MAP YOUR STRONGHOLD

A stronghold isn’t a jumble of different pieces tossed together and mixed up like some kind of architectural salad. A certain sense goes along with the whole structure, something you’ll end up thinking about once you start mapping.

You may want to take several cracks at the arrangement of your stronghold’s different components and walls. Drawing this over and over again on graph paper can be a real drag. Instead, do yourself a favor and set yourself up with some handy tools first. You’ll save the time you invest in doing this ten times over.

As you map out your stronghold, remember that the exact square footage of each component is deliberately vague to give you the flexibility you need. A master bedroom suite, for example, can be a 20-foot-by-20-foot room, an octagonal room 25 feet across, or a 15-foot-by-30-foot room. Most rooms in a stronghold have 10-foot or 15-foot ceilings, but if you want a vaulted ceiling in your dining hall, just do so and don’t sweat the cost.

Connecting Your Components: This flexibility extends to hallways and other connections between rooms. You’ll notice that the component list doesn’t include hallways, stairs, or other connecting items— yet few strongholds lack them. You get hallways and stairs for free, because every component’s cost includes a certain amount of hallway space. Add them wherever you like, as long as you’re reasonable. It’s not fair to build 40-foot wide corridors and fill them with furniture. That’s a room, not a hallway.