As a player, I think that many of the locations in the Adventure Path make ideal PC bases. Has anyone else found this to be true or had this happen with their players?
Jazirune is almost perfect. It has:
1. A maze-like inner structure, with pre-built, key driven traps and "secret" tunnels that can be covered up with illusions or secret doors. This is great for "invasion" stories where teams of assasins try to attack the PCs.
2. Vaults to hide PC swag.
3. Good location. Right in the city center!
4. Bedrooms, water supplies, places to "store" monsters or build chokepoint traps.
5. A reputation that keeps away the less than exellently informed (only the PCs might know that magic items created there carry the Wasting).
6. A secret entrance.
7. Plently of space for the whole party to each have their own "dedicated rooms" for weapons practice, labs, rogue training rooms, etc.
The complex in Flood Season is also perfect for a mage hideaway.
Its:
1. Ideal for a Teleport, but hard to find otherwise.
2. "Spooky as all get out" with the green glowing lake and live-in aquatic demon.
3. Easy to defend. By disabling the pulley system, only wall crawling, flying, burrowing, or teleporting creatures can enter.
4. Comes with a jacuzzi!
5. Has a bunch of built-in non-intelligent creatures that can be manipulated with Charm Monster and Command Undead to searve as guardians. Hopefully your players Controlled or Avoided these guys rather than killing for XP.
Jzadirune has one big turnoff: It's not only magic items created there that carry the vanishing.
queue spooky music
dum-dum dum dum
Another complication with Jzadirune and the Malachite Fortress is that an Underdark entrance is connected to them! In my game the city converted Ghelve's Locks into an armed post where the Underdark entrance is diligently guarded...although you can get in with the right amount of coin and/or connections!
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My players immediately went investigating the house of the wizard Ashstaff when they encountered the two half-elves and are trying to take over the premises if it will be clear that the wizard will not return.
To work against it I have devised a rule by the town council. The reason for that is, that space in this town is at a premium, ownership of space is not allowed, everything is leased to the appriopriate people. If a house becomes vacant, then the rights fall back to the town council and a new lease will be given in an auction to the highest bidder. That way it becomes diffictult for the player to build their own base and the tax riot has much more reason to happen... an auction in itself can also serve as a great venue to introduce the higher ups of the town to the players (an auctioning duel with Lord Valhantru over a building...). It is providing a good reason that lord Vhalantru is not acting against Kazmojen, because he is freeing up room in an otherwise overcrowded city, that the Lord needs desperately for his own agendas...