Homeward Bound - simple rules for player-owned base
Reviews: Aurican's Lair RPG.net ENworld Reviews from Rlyeh There comes a time in the lives of Player Characters when they start wondering about the point of adventuring and accumulating wealth and experience. Of course¸ some mercenary types do so for the sake of doing so¸ entering the vicious circle of killing monsters only so they can kill more powerful monsters and eventually die a horrible deathin a forgotten tomb¸ their bodies eventually looted by some other adventurers. Yet other players want their alter egos to actually achieve something in their lives¸ have a place to return to between adventures¸ something to protect and care about. A home. Inside you will find: a customizable description of such a home for players: The Sleeping Manor over 15 possible upgrades to the house that provide in-game benefits a number of locations surrounding the Manor list of 40 random events that occur when PCs are away¸ adventuring ideas for an over-arching plot involving the Manor¸ the PCs and their evil neighbor a hand-drawn map of the area Low price: in an average group of 1 DM and 4 players¸ it's only 1$ per person! See the reviews and discussions below and leave your own opinion¸ too! Update 1.1: Now with a printer-friendly¸ black and white version! Let's save the environment together:) Still not convinced? What is special about "Homeward Bound?" In short - there is nothing available like it. It is truly unique. In my experience players often want some kind of a base¸ HQ¸ or castle to operate from¸ but their GMs either don't have time to do anything but "Ok¸ this inn is your base now" or¸ quite contrary¸ buy or develop a set of rules so complex that without an Excel spreadsheet it is impossible to control all these rooms¸ income sources¸ soldiers¸ servants and so on. What is more¸ in DnD 5 players often complain they have no way to spend the money they earn/loot/steal - magic items are usually found and lifestyles are too vague to care about. "Homeward Bound" is lightweight (only 24 pages long) and it is purposefully short¸ but it provides a whole lot of options¸ for both game mechanics and the campaign's narrative. It gives the game a whole new angle¸ a home they can care for. It starts with descriptions of the house¸ in two versions for the GM/players to choose. If they want more - there is a set of upgrades they can purchase. These are not purely cosmetic additions¸ but provide tangible game effects¸ like extra hps or speed. If they want more - the camera pulls out and several neighbours are presented to visit or fight with. And finally¸ if they are hooked up¸ there is the Big Bad Guy - a framework for a campaign¸ that can be run on its own¸ or as an extension to the main story. Although nominally for DnD5¸ it can be easily adapted to any game system. It's short¸ but full of ideas and options. It's unique. It's streamlined and easy to adapt to any campaign. It's easy on the eye. It's here.