Strongholds

Construction

When PCs wish to construct strongholds or any other type of building, the following procedure should be used:

Permission: It may be necessary to secure permission to build from an existing authority over the land. This may not be required if the land is uncharted wilderness.
Clear land: If the construction site is in the wilderness, all monsters in a 6-mile area (i.e., one hex on a typical small-scale wilderness map) must be killed or driven off.
Design: The player creates a plan for the stronghold and calculates the costs (see construction prices in Structures.
Review: The referee should review and approve the player’s plans.
Hire engineers: For every 100,000gp cost of the stronghold, the PC must hire one engineer (see Specialists).
Construction: Construction may commence once the land has been cleared and construction materials delivered. The time required depends entirely on the stronghold’s total price: one day of game time per 500 gp.
Prepare for settlers: If the PC wishes to find a dominion and attract settlers, a wider area around the stronghold should be cleared of dangers.

Building in Towns

Permission: While local rulers may allow PCs to build in a town, it is unlikely that they will grant permission to construct castles or fortifications.

Costs: When building in an existing town or city, the proximity of materials and labor dramatically reduces the costs.

Stone buildings: Reduced by 60%.
Wooden buildings: Reduced by 80%.

Domain Management

Maintaining Cleared Lands

Mercenaries may be hired to conduct patrols to prevent monsters from returning to cleared lands. These patrols can cover a maximum radius of 18 miles around a stronghold (6 miles in inhospitable terrain such as swamps, mountains, or thick jungle). If the area to be maintained is larger, additional garrisons must be stationed at intervals.

Settlers

The PC may wish to attract settlers into a cleared area. In addition to ensuring the safety of surrounding lands, the character will have to fund the construction of other buildings (e.g., accommodation, commercial facilities, transport infrastructure, etc.) to attract settlers. Advertising may also be necessary. The referee will determine the costs involved and how many settlers are attracted.

Taxation

If settlers move into the PC’s domain, the character can expect to gain 10 gp of taxes per year from each settler.

Structures

Structure	Cost
Barbican	37,000 gp
Bastion	9,000 gp
Civilian building, stone	3,000 gp
Civilian building, wood	1,500 gp
Drawbridge	500 gp
Gatehouse	6,500 gp
Keep	75,000 gp
Moat	400 gp
Subterranean passage	500 gp
Tower, large	30,000 gp
Tower, small	15,000 gp
Wall, castle	5,000 gp

Descriptions

Barbican: Heavily fortified entry/exit point in a castle wall: two small towers, a gatehouse, and a drawbridge.

Bastion: Semi-circular tower built against a castle wall. 30’ base, 30’ high, walls 5’ thick.

Civilian building, stone: Two levels; wooden stairs, doors, floors, and roof; attic. The outer wall is 120’ long (e.g., 30’×30’), walls 1–2’ thick.

Civilian building, wood: Two levels; wooden stairs, doors, floors, and roof; attic. The outer wall is 120’ long (e.g., 30’×30’).

Drawbridge: Raisable wooden bridge crossing a moat. It may be attached to a gatehouse. 10’ long.

Gatehouse: Fortified entry/exit point in a castle wall. Includes a portcullis. 30’×30’ base, 20’ high, walls 5’ thick.

Keep: Fortified, central building of a castle. 60’ square, 80’ high, walls 10’ thick.

Moat: Defensive ditch, often filled with water. 100’ long, 20’ wide, 10’ deep.

Subterranean passage: Typical 10’×10’×10’ dungeon passageway.

Tower, large: Round tower, either freestanding or built into a castle wall. 30’ base, 40’ high, walls 5’ thick.

Tower, small: Round tower, either freestanding or built into a castle wall. 20’ base, 30’ high, walls 5’ thick.

Wall, castle: A stone wall with battlements. 100’ long, 20’ high, 10’ thick.

Non-Standard Dimensions

Bastions

Bastions of dimensions other than those listed may be constructed. Use the guidelines for towers, below, and divide by two.

Castle Walls

Higher castle walls may be constructed at an increased cost. A 100’ length of 30’ high wall costs 7,500 gp. Every additional 10’ height beyond this (up to a maximum of 60’ tall) costs 5,000 gp.

Towers

Towers of dimensions other than those listed may be constructed. The cost is determined by the tower's height and its base's diameter (in feet).

Maximum height: Twice the base diameter.
Up to the base diameter: Each 10’ height costs 200 gp × the base diameter.
Above the base diameter: Each 10’ height costs 400 gp × the base diameter.

Example Tower Cost Calculation

A 60’ high tower with a 40’ diameter base will be constructed.

The cost will be 8,000 gp (40 × 200 gp) per 10’ for the first 40’ of height and 16,000 gp (40 × 400 gp) per 10’ for the remainder of the height.

The total cost is thus (8,000 gp × 4) + (16,000 gp × 2) = 64,000 gp.

Interior Features

The common interior features of a stronghold are listed in the table below.

Simple Approach

For simplicity, the cost of a stronghold may be increased by 25% to account for interior details, including: reinforced doors, stone stairs, flagstone flooring, tile roofing, windows or arrow slits, bars and shutters on windows, and standard furnishings.

Detailed Approach

The table below may be consulted if the group wishes to perform more detailed calculations or if additional features are desired.

Detail	Dimensions	Cost (gp)
Arrow slit	—	10
Door, iron	3’ wide, 7’ tall	50
Door, reinforced wood	3’ wide, 7’ tall	20
Door, stone	3’ wide, 7’ tall	50
Door, wood	3’ wide, 7’ tall	10
Floor, flagstones or tiles	10’×10’ section	100
Floor, wood	10’×10’ section	40
Roof, tiled	10’×10’ section	100
Roof, wood	10’×10’ section	40
Secret door or trapdoor	Normal	5 × normal
Shifting wall	10’×10’ section	1,000
Stairs, stone	3’ wide, 10’ long section	60
Stairs, wooden	3’ wide, 10’ long section	20
Trapdoor, iron	4’×3’	120
Trapdoor, reinforced wood	4’×3’	40
Trapdoor, stone	4’×3’	120
Trapdoor, wood	4’×3’	20
Window	—	10
Window bars	—	10
Window shutters	—	5

11. Strongholds