Bastions

Players often wish to leave their mark on the world, to establish something grand that can survive their characters and change the world around them, making it altogether better, worse, or simply different for its presence. Bastions that are created by the characters are an excellent opportunity for roleplaying, quests, and story, being an instantly visible and prominent part of the world to those in regions nearby.

A bastion included in a game is typically both a focal point of the campaign and an investment opportunity for the player characters. The more gold and time characters spend expanding, improving, and staffing their structure, the more benefits, defence, and utility it provides. A well-governed bastion can act as a military stronghold, a powerful trading hub, or the spiritual center of a faith, and those that control the bastion may stand as the stewards of the fates of millions.

The shape, style, and function of a character’s Bastion are up to the player to determine. For example, a Wizard might build a tower, a Cleric might establish a shrine, a Fighter might build a fortified keep or similar stronghold, and a Rogue might establish a guildhall or lodge. Characters of other classes might choose one of these forms or combine them—a Paladin’s Bastion might be similar to a Cleric’s shrine but as fortified as a Fighter’s stronghold. Andmultiple characters can combine their Bastions to form a single large structure.

Every Bastion has facilities that serve basic needs as well as special ones, such as libraries, menageries, and workshops (see “Basic Facilities” and “Special Facilities”).

Combining Bastions

Two or more players can combine their characters’ Bastions into a single Castle structure. Doing so doesn’t change the number of special facilities each Bastion can have, how those special facilities work, or who issues orders to each Bastion. Each Bastion retains its own hirelings, which can’t be sent to or shared with another Bastion in the Castle.

Bastion Turns

As time passes in the campaign, players take Bastion turns to reflect the activity occurring in their Bastions, whether or not the characters are present. On a Bastion turn, a character can issue orders to the special facilities in their Bastion or issue the Maintain order to the entire Bastion (see “Orders”).

In our campaign, a Bastion turn occurs every 16 days of in-game time, meaning at the start and middle of each month.

Hirelings

A special facility comes with one or more hirelings who work in the facility, maintain it, and execute Bastion orders there, as described in the next section. A player can assign names and personalities to hirelings in their character’s Bastion, or a DM may do this. A player may also request that an already established NPC join the facility as a hireling.

Each special facility in a Bastion generates enough income to pay the salary of its hirelings. Hirelings follow the orders they’re given and are loyal to the Bastion’s owner.

Orders

On a Bastion turn, a character in their Bastion can issue special orders — called Bastion orders — to one or more of their Bastion’s special facilities. A character needn’t issue orders to all the special facilities in their Bastion on a given Bastion turn.

The Maintain order is unusual; it is issued to the whole Bastion rather than to one or more special facilities. If a character isn’t in their Bastion on a given Bastion turn, the Bastion acts as though it were issued the Maintain order on that turn unless the owner can communicate with the Bastion hirelings using the Sending  spell or similar magic.

The orders are as follows:

Craft. Hirelings in the special facility craft an item that can be made in that facility. During the time required to craft an item, the facility can’t be used to craft anything else, even if a special ability allows the facility to carry out two orders at once. The hirelings have proficiencies with Artisan’s Tools as specified in the facility’s description.

Empower. The special facility confers a temporary empowerment to you or someone else.

Harvest. Hirelings gather a resource produced in the special facility. During the time required to harvest a resource, the facility can’t be used to harvest anything else, even if a special ability allows the facility to carry out two orders at once

Maintain. All the Bastion’s hirelings focus on maintaining the Bastion rather than executing orders in special facilities. Issuing this order prohibits other orders from being issued to the Bastion on the current Bastion turn. Each time the Maintain order is issued, the DM rolls once on the Bastion Events table at the end of this chapter. Bastion events are resolved before the next Bastion turn.

Recruit. Hirelings recruit creatures to the Bastion. These creatures might include warfare units or bastion defenders.

Research. Hirelings in the special facility gather information.

Trade. Hirelings buy and sell goods or services stored or produced in this special facility.

Move. If you have a moving bastion, you can tell your hirelings to begin moving it to a different location. The distance you can move depends on your bastion. The next bastion turn you can either give the Move order again to travel further or give no order and let your hirelings set up in the new location.

Castle Complex

If multiple player characters have a Bastion, they can choose to combine them into a Castle complex. A Castle is a collection of individual Bastions that shares the same geographical location and may share the same map. For example, a cleric builds a temple which stands within the walls of the fighter's keep, while the rogue constructs a tavern outside the walls. Joining multiple Bastions into a Castle grants access to some extra abilities.

Units and Defences. A Castle is able to jointly defend each Bastion within it in the following ways.

• Defensive walls can be built around the Castle to secure each Bastion within it.

• Warfare units can be shared between all the Bastions in a Castle.

• Special defenders in one Bastion will confer their abilities to the entire Castle.

Artisans. Some Artisans (see their section below) confer special abilities to the entire Castle and can be accessed by every player character in that Castle.

Facilities

Basic Facilities

A character’s Bastion starts with two free basic facilities, which the character’s player chooses from the Basic Facilities list below. One of the chosen facilities is Cramped, and the other is Roomy (see the Facility Space table). A Bastion can have more than one of each basic facility.

Basic Facilities

• Bedroom

• Dining Room

• Parlour

• Courtyard

• Kitchen

• Storage

A basic facility comes with nonmagical furnishings and décor appropriate for that facility.

Basic facilities don’t have any game effects, but they can inspire roleplaying opportunities and enhance a Bastion’s verisimilitude. A Bastion with a kitchen is functionally the same as one without, but the former gives you and your players a fun setting to start game sessions, have in-character discussions, or introduce new NPCs.

Some basic facilities may have RP-focused benefits, but do not come with game mechanics.

A character can add new basic facilities or enlarge existing ones by spending money and time, as discussed in the sections that follow. Any number of basic facilities can be added or enlarged at the same time. A character doesn’t need to be in their Bastion while basic facilities are being added or enlarged.

A character can add a basic facility to their Bastion by spending money and time. The cost of adding a basic facility and the time required depend on the facility’s space, as shown on the table below.

A basic facility can be enlarged by one category by paying the cost and construction time differential between the categories.

Special Facilities

Special facilities are Bastion locations where certain activities yield game benefits.

A character’s Bastion can initially house up to three special facilities. Your Bastion starts with one special facility of your choice with a cost of up to 2'000 GP and you can pay to construct more. Each special facility can be chosen only once unless its description says otherwise. Each new special facility is constructed in 7 days.

A Bastion can only have a certain number of special facilities, gaining more through a character's level advancement. The table below shows the maximum number of special facilities a character’s Bastion can have.

The Special Facilities table lists all the special facilities available to build, along with their prerequisites, construction cost, and orders. Their description and mechanics are presented in Bastions Special facilities confer additional benefits, specified in their descriptions.

^lCertain orders that can be issued in the facility has additional prerequisites

^OCan be expanded

Followers and Artisans

Your Bastion or Castle complex may gain Followers or Artisans. These are a unique kind of hireling that give a special boon to your Bastion, and some even to the whole Castle.

When do you gain followers? The first time you complete a special facility (see below) after reaching level 5, 9, 13, and 17 you get to roll on the followers table to see what kind of follower you gain. See the Follower tables on here.

Who are the followers? The followers you can gain are either units, retainers, artisans, or diplomats. Different classes have a different percentage chance to gain each follower type. Each follower is an individual with their own personality, hopes, and dreams. Most followers take up residence in the demesne of the stronghold, but some only promise their alliance and come when needed.

Artisans. Artisans are special followers that construct a unique special facility called an Artisan Facility in or near your Bastion if you accept their service. Artisan facilities cannot be built, unless you gain an artisan. Artisans pay for the construction of their facility themself but it does count against the maximum number of special facilities a bastion can have. If you gain an artisan as a follower but do not wish to have their artisan facility in your bastion, you can direct them to another player bastion.

^I If multiple masons are in a castle, the effect on the castle does not stack. Will still give the effect to each individual bastion.

If an artisan would build a facility that your bastion already has, they take over as that facility's hireling and you gain a 1000 gold discount on the next facility you choose to build.

Bastion Maps

If you wish, you can create a map of the floor plan of your Bastion. To do this, you can use programs that are meant to create dungeons.

In addition to your basic and special facilities, a Bastion can have:

• Furniture, Doors, Closets. A basic or special facility can have one or more furniture, closets, washrooms, or similar enclosures. These must be inside the facility and can’t increase the facility’s area in squares. Facilities come with normal doors and windows for These features are free.

• Corridors, Ramps, and Staircases. A facility can contain one or more corridors, ramps, or staircases leading to other facilities in the Bastion. These features are free.

• Defensive Walls. A character can add defensive walls around their Bastion. A defensive wall is 20 feet high and may include a walkway along its top, with a means to access it (such as a ladder or lift). Each 5-foot square of defensive wall takes 10 days to build and costs 100 GP. A Bastion enclosed by defensive walls is far easier to defend.

The amount of space in a basic or special facility determines its maximum area in 5-foot squares, as shown in the Facility Space table. A player can configure the squares of a facility as they please on their Bastion’s map. The squares can be stacked so that a facility’s area is distributed over multiple levels or stories.