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Bastions

Generally, we will follow the bastion rules as laid out in the DNG (Chapter 8), particularly in terms of acquiring bastions, the number of rooms and special facilities.

Entry into the Campaign

In order to enter into the campaign and have mechanical benefit, the bastion needs three things:

  1. An origin story - how did you gain it? Was it built or inherited? Does it have a history beyond you?
  2. A map - a 5ft per square floor plan that confirms to the rules on room size as determined by the DMG.
  3. A roleplay scene in the bastion to "dedicate" it.

Rooms

An initial bastion has 2 basic facilities (for flavor and roleplay) and 2 special facilities (for roleplay and mechanical benefit). Of the basic facilities, one is roomy (16 squares), and one is cramped (4 squares). The special facilities size is defined by the type of facility.

Basic Rooms

These are the basic rooms you can build:

  • Bedroom
  • Dining Room
  • Parlor
  • Courtyard
  • Kitchen
  • Storage

Additional rooms can be purchased and existing rooms can be expanded according to cost and time that will be determined.

Special Facilities

These are the special facilities available to level 5 characters: - Arcane Study - Armory - Barrack - Garden - Library - Sanctuary - Smithy - Storehouse - Workshop

Descriptions are in the DMG - see below about material costs and benefits.

Benefits from Special Facilities

There are several significant exceptions from the DMG on the mechanical benefits from special facilities:

  • The time and material cost for crafting, harvesting, and recruiting will be scaled for our economy - don't automatically use the time and values listed in the DMG - before giving a particular order to your bastion, sort out the costs with the DM
  • The benefits of a special facility will also be scaled for our economy - consult with the DM before you assume the benefits of an order to that facility.
  • There will be no limitations on 5th-level special facilities (e.g. an Arcane Study can craft common or uncommon magic items).

We will eventually establish a formal table for costs and benefits, it just seems easier to negotiate this on an 'as needed' basis rather than write a whole set of rules up front. To me, the DMG costs/benefits seem way out of scale to the disadvantage of players.

Hirelings

Special facilities have a number of hirelings designated by its type. These hirelings are supported by the bastion activities and don't cost you additional gold.

  • Name
  • Stat Block: the stat block is always commoner, unless another type is mutually agreed upon with the DM.
  • Alignment
  • Backstory: it does not need to be as detailed or complex as your backstory, but it should at least tell us how the hireling ended up there.
  • Appearance: either written or visual

You should keep a roster of your hirelings in the channel dedicated to bastions so that the DM and other players can refer to them. A facility can't be issued orders without a fully described hireling.

Bastion Turns

A bastion turn will occur every 5 days (2 times per a 10-day in the Faerun). These turns will occur during normal gameplay and during downtime, the only difference being is that during normal gameplay, when you are on quests away from your bastion, you can only issue the same command that you issued when you left. For example, if you are gone for a ten-day, your facility can craft twice, but it can't craft and research. The rules for this change if you have a sending spell or some other way of communicating with your bastion from a distance.

Other rules:

  • You can only issue orders permitted by the special facilities your bastion has - each facility can be issued a separate order.
  • In order to benefit from the order of your special facility, there must be a roleplay post of that order's execution in the channel designated for bastion turns.
  • The maintain order will be given if the player doesn't issue any command or chooses it specifically.

Bastion Events

The world is a dangerous place, and your bastion is no exception. Once it enters gameplay, your bastion may encounter risks as your character does. If your character has made a lot of enemies, you may want to think of ways to defend your bastion.

On every bastion turn (not just when the maintain order is issued), the DM will roll for bastion events. Some of these events may have material consequences for your bastion, up to possible loss. The DM will use some table like, but not exactly, the table in the DMG.

Sharing Bastions

Characters can share bastions with as many other characters as they want. The only impacts will be on the physical space of the bastion, and likely the flavor and roleplay of the bastion turns. Each player controls their own special facilities and their own hireling - they issue their own orders and receive the material gain themselves.

The one mechanical implication of a shared bastion is that some bastion events may impact the entire bastion. For instance an attack on one bastion could have material implications for the entire bastion.