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In my last campaign the party jumped around from island to island, but they really fell in love with one of them. So they asked if they could look around town to see if houses were for sale. We had a whole D&D House Hunters episode where they settled on an old lighthouse that was cool, but needed some repairs. Then they got to hire a handyman and give him plans for how to renovate. They seemed to really enjoy seeing how it came along and choose how it looked.
The party gained a druid grove, an abandoned church, a tavern, and a sewer complex (thieves' guild) during their adventures. Each in the same town to keep the party together. The druid, cleric, fighter, and rogue were very happy with this arrangement. The party mage had no interest in a lair but would teleport to a room reserved in the inn when he was needed. Having separate bases nearby allowed the party's enemies to single out one party member who would have the others rush to their aid. Each had to maintain their own base too, with their own followers and hirelings.
A few years ago, I ran a Shadowrun (5E) campaign set in Bogota, Colombia, which in the lore of Shadowrun is a feral city... consumed by Cartel infighting and attempts by Aztlan to the North and Amazonia to the south trying to claim it. After the first third of the campaign, the team ended up driving out a gang from an old hacienda that had fallen into disrepair. They took it upon themselves to claim it, fix it up, add battlements and even bring in Matrix infrastructure. They made deals with nearby gangs and began to carve themselves an empire that started to draw the attention of the Cartels... and then the campaign fell apart due to inter-player drama. It was a shame, as there were so many storylines and plans that were coming together around their growing influence... all because they took the initiative to say "I like this building. Let's fix it!"
I'm running a modern game with the concept that monsters of fable & folk tales are real but remain hidden from the general public (Supernatural). The characters were told about a compound they could use as a base for a particular hunt. It has accommodations, practice space, a lab and foundry, and a library with a tech adverse librarian. Although not 'theirs', they continue to use it as a base camp between hunts and provide lore to the librarian at the same time they conduct research and manufacture special materials and weapons. Because it is extremely useful and so far has been safe, and they have been able to give added value to the 'owners', the compound has been a key background piece to the game since it's introduction.
My party has discovered an abandoned keep in a planar sea that contains an important library. As they make npc allies they will begin to fix up and add resources for the players to use.
@@HowtobeaGreatGM I have a few little things to toss in here and there when they get back to the keep after exploring bigger locations. I want them to take ownership by clearing areas for the npcs to fix up so they don't get bored with micromanagement, but are still attached. By the end of it all the bbeg will make a strike against the keep if they take a real interest in the place.
My campaign had them start in "reality", with them being part of a colony fleet bound for the new world in the 1490's, and having passed through the Bermuda triangle. I did this because they always chose the same classes, and this made them choose alternative methods of playing. We had a bog standard doctor, not a cleric, a doctor, two fighters, and a ranger without magic. The way i made this work later is the skills gained from their non-magical play at first, synergized with the magical ones they got later. I had to adjust the skill system a bit but not by much, and it allowed the players to experience mire aspects other than the bog standard strategies. But it also made them attach to the fleet, as these are the only other humans in this world, and were a great source of resources and reinforcement. Especially when the party came across something big that was in a fixed location that they decided to explore against my hints not to. These places were far inland, so that discouraged the party from abusing the broad side dps of four fully armed galleons, but it gave them an escape, and a fun chase
@@HowtobeaGreatGM they had the option, but predictably stuck to crossbows once they had small issue with carrying around gunpowder. Namely a goblin pyromancer.
A couple of years ago, I had a group of players who cleared out a bandits' cave and took it over at L2. The cave was close to trade routes-- which the bandits had been ambushing, but the players saw it as an opportunity to sell their tribe's goods and protect those trade routes simultaneously. The caves weren't especially interesting, but they were centrally located. I didn't expect the players to latch onto the place, but they did! It made them feel accomplished and happy, so I went with it.
My party ran an Inn, where they would bring back trophies of the creatures they hunted, curiosity cabinet items like mummies and troll hands from houses and castles they raided, and they also built a thieves guild underground with the help of a sorcerer they hired to be a housekeeper. They hired a very eclectic group of people to run it, which would also do their own things while they were away. Like their druid minotaur who grew a gigantic venus fly trap in the back yard, which ended up bringing some money from onlookers, and some tragedies where people would pass the rope and get too close. They wanted it to be the most amazing inn they could think of, which worked out quite well.
The party got a skyship with different forms that it can transform into that they've unlocked over the campaign. Also, it houses the ghosts of the Captain's ancestors.
Running for a single player whose character had a hard life as a blacksmith's apprentice. She went through a series of ordeals to try and secure a future for herself and her beloved friend. After a long grind to get a job on the island, she inherited a worn-out blacksmith's shop as a reward for her kindness and adventuring. One day, the cruel enforcer of the BBEG set fire to her beloved blacksmith shop, destroying her home and injuring her friend very badly. This wretched insult continued fueling her rage and hatred against this miserable noble family. She stood motionless as the flames engulfed her little shop, and the tears and soot stained her cheeks black. She would have her revenge... My player nearly threw dice at the wall, they were so angry. They mention frequently when we're not gaming that they swear to have revenge on BBEG, like they are an actual person. The rage is so real. Thank you for your continued expert advice; it helps us build (and sometimes burn) character motivations. ❤️
I have a Star Wars game coming up. They'll be given a ship to start, but it's old, and sad (You came here in that? You're braver than I thought). The ship is named the "Falling Star". Their base is a collection of chop shops on the edge of a junk field, where three groups cooperate/ compete for the highest profit. The PCs will have to negotiate with mechanics from their rivals to get their ship in tip top condition, without treading on the toes of the 3 leaders, or leaving themselves vulnerable to having their ship ransacked because they didn't get the door locks upgraded.
I gave my players a little village on the border lands between a great republic and an orc kingdom. The village was abandoned by the republic years ago. And mostly abandoned now. The players had helped the republic drive of the orcs and so the village given to them as a "reward " such as it is, one player receiving the title of Magistrate. They are expected to re populate and rebuild it . The remaining inhabitants are distrustful and paranoid after being left to the humble mercies of the orcs for some time.
There was an attempt to put the village back under orc management. The players rallied a defense and sent the orcs packing. It earned them quite a bit of goodwill among the villagers.
My players in a Mass Effect 5e game received their own ship, and after every major arc, I allowed them to do hiring, firing and even give raises to their favorite NPC crew. Every section had chiefs and they were always at the part of some new adventure. But few things gave them more joy, aside from killing, than to reward their most helpful NPCs with titles, promotions and bumps in pay. One even had a retirement party after they won 500k credits on a scratch-off ticket with the PCs eventually having to rescue that crusty navigator from an otherwise obvious scam. So I'd say it was the crew that made those space quarters home to my players.
Playing Forbidden Lands, which very much support base building. The party settled in the Wizzard tower of the former master of one the group (who they of course killed). The thing that made it work, was the caretaker who could only say his name (Meesch), and who nobody knew whether he just was a very strange little man with a hump or and undead dwarf. From time to time he would accidentally let someone into the "locked" room where the group hadn't cleared out the ghouls and never got around to it. Meesch cooks a great breakfast and can seemingly never die from accidents like falling off the top of the tower, and can sometimes be seen playing with skulls as hand puppets going "Meesch, meesch, meeeeesch!"
I started a nautical campaign where the beginner adventurers (maybe at lvl2) luckily found a small, but legendary magical ship. Legendary at the island where they are adventuring anyway - overpowered for the party's actual power level. Of course they think the ship is theirs because they are the finders - however the local authorities also think the ship is theirs because of historical reasons. Long story short, they arrived into the bay of the island's main city, the ship stays in the dock, locked by the local authorities - until the local judge will decide the ownership. The PCs are doing some other adventure right now - but after that they definitely want "their" ship back. This opens up to a lot of adventure possibilities - political favors for the local goverment, or the various factions of the city. At the end, maybe the PCs will decide to steal the ship, who knows? But I think it is also a powerful tool: give something interesting or powerful to the PCs, let them use it - and after a time take it back temporarily. It will feel more personal, the PCs want to fight for their stuff and take it back - there will be a stronger emotional connection in the long run... I hope :) Of course a ship is a more flexible thing which is usually more popular for the groups - also, a built-in adventure generator. Guy mentioned DS9 (one my top10 favourite tv shows... the number one is Babylon 5, which is similar). So yeah, B5 or DS9 are great examples for strongholds - most of the time the characters are not going to outside for adventures... the adventures finds them at their "stronghold". Maybe the castle is an important trading hub (which is DS9 after the discovery of the wormhole); maybe it's an important diplomatic center at the borders of 3 important nations (like Babylon 5 in a neutral space). Each new NPC arriving to the stronghold carries a potential new adventure.
All great suggestions! I remember in Baldur's Gate 2: Shadows of Amn the various Player Strongholds that could be acquired all had little missions and quests that came up from time to time. For example, the D'Arnise Keep had events like one of the guards was stealing from you, but it was because he needed money to pay for his sick mother's medicine, and you could decide to cover the expenses yourself and/or punish him; another one of your maids had two proposals for marriage, and as she had no living male relative the role of "father" fell to you, and you could choose either the poor ranger who she was in love with or the rich nobleman (who, in a fine bit of reference, was called Malvolio). One thing I would add is make sure that the events concerning your PCs lair should not all be problems or negatives. There should be events that are profitable or at least enjoyable for the PCs. Otherwise they may come to regard what should be a boon - a castle, starship, etc. - a curse, a constant drain on their time and resources.
I'm planning a campaign for my friends while my current DM is running his campaign for us and your videos really inspired me. My idea is to give the players a whole city to live in and the main driving story is set in there, so the players, for their deeds will be awarded a mansion and this mansion can become a home base, a workplace, whatever they think of, but I know I intend for the players to be embroiled into the culture of the place. Colourful festivals during the rain, celebrating the rainbows that inevitably come when the rain is gone and so on. I even plan to bring my current PC to the city as a bit of a travelling shopkeep.
I'm running a CoC (Call of Cthulhu) campaign currently. The one PC is a 2nd Generation Italian/American and his family has a "garage/scrapyard" which is the family business. The yard has pretty much become the PC's defacto hideout and storage space. Its off the grid enough for them to have their secret meetings and hide any artefacts they don't want anyone else gtting their hands on and is a perfect spot to scrounge for materials they might need and do any repairs to their motor car. The player's have really taken to it being a "home base" of sorts and its all been handled entirely by them :) Its pretty cool to see how the PC's will "develope" their own space (with suitable in world constraints of course), if you just let them have it.
In my first campaign I had my players stumble through a portal to Sigil. Soon their meager coins could not afford them both a room in one of the nice areas and food anymore, and they were forced to go slum it. After a few run-ins with the Harmonium and Mercykillers they chanced across a friendly Indep Bariaur who directed them to a rather sodden corner of the Hive. There was a small building that looked surprisingly clean, and the occupant was willing to let them stay on one floor for a nominal fee and some help. The PCs were so happy to have a safe place to stay that they really invested lots of play into helping the owner (thus getting dragged into his schemes...), finding NPCs and materials for repair, and expanding their territory. It was a beloved part of the game, which I had honestly never expected.
My party ened up commedeering an air ship and I let them essentially redesign the rooms based on what they wanted. I'd made a rough estimate on the layout but let my player dictate how they wanted the end result to look like. Now it is truly theirs.
I don’t think I ever gave them a home base, because it seemed like a different game and too “difficult” to run. I’ve enjoyed playing in games with home bases the best, incidentally. Though there’s never much gameplay spent in the base. The two best were one where the DM asked questions about what cool things we wanted to build in it and remembered them, and the other was a great big megaspaceship almost like a space station. We had a battle to defend the ship and used its features to our advantage. We also swapped characters from time to time, which we played out by having them go down to the bar and finding Whosit. A little on board intrigue sometimes.
They haven't had the proper opportunity to make something of it yet, as they've been adventuring around, and left the ruins they gained as a reward to some tradesfolk, who have been slowly building it back up to a position of working order. Next time they go to it, they'll have the opportunity to give the builders the room layout they want, and ask for any extensions, etc. When they got it, they had to clear a bunch of spiders and other nasty things from the rooms to make it safe, and they found a gelatinous cube in the basement cellar that they have chosen to keep as a pet. There's a cave opening near the outer wall that apparently has some kind of abandoned drow civilization inside of it, but they've chosen to block that up for now with a big rock. And finally, there appears to be the remnants of a summoning circle in one of the rooms, provided they keep that space intact when they rearrange everything. On the back of this video, I think I'll have them organise some servants to keep it running - they have a blacksmith, but she'll probably run out of materials soon, and I'll have them need a cook, and some farmers, or some person who can trade crops and meat with them, and some security force, and maybe someone who can keep their many, many pets healthy. Very helpful video,I have a lot of planning to do. 👍
So I ran the Descent into Avernus module for my regular group and at one point it becomes painfully obvious to the PCs that they can't adventure through this terrain on foot. It would simply take too long and be too dangerous. So through a connection they made with a local hag they got themselves a 12 ton, 70 foot long(50 ft by 20 ft cabin) war machine made entirely of steel that travels 100 ft per round. Over the course of the campaign they spent a great deal of time hanging trophies from defeated foes inside and outside their vehicle. The cabin was adorned with magical warhammers, swords, shields, and helmets. The front of the vehicle had a balor's head mounted on it, the armor of the vehicle was upgraded and added onto over the course of many battles and achievements. They even renovated the back of the cabin to act as a storage area for a motorcycle shaped war machine, a guard drake, and a nightmare. Who they very affectionately cared for and crafted armor to fit the two living creatures to better protect them in combat, which they did a lot of. By the end of that campaign and even to this day, a year and a half later, they still refer to it as the best campaign they've ever been apart of and I love that I could do that for them. Edit: It was my first time as a DM. :)
My players had a ship called the HMS Hummingbird and it was so great! I invented the whole thing to be able to switch GMs and bring in new players at any time. So it's a spaceship with modular, removable sleeping pods doubling as cryopods, the GMs PC would either stay in cryo or provide help from the ship. We brought it back for our second campaign where we hunted down the ship with different characters and it was great, because at that point it had become something almost mythical with all the lore we added around it.
In almost all of my campaigns the PCs end up with some sort of base; it's been a castle, a ship, an airship, and even an oversized wagon pulled by a beast and construct. Still, a few interesting tips in here that I'll definitely use!
Great video! Just brainstorming.... • Give an NPC advisor who can tell PC what taxes vs expenses can realistically be achieved if working at peak efficiency. • A herald who expounds the party's achievements when they return: "Welcome back heroes! The slayer of Trolls, the liberators of Narmbor, the saviors of Tront, the..." Every time they return, add a new title for their successful adventures. • The lord of the land wants his share and taxes from you. Can you pay? What if he goes to war and needs money and men? What if his greedy son takes over? What if a tyrant lord takes over? • Storing your treasure from your adventures in your castle? The larger the horde, the more attention from thieves and disgruntled staff. Discontent from your poorer citizens. More cost to keep it safe.
Great video, it arrives at the most perfect time. And here is why... I just started a campaing last week and feel prepared (thanks to you and your books). I would like to offer them an opportunity to get a permanent place to stay, but they have to do more tasks to get something. How should one present the Base in the first place. Is a map of a not yet fully furnished place helpful? If they ask for things not on the map, I could go NO, BUT, it can be built with resources Or should I start with theatre of the mind and make them ask "is there a this and that", which oviously, YES will be there BUT needs fixing? I guess I just answered the question by myself - plus it depends on my players. Still, what would you suggest, Guy? Should I go one step further and say: "In this realm there are several places, ready for you to move into! Here is a small list, what do you heroes prefer?" I am excited for your answer :)
So in my current game, my background is a Mercinary Veteran. Well the party had been pretty aimless, a bunch of edge lords. Which we love because my character is the emotional anchor/support. All.the more funny because I'm the only evil character. A Necromancer. Anyways after we got a bunch of loot, I asked the Party to to join me in forming a Mercinary company(something the GM loved as it was unexpected) Next thing we knew we were buying a plot of land, hiring a bunch of Laborers and building our own home-based to my specific plans. (I love just designing various things and got to flex my art skills here) so yeah. Now we have a 4 story building in the heart of the capital that has everything we need: reception area, offices, store house, vault, Armory, Barracks, living area, library and secret lab for my character to do his experiments. Dungeon. Training Hall. Oh and a port on top for our airship 😆
The whole point of our campaign is a group of survivors settling after running away from a civil war. My tool to make it alive were : Npc, they all have their name, their goal and especially bonds with the player. A lover, a brother, ... Artworks, every time the settlement is evolving I create a new artwork to help them visualize the effect of their actions on the village.
One of my players is a dwarf and the party stopped a seige on a city but once done the dwarf wanted to stay and the party now separated. His real life job is a maintenance director so I gave him the task of boosting the cities defenses . Towers ballistas the works he has had a blast with it and might never leave.
Am old wizard tower which has a staff to control the tower. The players find the tower,they are treated by living statues, they will grant them a pice of the staff. There’s 2 dungeons inside the tower. Each dungeon has the other piece of the staff. Once the staff is completed the welder can shape the inside of the tower as their own deminplane. Like doctor who’s box. There is also a teleportation circle at the top. They love this place as they can transform their base into anything while inside the tower. If they find a teleportation circle they can always fast travel to and from the tower. Making it a great travel hub.
About the "viziers" thing, I want to make one that's 100% just Jaffar, but he's 100% good. Sounds evil, LOOKS evil, stereotypically so, and IS working against the king, but the king's the evil one.
I had a seaman's chest that opened only on the ocean and a ladder led down to a dungeon. They had to clear it out and deal with some fallout. Also, got trapped once when the chest was taken ashore while they were inside. Great fun.
Back when we played Boot Hill (Sometime in the 80s!) My player's bought the 'Gay Lady Variety Hall and Saloon' in Promise City and they invested in it 'Dancers,Gambling and Drinking' being that they where all law enforcement characters 'trouble' came in various ways!
Once was playing a living campaign setting. But both groups I had (who met on separate days) and in game were in different countries. But to united them they were both in part of the same mercenary company. The npc in charge (the one who could connect both groups if needed) would help them set up a location then would visit every so many days. If there was a problem or he was running late he would let them know via letter. For each charter he had 1 person be the charter head (his second in command) 1 person in charge on contracts and notes (secritary) 1 person in charge of supplies (quartermaster) 1 person in charge of the day to day operations. And everyone else was hired hands. Promoting these to the pcs. He would recommend the base of operations be functional. Group A: bought a warehouse and but up dividers to give it multipurpose. They were constantly upgrading it. Group b: bought a sausage processing factory intending to make a profit with it. Their first order of business was firing all previous workers and hiring beggers,sick and disabled for a discounted rate.even hiring a pigperson (was a race in the setting) they desided they didn't like contracts and put a pig that was to be slaughtered in charge of the factory while they were away. And were constantly wondering why their leader wanted then dead .which eventually they just assumed he was just testing them to make sure they were the best of the best
I never played in a game with a home base of any kind - not by design, the groups I've played in just favor the wandering part of an adventure. I do want to introduce one into my new game and you've given me plenty to think about. My players still love the idea of wandering, so I'm thinking about making a magical item that allows them to travel back to their home base. This way, they can travel far a field and skip the return trip home or maybe they need a quick exit . . . but that is pretty powerful and can be abused . . . I'll give it charges, maybe three or five, with the possibility of recharging it at a later date, if I feel like they need it. Thank you for the thoughts!
Love the vid, i know its been 2 weeks but for anyone else reading this my pc's made a ship there player home and move about with it, it helped that one of the pc's was once a pirate turned privateer calling his vessel the rising phoenix. the other players ended up taking on rolls such as quartermaster, captain, Bowson etc. Originally i did not plan much nautical adventures but since theyve taken a liking to the ship ive made quite a bit more nautical adventures.
I actually just recently gave my party an unaging elvish warship (magically preserved), with a 40 kind of undead (brought back to live through ritual) elven celtic style elves that will serve one of the players that has a ritual book and was touched by their godess. And they have no idea what to do with them since, the ship is exotic at least and will draw attention and they are on their way to the rather xenophobic country where the elves are going to stand out a lot and that smells trouble there. Never thought about making it a lair... but there is something there I guess.
In the campaign I'm DMing for my wife and daughters (DnD 5e homebrew), they defeated early on an evil wizard/entomologist that breeded and freed giant centipedes, scorptions, wasps, etc... The lab/base/house/bunker (The Entomologists Hill) was like and evil giant hobbit house from the shire... The party asked the local lords for the deed to the property and decided to repurpose it into an orphanage ... Its been so much fun and a never ending source of adventures just taking care of the place...
So glad that you talked about this! I ran the Dragon Heist module and in there(spoilers i guess..) the pc get to keep an old dilapidated inn as a reward. My pcs were marginally interested, until i told them that repairs would cost them. Especially since the local innkeepers guild wanted them to follow strict rules to keep the level of accomodations in the city high. Then, they just left. Stopped thinking about it completely. I mean, it's in one of the medium class districts of Waterdeep, you can't just have them squat there. Always felt like a lot of potential for adventures was lost
Sometimes if the PCs don't want it, they won't keep it. But even if there was potential adventures lost at least you can reflect and perhaps learn from it?
I'm actually stuck and needing ideas in what should be an easy scenario. I'm running a pirate game in Eberron. It is a very sandbox campaign that I'm really letting the players run wild. In one adventure, they invaded another pirate's den, a secret cave behind a waterfall in a desert island with access to the sea to hide a ship, and they made it their lair. I would really like to give it more life in a piratey way. Suggestions!?
I'd have an old contact of the previous pirates who lived in the secret cave arrive with a big mission, be surprised that the old pirates are gone and then offer it to the PCs instead.
My GM recently gave us a bar/inn that we own now. In order to staff it we played what he called the "NPC game". Everyone went in a circle describing a certain aspect of each NPC. We wound up with: A paraplegic Goblin bartender who hoists himself around the bar sitting in a saddle with ropes and pulleys named "Little Shit" (because people used to yell, 'hey, come back here you little shit!' a lot) A nonbinary Kenku waiter who dreams of being a lawyer one day. They never get an order wrong because they simply repeat the order back to the cook the way it was said to them. A troll maid named Krk. Yes I spelled that correctly. Yes he wears a French maid dress. No he is not a very good maid but we like him anyway. A cook who is basically Hank Hill. None of us remember his name because we all call him Hank. An emo halfling one-man-band named Gus Wonder who plays like four instruments at a time and treats his music as if it's the spiritual insight of the century. If anyone doesn't like it it's because they're too simple to understand. We're also completely unsure if he's blind or not. We have a bouncer too but all I remember about her is that she's a 7 ft tall Leonin.
My PCs in Star Wars EotE cleared out a cave under the town's water pumping station of Mudrats. Maybe like the second quest they did. Now a year later I still can't get them out of this dang cave they love it down there and have made it their home.
I’d love to run a pirate-based Pathfinder campaign where the players have their own ship. Each arc they’d recruit a new NPC crew member, One Piece style. Don’t know how I’d handle ship combat yet.
Great ideas, Guy! My group played Dragon Heist, where owning a property in the city is incorporated nicely. They fixed it up to be a home base and ran it as a business, so I had NPC's come regularly. Great way to give them connections and stakes in the city. Ran a session participating in Waterdeep's Dragon down festivities, another helping a neighbor, another dealing with the property's former owner. Very handy filler adventures. One of my players was really into furnishing the place, and created it in The Sims 4. We're about to start Ghosts of Saltmarsh, so I'm looking forward to seeing how this property ownership goes!
Loyalty and Morale are now important, among the Hirelings an Henchmen that you have to hire to handle the daily upkeep of the place. Then you have to be wary of the machinations of other Patron players {those high enough to have their own stronghold}.
Great ideas! And I like to give what the players want. Like got a guy who loves spreadsheets let them manage resorces of the laiir! Got a someone who loves diologe let them magage the staff got someone who loves combat have them lead the garrition!
Very useful video - I am learning how to gm and am getting really for our first session. As a player, I would love a little rustic cabin lair in the woods or mountains - a little off the beaten path, but with ways our party could be reached so people could ask for our help. Maybe a raven messenger?
"Rewarding" them with a lair is dangerous. Both for them and for you. They are damned expensive unless you are just giving them a cool "House" like in a CRPG to store stuff. My current game has been running about 9 or 10 months now and the players are still between 5th and 7th level. (We're playing a hybrid 1st 2nd Ed AD&D) and the last 2-3 months has involved them sorting out a problem in a local manor. Long Story short, the problem was resolved when they killed the body of the Lord who had been tricked into becoming a bridge for a Demonic entity to crawl into the world, when he died the bridge was broken... but so was the Lord. There are a couple of hundred farmers living and working on the Manor estate, and when the plot was resolved the party were called before a tribunal in the local city where the Magistrates wanted to determine whether the Lords death was lawful or not. As winter was about to arrive, and the Lord had sold most of the estate supplies to fund his "habit" the party were given the responsibility to protect the manor through the winter after which point, if they did a good job, they may get to remain in charge of the estate. The last three sessions have involved almost zero combat, while they replenished the supplies through various means, (some of which may lead to further meetings with the magistrate...) They did a good job, and now have the full estate as a "reward". Along with the "reward" came a list of responsibilities the previous lord had largely ignored, which the County Magistrates INSIST are rectified.. And (being very old players like me) they are being very particular about not leaving anything unprotected. So they are currently in the process of finding the exact spots where guard towers and sentry posts need to go, along with hiring a small army to patrol the roads and protect travellers. The manor estate is massive... about 4000 acres with several small farming communities. The income is small but not to be sniffed at, but nowhere near the cost to get everything back up to where it needs to be. Over the months of the mini campaign surrounding the manor, they have come to know the NPCs quite well, and a couple of the kids in particular have become favourites of even the Elves... They put a LOT of time, effort and resources into keeping this place up and running BEFORE they owned it. Now that are fully responsible for it, I don't need to do a damned thing to motivate them into making it safe and calling it home. It also contains a whole bunch of Tier 2 secrets they are just beginning to discover... Right now, since the Demon ate the house staff... in addition to their local militia, they are recruiting for people to work there. Which has them chasing up previous NPCs they felt they could trust. Once they have built everything to where they want it to be, I will leave it alone for at least 6 months in real time. A few plot hooks and minor issues, simply to bring them back to the estate and interact with the NPCs... but I want them to feel like the work they put in paid off. ALL of this was planned many months in advance. In AD&D, 5th and even 7th level characters shouldn't be getting "Strongholds". That's why this came as a bit of a surprise to them. This part of the campaign has been about building things, places, possessions, relationships, that they care about. Not in a linear "Railroad" sense. Just an understanding of my players, and how they respond to plots and rewards that are more than "You gain X, Y, Z Combat Power Bonus. You now do more damage!" for completing an adventure. It gives me things that they care about that the villain can potentially take away from them later in the campaign... My best advice, but useless if you've already done it... is simple. Unless you are fine with it simply being a vanity reward, don't give them their own Stronghold before YOU work out what to do with it. If you can't give them a reason to do something with it, they will either get bored, or go OTT and become fixated on it. If you do decide to give them a base of operations, consider giving them somewhere they have already used as safe place to live. Let them earn and come to know the place rather than just, "For your noble deeds, The King grants you Castle Red Spire, a place you never heard of before this very minute, but which you will be expected to care about as if you'd built it with your own bare hands!"
My players have a small, humble place. Just a Stoneshed with bedrooms for each member and a multipurpose room. It can be adjusted to their liking. The thing is the location. A city exclusivly reachable by portals, which need to be unlocked. A City in dire strain of everyday goods from other places, while having unique ressources and mastercraftsmen for those. A city with many secrets to explore, many benefits to be unlocked. Abondening this city would result losing all those neat benefits, stored posessions and potentially risking the cities downfall. Going against this city could result in something between horrible death for the partymembers and continental extinction.
It is a slight shame that players (these days) having their own lair is "somewhat niche." In ancient times, 1970s-80s this used to be a common goal! Thanks for posting this Guy!
I haven't been able to play but I bet that getting them interested in a base or dungeon of their own and in some down time say having the party wizard and dwarf make a dungeon space themselves could be quite rewarding for them as it is then their space wherein you could let the party set up their own defences either mundane or magical with only a bit of leeway in that they could have spells powered throughout the keep by some central magic gemstone or something, being a safe space for the players to return to even setting up a teleportation circle for quick travel to and from with the wizard keeping a few scrolls of teleportation onhand. Then have shenanigans of the PC's hearing in the local town that a new dungeon had been discovered or with people trying to break in and see what's inside or eventually a fort where they are holding off a big bad or group of people. Just saying that as being able to do something like that has been on my mind and that players care alot more about stuff they spent time making than stuff they are just said they are getting. Or in my mind at least.
My ideal structure to own would be attached to the leveling. At level one it's a Hamlet as the party grows it can do more prestigious things gathering more NPCs. Than literally have a long rest be refreshing follower faith & fealty.
Tom cartos on Patreon does a fabulous set of mansion maps in the repair and disrepair condition. U can use to update your maps as PCs gradually repair their mansion/keep
Great video, as always. I want the epic battlemap, but for me physical books are useless. I would be forced to scan it all and then give it away. A pdf of it would be great.
I can see how giving the PC's a cook that is poisonings them might make the castle more memorable, but I'm not convinced it's the secret technique for making them Love it. I'm also not really convinced that an endless parade of vapid fetch-quests have much to offer. To me that sounds more like the technique to employ if you want to convince them to sell the castle because it's more trouble than it's worth. It's also been my experience that the first time an NPC approaches a PC and says they need to shell out hard earned gold to upkeep the castle... without any sign of the castle turning a profit for the PC's in a meaningful way (be it narrative or monetary), they are going to start looking for a way to be rid of it. A ship (sailing or space-based) is a different thing, it might be a necessity for travel as such it facilitates adventures, mercantile enterprises, etc. PC's need the ship to complete adventures, and the ship affords them options that they wouldn't otherwise have. A castle should likewise offer the PC's some clear tangible benefit, tax on a trade route, noble-title (social games), control of local lands, support from the crown (as a bulwark if in dangerous territory), etc. You could make a case for that upkeep is part of the minutiae of land/property ownership, but if it's busywork and accounting, it's only going to appeal to a very select kind of player. (which I say as a PC who is currently working on the floor-plan of the manor house I want to build in my current game) If it is just a location to hang my trophies it had better not cost much out of my adventuring-treasure! If it requires a significant cut of my profits, and I am getting harangued by my servants I'm going to have serious questions about who gave me this cursed place, and my next adventure my be to go vanquish them! I am admittedly prone to disagreeing with your advice, but I feel the characterizations in this video were unusually disruptive to the point you were trying to make. Even the most positive was about keeping hold of the cook who is poisoning the PC's and their staff? Not someone I would traditionally be trying to hang on to at my castle! I'd rather wish them well, and hire a less experienced cook in town. I might still have the same problem, but at least it would be accidental instead of intentional.... with some hope of maybe the cook eventually learning enough not to do it?! I understand that these examples were just meant to provoke thought, but it seems like more positive examples would have been just as effective, especially for people who are struggling with this topic. You had me checking my calendar to see if I somehow lost track of time and it was April 1st!
Watching this one because my PC won the deed to a keep from the deck of many things. We cleared the keep of monsters and rescued the people there and now it's our home base and where we're gathering our armies to fight the BBEG. So I need some good ideas to request from the DM.
It's cut into a mountain but the exterior has a big wall and lots of farmland and in an interior locked room there's a portal that we've used to enter the dream realm. We ended up leaving it in the hands of some NPC caretakers with enough money to make improvements.
I'm always the DM. I wish I could play more often. 😞 If I were a player (and I'd love to play a Warlock) with his own in-game domicile, I'd settle for a single tower with 3 or 4 stories, a nice defensible basement level/wine cellar that wasn't prone to flooding, and a surrounding wall...all with a big orrery or astrolabe on the roof or upper floor with which I might pronounce mighty and fell prophecies and divinations. Cliche? So what? 🙂 I wouldn't need many servants, but a skilled (and diarrhea free!) cook would be a must, ha ha.
This is all good advice (great advice even) but I've never played or ran a game which featured a lair of some sort (castle, village, ship) that did not eventually degenerate into a tedious conversation over a spreadsheet or bean counting. Another problem I constantly see whether as a player or a GM is that one or two players might be really into running and managing the lair while everyone else is sitting around bored and wanting to get on with adventure. Can either of these problems really be solved?
You could always just let them tailor make it. hell, let em make it a replica of Willy Wonka's chocolate factory if they want...magic exists, so why not right?
@@HowtobeaGreatGM exactly. If you want them to have some sense of earning their paradise, just have a genie come around who also happens to be an interior decorator. Have him frame the contract in the form of a wish spell and recieve whatever amount of money you deem appropriate as a gm. There ya go, they have earned themselves a base that they will love to call home.
The topic of the episode is "how to make pcs love their castle" and your advice is mostly to burden them with a bunch of problems and responsibilities...?
I am going to have my PCs hiding out in a mausoleum of dead soldiers as their headquarters of a surviving rebellion leftover from an existing empires forces in a world where the forces of evil from different planes have taken it over and they need to take it back. I have several npcs written of soldiers and miscellaneous characters to interact with, but I still feel like I need something else to get them invested to coming back besides trading and military operations.
*Thanks for watching!* How do you get your players to love their lair? Let us know in the comments below!
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This video covers the exact problem that I have in my world right now. Thank you!
In my last campaign the party jumped around from island to island, but they really fell in love with one of them. So they asked if they could look around town to see if houses were for sale.
We had a whole D&D House Hunters episode where they settled on an old lighthouse that was cool, but needed some repairs. Then they got to hire a handyman and give him plans for how to renovate. They seemed to really enjoy seeing how it came along and choose how it looked.
Sounds like a lot of fun was had by all!
The party gained a druid grove, an abandoned church, a tavern, and a sewer complex (thieves' guild) during their adventures. Each in the same town to keep the party together. The druid, cleric, fighter, and rogue were very happy with this arrangement. The party mage had no interest in a lair but would teleport to a room reserved in the inn when he was needed. Having separate bases nearby allowed the party's enemies to single out one party member who would have the others rush to their aid. Each had to maintain their own base too, with their own followers and hirelings.
Are you an ole grognard DM or a young one?
Asking for a friend.
A few years ago, I ran a Shadowrun (5E) campaign set in Bogota, Colombia, which in the lore of Shadowrun is a feral city... consumed by Cartel infighting and attempts by Aztlan to the North and Amazonia to the south trying to claim it. After the first third of the campaign, the team ended up driving out a gang from an old hacienda that had fallen into disrepair. They took it upon themselves to claim it, fix it up, add battlements and even bring in Matrix infrastructure. They made deals with nearby gangs and began to carve themselves an empire that started to draw the attention of the Cartels... and then the campaign fell apart due to inter-player drama. It was a shame, as there were so many storylines and plans that were coming together around their growing influence... all because they took the initiative to say "I like this building. Let's fix it!"
I'm running a modern game with the concept that monsters of fable & folk tales are real but remain hidden from the general public (Supernatural). The characters were told about a compound they could use as a base for a particular hunt. It has accommodations, practice space, a lab and foundry, and a library with a tech adverse librarian. Although not 'theirs', they continue to use it as a base camp between hunts and provide lore to the librarian at the same time they conduct research and manufacture special materials and weapons. Because it is extremely useful and so far has been safe, and they have been able to give added value to the 'owners', the compound has been a key background piece to the game since it's introduction.
My party has discovered an abandoned keep in a planar sea that contains an important library. As they make npc allies they will begin to fix up and add resources for the players to use.
Awesome! Such a cool location. Do you have any plans for 'threats' to the library once they own it?
@@HowtobeaGreatGM I have a few little things to toss in here and there when they get back to the keep after exploring bigger locations. I want them to take ownership by clearing areas for the npcs to fix up so they don't get bored with micromanagement, but are still attached. By the end of it all the bbeg will make a strike against the keep if they take a real interest in the place.
My campaign had them start in "reality", with them being part of a colony fleet bound for the new world in the 1490's, and having passed through the Bermuda triangle. I did this because they always chose the same classes, and this made them choose alternative methods of playing. We had a bog standard doctor, not a cleric, a doctor, two fighters, and a ranger without magic. The way i made this work later is the skills gained from their non-magical play at first, synergized with the magical ones they got later. I had to adjust the skill system a bit but not by much, and it allowed the players to experience mire aspects other than the bog standard strategies. But it also made them attach to the fleet, as these are the only other humans in this world, and were a great source of resources and reinforcement. Especially when the party came across something big that was in a fixed location that they decided to explore against my hints not to. These places were far inland, so that discouraged the party from abusing the broad side dps of four fully armed galleons, but it gave them an escape, and a fun chase
Cool. Did they have muskets etc?
@@HowtobeaGreatGM they had the option, but predictably stuck to crossbows once they had small issue with carrying around gunpowder. Namely a goblin pyromancer.
A couple of years ago, I had a group of players who cleared out a bandits' cave and took it over at L2. The cave was close to trade routes-- which the bandits had been ambushing, but the players saw it as an opportunity to sell their tribe's goods and protect those trade routes simultaneously. The caves weren't especially interesting, but they were centrally located. I didn't expect the players to latch onto the place, but they did! It made them feel accomplished and happy, so I went with it.
My party ran an Inn, where they would bring back trophies of the creatures they hunted, curiosity cabinet items like mummies and troll hands from houses and castles they raided, and they also built a thieves guild underground with the help of a sorcerer they hired to be a housekeeper. They hired a very eclectic group of people to run it, which would also do their own things while they were away. Like their druid minotaur who grew a gigantic venus fly trap in the back yard, which ended up bringing some money from onlookers, and some tragedies where people would pass the rope and get too close. They wanted it to be the most amazing inn they could think of, which worked out quite well.
The party got a skyship with different forms that it can transform into that they've unlocked over the campaign. Also, it houses the ghosts of the Captain's ancestors.
Running for a single player whose character had a hard life as a blacksmith's apprentice. She went through a series of ordeals to try and secure a future for herself and her beloved friend. After a long grind to get a job on the island, she inherited a worn-out blacksmith's shop as a reward for her kindness and adventuring. One day, the cruel enforcer of the BBEG set fire to her beloved blacksmith shop, destroying her home and injuring her friend very badly. This wretched insult continued fueling her rage and hatred against this miserable noble family. She stood motionless as the flames engulfed her little shop, and the tears and soot stained her cheeks black. She would have her revenge...
My player nearly threw dice at the wall, they were so angry. They mention frequently when we're not gaming that they swear to have revenge on BBEG, like they are an actual person. The rage is so real. Thank you for your continued expert advice; it helps us build (and sometimes burn) character motivations. ❤️
I have a Star Wars game coming up. They'll be given a ship to start, but it's old, and sad (You came here in that? You're braver than I thought). The ship is named the "Falling Star". Their base is a collection of chop shops on the edge of a junk field, where three groups cooperate/ compete for the highest profit. The PCs will have to negotiate with mechanics from their rivals to get their ship in tip top condition, without treading on the toes of the 3 leaders, or leaving themselves vulnerable to having their ship ransacked because they didn't get the door locks upgraded.
I gave my players a little village on the border lands between a great republic and an orc kingdom. The village was abandoned by the republic years ago. And mostly abandoned now.
The players had helped the republic drive of the orcs and so the village given to them as a "reward " such as it is, one player receiving the title of Magistrate. They are expected to re populate and rebuild it . The remaining inhabitants are distrustful and paranoid after being left to the humble mercies of the orcs for some time.
I would hope those townfolk eventually come round to the PCs and even begin to celebrate their magistrate?
There was an attempt to put the village back under orc management. The players rallied a defense and sent the orcs packing. It earned them quite a bit of goodwill among the villagers.
My players in a Mass Effect 5e game received their own ship, and after every major arc, I allowed them to do hiring, firing and even give raises to their favorite NPC crew. Every section had chiefs and they were always at the part of some new adventure. But few things gave them more joy, aside from killing, than to reward their most helpful NPCs with titles, promotions and bumps in pay. One even had a retirement party after they won 500k credits on a scratch-off ticket with the PCs eventually having to rescue that crusty navigator from an otherwise obvious scam. So I'd say it was the crew that made those space quarters home to my players.
Mass Effect... 5e - sounds amazing. And the scratch-off ticket scam... classic!
Playing Forbidden Lands, which very much support base building. The party settled in the Wizzard tower of the former master of one the group (who they of course killed). The thing that made it work, was the caretaker who could only say his name (Meesch), and who nobody knew whether he just was a very strange little man with a hump or and undead dwarf. From time to time he would accidentally let someone into the "locked" room where the group hadn't cleared out the ghouls and never got around to it. Meesch cooks a great breakfast and can seemingly never die from accidents like falling off the top of the tower, and can sometimes be seen playing with skulls as hand puppets going "Meesch, meesch, meeeeesch!"
I started a nautical campaign where the beginner adventurers (maybe at lvl2) luckily found a small, but legendary magical ship. Legendary at the island where they are adventuring anyway - overpowered for the party's actual power level. Of course they think the ship is theirs because they are the finders - however the local authorities also think the ship is theirs because of historical reasons. Long story short, they arrived into the bay of the island's main city, the ship stays in the dock, locked by the local authorities - until the local judge will decide the ownership. The PCs are doing some other adventure right now - but after that they definitely want "their" ship back.
This opens up to a lot of adventure possibilities - political favors for the local goverment, or the various factions of the city. At the end, maybe the PCs will decide to steal the ship, who knows?
But I think it is also a powerful tool: give something interesting or powerful to the PCs, let them use it - and after a time take it back temporarily. It will feel more personal, the PCs want to fight for their stuff and take it back - there will be a stronger emotional connection in the long run... I hope :)
Of course a ship is a more flexible thing which is usually more popular for the groups - also, a built-in adventure generator.
Guy mentioned DS9 (one my top10 favourite tv shows... the number one is Babylon 5, which is similar). So yeah, B5 or DS9 are great examples for strongholds - most of the time the characters are not going to outside for adventures... the adventures finds them at their "stronghold". Maybe the castle is an important trading hub (which is DS9 after the discovery of the wormhole); maybe it's an important diplomatic center at the borders of 3 important nations (like Babylon 5 in a neutral space). Each new NPC arriving to the stronghold carries a potential new adventure.
Legendary for the island... love that! Sounds like a lot of fun.
All great suggestions! I remember in Baldur's Gate 2: Shadows of Amn the various Player Strongholds that could be acquired all had little missions and quests that came up from time to time. For example, the D'Arnise Keep had events like one of the guards was stealing from you, but it was because he needed money to pay for his sick mother's medicine, and you could decide to cover the expenses yourself and/or punish him; another one of your maids had two proposals for marriage, and as she had no living male relative the role of "father" fell to you, and you could choose either the poor ranger who she was in love with or the rich nobleman (who, in a fine bit of reference, was called Malvolio).
One thing I would add is make sure that the events concerning your PCs lair should not all be problems or negatives. There should be events that are profitable or at least enjoyable for the PCs. Otherwise they may come to regard what should be a boon - a castle, starship, etc. - a curse, a constant drain on their time and resources.
That is an excellent point and I should have been clearer - there must be festivals, celebrations and joy at owning the place too!
I'm planning a campaign for my friends while my current DM is running his campaign for us and your videos really inspired me. My idea is to give the players a whole city to live in and the main driving story is set in there, so the players, for their deeds will be awarded a mansion and this mansion can become a home base, a workplace, whatever they think of, but I know I intend for the players to be embroiled into the culture of the place. Colourful festivals during the rain, celebrating the rainbows that inevitably come when the rain is gone and so on. I even plan to bring my current PC to the city as a bit of a travelling shopkeep.
I'm running a CoC (Call of Cthulhu) campaign currently. The one PC is a 2nd Generation Italian/American and his family has a "garage/scrapyard" which is the family business. The yard has pretty much become the PC's defacto hideout and storage space. Its off the grid enough for them to have their secret meetings and hide any artefacts they don't want anyone else gtting their hands on and is a perfect spot to scrounge for materials they might need and do any repairs to their motor car. The player's have really taken to it being a "home base" of sorts and its all been handled entirely by them :)
Its pretty cool to see how the PC's will "develope" their own space (with suitable in world constraints of course), if you just let them have it.
In my first campaign I had my players stumble through a portal to Sigil. Soon their meager coins could not afford them both a room in one of the nice areas and food anymore, and they were forced to go slum it. After a few run-ins with the Harmonium and Mercykillers they chanced across a friendly Indep Bariaur who directed them to a rather sodden corner of the Hive. There was a small building that looked surprisingly clean, and the occupant was willing to let them stay on one floor for a nominal fee and some help. The PCs were so happy to have a safe place to stay that they really invested lots of play into helping the owner (thus getting dragged into his schemes...), finding NPCs and materials for repair, and expanding their territory. It was a beloved part of the game, which I had honestly never expected.
That's the magic. That's one of the reasons I think this is so important for us to have up our sleeves so to speak.
My party ened up commedeering an air ship and I let them essentially redesign the rooms based on what they wanted. I'd made a rough estimate on the layout but let my player dictate how they wanted the end result to look like. Now it is truly theirs.
I don’t think I ever gave them a home base, because it seemed like a different game and too “difficult” to run.
I’ve enjoyed playing in games with home bases the best, incidentally. Though there’s never much gameplay spent in the base. The two best were one where the DM asked questions about what cool things we wanted to build in it and remembered them, and the other was a great big megaspaceship almost like a space station. We had a battle to defend the ship and used its features to our advantage. We also swapped characters from time to time, which we played out by having them go down to the bar and finding Whosit. A little on board intrigue sometimes.
They haven't had the proper opportunity to make something of it yet, as they've been adventuring around, and left the ruins they gained as a reward to some tradesfolk, who have been slowly building it back up to a position of working order. Next time they go to it, they'll have the opportunity to give the builders the room layout they want, and ask for any extensions, etc.
When they got it, they had to clear a bunch of spiders and other nasty things from the rooms to make it safe, and they found a gelatinous cube in the basement cellar that they have chosen to keep as a pet. There's a cave opening near the outer wall that apparently has some kind of abandoned drow civilization inside of it, but they've chosen to block that up for now with a big rock. And finally, there appears to be the remnants of a summoning circle in one of the rooms, provided they keep that space intact when they rearrange everything.
On the back of this video, I think I'll have them organise some servants to keep it running - they have a blacksmith, but she'll probably run out of materials soon, and I'll have them need a cook, and some farmers, or some person who can trade crops and meat with them, and some security force, and maybe someone who can keep their many, many pets healthy.
Very helpful video,I have a lot of planning to do. 👍
So much going on! Love it.
So I ran the Descent into Avernus module for my regular group and at one point it becomes painfully obvious to the PCs that they can't adventure through this terrain on foot. It would simply take too long and be too dangerous. So through a connection they made with a local hag they got themselves a 12 ton, 70 foot long(50 ft by 20 ft cabin) war machine made entirely of steel that travels 100 ft per round.
Over the course of the campaign they spent a great deal of time hanging trophies from defeated foes inside and outside their vehicle. The cabin was adorned with magical warhammers, swords, shields, and helmets. The front of the vehicle had a balor's head mounted on it, the armor of the vehicle was upgraded and added onto over the course of many battles and achievements.
They even renovated the back of the cabin to act as a storage area for a motorcycle shaped war machine, a guard drake, and a nightmare. Who they very affectionately cared for and crafted armor to fit the two living creatures to better protect them in combat, which they did a lot of.
By the end of that campaign and even to this day, a year and a half later, they still refer to it as the best campaign they've ever been apart of and I love that I could do that for them. Edit: It was my first time as a DM. :)
My players had a ship called the HMS Hummingbird and it was so great!
I invented the whole thing to be able to switch GMs and bring in new players at any time. So it's a spaceship with modular, removable sleeping pods doubling as cryopods, the GMs PC would either stay in cryo or provide help from the ship.
We brought it back for our second campaign where we hunted down the ship with different characters and it was great, because at that point it had become something almost mythical with all the lore we added around it.
This video’s ❤❤❤❤timing is PERFECT!!
Thanks, Guy Sclanders!
In almost all of my campaigns the PCs end up with some sort of base; it's been a castle, a ship, an airship, and even an oversized wagon pulled by a beast and construct. Still, a few interesting tips in here that I'll definitely use!
Great video! Just brainstorming....
• Give an NPC advisor who can tell PC what taxes vs expenses can realistically be achieved if working at peak efficiency.
• A herald who expounds the party's achievements when they return: "Welcome back heroes! The slayer of Trolls, the liberators of Narmbor, the saviors of Tront, the..." Every time they return, add a new title for their successful adventures.
• The lord of the land wants his share and taxes from you. Can you pay? What if he goes to war and needs money and men? What if his greedy son takes over? What if a tyrant lord takes over?
• Storing your treasure from your adventures in your castle? The larger the horde, the more attention from thieves and disgruntled staff. Discontent from your poorer citizens. More cost to keep it safe.
THIS... this is gold. Love these ideas!
Great video, it arrives at the most perfect time. And here is why...
I just started a campaing last week and feel prepared (thanks to you and your books).
I would like to offer them an opportunity to get a permanent place to stay, but they have to do more tasks to get something.
How should one present the Base in the first place.
Is a map of a not yet fully furnished place helpful? If they ask for things not on the map, I could go NO, BUT, it can be built with resources
Or should I start with theatre of the mind and make them ask "is there a this and that", which oviously, YES will be there BUT needs fixing?
I guess I just answered the question by myself - plus it depends on my players.
Still, what would you suggest, Guy?
Should I go one step further and say: "In this realm there are several places, ready for you to move into! Here is a small list, what do you heroes prefer?"
I am excited for your answer :)
So in my current game, my background is a Mercinary Veteran. Well the party had been pretty aimless, a bunch of edge lords. Which we love because my character is the emotional anchor/support. All.the more funny because I'm the only evil character. A Necromancer. Anyways after we got a bunch of loot, I asked the Party to to join me in forming a Mercinary company(something the GM loved as it was unexpected) Next thing we knew we were buying a plot of land, hiring a bunch of Laborers and building our own home-based to my specific plans. (I love just designing various things and got to flex my art skills here) so yeah. Now we have a 4 story building in the heart of the capital that has everything we need: reception area, offices, store house, vault, Armory, Barracks, living area, library and secret lab for my character to do his experiments. Dungeon. Training Hall. Oh and a port on top for our airship 😆
The whole point of our campaign is a group of survivors settling after running away from a civil war. My tool to make it alive were :
Npc, they all have their name, their goal and especially bonds with the player. A lover, a brother, ...
Artworks, every time the settlement is evolving I create a new artwork to help them visualize the effect of their actions on the village.
God bless you, Guy, for being such a bright, fun guy who shows us how to really love, what we love, by how you love people and this game.
One of my players is a dwarf and the party stopped a seige on a city but once done the dwarf wanted to stay and the party now separated. His real life job is a maintenance director so I gave him the task of boosting the cities defenses . Towers ballistas the works he has had a blast with it and might never leave.
Am old wizard tower which has a staff to control the tower. The players find the tower,they are treated by living statues, they will grant them a pice of the staff. There’s 2 dungeons inside the tower. Each dungeon has the other piece of the staff. Once the staff is completed the welder can shape the inside of the tower as their own deminplane. Like doctor who’s box. There is also a teleportation circle at the top. They love this place as they can transform their base into anything while inside the tower. If they find a teleportation circle they can always fast travel to and from the tower. Making it a great travel hub.
About the "viziers" thing, I want to make one that's 100% just Jaffar, but he's 100% good. Sounds evil, LOOKS evil, stereotypically so, and IS working against the king, but the king's the evil one.
I had a seaman's chest that opened only on the ocean and a ladder led down to a dungeon. They had to clear it out and deal with some fallout. Also, got trapped once when the chest was taken ashore while they were inside. Great fun.
Haha, yeah, getting the PC's to want to settle down or take advantage of a base has mostly been problematic in my own games!
If you still like the idea of a base of operations... give them a mobile one. A ship, a sky-whale, a slightly used pocket dimension with holes...
Back when we played Boot Hill (Sometime in the 80s!)
My player's bought the 'Gay Lady Variety Hall and Saloon' in Promise City and they invested in it 'Dancers,Gambling and Drinking' being that they where all law enforcement characters 'trouble' came in various ways!
Once was playing a living campaign setting. But both groups I had (who met on separate days) and in game were in different countries. But to united them they were both in part of the same mercenary company.
The npc in charge (the one who could connect both groups if needed) would help them set up a location then would visit every so many days. If there was a problem or he was running late he would let them know via letter.
For each charter he had
1 person be the charter head (his second in command)
1 person in charge on contracts and notes (secritary)
1 person in charge of supplies (quartermaster)
1 person in charge of the day to day operations.
And everyone else was hired hands.
Promoting these to the pcs.
He would recommend the base of operations be functional.
Group A: bought a warehouse and but up dividers to give it multipurpose. They were constantly upgrading it.
Group b: bought a sausage processing factory intending to make a profit with it. Their first order of business was firing all previous workers and hiring beggers,sick and disabled for a discounted rate.even hiring a pigperson (was a race in the setting) they desided they didn't like contracts and put a pig that was to be slaughtered in charge of the factory while they were away.
And were constantly wondering why their leader wanted then dead .which eventually they just assumed he was just testing them to make sure they were the best of the best
I never played in a game with a home base of any kind - not by design, the groups I've played in just favor the wandering part of an adventure. I do want to introduce one into my new game and you've given me plenty to think about. My players still love the idea of wandering, so I'm thinking about making a magical item that allows them to travel back to their home base. This way, they can travel far a field and skip the return trip home or maybe they need a quick exit . . . but that is pretty powerful and can be abused . . . I'll give it charges, maybe three or five, with the possibility of recharging it at a later date, if I feel like they need it. Thank you for the thoughts!
Love the vid, i know its been 2 weeks but for anyone else reading this my pc's made a ship there player home and move about with it, it helped that one of the pc's was once a pirate turned privateer calling his vessel the rising phoenix. the other players ended up taking on rolls such as quartermaster, captain, Bowson etc. Originally i did not plan much nautical adventures but since theyve taken a liking to the ship ive made quite a bit more nautical adventures.
I actually just recently gave my party an unaging elvish warship (magically preserved), with a 40 kind of undead (brought back to live through ritual) elven celtic style elves that will serve one of the players that has a ritual book and was touched by their godess. And they have no idea what to do with them since, the ship is exotic at least and will draw attention and they are on their way to the rather xenophobic country where the elves are going to stand out a lot and that smells trouble there. Never thought about making it a lair... but there is something there I guess.
Just in time. One of my players was just talking about having their characters build a fort/keep.
In the campaign I'm DMing for my wife and daughters (DnD 5e homebrew), they defeated early on an evil wizard/entomologist that breeded and freed giant centipedes, scorptions, wasps, etc... The lab/base/house/bunker (The Entomologists Hill) was like and evil giant hobbit house from the shire... The party asked the local lords for the deed to the property and decided to repurpose it into an orphanage ... Its been so much fun and a never ending source of adventures just taking care of the place...
So glad that you talked about this! I ran the Dragon Heist module and in there(spoilers i guess..) the pc get to keep an old dilapidated inn as a reward. My pcs were marginally interested, until i told them that repairs would cost them. Especially since the local innkeepers guild wanted them to follow strict rules to keep the level of accomodations in the city high. Then, they just left. Stopped thinking about it completely. I mean, it's in one of the medium class districts of Waterdeep, you can't just have them squat there. Always felt like a lot of potential for adventures was lost
Sometimes if the PCs don't want it, they won't keep it. But even if there was potential adventures lost at least you can reflect and perhaps learn from it?
I'm actually stuck and needing ideas in what should be an easy scenario. I'm running a pirate game in Eberron. It is a very sandbox campaign that I'm really letting the players run wild. In one adventure, they invaded another pirate's den, a secret cave behind a waterfall in a desert island with access to the sea to hide a ship, and they made it their lair. I would really like to give it more life in a piratey way. Suggestions!?
I'd have an old contact of the previous pirates who lived in the secret cave arrive with a big mission, be surprised that the old pirates are gone and then offer it to the PCs instead.
@@HowtobeaGreatGM Oh, Ioved that. Thanks for taking the time to answer. BTW, I'm a big fan of your videos.
My GM recently gave us a bar/inn that we own now. In order to staff it we played what he called the "NPC game". Everyone went in a circle describing a certain aspect of each NPC. We wound up with:
A paraplegic Goblin bartender who hoists himself around the bar sitting in a saddle with ropes and pulleys named "Little Shit" (because people used to yell, 'hey, come back here you little shit!' a lot)
A nonbinary Kenku waiter who dreams of being a lawyer one day. They never get an order wrong because they simply repeat the order back to the cook the way it was said to them.
A troll maid named Krk. Yes I spelled that correctly. Yes he wears a French maid dress. No he is not a very good maid but we like him anyway.
A cook who is basically Hank Hill. None of us remember his name because we all call him Hank.
An emo halfling one-man-band named Gus Wonder who plays like four instruments at a time and treats his music as if it's the spiritual insight of the century. If anyone doesn't like it it's because they're too simple to understand. We're also completely unsure if he's blind or not.
We have a bouncer too but all I remember about her is that she's a 7 ft tall Leonin.
Listening with surround sound earbuds, I am catching an auditory glimpse into the life of the cameraman
My PCs in Star Wars EotE cleared out a cave under the town's water pumping station of Mudrats. Maybe like the second quest they did. Now a year later I still can't get them out of this dang cave they love it down there and have made it their home.
Being new to TTRPG's as a GM, this is all fantastic! You're inspiring Guy!
The Thumbnail for this video is wonderful.
Hey Guy! I love this topic and love your videos
Thanks. Wonder what's going on in the mix. Will keep an eye out for it... or ear!
I’d love to run a pirate-based Pathfinder campaign where the players have their own ship. Each arc they’d recruit a new NPC crew member, One Piece style. Don’t know how I’d handle ship combat yet.
Great ideas, Guy!
My group played Dragon Heist, where owning a property in the city is incorporated nicely. They fixed it up to be a home base and ran it as a business, so I had NPC's come regularly. Great way to give them connections and stakes in the city. Ran a session participating in Waterdeep's Dragon down festivities, another helping a neighbor, another dealing with the property's former owner. Very handy filler adventures. One of my players was really into furnishing the place, and created it in The Sims 4.
We're about to start Ghosts of Saltmarsh, so I'm looking forward to seeing how this property ownership goes!
Sounds like a totally different experience to someone else in the comments! GoS is great for the same thing... or perhaps a sailing ship?
Loyalty and Morale are now important, among the Hirelings an Henchmen that you have to hire to handle the daily upkeep of the place. Then you have to be wary of the machinations of other Patron players {those high enough to have their own stronghold}.
Great ideas! And I like to give what the players want. Like got a guy who loves spreadsheets let them manage resorces of the laiir! Got a someone who loves diologe let them magage the staff got someone who loves combat have them lead the garrition!
Very useful video - I am learning how to gm and am getting really for our first session. As a player, I would love a little rustic cabin lair in the woods or mountains - a little off the beaten path, but with ways our party could be reached so people could ask for our help. Maybe a raven messenger?
"Rewarding" them with a lair is dangerous. Both for them and for you. They are damned expensive unless you are just giving them a cool "House" like in a CRPG to store stuff.
My current game has been running about 9 or 10 months now and the players are still between 5th and 7th level. (We're playing a hybrid 1st 2nd Ed AD&D) and the last 2-3 months has involved them sorting out a problem in a local manor. Long Story short, the problem was resolved when they killed the body of the Lord who had been tricked into becoming a bridge for a Demonic entity to crawl into the world, when he died the bridge was broken... but so was the Lord.
There are a couple of hundred farmers living and working on the Manor estate, and when the plot was resolved the party were called before a tribunal in the local city where the Magistrates wanted to determine whether the Lords death was lawful or not.
As winter was about to arrive, and the Lord had sold most of the estate supplies to fund his "habit" the party were given the responsibility to protect the manor through the winter after which point, if they did a good job, they may get to remain in charge of the estate.
The last three sessions have involved almost zero combat, while they replenished the supplies through various means, (some of which may lead to further meetings with the magistrate...)
They did a good job, and now have the full estate as a "reward".
Along with the "reward" came a list of responsibilities the previous lord had largely ignored, which the County Magistrates INSIST are rectified..
And (being very old players like me) they are being very particular about not leaving anything unprotected. So they are currently in the process of finding the exact spots where guard towers and sentry posts need to go, along with hiring a small army to patrol the roads and protect travellers. The manor estate is massive... about 4000 acres with several small farming communities. The income is small but not to be sniffed at, but nowhere near the cost to get everything back up to where it needs to be.
Over the months of the mini campaign surrounding the manor, they have come to know the NPCs quite well, and a couple of the kids in particular have become favourites of even the Elves...
They put a LOT of time, effort and resources into keeping this place up and running BEFORE they owned it. Now that are fully responsible for it, I don't need to do a damned thing to motivate them into making it safe and calling it home. It also contains a whole bunch of Tier 2 secrets they are just beginning to discover...
Right now, since the Demon ate the house staff... in addition to their local militia, they are recruiting for people to work there. Which has them chasing up previous NPCs they felt they could trust.
Once they have built everything to where they want it to be, I will leave it alone for at least 6 months in real time. A few plot hooks and minor issues, simply to bring them back to the estate and interact with the NPCs... but I want them to feel like the work they put in paid off.
ALL of this was planned many months in advance.
In AD&D, 5th and even 7th level characters shouldn't be getting "Strongholds".
That's why this came as a bit of a surprise to them.
This part of the campaign has been about building things, places, possessions, relationships, that they care about.
Not in a linear "Railroad" sense. Just an understanding of my players, and how they respond to plots and rewards that are more than "You gain X, Y, Z Combat Power Bonus. You now do more damage!" for completing an adventure.
It gives me things that they care about that the villain can potentially take away from them later in the campaign...
My best advice, but useless if you've already done it... is simple. Unless you are fine with it simply being a vanity reward, don't give them their own Stronghold before YOU work out what to do with it. If you can't give them a reason to do something with it, they will either get bored, or go OTT and become fixated on it.
If you do decide to give them a base of operations, consider giving them somewhere they have already used as safe place to live. Let them earn and come to know the place rather than just, "For your noble deeds, The King grants you Castle Red Spire, a place you never heard of before this very minute, but which you will be expected to care about as if you'd built it with your own bare hands!"
Fantastic video! I’ll definitely be keeping this information in mind for my own games and videos!
My players have a small, humble place. Just a Stoneshed with bedrooms for each member and a multipurpose room. It can be adjusted to their liking.
The thing is the location. A city exclusivly reachable by portals, which need to be unlocked. A City in dire strain of everyday goods from other places, while having unique ressources and mastercraftsmen for those. A city with many secrets to explore, many benefits to be unlocked. Abondening this city would result losing all those neat benefits, stored posessions and potentially risking the cities downfall. Going against this city could result in something between horrible death for the partymembers and continental extinction.
It is a slight shame that players (these days) having their own lair is "somewhat niche."
In ancient times, 1970s-80s this used to be a common goal!
Thanks for posting this Guy!
I haven't been able to play but I bet that getting them interested in a base or dungeon of their own and in some down time say having the party wizard and dwarf make a dungeon space themselves could be quite rewarding for them as it is then their space wherein you could let the party set up their own defences either mundane or magical with only a bit of leeway in that they could have spells powered throughout the keep by some central magic gemstone or something, being a safe space for the players to return to even setting up a teleportation circle for quick travel to and from with the wizard keeping a few scrolls of teleportation onhand. Then have shenanigans of the PC's hearing in the local town that a new dungeon had been discovered or with people trying to break in and see what's inside or eventually a fort where they are holding off a big bad or group of people.
Just saying that as being able to do something like that has been on my mind and that players care alot more about stuff they spent time making than stuff they are just said they are getting. Or in my mind at least.
My ideal structure to own would be attached to the leveling. At level one it's a Hamlet as the party grows it can do more prestigious things gathering more NPCs. Than literally have a long rest be refreshing follower faith & fealty.
Tom cartos on Patreon does a fabulous set of mansion maps in the repair and disrepair condition. U can use to update your maps as PCs gradually repair their mansion/keep
Great video, as always.
I want the epic battlemap, but for me physical books are useless. I would be forced to scan it all and then give it away. A pdf of it would be great.
why is there an ASMR in the audio? 1:40
(Not judging anyone that listen into it, but I'm pretty sure this wasn't intentional)
Oh goodness. Must be an audio glitch... or post processing thing. Sigh. Or ... I mean. Not sigh!
I can see how giving the PC's a cook that is poisonings them might make the castle more memorable, but I'm not convinced it's the secret technique for making them Love it. I'm also not really convinced that an endless parade of vapid fetch-quests have much to offer. To me that sounds more like the technique to employ if you want to convince them to sell the castle because it's more trouble than it's worth. It's also been my experience that the first time an NPC approaches a PC and says they need to shell out hard earned gold to upkeep the castle... without any sign of the castle turning a profit for the PC's in a meaningful way (be it narrative or monetary), they are going to start looking for a way to be rid of it.
A ship (sailing or space-based) is a different thing, it might be a necessity for travel as such it facilitates adventures, mercantile enterprises, etc. PC's need the ship to complete adventures, and the ship affords them options that they wouldn't otherwise have. A castle should likewise offer the PC's some clear tangible benefit, tax on a trade route, noble-title (social games), control of local lands, support from the crown (as a bulwark if in dangerous territory), etc.
You could make a case for that upkeep is part of the minutiae of land/property ownership, but if it's busywork and accounting, it's only going to appeal to a very select kind of player. (which I say as a PC who is currently working on the floor-plan of the manor house I want to build in my current game) If it is just a location to hang my trophies it had better not cost much out of my adventuring-treasure! If it requires a significant cut of my profits, and I am getting harangued by my servants I'm going to have serious questions about who gave me this cursed place, and my next adventure my be to go vanquish them!
I am admittedly prone to disagreeing with your advice, but I feel the characterizations in this video were unusually disruptive to the point you were trying to make. Even the most positive was about keeping hold of the cook who is poisoning the PC's and their staff? Not someone I would traditionally be trying to hang on to at my castle! I'd rather wish them well, and hire a less experienced cook in town. I might still have the same problem, but at least it would be accidental instead of intentional.... with some hope of maybe the cook eventually learning enough not to do it?!
I understand that these examples were just meant to provoke thought, but it seems like more positive examples would have been just as effective, especially for people who are struggling with this topic. You had me checking my calendar to see if I somehow lost track of time and it was April 1st!
Thanks for the feedback.
Great new haircut, btw. Keep up the great work.
Great advice! I'm thinking about which parts of this could apply to a starship. A bigger ship provides more options, obviously.
Watching this one because my PC won the deed to a keep from the deck of many things. We cleared the keep of monsters and rescued the people there and now it's our home base and where we're gathering our armies to fight the BBEG. So I need some good ideas to request from the DM.
It's cut into a mountain but the exterior has a big wall and lots of farmland and in an interior locked room there's a portal that we've used to enter the dream realm. We ended up leaving it in the hands of some NPC caretakers with enough money to make improvements.
I'm always the DM. I wish I could play more often. 😞 If I were a player (and I'd love to play a Warlock) with his own in-game domicile, I'd settle for a single tower with 3 or 4 stories, a nice defensible basement level/wine cellar that wasn't prone to flooding, and a surrounding wall...all with a big orrery or astrolabe on the roof or upper floor with which I might pronounce mighty and fell prophecies and divinations. Cliche? So what? 🙂 I wouldn't need many servants, but a skilled (and diarrhea free!) cook would be a must, ha ha.
If your layer gets attacked while your out it's a one shot as PC play the NPCs to defend it.
I like how you’re on better terms with cloak guy. You guys seemed really misaligned on the teaching family RPG’s video!
You have a great channel and Ive bought a few of your books, how do you see the WOTC debacle affecting what you do going forward?
This is all good advice (great advice even) but I've never played or ran a game which featured a lair of some sort (castle, village, ship) that did not eventually degenerate into a tedious conversation over a spreadsheet or bean counting. Another problem I constantly see whether as a player or a GM is that one or two players might be really into running and managing the lair while everyone else is sitting around bored and wanting to get on with adventure. Can either of these problems really be solved?
Good topic and video
this video is really useful and gave me some ideas, but I don’t want my players to see them.
What's up with the asmr video going on in the background here in the first couple minutes?
You could always just let them tailor make it. hell, let em make it a replica of Willy Wonka's chocolate factory if they want...magic exists, so why not right?
Mmmm chocolate milk moat...
@@HowtobeaGreatGM exactly. If you want them to have some sense of earning their paradise, just have a genie come around who also happens to be an interior decorator. Have him frame the contract in the form of a wish spell and recieve whatever amount of money you deem appropriate as a gm. There ya go, they have earned themselves a base that they will love to call home.
Got some weird background noise in this vid.
Is someone breathing really heavily/ rustling in this audio or is it just me?
Yeah, seems like another audio track on there
@@Jarlerus It shall be investigated.
@@HowtobeaGreatGM It's not too bad, and only for a few minutes at the start - but good to check so it's not an issue in future vids ^^
The topic of the episode is "how to make pcs love their castle" and your advice is mostly to burden them with a bunch of problems and responsibilities...?
We love family members and they do this to us 😂
Is my sleep paralysis daemon holding a boom mic for you in this video?
Holy shit, thank you. I went to the comments to see if I was just going insane.
I am going to have my PCs hiding out in a mausoleum of dead soldiers as their headquarters of a surviving rebellion leftover from an existing empires forces in a world where the forces of evil from different planes have taken it over and they need to take it back. I have several npcs written of soldiers and miscellaneous characters to interact with, but I still feel like I need something else to get them invested to coming back besides trading and military operations.
Just started the video.. but i have to say that the epic maps look absolutely fantastic.