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Stronghold questions

Sat 25 May 2019, 06:38

On 169 about pastures it says "This takes a Quarter Day and gives one unit of FOOD per cow". Does that mean if you had 6 cows you could milk them all in 1 quarter day and get 6 food? Also since its "food" does it spoil? Or could it be processed at an inn?

The penalty for not upkeeping a stronghold can be steep (loosing expensive structures). And failing a roll is not that hard, it happens all the time even if you push. So hiring a handyman is a great idea. But since you would only have to work 1/4 day each week, what does he do the rest of the time. Do you pay for the whole week (21 copper) or could you have him do other jobs and pay him at that rate for those days?

I do understand the stronghold is not a profit thing but it seems to be a massive money pit to run. The safety is nice but you must get a lot of money to build it and run it. Staying in an inn would be cheaper. I do get the idea they players should do the work but it feels like a poor investment. Expecially since there is no selling mechanic in the game to gain coin to pay the guards and other hirelings.
 
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9littlebees
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Re: Stronghold questions

Sat 25 May 2019, 09:38

The Stronghold provides the incentive to go adventuring. Hence the cost. You could handwave many of the salaries, especially if you don't want to keep track of it. In a place like the Ravenlands, there would probably be plenty of people in a bad situation who would gladly live and work at the Stronghold in return for security, a roof over their head, and food.
I make YZE games (https://drivethrurpg.com/browse.php?author=Matt%20Kay) and produce predominately Free League content on my YouTube channel (https://youtube.com/@3skulls)
 
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hperantunes
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Re: Stronghold questions

Mon 27 May 2019, 05:19

I do understand the stronghold is not a profit thing but it seems to be a massive money pit to run.  The safety is nice but you must get a lot of money to build it and run it.  Staying in an inn would be cheaper.  I do get the idea they players should do the work but it feels like a poor investment.  Expecially since there is no selling mechanic in the game to gain coin to pay the guards and other hirelings.

The Stronghold is not really an investment and, as put by 9littlebees, it exists as both a way to spend the extra coin accumulated in adventures and an incentive to go out in search of more treasure. The rewards a party gets for keeping a Stronghold are quite nice, though.

In theory, nothing prevents you from going full feudal and paying your hirelings with just food (that they have to raise and prepare themselves), shelter and "protection" if your GM is OK with that. However, that's not the default approach as one of the principles of the game is that Nothing Is For Free.

Regarding the lack of a "selling mechanic", there's not really a mechanic per se described in the books, but my approach is to consider whether NPCs in a village or elsewhere actually need the items the PCs are selling. When that's the case, I usually offer to buy these items by paying the full price listed in the Gear chapter of the Player's Handbook.
 
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Re: Stronghold questions

Mon 27 May 2019, 06:08

I have only played 2 sessions and really loving it. I also played mutant year zero for over a year and a session of tails from the loop. I think this book is well written but I am bothered by an explination of strongholds as a pit to spend money so you have a need to adventure to get money to throw in your pit. Being only 2 games in I dont know yet. Do you get lots of money in this game? I would assume gold is rare and you have to spend wisely but having the stronghold money pit implies gold is common and can be thrown away.
 
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Fenhorn
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Re: Stronghold questions

Mon 27 May 2019, 06:18

To get large sums of gold may not be common, to find trinkets and "bling" is common and can be hard to find buyers for, a stronghold will attract merchants so, selling those things will, if not easy, at least be easier.
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Re: Stronghold questions

Mon 27 May 2019, 06:41

Do you allow players to sell items at the market in their stronghold?
 
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Fenhorn
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Re: Stronghold questions

Mon 27 May 2019, 07:00

A player can only sell an item if there is a buyer that really wants it, but even though there is no skill haggle mechanics in this game, Manipulation can still be a very important tool to persuade someone that he really needs this. In our session last night, the players managed to persuade an owner of a mine that all the important people wears silver headbands in the north so he just must have this one,

Merchants on the other hands usually doesn't have to be persuaded to buy things that they can profit from, they travel and can be assumed to be able to find a buyer for it somewhere. You man not always get the best price for it. Merchants can, if the GM is evil, have a certain talents that do allows them to haggle with WP. So of course players can sell items at the market. That's how merchants get most of the things, I would assume (they buying things they think they can sell somewhere else). So to be able to sell trinkets at your stronghold instead of travelling around the land to sell a trinket here and there, is a very convenient thing.

But that depends on how a GM view these things. If a GM allows the players to sell whatever they want, wherever they want, then some merchants on your doorstep won't make you any happier. But if the GM is more restrictive (like me) with who can (and wants) to buy things, then a marketplace is a very important function.
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hperantunes
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Re: Stronghold questions

Mon 27 May 2019, 07:01

Do you allow players to sell items at the market in their stronghold?

My players don't have a Stronghold yet, but my plan with the Marketplace function is to let them sell items.

However, it won't be simple to find buyers for loot. My idea is to consider the rarity of items, as listed in the Gear chapter - you'll have to roll to find a buyer. For some treasure items, that will exclusively depend on patrons with deep pockets willing to buy luxury merchandise.
 
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Re: Stronghold questions

Wed 29 May 2019, 23:05

I feel my last question was addressed well but not the first 2. Any one have thoughts on them?
 
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Fenhorn
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Re: Stronghold questions

Wed 29 May 2019, 23:32

On 169 about pastures it says "This takes a Quarter Day and gives one unit of FOOD per cow". Does that mean if you had 6 cows you could milk them all in 1 quarter day and get 6 food? Also since its "food" does it spoil? Or could it be processed at an inn?
The rules say "Once per day, a PC or a FARMER can milk the cows. This takes a Quarter Day and gives one unit of FOOD per cow <>". So yes, one farmer (or a PC) can handle the 6 cows and get 6 FOOD. The game doesn't say the shelf life for FOOD. That is normally handled by travelling mishaps. But bread (which also can be included in FOOD) has a shelf life of one week, so if it is interesting to know, use one week as a shelf life for FOOD or one month if you an assume that cheese has been made out of the milk. Most food are eaten up long before this happen anyway.

The penalty for not upkeeping a stronghold can be steep (loosing expensive structures). And failing a roll is not that hard, it happens all the time even if you push. So hiring a handyman is a great idea. But since you would only have to work 1/4 day each week, what does he do the rest of the time. Do you pay for the whole week (21 copper) or could you have him do other jobs and pay him at that rate for those days?
If you hire a person to be a handyman for you, you probably hire him full time (even if he only works one quarterday), but if you as a PC wants to do it, then it can be interesting to know exactly how much time it takes. If you wants to go into details. But if you can find something else for him to do his other quarteday (hired stuff works normally two quarterdays) so let him do that as well, if he is able.
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