Dalrith Keep

This forgotten stronghold sits a mile to the northwest of Bhailemor atop a grassy hill overlooking the Arget Forest. While no longer living up to its former glory, the structure is still a defensible and strategic location capable of functioning as a resting place and powerful military outpost in defense of Bhailemor.
As a reward for their recent efforts in investigating the events plaguing Glentolus, and as a sign of faith and good-will for future endeavors, Lord Orik of Bhailemor has gifted Dalrith Keep to Fate's Pendulum. Lord Orik recently ordered renovations begin on the stronghold in case of the fall of Lorvok, but has redirected efforts moving forward to the defense of Lorvok proper. It comes with basic defensive structures in place: an outer wall to protect the stronghold's inner courtyard complete with archer slits for defensive firing, as well as a portcullis to limit access.
As part of this gift, Lord Orik has arranged for hirelings to maintain the stronghold under Orik's pay: 5 guards, a cook, 2 maids, and 3 hirelings capable of operating utilities (see below). Additional hirelings can be recruited to staff the keep, but these will require pay coming from Fate's Pendulum's budget.

Current Residents

The current people working within Dalrith Keep for Fate's Pendulum are below.

Barracks

Gavun (Barracks Master - Hireling): A tall, burly half-orc in his late 50s, with tightly curling U-shaped tusks that pull down around his lips, a shock of dark brown curly hair, a muscular build, a confident gait, and seems to be constantly inebriated.
A collection of 10 younger recruits - averaging early 20s and made up of various races - currently occupy the barracks and train under Gavun.

Guards

Ulfyr: The twin brother of Dulryr. A half-elf man in the human equivalent of early 30s, he's got a bright and energetic personality. A loose brown bun of hair, scraggly eyebrows, hunter green leather armor, and a spear.
Dulryr: The twin brother of Ulfyr. A half-elf man in the human equivalent of early 30s, with a muted and passive personality, yet not afraid to speak his mind. A short, well-maintained crop of brown hair, trimmed and proper eyebrows, brown leather armor, and a crossbow.
Bule: A kindly older Tortle female with a permanent slight smile and a warm, gentle personality. Wields a gnarled staff growing small purple flowers, has those same flowers tucked into her shell, and seems to have a penchant for stealing bread from Swanner the Cook.
Hoden: A human male in his mid-40s, with a terse militaristic personality. His black hair is kept at nearly a buzz-cut, with the right side of his head shaved entirely and a large scar covering most of the side, and large, wide brown eyes. Has a very slight limp to his gait yet moves quickly, and a longsword.
Hjulduhr: A stocky dwarf in his late 30s, with rippled auburn hair, a large bulbous nose, and wears a plethora of jewelry, the majority of which is cheap or heavily worn. Wields a greataxe, jogs wherever he goes.

Castle Operations

Swanner (Cook): An older Kenku with a short, sharp beak and graying feathers. He's a very accomodating personality and enjoys his work as a cook, though he's often frustrated by people stealing food from the kitchen.
Celen (Armorer - Hireling): A male elf in the human equivalent of late 30s with bleach-blonde hair and sharp, angular features even for an elf, and a wild and fierce look in his eyes. He maintains the Armory in tip-top shape, with most of the stock polished to gleaming. He has a habit of misusing fancy words.
Henry Cartwright (Strategist - Hireling): A human male in his early 50s, very tall and lean, with straight brown hair, tanned skin, a round face, crooked smile and bulbous nose. His clothes are slightly mis-tailored. He is intelligent and socially awkward.
Garid (Maid): A young halfling man with a crop of blonde hair, with a welcoming presence but always seems slightly nervous and is easily startled.
Dain de Bolbec (Maid): A gnome man in his late 30s with a thin mustache and a strange flat hat, spends much of his free time juggling. Has a bit of a bristly personality but is an excellent maid who works quickly.
Hawsk Mingari (Shopkeeper - Hireling): A male Air Genasi in his mid 50s, with bits of wispy hair and a receding hairline, and a meek yet affable personality. He is the father of Sejen Mingari and the prior Captain of The Saffron Bun, and now resides within Dalrith Keep as a Shopkeeper.

Utility and Function

The utility rooms below are available to be built in order to specialize and improve Dalrith Keep as Fate's Pendulum sees fit. It comes with basic rooms included: a kitchen, a food storeroom, a vault, 10 basic bedrooms, 4 custom bedrooms (decorated for each party member's desired room), 5 lavatories, a small training grounds, and a basic mess hall capable of seating 14. It comes with 4 utility rooms pre-installed, to be selected upon choosing to accept the stronghold as a gift. Additional rooms can be built at a cost of 2,500 GP and a 7-day build period as existing rooms are renovated. In addition to the listed benefits below, each utility may have random bonuses occur, such as a very successful trade by the Shop Front hireling earning the keep extra gold, or the Jail returning valuable information from a captive prisoner regarding an enemy force.

Additional housing

This expands the possible housing of the keep, adding 10 more fully furnished bedrooms and an additional maid and cook (wages for 1 year included). Each bedroom can be converted into a high-capacity room when needed, lowering the furnishings quality in exchange for the rooms holding 3 beds instead of 1.

Apothecary

This room comes stocked with basic tools and equipment for potion-making endeavors. Instructions for the creation of basic healing potions are included, and 2 basic healing potions can be created per downtime day. When staffed by a trained hireling, the healing potions are crafted daily, and advanced potions options become available, though additional ingredients may be required depending on the potion crafted. Recommended to pair with a Garden.

Arcane study

This room is dedicated to the study of a school of magic, chosen upon selecting this room. Spells of the chosen school cast within this study have double the normal duration, and ritual spells of the associated school take only 30 seconds of additional time instead of 10 minutes. In addition, associated spells with consumed material components consume half the normal amount.

Armory

This room is stocked with simple and martial weapons and basic armors. Is capable of granting any non-soldier hirelings with a basic set of weapons and armor in the event of an attack on the stronghold. Also provides a +2 to AC, attack rolls, and damage rolls to hirelings during defense of the stronghold as broken equipment is more readily replaced.

Barracks

This barracks is compact living for up to 50 soldier hirelings. With 10 or more soldier hirelings, an experienced combat hireling must be selected to act as a captain. When operated by a captain, the barracks can be used as a means to train any non-combatants (such as refugee farmers) staying in the barracks in basic martial tactics. Anyone trained in this way counts as a basic soldier hireling in the defense of the keep.

Chapel

This holy room is dedicated to a specific diety, chosen when selecting this room. It contains furnishings and decorations befitting the selected diety, and can function as a place of prayer for any followers, and is large enough to fit 20 people comfortably for sermons. The chapel is permanently under the effects of the Hallow spell, with benefits of the spell chosen upon selecting this room. In addition, any Intelligence (Religion) checks made within the chapel pertaining to the chapel's diety are made at advantage. The room also functions as a sanctuary for the spell Word of Recall.

Escape tunnel

This tunnel runs underneath the keep to a location a few hundred feet away from the keep as a means of escaping to safety undetected. The tunnel comes with 3 entrances, one in the keep's courtyard and two in rooms chosen when building the tunnel, and up to two exits outside of the keep. Additional entrances and exits can be added if desired, but each one increases the chances of the tunnel's discovery. The entrances and exits are well-hidden, requiring a DC20 Intelligence (Investigation) check to be detected by those unfamiliar with the keep.

Garden

This plot of high-quality soil produces herbs at regular intervals. Every day, enough herbs are produced by the garden to create a basic healing potion. Plants grown for other purposes are allowed at the DM's discretion, but sufficiently advanced plants may require a skilled hireling to maintain them and/or may take longer to grow.

Hospital room

This medical room contains tools and equipment used in non-magical healing of wounds. As part of a short rest, a character can regain hitpoints equal to (character level x 7) when the room is operated by someone with medical training - either a hireling or a character with the Medicine skill proficiency. This healing can only occur once per character per day. In addition, when operated by someone with medical training, the hospital increases the survival rate of hirelings and non-combatants after an attack on the keep, resulting in fewer deaths, and may allow the keep to take on injured refugees more easily.

Jail

This underground jail contains 3 cells, each large enough to house 1 Large creature or 3 medium or small creatures. Each jail cell door is crafted with strong metal and enchanted with the spell Arcane Lock. Requires a warden hireling to function, and sufficiently dangerous or powerful captives may break free if held for too long without proper measure being taken.

Library

This room contains a collection of books and tomes on a given subject, chosen when selecting this room. The broader the subject selected, the more surface-level the information contained within the library, and vice-versa; a very focused topic will contain a greater depth of knowledge. This library cannot contain knowledge that is more advanced than what is reasonably accessible to the party through their connections - it cannot contain long-lost information or other such hidden information. When taking at least 1 hour to make Intelligence (Arcana, History, Nature, Religion) check to learn about the library's topic(s), the check is made at advantage. Even if the check fails or pertains to information too advanced for the library, the research often grants hints and leads on where to gather the desired information.

Shop Front

This building can be constructed to serve as a location where a merchant or other salesperson can set up goods and services to be sold. This room can be used as a home base for any merchant to set up their shop, and doing so allows trade with that merchant whenever the party is at Dalrith Keep. Any sales the merchant makes grant a percentage of their revenue to Fate's Pendulum (excluding purchases to/from the party). In addition, whatever connections the merchant has can be utilized to acquire difficult to find items; magic items become easier to come by and cost less than market price when procured through your merchant's connections, and other mundane objects like rare foods and weapon types can be procured. It is also possible to become approved by the Artisan's Guild and Adventurer's Guild, improving connections and reputation and increasing passive income generated by the Shop Front.

Stable

This outdoor stable is capable of housing 10 horses, and includes the pay for a stable hand. Animals other than horses may be stabled here, but sufficiently exotic creatures may require a specialized hireling to handle them. A 2000GP budget for buying horses remains after cost building and stable hand wages. The following horse types are available, and each listed price includes riding equipment and saddlebags: Warhorses cost 440GP, Riding horses cost 110GP, and draft horses cost 80GP. Warhorses are capable of being ridden into battle and are capable of wearing armor, called barding, which costs 4x the base armor cost and weighs 2x. Draft horses can perform labor such as plowing fields or pulling carraiges. Riding horses cannot perform labor but are faster than draft horses.
An example utilizing the 2,000GP budget would be 4 warhorses and 2 riding horses. Carraiges are useful for moving large volumes of materials to and from Bhailemor and improving foot traffic of visitors to Dalrith Keep, useful if paired with a Shop Front or Chapel. Riding horses are capable of rendering the travel time to and from Bhailemor negligible in cases when speed is mandatory, taking only 5 minutes to arrive at the city gates after the decision to leave Dalrith Keep is made. The travel time to other cities is decreased as well; while a normal party's maximum travel speed is 4 MPH, riding horses increase that to 12MPH. War horses can be used by Fate's Pendulum or by trained soldier hirelings, improving their combat capabilities.

Trapped room

This room contains traps ranging from nonlethal pitfalls to deadly spike or dart traps, chosen upon selecting this room. This room can also be built upon one of the basic rooms (kitchen, vault, etc.). These traps pose no threat to those aware of their design, but a DC20 Wisdom (Perception) check can be made to spot the traps. This room serves as a source of protection against invaders and a way to slow down pursuers. If an Escape Tunnel is built, an additional entrace may connect to the Trapped Room, combining to increase the odds of successfully escaping.

War Room

This room contains the necessary furnishings and information organization infrastructure to host a large council of individuals to discuss private matters. The room is soundproofed and hidden from outside view, providing a secure location for sensative matters to be discussed. The room is also enchanted with Alarm, alerting a chosen individual of unwelcome creatures within the War Room as long as they are within 1 mile of the War Room (this reaches to all of Bhailemor). In addition, once per day, the entire room can be enchanted with the Zone of Truth spell for 1 hour.
This room also allows advanced planning and coordination of any combat hirelings such as those from a Barracks; Fate's Pendulum may organize their hirelings to go on expeditions, either with or without Fate's Pendulum being present. If a strategically-minded hireling is selected to staff the War Room, this expiditions may be automated without intervention by Fate's Pendulum to serve a certain purpose, such as patrolling a radius around Dalrith Keep or organizing hunts. The effectiveness of these hunts relies on the number of hirelings, the quality of supplies, and the capabilities of the hireling manning the War Room.

Workshop

This room contains the tools and equipment pertaining to a selected trade (smithing, leatherworking, clockmaking, tinkering, etc.), chosen upon selecting this room. It also contains a stockpile of the basic ingredients needed for the selected trade: metal ingots for smithing, leather for leatherworking, etc. When operated by a skilled hireling, goods and services pertaining to this trade can be produced at 1/3 the sale price, and can be sold for profit (especially when combined with a Store Front), used by the characters, or used within the keep. This can include basic armor and weapons or adventuring gear such as rope, ball bearing, caltrops, etc. More advanced hirelings are capable of more advanced crafts. The hireling can also process many raw ingredients brought by the party that pertain to their area of expertise: exotic hides, strange metals, scrap weapons and armor for repair, etc.


In additon to the options above, advanced room options can be built for 12,000GP over a 10-day period:

Arcane tower

This arcane tower is filled with magical tools and equipment, and serves as a magical conduit for spellcasters. This tower acts similarly to the Arcane Study for 3 schools of magic. In addition, once per day per character, a character can cast a spell of any of the chosen schools without consuming a spell slot. This spell's level can be equal to or less than the character's proficiency bonus. Also while in this room, a character can attempt to cast a spell from their spell list that they don't know, as long as it's from one of the chosen schools and of a level for which they have spell slots. The character must succeed an Intelligence (Arcana) check with DC of (10 + spell's level) or the casting fails, consuming a spell slot.

Improved defenses

This upgrade to the keep's defenses greatly improves the defensibility of the structure, especially to airborne threats and large creatures. Included are wall-mounted ballistae, net launchers for grounding flying targets, archer towers, a reinforced portcullis, and a moat and drawbridge. In addition, it includes a miniature version of the new barrier technology used by Bhailemor; as a one-time use, this barrier forms a dome surrounding the keep, preventing entry or exit via physical or magical means for 10 minutes. The barrier artifact can be recharged if supplied with a significantly powerful magic-suffused device to extract power from, such as magic items.

Teleportation room

This room serves as a location for the construction of a permanent teleportation circle. The room is magically and physically secured against intrusion, and comes with a year's supply of material components for the casting of teleportation circle. When operated by an advanced mage hireling (minimum level 9 caster, wages not included), the room's teleportation circle will be activated every day, allowing for teleporting into the keep via teleportation circle. After being cast every day for one year, the circle becomes permanent, and the mage hireling is no longer required.
At the DM's discretion, additional room types of basic and advanced quality may be considered.

Attacks on the Keep

On occasion, Dalrith Keep may come under attack, whether by creatures roaming out of the Arget Forest, by raiders, or otherwise. Current hirelings and other residents will put forth a reasonable defense of the keep to protect themselves and the keep. If the assault on the keep is too overwhelming in comparison to the keep's defenses or manpower, the hirelings and other residents may attempt to flee, abandoning the keep. Otherwise, the keep's hirelings will defend the keep to the best of their abilities. Loss of life is possible, and keep repairs may be required if a sufficiently intense battle is fought. The residents of the keep will defend the structure regardless of Fate's Pendulum being present, however the party stands to be a huge boon to defending the keep.
Keep assaults are not always a negative, however: if an attacking force is sufficiently outmanned, victory spoils may be possible, depending on who or what attacked the keep. Rewards are most likely creature drops from residents of the Arget Forest, as intelligent beings are less likely to commit to a losing assault. However, foiled raiders may leave behind gold, weapons, armor, or even result in a prisoner being taken (if the Jail is built).

Type

Castle