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Bastions are one of the most unique elements you can include in yourDungeons & Dragonscampaign. From basic to special facilities, there’s a lot you can do to make the most of your bastion. There are also plenty of in-game benefits to having a bastion as a player.
But, with the release of bastion rules for the 2024 Dungeon Master’s Guide, there’s only a handful of facilities you can include in your bastion. For players looking to customize their bastion to the fullest extent possible, homebrew may be the best option. Here’s what you need to know to homebrew facilities for your bastion.
What Are Basic Bastion Facilities?
Bastion facilitiesfall intotwo categories: basic and special.Basic facilities include a lot of typical structuresfound in homes, forts, or castles.
Basic facilities can include things like staircases, corridors, kitchens, parlors, and bedrooms. These are a lot more flexible than other portions of your bastion.
When you gain your bastion at level five,you start with two basic facilitiesthat are completely free.You can then add basic facilities to your bastionby spending gold and time to construct them like so.
500 GP
20 days
1,000 GP
45 days
3,000 GP
125 days
All of these facilities come with basic decor and non-magical furnishings.Basic bastion facilities offer no special benefit, but help create a sense of physical space for your bastion, as well as character and flavor.
How To Homebrew Basic Bastion Facilities
Homebrewing basic bastion facilities is relatively easy.Any standard type of room you can imaginethat might belong in a fort, keep, homestead, or castlecan fit in your bastion.
First,describe the type of room you wantfor your bastion. For example, let’s say you’re playinga highly theatrical bardandyou want a walk-in closet for all of your costumes. Explain this to your DM and the relative size of the space.
From there,use the following table,which lays out squareson a grid mapto determine how large the room is. Then,you’re able to use the previous table to see how much gold and time you’ll needto construct the space.
4 squares
16 squares
36 squares
What Are Special Bastion Facilities?
Unlike basic bastion facilities,special bastion facilities offer in-game benefitsto the player via bastion turns. Examples of special facilities on offer can be found in the 2024 DM’s Guide.
You earn special bastion facilities through player progressionand can take bastion turns in these facilities at your DM’s discretion.
Examples of special bastion facilities include rooms like an Arcane Study, Archive, Pub, Theater, or Demiplane.
Bastion turns are actions, or ‘orders,’ the player can takewhile they’re out on their adventure. These include:
All of these actions are available to specific special bastion facilities as detailed in their description.
How To Homebrew Special Bastion Facilities
So, now that you have a basic understanding of special bastion facilities and what they do,how do you homebrew new special facilities?
First, as a player, you should work with your DM to make sure it’s okay to homebrew a special facility. Review the rules you come up with and make sure they seem balanced in your campaign.
There’s a simplechecklist to go through when homebrewinga special bastion facility.Every single special bastion facilityoffered in the 2024 Dungeon Master’s Guidehas the following rules.
What Do You Need To Homebrew A Special Facility?
When it comes to homebrew,it’s always agood idea to start macroand then get into the details. Ask yourself,what are you trying to achieve with this facility?
Are you trying to craft or harvest something? Or, are you trying to empower yourself and your team? Whatever the answer,start with the result you’re trying to achieve, andlet this characterize the rest of the facility.
When homebrewing a special faciilty, it’s best tostart with step five, ‘Order,’ and work your way backward.The Bastion Order will likely inform the rest of the rules you’ll need to create for your facility.
Example Homebrew For A Special Facility
For example, say you are playing a bard who wantsa facility in which you can craft magical disguises.
We can call this special bastion facility a ‘clothier,‘or a facility that fashions clothes and fabrics.The special facility’s ‘order,‘in this case,would be craft.
If you’re not sure exactly what benefit you want, review the order options on bastions. These will help give you a sense of the kinds of things special facilities can do, and may inspire ideas!
If the player takes the craft orderduring their bastion turn,the facility will produce one magical disguiseof their choice, including an outfit, hair and makeup, and any other details or trinkets necessary.
Now,let’s work backward.In terms of balance,this is definitely a pretty strong perk, but not so specific that the facility would be limited to one class.
Hirelings would likely make sense, though there’s probablynot too big of a space necessaryfor something like this. With all that in mind,here is a breakdown of the above rulesfor a clothier.
You can apply this method to any special facilityyou want to homebrew.Start with the benefit, or ‘order,‘and work your way backwardto fill out the rest of the criteria.
Lastly, you should alsoconsider if you want to have rules for expandingyour homebrew facility. To homebrew expansion rules, simply set a GP and time spent amount to expand based on size.
Work with your DM or consult Chapter Eight of the 2024 DM’s guide for more information on expanding facilities.
