people wanted something cool to spend their hard-earned gp on. Who knew?
Someday I hope to build a castle with this. Someday.
ReplyDeleteThanks!!!
I am actually going to build an entire campagne around this doc. Thanks a lot
ReplyDeleteStellar work, as usual. We utilized the former versions of this heavily in the last few months and this is sure to see a lot of use as well.
ReplyDeleteI love this work, as an Idea would you be able to impliment farms as an expansion?
ReplyDeleteWe only recently discovered this system and are super excited to use it!
ReplyDeleteLooking at your crafting rooms, I wonder why they don't utilize the existing crafting rules in the downtime sections. I would work to integrate your rooms into the existing crafting rules.
ReplyDeleteBy way of example, the basic blacksmith shop could allow you to make double the progress each day towards the completion of appropriate metal items such as armor or weapons.
The enchanter's workshop could do the same thing for magic items, and as a bonus, it might come with several magic item recipes as part of the package.
The garden would produce the required components for various potions, allowing you to craft those items without having to pay the GP cost.
>I would work to integrate your rooms into the existing crafting rules.
DeleteThat's the plan next time around. Seems like a more system-friendly thing to do if I don't sidestep the RAW.
So, looking at the crafting rules again as I'm revising this, they don't account for crafting magical goods. Things like the magical enchanter and the garden thus would be excluded under those rules.
DeleteI could attempt to force them to work together, but even if I did ignore the bit about not being able to craft magic items, it'd take 100 days to craft an uncommon item, 1,000 to craft a rare item, and 10,000 days to craft a very rare item in the system laid out by RAW. Needless to say, it isn't often a group gets 3 years of downtime, much less 30 years, so the room would be effectively useless except as a very occasional source for some of the most basic items.
However, the Smith seems like it could benefit from these rules, considering it's more core to the crafting experience laid out in the PHB. I'll see if I can apply them anywhere else, but for now, the RAW doesn't gel with what I'm trying to do on the magical side of things.
I too really enjoyed the basis around these houserules as the RAW for making buildings and then having them staffed is a pure money sink without any benefits. If PCs even have a business, then it is still a very random roll *IF* they stop by with their downtime.
ReplyDeleteI also agree with Andrew above that some of the crafting stuff can be more inline with RAW, especially looking at the smithy and the capability of pumping out Plate Armor in 2 days for half price.
I do have one addition as my players just asked about building a saw mill or something similar off a lodge near a forest edge that they are getting constructed and want to see what you think:
Processor: A large open area complete with the tools and benches needed to process a specific kind of material. Saws and stands for lumber, fire-pits for smelting, or grinders for grain. The sound of workers preparing the raw materials for more precise construction fills the area.
Size Cost: 1 room point
Construction Cost: 2,500 gp
Construction Time: 15 days
Benefit: This structure can have up to 55 workers utilize it for processing raw materials of a type that is available nearby. These boards, ingots, and bags of grain are utilized by civilization in general for construction and crafting.
If you build this room in a structure that can reasonably expect merchants or someone to sell to, this room then generates an income of 15 gp (for every 10 unskilled hirelings and 1 skilled hireling) times 3d6 every 30 days. This room may be built multiple times.
May Also Be Built As. saw mill, smelter, grain mill, loom
>I also agree with Andrew above that some of the crafting stuff can be more inline with RAW, especially looking at the smithy and the capability of pumping out Plate Armor in 2 days for half price.
DeleteThis is something I'd like to work on, and I aim to get it done when I'm releasing the 4th draft of this project.
Just requires a probably uncomfortable amount of math. Oh well.
>Processor
I like it. I've already planned to release similar buildings in the upcoming BIG expansion (that may fracture into smaller ones, now that I'm seeing the size of it), but your project has given me a better idea of how I'd like to manage it.
What happens when Raise Land is dispelled? Does it float down gently or just plummet from the sky like a huge rock?
ReplyDeleteAs there'd be nothing keeping it up, by RAW it would plummet like a rock.
DeleteI can't decide if I like it this way, or if I should rewrite the rules to sink it slowly, to more carefully protect player investment.
This comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteWow. I'm very impressed with this product. I would spend some good money on it if it was on the DMs Guild. I would love to use this as a basis for founding a city (*hint hint wink wink*) in my next campaign. I'm also excited for the 'farm', possibly including other production centers, rules that you dropped a few hints on, I can't wait to see how I can add it to my future game.
ReplyDeleteThough there really is only one minor flaw I could see in that you a friend/partner/spouse needs to proof read the text, there are a few spelling mistakes and grammar issues through the document, such as on the second page under building your home. But that is a minor hiccup though and your work is very playable.
Also I've a question about hirelings and soldiers. Will you do an expansion on them now that Volo's guide has been released since there are several dozen new NPCs that would be helpful to hire on.
I must say best of luck, this has amazing potential to really get PC Players invested into a whole new way of playing.
>Though there really is only one minor flaw I could see in that you a friend/partner/spouse needs to proof read the text
DeleteSadly, I'm the rules nerd of the relationship, and she's the roleplaying nerd. She only wants rules insofar as they help her gnome druid/rogue kick ass. :p
>Also I've a question about hirelings and soldiers. Will you do an expansion on them now that Volo's guide has been released since there are several dozen new NPCs that would be helpful to hire on.
Wouldn't be a bad plan. The NPCs section of Volo's is gold for this.
>I must say best of luck, this has amazing potential to really get PC Players invested into a whole new way of playing.
Thanks!
I am really glad this was linked to me! This is great stuff, I am very pleased that you took to time to put this together. Thanks bunches!
ReplyDeleteThis is amazing, I'd been searching for a good PC settlement/home homebrew for ages, and have only just found this, a week before our next session.
ReplyDeleteIf I may ask, I was planning to allow construction to start on their town in the next game, but since you say that your last update was 6 months ago, and it's approaching that point again, is it fair to say I should put a hold off on the settlement build until the next draft comes out?
Tl;dr, would you say that a newer version of your homebrew will be ready in the next month? :)
This next month? Probably not, in fairness. This bit of content is easily one of my most labor-intensive, and I'm trying to do a lot of little things before I do one big thing.
DeleteStill, Strongholds content is very highly-demanded, and I have a few ideas that are coming up on the horizon. Maybe later rather than sooner though, y'know?
just a suggestion: i think the garden should focus on herbalism and be used to make things like healing potions, cure disease potions and herbal remedies, alchemist's lab should focus on alchemist's kit and focus on things like itching powder, oils of slipperiness, potion of giant's strength etc and poisoner's grotto should focus on the poisoner's kit and deal with the diferent poisons that can are in the DMG - atm alchemist's lab is a mixture of herbalism and alchemy, garden is a mixture of herbalism and alchemy, focusing more on alchemy and poisoner's grotto is pretty much just alchemy.
ReplyDeleteI really like the idea and I compliment you on the comprehensiveness, but I do have a rather major critique, and that is the economics of what you have laid out. If you were to fill a small castle with every income generating 'room' it could hold, you might generate enough revenue to pay for a half dozen scout archers to man the walls, that's it. This does NOT include any of the staff that those income generating rooms require, let alone any household staff. The tavern and inn would need to operate devoid of hirelings somehow.
ReplyDeleteAt the very least, any income generating room needs to self finance any and all staff needed to man it, including at least one 'skilled' worker, and then generate a profit beyond that. More though, there needs to be a way to build something like a Crossroads Inn, Tavern, Stables and Market that is self financing and profitable, or building any sort of player home is going to be an insanely expensive money drain that would destroy any plans for retirement. I think a supplementary section containing details on things such as fiefdom rents, wholly owned (and profitable) farms, ranches, and other establishments, exterior to the stronghold itself, etc., needs to also exist so a player can make investments sufficient to adequately staff and garrison their castle or whatever.