Stronghold

Strongholds are bases of support for those who have amassed power, usually supported by exploitation of the surrounding land and populace. The most common type of stronghold is a fortress or castle occupied by a noble family with rights to surrounding territory of farmland. The rights to the land are usually granted by a monarch, the head of a noble house of extremely high authority. Rare exceptions exist, detailed below.

Building a Stronghold

Establishing a stronghold is done using the Building Construction rules, with the cost, manpower, and time required determined by the amount of work required to complete the structure.
Strongholds may be established by repairing or extending existing structures, such as ancient ruins. They can also be built completely new. Constructing a new building always requires Engineer's Plans.
Once built, the stronghold is supplied through exploitation of the surrounding land and can continue to subsist in this way indefinitely, assuming that your political alliances have been established to grant you the right.

The Land

When rights to land are issued, the owner gains the right to all profits produced from the work of the land (noted in the "monthly revenue" column of the Land Use table), minus taxes to the patron. In order to receive those profits, however, the owner must hire at least one Peasants unit per square mile to work the land.
The owner may also hire Laborers to develop the land. See the Land Use table for options. The cost of development is the number found in the cost of "Development Cost / sq mi" column + (the weekly payment to your laborer units * the number of weeks they are employed). If you hire more than one unit, the work takes less time.
After development is finished, for every week the land is worked, it produces the amount of gp in the appropriate row of the "Weekly Revenue" column, plus the amount in the appropriate row of the "Developed Additional Weekly Revenue" column.

Land Use

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Land Type	Slow Speed (mph)	Normal Speed	Fast Speed	Navigation DC	Use	Weekly Revenue	Development Options	Development Cost / sq mile	Development Time / unit	Development Result	Developed Additional Weekly Revenue
Forest	1	2	3	10	Hunting / Logging	5 gp	Clearing	200 gp	2 weeks	Plains	-
Plains	2	3	4	5	Foraging	3 gp	Irrigation	600 gp	4 weeks	Farmland	+20 gp
Hills / Mountains	0.5	1	2	15	Quarrying	2 gp	Mine Construction	4000 gp	8 weeks	Mine	+50 gp
Jungle	0.5	1	2	15	Foraging	4 gp	Clearing	400 gp	4 weeks	Plains	-
Swamp / Marsh	1	2	3	10	Foraging	2 gp	Draining	800 gp	6 weeks	Plains	-
Desert	2	3	4	20	Foraging	1 gp	Irrigation	1200 gp	6 weeks	Farmland	+20 gp
Settlement	1	1	1	10	Taxation	100 gp	-	-	-	-	-
+ River	See vehicle stats	See vehicle stats	See vehicle stats	-10	Trade	+10 gp	Mill Construction	2500 gp	4 weeks	Mill	+40 gp
+ Road	+1	+1	+1	-10	Trade	+5 gp	-	-	-	-	-
+ Caves	-	-1	-1	+10	Mining	+5 gp	Mine Construction	3000 gp	6 weeks	Mine	+50 gp
+ Coastal	-	-	-	-5	Fishing	+2 gp	-	-	-	-	-
+ Arctic	-	-	-1	+5	Foraging	-1 gp	*Irrigation, Mill Construction Impossible*	+200 gp	+1 week	-	-

A landowner whose domain is producing a large profit should also consider raising an army to defend it.

Hiring Units

A landowner may always make inquiries in nearby population centers to hire units -- Peasants, Laborers, or military. These mercenaries will serve you until you stop paying them, or until they receive a better offer. However, a productive domain has a chance every week to attract units with the potential for more permanent loyalties -- units you can hire at a discount.
Peasants will be attracted to your domain if you have at least 2 parcels of land left unworked.
Laborers will be attracted to your domain if you have at least 4 parcels of land left underdeveloped.
One military unit will appear at your doorstep for every 1000 gp your land produces in monthly income. For example, if your land produces 5000 gp per month, then military units would be attracted to your domain until you have five in your employ. If your land produces 6000 gp per month, then up to six military units would present themselves to you.
Roll on the Unit Attraction table every week (roll 1d100 ) to determine if a unit will come offer fealty. If the type of unit indicated on the table is not eligible for attraction, then no unit is attracted that week.
Your class and focus abilities can add bonuses to your roll. Your GM can also add bonuses to your attraction roll if your exploits are especially renowned in the area.
When units appear, they usually come with an offer to pledge fealty to you -- a more important bond of loyalty than the one you may have with a simple hireling. If you accept their oath of fealty, you can pay them at a discounted rate (see the “monthly cost discount” column on the Unit Attraction table). In return, you take on the obligation to feed them and house them, to pay them a salary, and to use your leadership to settle internal disputes. If you decide you do not need them, you may always turn them away. Depending on how you do so, the units may not take kindly to being rejected.

Unit Attraction

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1d100 roll	Unit Type	Attraction Trigger	Weekly Cost Discount
51-100	Peasants‌	At least 2 unworked parcels of land in domain	1 gp
71-100	Laborers‌	At least 4 undeveloped parcels of land in domain	10 gp
91-100	Military Units	Every 1000 gp of weekly income	10%, rounded down

Unit Statistics Table

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1d100	Unit Detail	Defense	Attack Die	Special Abilities	Base Cost	Description
-	Peasant Levy	2	1d4	Cannot be raised past "Green" experience rank. Require no additional cost for provisioning.	1 gp	Sickles and pitchforks. No armor.
-	Laborers	2	1d4	Can build structures and excavate land.	10 gp	Shovels and pickaxes. No armor.
01-15	Light Archers	3	1d6	Volley ( 1d6 )	25 gp	Shortbows, light crowssbows, or slings. Light hammers, maces, scimitars, short swords, or handaxes. Light or no armor.
16-20	Heavy Archers	4	1d6	Volley ( 1d8 )	40 gp	Longbows or heavy crossbows. Long swords, short swords, flails, or morningstars. Medium armor.
21-35	Light Infantry	3	1d8	1d20 attack die when using ram to attack structures.	30 gp	Light hammers, battleaxes, long swords, morningstars, scimitars. Light armor and shields.
36-40	Heavy Infantry	5	1d10	Advantage on first engagement with infantry and archers. 1d20 attack die when using ram to attack structures.	75 gp	Greataxes, Greatswords, Greatclubs, or Mauls. Longswords, battleaxes, morningstars. Medium armor with shields, or heavy armor.
41-55	Light Polearm Infantry	3	1d8	Advantage on attack roll when engaging cavalry. 1d20 attack die when using ram to attack structures.	40 gp	Glaives, Pikes, War picks, Forks, Halberds. Medium armor.
56-60	Heavy Polearm Infantry	5	1d8	Advantage on attack roll when engaging cavalry. 1d20 attack die when using ram to attack structures.	70 gp	Glaives, Pikes, War picks, Forks, Halberds. heavy armor.
61-75	Light Cavalry	4	1d10	On first round of engagement: advantage on attack roll, deal 2 casualties on successful hit. Advantage on disengage attempt.	100 gp	Lances, longswords, scimitars, morningstars. Light armor and shields.
76-80	Heavy Cavalry	6	1d12	On first round of engagement: advantage on attack roll, deal 3 casualties on successful hit. Advantage on disengage attempt.	225 gp	Lances, longswords, scimitars, morningstars. Heavy armor and shields.
81-85	Horse Archers	4	1d8	Volley ( 1d8 ). Advantage on disengage attempt. On successful disengage, receive a free volley attack on a valid target.	120 gp	Shortbows. Longswords, scimitars, morningstars, or spears. Light armor.
86-89	Skirmishers	3	1d8	Volley ( 1d6 ). Advantage on engage attempt. Advantage on disengage attempt.	50 gp	Javelins, Handaxes, Slings, or Blowguns. Light hammers, battleaxes, long swords, morningstars, scimitars or shields. Medium armor.
90-91	Berserkers	4	1d10	Automatic success on all morale checks.	75 gp	Greataxes, Greatswords, Greatclubs, or Spears. Longswords and battleaxes with shields. Dualwielding swords or axes. No armor.
92-93	Marines	4	1d10	Advantage on attack roll when on water and marsh terrain.	80 gp	Battleaxes, long swords, morningstars, scimitars. Light armor and shields.
94	Gunpowder Infantry	4	1d8	Volley ( 1d10 ). Deal 2 casualties on successful volley attack. Cannot volley two rounds in a row.	200 gp	Gunpowder weapons. Long swords, short swords, flails, or morningstars. Medium armor.
95	Chariots	4	1d12	Volley ( 1d6 ). Requires flat terrain to engage. On first round of engagement: advantage on attack roll, deal 4 casualties on successful hit. Advantage on disengage attempt.	300 gp	A two-wheeled vehicle driven by a team of beasts. Charioteers are lightly armored and can throw javelins.
96	Giant Beasts	7	1d20	Deal 3 casualties on successful hit.	1000 gp	Elephants, monsters, or dinosaurs ridden by humans.
97	Ballista	3	1d4	Volley ( 1d12 ). Deal 2 casualties on successful volley attack. Cannot engage or disengage.	90 gp	A large crossbow that fires a spear. Crew of 4.
98	Mangonel	3	1d4	Volley 1 ( 1d20 - you can target a unit covered by one enemy unit). Deal 3 casualties on successful volley attack. Cannot engage or disengage.	175 gp	A catapult that uses a hand crank, a lever, and a sling to to launch projectiles. Crew of 8.
99	Trebuchet	3	1d6	Volley 2 ( 1d20 - you can target a unit covered by up to two enemy units). Deal 4 casualties on successful volley attack. Cannot engage or disengage.	400 gp	Mechanically advanced catapult that uses a counterweight attached to a long arm to fire a projectile long distances. Crew of 12.
00	Cannon	3	1d6	Volley 2 ( 1d20 - you can target a unit covered by up to two enemy units). Deal 6 casualties on successful volley attack. Cannot engage or disengage. Cannot volley two rounds in a row.	1200 gp	Gunpowder artillery that fires explosive shells.

Amassing a large army in a short amount of time -- whether through natural attraction or by hiring mercenaries -- can upset the local balance of power and attract the attention of other landowners or monarchs. Step carefully!

Protecting Your Land

With regular patrols, your military units will protect the people living on your land from bandits and enforce your laws. The more significant threat any landowner faces is an attempt at military conquest by an outside power. The best way to protect your land is through strong alliances with powerful allies. Failing that, your military units will face the enemy on the field of battle in Mass Combat.
In the most dire of situations, you can take all of your landholdings’ inhabitants into your stronghold and endure siege to wait out your enemies. When you do, you may find much of the development you have invested in your land pillaged and destroyed. After your victory, it will be time to rebuild again!

Fortified Buildings

A stronghold that is not self-sufficient supported by exploitation of surrounding land are usually found in or near settlements (within 50 miles).
These special strongholds usually take the form of fortified buildings. Fortified buildings often include defensive architecture and can support as many units as they have space to house. They support and supply those units directly from their nearby settlement.
Fortified building strongholds may turn a profit just as landed strongholds do, but they must do so using alternative means to land development. Options may include, but are not limited to:

• Operating a business, such as a blacksmith or inn;
• Serving as a guildhall, collecting membership dues;
• Serving as an outpost of an important established institution or organization;
• Performing service directly for the settlement's leaders, such as a sanctioned temple, court sage, financial institution, or exploring company.

These roles can and often do overlap.
Just as you would for a landed stronghold, when establishing your fortified building you can inhabit an existing structure or finance construction of a new one.
However, most fortified buildings do not attract military units organically as a landed stronghold would.
If at any time for reasons political or logistical your fortified building is cut off and cannot acquire supplies from its settlement, it is considered under siege and its supplies decrease every week as described in the siege rules.

Mobile strongholds

Some rare types of strongholds are mobile, not tied to any fixed location. Find information about them below. 

Large Vehicles

Some specialized Vehicles can be used as strongholds. They could be extraordinarily large land vehicles, such as a Pageant Wagon or War Machine. It could be a large water vehicle such as a Great Longship, Great Galley, or an ocean-going sailing ship meant for long journeys. It may be an even more fantastical vehicle.
Vehicles used as mobile strongholds can turn a profit in the same way as a fortified building. While at port in a settlement, your mobile stronghold may resupply and all units reach Flush supply lines.
While traveling, your mobile stronghold is considered under siege. Every week spent out of port, its supplies decrease as described in the siege rules.
Like fortified buildings, most vehicle strongholds do not attract military units; however, a vehicle and captain of sufficient renown might attract other large vehicles to follow under its banner.

Nomadic Camps

Another type of mobile stronghold is a nomadic camp. Nomadic camps can grow well beyond the size of a fortified building or vehicle stronghold -- the largest of them can rival established settlements! Unlike vehicle strongholds or fortified buildings, nomadic camps do attract military unit followers as described above. As long as your nomadic tribe is subsisting at full strength, you make a unit attraction roll every week.
Along with military units, nomadic camps include families, as well as craftspeople such as blacksmiths, weavers, and more. For the purposes of cost calculation, every 100 individuals count as one unit -- families count as Peasants and craftspeople count as Laborers.
Each unit in your tribe can subsist on 1 square mile of land, and they will gather resources to support themselves as long as they have access to the land surrounding your camp. That means you are not required to pay for supplies supporting units in your army.
However, if your tribe is traveling across land controlled by a settled lord or near an established settlement, they are not likely to take kindly to your presence, because their Peasants and Laborers cannot work on land you are using to feed your tribe.
As an alternative to foraging, you can assault and sack an establishment to establish a source of supplies for your tribe. If you leave garrison units behind as described in the Supply Lines rules, you can treat the city as conquered and use its supplies to feed your tribe. Many nomad leaders have transitioned to landed rulers through conquest in this way.
If at any time for reasons political or logistical you cannot get access to land large enough to feed your tribe, your camp is considered under siege and its supplies decrease every week as described in the siege rules.