So I know that Kingmaker has rules on BPs. Also you have the Downtime section of Ult. Campaign for building buildings. I'm thinking: what if 4 characters, starting at level 1, want to just go and build a house, farm, and later a village?
4 PCs, a ranger, fighter, wizard and cleric go into the wilds. They find a bunch of kobolds, dire rats and a tatzlwyrm inhabiting a ruined tower. Over the course of a couple sessions they clear out the whole place but rather than go back to town and buy magic items they decide to rebuild the tower, add on a hall, and start living there.
The PCs have between them Survival +7, Profession: Architect +9, Profession: Woodcutter +7, and Profession: Blacksmith +7. The cleric is also a dwarf with Stonecunning and a rank in Profession: Miner. Finally they have the following Knowledge skills between them: Nature, Local, Dungeoneering, Arcane, Religion and Geography.
I figure this is all the skills needed but, are there rules for just being in the wilds, cutting down trees and mining stone from a cave to rebuild a tower? Should I just handwave it? If anyone has suggestions I'm all ears.
You could probably use the crafting rules to ballpark how long it would take them.
And I would probably charge them a gp fee of some sort just for raw materials, tools and replacements as they wear out and break.
You need more than and axe and a pick to build a house.
But Having a small keep in the wilderness shouldn't cause any balance issues to make a big deal out of it.
If anything it opens up a host of adventure possibilities for the DM.
I agree on the cost of start up tools, but if they had those before they left town, couldn't they just use Mending and Prestidigitation to keep their existing tools ship-shape? Isn't that kind of what those spells are for?
Consider that the wizard alone has Mending, Prestidigitation, Mage Hand and Spark just on their own. The cleric in the meantime has Create Water and Guidance. This means that as long as the whole group's together at least one skill has a +1 on it, they've always got fresh water to drink, they're perpetually clean, all of their gear is mended, and they've always got fire and a free (albeit extremely weak) hand.
That seems like more than enough to just build in the wilds w/out needing to spend gold.
If they put the time in, sure, let them. Building a house by themselves should probably take between 1 and 3 months, depending on its size and complexity. A farm is tougher because it implies tilling the soil and potentially irrigating, unless it's more along the lines of a ranch that doesn't have planted crops. For a structure that's already mostly built, like the tower, they should be able to make it livable in just a few days and the hall depends on how fancy they want to get, but you should absolutely allow it. It wouldn't hurt to have someone with Profession: Carpentry but they could get a cheap hireling to help with the furniture and trim. Do you have maps of the structure? If not, have the player with the architect find or draw some. Maybe build something out of Lego or thick card-stock. I am a little curious as to how they got +9 in Prof: Architecture at level 1 though. Did they put their first feat in Skill Focus? If so, that's true dedication and you should absolutely reward it.
Well Profession is a Wis based skill. The cleric took it with 1 rank for Rank +1/Class Skill +3/Wis bonus +5.
I agree on the cost of start up tools, but if they had those before they left town, couldn't they just use Mending and Prestidigitation to keep their existing tools ship-shape? Isn't that kind of what those spells are for?
Consider that the wizard alone has Mending, Prestidigitation, Mage Hand and Spark just on their own. The cleric in the meantime has Create Water and Guidance. This means that as long as the whole group's together at least one skill has a +1 on it, they've always got fresh water to drink, they're perpetually clean, all of their gear is mended, and they've always got fire and a free (albeit extremely weak) hand.
That seems like more than enough to just build in the wilds w/out needing to spend gold.
Well at the risk of getting into minutia... where are they going to get nails, fasteners, hinges, windows, furniture, decor.. etc.
Sure maybe they can get lucky and mine up some iron.. but then they need a smelter and forge to make it into iron to then turn into workable product. What are they using for roofing material? Is everything they need really available onsite? That's a very nice wilderness they found.On the other hand you have pointed out one of the things I absolutely hate about 0 level spells in pathfinder.
Ah, I see. I'm not used to seeing +5 Wis modifiers at level 1. Regardless, it means that if they take 10, they can answer the vast majority of complex questions pertaining to their professions. Barring a few edge-cases, your party should be good to go. Are they within walking distance of an established town so they can get some supplies or is the Ranger making them rough it? =P
Another thing to consider is whether or not a local noble considers the land to be theirs by right and whether they appreciate squatters. Could lead to some interesting plot developments, if you're so inclined.
