We're looking at making a base of operations with the new Ultimate Combat book and we're toying with ideas (apparently I can't open a mint and make unlimited money...) and so far we're looking at an Inn, Fort or someway of making an Inn with our base on the back, hopefully low profile half secret base.
So I want ideas to dazzle my group! I'm curious about what you guys have come up with and cost if you know it.
My group conquered an adult white dragon and his lair recently. I necro'd him as a Frostfallen Fast Zombie Lord and set out making his lair into my lair. Came fully equipped with a labrynth, a frost giant guard, and a pack of winter wolves in a snow-covered mountain (in a very large mountain range, three days from the main city we adventure out of). So far it's just an empty lair with an altar and our dragon, whom we use to fly us around, cover our backs, and provide occasional advice (such as reminding the party fighter he is indeed not a flying springboard). Good fun all around, but since we're only level 6 so far it has yet to grow into anything beyond that. Planning out traps, summoning room, jail, and flesh-warping chamber (go templates!)
EDIT: oh, and costs are as follows:
Frostfallen Fast Zombie Lord Adult White Dragon: one 750gp onyx gem, two 100g turquoise/blue topaz gems (required for Frostfallen template), a casting of Remove Paralysis (prereq for fast zombies), and the dragon's body weight in snow and ice (also required for Frostfallen Template). Oh, and of course Animate Dead spell.
Alter of Undeath (non-deity specific): 1500gp, including permenant desecrate spell.
Winter wolf and frost giant corpses: to be determined
White Dragon Lair w/ Labrynth plus traps included (DC of Ask my GM): Cost of Ask my GM.
| 7 people marked this as a favorite. |
I made a fort out of some blankets and my couch cushions
So with investing in bases, you really only need them if you have something you need to keep safe but can't easily take with you. If what you need to keep safe doesn't fit in a portable hole, then you might want to reevaluate its importance.
If its some kind of mcguffin or you have the dosh to spend, consider the following:
1) location location location. The more centralized and secure, the better. Someplace that's not hospitable to the average thief is a good start. Demiplanes are a great start if you can pool resources for a few scrolls/ permanency.
2) staff. Alarm is a cool spell, but sometimes a few well placed animated dead work well too. Constructs can work too if money isn't an issue. They can cook and clean with the right setup, or even do manual or skilled labor (check modifying constructs for rules to give them brains)
3) repeating spell traps. Want that base protected? Repeating trap of your favorite spell. Next level tactic: beneficial repeating spell traps. Things like repeating traps of clw, restoration, or even arcane concordance. Just look through a spell list and pick up those spells you wish you could have any time anybody wanted.
Posting from my mobile device, so apologies for not providing links/quotes/documentation.
Well, apparently our Wizard is setting up some extended ritual he's being real secretive about. There are worries about demons/devils taking interest and he wants to keep it secure. I imagine we might be creating a Demiplane in the future since I'm a cleric (just realized out party is Fighter, Rogue, Cleric, Wizard...).
Anyone know if Ultimate Campaign has rules for modifying the buildings in it?
My base of operation was in the FR setting, I was playing an Inquisitor of Mask. I bought an old copper mine to use a base of operations for thieves guild expansion. A ran several bandits out of the mine. Then I offered protection for caravans traveling through the forest and employed profitable mercenary guild to keep it all looking on the up and up. As well I ran staged combats between my forces make it look like it wasn't extortion. Pretty much came off look more like the hero.
I used the iron mine a front. In the depths there were other creatures and I bought copper from them to make it look like the mine was actually producing copper. A large mine with all the bandits need to produce something to keep the nosy Paladin order out of it. Lots of adventure opportunities exploring the depths while securing the upper levels.
My Wizard (14th level at this point) operates out of a townhouse in a city. Our GM is stingy enough that anything more would be an unnecessary expense.
I want an urban base, for if I'm ever in, like, an urban vigilante sort of game.
|
In the homebrew I am playing with a group of RL friends, we have outfitted a wagon like a war wagon that travels with us, including a driver, an NPC fighter and an NPC wizard, if we need more punch for a fight and for protection. Once we get to a mine we were deeded, we will be getting a permance spell cast on a Tree House that I received from RPing with a pixie after saving one of the portals of the fey people.
The high-level party (most are 19th level) that I DM for has several bases of operation. Here are two of their most impressive ones. (This is a 3.5 game, note.)
The plane of Acheron consists of great iron cubes, floating in an endless void. The party has taken over one such cube, which is several miles across, its interior crisscrossed with corridors; they have set up a fortified base of operations deep within it, warded with a great deal of powerful (and some custom-researched) protective magic. That is their permanent home base, with living quarters, conference rooms, arcane laboratories, workshops, libraries, chambers converted into holding pens for exotic creatures (including an aquarium), and so forth.
Installed in one chamber of the cube-base is a permanent portal (think of a stargate), the other end of which stands in their other, mobile base:
An airship — and not just any airship, but the Skidbladnir of Norse legend, the tremendous (aircraft-carrier-sized) sailing vessel of dwarven manufacture, which can be folded up like a cloth and carried in one's pocket. The airship, enchanted with powerful magic, can also sail through the Plane of Shadow (similar to the shadow walk spell) and thus travel to other planes of reality.
I haven't been a player for years, but I'll be entering a friend's ongoing campaign soon. In that game I'm a 7th level wizard new to the city. Even though my guy isn't a bard, I'm an entertainer of sorts using minor golems, spells and skills to put on little puppet shows and theatrical displays.
Anyway he's starting me out in an abandoned theater. My character enters the campaign having hooked on with a troupe that's just bought the place and offered to let me sleep backstage for my help getting the place fixed up and maybe putting on some shows.
In years past here are some of the more interesting "homes" my own PCs have inhabited:
- inside the skeleton of a dead ancient red dragon embedded in a hillside
- A Halfling/human tavern, built both above and below a hillock upon which goats grazed; they brewed their own beer and also herded goats for foodstuffs
- A ruined tower-turned-library. Now this one was fun; they found a ruined tower early in the game in a throwaway encounter with some bandits. Since it was near the town they began in, the characters returned to the town frequently and would occasionally visit the place. Finally they had explored every inch of the tower, it's one level of dungeons, and the surrounding wooded hills. By level 9 the wizard was selecting 5th level spells; she took Wall of Stone which was a bit out of character for her. I asked why and the player produced a detailed list of how she was going to start in the dungeon, shoring up the cracked and broken masonry. Then she showed me "phase 2" where she was going to use the spell, 1 level at a time, to help replace the outer walls while she'd go back and research Make Whole to fix some of the fallen floors/roofs of the interior. She was so adamant and detailed, I thought it was awesome so we did a whole game session on it. The townsfolk were delighted that the heroes who'd saved their town and secured their future would have permanent residence now and the party converted the "dungeon" rooms into a vault for their stuff while the wizard continued tinkering with the above-ground space. When we finally ended the campaign at level 14 the party had collectively added an l-shaped hall onto the tower with a parapet and a defensive wall enclosing the courtyard. They had stables for their riding hippogriff and horses; the hall doubled as a library that descended into the dungeon vaults. It was a lot of fun.
My character's favorite "base of operations" had several aspects, all linked by (keyed) permanent teleports or portals;
the primary "public home" was a large villa in the campaign's major city, with a large domed ballroom, meeting rooms/sitting room/audience chamber overlooking a vast garden courtyard, its own Roman-style bath, a museum full of art & curios acquired on adventures, the usual stables, a large library (with magical index/catalog), training rooms, and the like (with a large basement/dungeon, filled with secret stashes, crafting chambers, and a tunnel leading to a warehouse-pier in the harbor), all surrounded by a low wall topped with an iron fence, and various "passive" defenses.
This was linked to a "vacation villa" which was on an island in the center of a lake located on a plateau on a jungle island.
But the main feature was a Cubic Gate-like thing connected to what amounted to a private demiplane; a pimped-out "House of Zebulon" from X5 (a 3.xE version of which is described briefly here, towards the end of the page), with a Mirror of Mental Prowess inside; the character aimed at it being a sort of poor-man's version of the Dragon #83 Dancing Hut, and it formed a "home away from home" on the road and allowed the character to return with relative ease to either the "public home," the "vacation home," or the abodes of other players, or at least not have the party sleep in the mud.
At higher levels a demiplane for storage & archives was added, and a "safehold" for keeping backup bodies (clones), treasures, spare minions, and the like.
But the stylish part was always the "public home" villa from which the character entertained guests, interacted with her clientela & henchmen (a "Staff of Untold Might" doesn't have to be a glorified walking stick!), managed her investments, and was able to keep engaged with the political intrigues of the campaign setting. Plus simply live a cultured life a successful adventurer should aspire to, especially after reaching the ranks of the middle nobility.
As long as your DM's not a total jerk (that is, he won't make a base of operations a source of constant annoyance, but will only have it be a campaign foil/adventure hook to an appropriate degree), a base of operations is a nice place to sink money into for stile points in a way that doesn't disrupt the campaign. You can keep tweeking, building, and expanding it, fill it with all your curios, random knick-knacks, and trophies picked up on your travels.
nstalled in one chamber of the cube-base is a permanent portal (think of a stargate), the other end of which stands in their other, mobile base:
An airship
I really like the idea of having a portal from an airship or some form of mobile transportation to the primary base, that's genius. I'ma sucker for airships, but we never seem to get one.
And Helic_, that sounds so sad.
Trying to come up with a mobile base for our group and have it attached to one of our main strongholds. Was think of using an instant fortress or magical mansion.
Trying to come up with a mobile base for our group and have it attached to one of our main strongholds. Was think of using an instant fortress or magical mansion.
I'm thinking we can enchant some kind of Mirror or something as a portal and keep it in a bag of holding. Anytime we want to go to our main base, he can use Rope trick or something similar at higher levels and we can set up the mirror in the extra dimensional space and travel back and forth.
Eventually, I do want a airship, or at least a regular ship...
Cost effectiveness is a huge factor. Airships are cool, but teleport/air walk/etc is significantly cheaper.
We're looking at making a base of operations with the new Ultimate Combat book and we're toying with ideas (apparently I can't open a mint and make unlimited money...) and so far we're looking at an Inn, Fort or someway of making an Inn with our base on the back, hopefully low profile half secret base.
So I want ideas to dazzle my group! I'm curious about what you guys have come up with and cost if you know it.
I have an elf eldritch knight who used summoned earth elementals to hollow out an area inside a mountainous island off the coast of Faerun relatively near the city of Waterdeep.
The island itself was pretty useless since it's terrain was so steep and rocky nothing really lived on it or grew there. Once the interior was sufficiently shaped and reinforced properly he permanancied spells to protect from scrying and detection as well as some dimesnional interdiction spells so only he or people he gave the port key to could arrive inside.
Finally he setup several permanent custom magic items inside the base to create breathable air, food and water and then he moved in.
Yes it took teleport or greater teleport to get in and out but there was pretty much 0 chance anyone would ever discover the base by accident and the majority of the construction was done by Earth elementals working where no one could ever see.
Later he assited in making a second base in the astral plane with a high level cleric. Sort of an adamantium fortress/sealed cube anchored to an astral 'asteroid'.
Trying to come up with a mobile base for our group and have it attached to one of our main strongholds. Was think of using an instant fortress or magical mansion.I'm thinking we can enchant some kind of Mirror or something as a portal and keep it in a bag of holding. Anytime we want to go to our main base, he can use Rope trick or something similar at higher levels and we can set up the mirror in the extra dimensional space and travel back and forth.
Eventually, I do want a airship, or at least a regular ship...
A greater demiplane with the portal option would do it. One collapsible doorway (flavor to taste) and another at the stationary location.
In the mid-level (10th) game that I'm in currently, our last adventure ended with us having cleared out the evil-tainted ruins of an abbey that included a fey grove, a large keep, a wizard's tower, and a surrounding walled village. The whole thing was built atop the ruins of an ancient, underground minotaur city*.
We all chipped in and bought a Lyre of Building, and then our Bard proceeded to rebuild the whole thing in the span of about a week.
So now we've got a sweet new fortified base of operations, and are populating it with followers and adventurers-in-training by several of us taking the Leadership feat.
*Apparently this was a 4.0 module adapted back for Pathfinder, but I can't remember what it was called off the top of my head.
You can start with a Lesser and upgrade it once you get Create Demiplane and Greater Create Demiplane, right?
That's honestly what I'd like to do there X-worg, only starting at level 1.
I really want to start off, level 1, and have the GM make the mistake of throwing me a "ruin". I'll convince my party to clear it, use survival to build a survival shelter near it, then carve out a semi-permanent base camp nearby. My share of the loot then, from there on it, goes at least in part to gathering the resources needed to shore up said ruin. As time goes on I take spells like Mending, Make Whole and Wall of Stone as well as other "construction utilities."
Within a few levels worth of odd jobs, clearing the area and exploring every inch of the ruin, my party and I will have a nice, tidy, defendable fixture of the campaign to call our own. The GM can feel good that we have a plot hook for them to exploit and we can feel good that we don't have to put up with long-term hassles like nobility, taxes, rent and what not.
Mid to upper levels, that's when we trick it out. Kind of like when you're a kid and on the back of chinese restaurant placemat you sketch out your mansion with the slide, moat, underwater room and garage for the Batmobile.
My ruin would have passwall rooms that open and close at command words; not light spells but actual, lit sconces and lanterns that cease and re-light at a gesture; all manner of amenity including gardens, baths, swimming pools and the like. Defenses and such are built into the spells in obvious ways so of course there'd be those, but I'd also want some unique features like a massive beast head sculpted into the wall of the great hall - it's open maw as the constantly smoldering hearth that can erupt in a nova at a moment's notice.
A greater demiplane with the portal option would do it. One collapsible doorway (flavor to taste) and another at the stationary location.
One can create one's own Cubic Gate and thus key it to up to six places of your choice, including private demiplanes.
|
In the high level campaign I'm in (lvl 19) my character is the second in command of an order of Hellknights. Due to world lore (zombie apocalypse) my Order has constructed a flying structure over the last 15 years that is 200 ft on a side and 150 feet tall, bristling with cannon. They have taken on several monstrous species and made an Arc of it. The Arc is now defending one of the last cities from an undead invasion with about 100 standard actions worth of hurt per side, half of which are enchanted cannon.