#RPGaDay2021 – Throne

Something that has been a bit lost in NuDnD is the idea of characters settling down and taking on responsibility. Of warriors taking on castles, attracting followers and marshalling armies (something that made up for Fighter’s slightly less powerful rolee at higher levels. Mages could invest in towers, Clerics in temples, thieves could buy themselves headquarters and so on.

The nature of an RPG changes when you do this, but it doesn’t have to stop anyone roaming around on quests, it just gives them a headquarters, a tie to a particular area of land, perhaps even a title and a relationship with an appropriate hierarchy (nobility, church, guild).

The first thing you’re going to need is a stronghold or fortress.

Holdings

Holding	Cost	Rent/Year	Note
Castle	250k+ GP	N/A	Big, stone, with room for up to 1,000 people.
Dungeon	750k+ GP	N/A	A sprawling dungeon with as many as 50 chambers.
Cottage	400+ GP	20 GP	Very basic, single room, thatch, dirt floor, wattle and daub walls.
Gatehouse	6.5k+ GP	N/A	Gate towers, double portcullis, rooms for 5-10 guards to garrison.
Keep	75k + GP	N/A	A standalone fort, like the central building of a castle complex.
Mansion	40k+ GP	N/A	A large house for nobles or courtiers, also suitable for guildhalls or temples.
Palace	175k+ GP	N/A	A lavish official residence, dripping in luxury. Could be a cathedral.
Border Fort	25k + GP	N/A	A dirt-&-wood fort with simple wooden walls, room for 50 families.
Small House	1k+ GP	50 GP	A simple house with a kitchen, parlour, two bedrooms and an attic.
Townhouse	3k+ GP	150 GP	A house/work/shop with a 1200sq/ft footprint, two floors and an attic.
Tower	3k+ GP	N/A	This is for a 1 floor. Higher towers cost more, (floors x floors)x100 GP*
Wood House	1.5k+ GP	75 GP	1200 ft footprint, two floors. Suitable for a tavern or farmhouse.
Boathouse	2k+ GP	100 GP	A narrowboat or similar floating dwelling.
City Wall	1k GP	N/A	50 ft of defensible, reinforced, city wall.

*Towers have a 20 ft diameter. A ten-floor tower, for example, would cost 3k + (10 x 10) x100 GP = 13k GP.

Household

You can always put hirelings on retainer, but as you get more powerful and known, you might well attract other followers and companions (besides the other players).

There’s precious little guide as to how powerful retainers ought to be, or for doing decent conversions between level and CR, but you can try the following as a basic guide. Typically retainers should run from CR 1/4 upward, a budget of XP value based on that.

To get retainers and followers in your household you must have a household or base of operations, and be over level 7.

Followers: Fighting Classes get 25% extra XP Budget:

Level	Max CR	XP Budget Total
7	0	500
8	1/8	800
9	1/4	1000
10	1/2	1500
11	1	2000
12	2	2500
13	2	3000
14	3	3500
15	3	4000
16	4	4500
17	4	5500
18	5	6500
19	5	7500
20	6	8500

EG: Sir Roderick Von Erehwon is level 10, with a keep on the borderlands. He has a max CR of 1/2 and a budget of 1500 xp.

He settles on a retinue of:

• 5 scouts (500 xp)
• 5 thugs (500 xp)
• 2 nobles (50 xp)
• 3 cultists (75 xp)
• 15 guards (125 xp)