Summary
Bastions are one of the most compelling rewards you can give a player inDungeons & Dragons. From imposing strongholds to sacred temples, Bastions are special locations gifted to the player (typically at level five). In these unique structures, players can accomplish a variety of tasks, from garnering resources toconstructing special facilities.
But, Bastions are so much more than just a place for characters to call home. They can also serve as fantastic backdrops for adventure hooks. You may even want to consider using the promise of giving a player or players a bastion as the catalyst for a potential campaign arc.
10An Abandoned Temple
Honor The Gods
During the course of an adventure, a divine magic wielder in your party stumbles across an ancient structure. It’s a temple of some kind, covered in moss and left to sit abandoned. Upon the altar, the player notices the sigil of their deity, unattended.
For clerics or paladins, gifting the player an abandoned temple for them to redeem and reconstruct from the ground up can be a great Bastion adventure. From there, they may have to recruit acolytes and sages to help tend to the temple’s grounds. You can even consider having non-believers lay siege to the temple at some point down the line.
9A Noble Gift
Nice to Have Friends In High Places
A wannabe noble character wants to make it big in the world but doesn’t have the funds to live the lifestyle they desire. Enter a wealthy Waterdavian noble, who promises to gift the player a Bastion to call their very own. However, they’ll have to complete a dangerous mission first.
Consider using Bastions as a reward for accomplishing certain adventures. If a noble of high esteem has the funds to grant the character an estate, perhaps they need to employ the party first before bequeathing any land. you’re able to even consider having the noble betray the party, forcing a decision between letting sleeping dogs lie or revenge.
8Reclaim Your Birthright
Take Back What’s Yours
A party member’s family was once the ruling body over a large sovereign nation. However, many years ago, they were deposed in favor of cruel tyrants. Now, it’s time for them to take back what’s rightfully theirs.
If you have a member of your party who is former royalty, consider having a campaign arc involving them reclaiming their ancestral home. This can lay the stage for a war-themed arc. Upon completion of the arc, the player can then make use of their family’s home as a Bastion.
7Tournament Of Champions
Only One Walks Out
A large city is hosting a tournament in its world-renowned fighting pits. The reward for overcoming a series of challenges and emerging victorious is a Bastion of the player’s choice to be constructed within the city gates. However, players may soon discover that the fights are rigged unless they intervene.
For brawnier melee fighters in the party, using a tournament-style arc with a Bastion as a reward is a great way to get beefier players invested in Bastions. This also allows for some freedom on the player’s part. The city can construct whatever their heart desires (within reason), meaning that the player has more agency over their overall Bastion design.
6Hidden Rooms
What’s Behind Door Number One?
During a stroll through their Bastion’s gardens, a player notices a group of loose cobblestones. Upon further inspection, it’s revealed that these stones are actually a trap door that leads to a hidden basement deep beneath the Bastion. What boons or horrors could lurk beneath the ground?
Bastions can be living, breathing spaces into which you’re able to inject random events. Perhaps unwittingly, you can reveal that a player has constructed their Bastion on top of a vast dungeon. If the dungeon plays host to a variety of monsters, then you’ve got the perfect setup for a great dungeon crawl.
5Castle Under Siege
Man Your Battle Stations!
Whiletraveling through the wilderness, the party comes across a small township with a castle presiding over its farmlands. However, the castle is currently under attack by neighboring forces. Should the party decide to intervene, the citizenry may have a lofty reward in store for them.
Upon saving the small township, the party may discover that the ruler has died in the onslaught, meaning that the castle is up for grabs. This hook can even be used as just a one-off game idea rather than a larger arc.
4Strange Visitors
Guess Who’s Coming To Dinner
One night, while a player is burning the midnight oil in their Bastion, there’s a knock at the door. A trio of mysterious mages have arrived, seeking shelter from the winter tempest outside. They seem alright at first, but is it possible they’re hiding something more nefarious?
If players are spending time at their Bastions in between adventures, consider having random events occur that might uproot their progression. Whether or not these strange visitors are actually maligned or not is up to you as a DM. But, it can be fun to have players choose between the safety of their Bastion and their need to help out others.
3A Mysterious Portal
Do You Dare Enter?
In between arcs, a hireling at a player’s bastion reaches out to the character. A mysterious portal has erupted in the center of the player’s bastion. But, where does this portal go?
Consider using Bastions as jumping-off points for other adventures. If a portal toan elemental planemanifests in the center of a player’s Bastion, it could ruin the structural integrity of the keep. It’s up to the player and their fellow adventurers to travel through and find a way to close it for good before it’s too late.
2An Inheritance
But, There’s Always A Catch
The party has just completed a great battle for the fate of a sovereign kingdom. In the process, a mentor character for one of the players tragically lost their life. But, not all is lost.
After the battle, the player discovers that their mentor has bequeathed them their mage’s tower, leaving all that’s inside to their use. Players may have to travel a great distance to reach the tower, which resides on a perilous cliffside riddled with bandit camps. Players must clear out these camps in order to make use of the Bastion for themselves.
1The Floating Fortress
Hoist The Colors
While treasure-hunting in coastal caves, the party discovers a ship docked along the shoreline. It appears that the crew have all died from a mysterious illness while on board. The ship could be transformed into a mobile Bastion, that is, if the party can fell the undead pirates animating to life all around them.
Using Bastions as a reward for one-off missions will always prove fun. But, you can also then use the Bastion as a mode of transportation and a springboard for further island-hopping adventures. Get creative with what types of structures your campaign considers a Bastion.
