It’s cool to have a place of your own. A headquarters, a base. A castle, a tower, a keep. It would be even better if your headquarters did something cool for you. Gave you some useful ability, or helped you in some way. A Stronghold is a place which grants you such abilities. The type of stronghold changes the benefits which it can grant and there are four types of basic stronghold, one complex stronghold, and many varieties. Any character can build or use any stronghold, although some strongholds may make more sense for different characters.
Strongholds give you a
Stronghold Die three times a day. When you are in or nearby your stronghold, a party member may roll this die and add this number to specific ability checks. The type of stronghold determines the ability checks the stronghold die can be added to. The level of stronghold determines the size of the stronghold die. Look at the Stronghold Development table to see what size of die each level stronghold has.
Types of Strongholds
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Keep is a stronghold for characters interested in political influence and defending the realm. The keep can be a noble estate or an isolated fort, but it gives you a defendable position to work from. The stronghold die from keeps can be used on Strength, Athletics, Insight, Persuasion, Intimidation, and some Artisan tool checks depending on the size and scope of the keep.
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Tower is a stronghold for doing research and learning magic. The tower can be a library or a deep dungeon, but it gives you a secluded place to study and learn. The stronghold die from towers can be used on Intelligence, Arcana, History, Investigation, Medicine, and some Artisan tool checks depending on the size and scope of the tower.
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Temple is a stronghold for meditation and civil outreach. The temple can be a small village church or a peaceful garden in a city, but it gives you a quiet respite to watch and meditate. The stronghold die from temples can be used on Stealth, Nature, Religion, Animal Handling, Insight, Perception, Persuasion, and Cook’s Utensil’s checks depending on the size and scope of temple.
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Establishment is a stronghold for generating revenue and espionage. The establishment can be a blacksmith shop or an entire theater, but it gives you somewhere that makes gold profit and covers suspicious activities. The stronghold die from establishments can be used on Acrobatics, Sleight of Hand, Stealth, Deception, Performance, some Artisan tools, and gaming set checks depending on the size and scope of establishment.
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Castle is a complex stronghold that combines two or more of the above into a larger organizational structure. Castles are often owned and run by multiple characters, each of whom can gain the mechanical benefits thereof. The stronghold die of a castle is based upon its component strongholds.
Building a Stronghold
A character can spend time between adventures building or restoring a stronghold. The Building a Stronghold table shows the cost of building the stronghold (including materials and labor), the amount of time it takes, provided that the character is using downtime to oversee construction and the type of stronghold benefits it may grant. Work can continue while the character is away, but each day the character is away adds 3 days to the construction time.
Improving a Stronghold
As your party grows and develops so too can your stronghold. Strongholds often start at first level like adventurers, but only go up to level five. Upgrading a stronghold requires spending time and money so improvements can be made. Spending gold to improve your stronghold could be strengthening the fortifications and armaments, acquiring more books for your library, or hiring new employees to help, but to improve the benefits a certain amount of money has to be spent to upgrade the stronghold. Look at the Stronghold Development table to see how much improving a stronghold costs.
Discovering an abandoned castle or ruined manor can reduce much of the initial cost of building a stronghold, but as any druid worth their salt—or any other minerals— will tell you: nature is pretty aggressive. Without proper upkeep, roots and vines and weather will take their toll and what was once a mighty stronghold can quickly fall to disrepair. Depending on where a ruined stronghold is located and how long ago it stopped seeing use affects how long it will take to repair. Take the Construction Modifier from the Restoring a Stronghold table and multiply it against the Construction Cost and Construction Time in the Building a Stronghold table based on how dilapidated the DM believes the ruin is.
