STRONGHOLDS
Victor Hurtado
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CREDITS
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution nonCommercial-noDeriva-
tives 4.0 international License.
Writing and Editing
Victor Hurtado.
Cover and Interior design
Victor Hurtado
Special thanks
To David Guyll and Robert Rendell for taking the time to provide feedback.
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INDEX
Introduction.....................................................................................................4
What’s Inside....................................................................................................4
Chapter 1: The Basics......................................................................................5
New Tags..........................................................................................................6
Stronghold Types............................................................................................7
Sidebar: Monthly Upkeep..............................................................................8
Gaining a Stronghold.....................................................................................9
Clockwork Construction Crew..................................................................9
Sidebar: A Simply Way Out........................................................................10
Chapter 2: Building a Stronghold..............................................................11
Look & Feel...................................................................................................12
Location.........................................................................................................12
Construction.................................................................................................13
Sidebar: Essential Rooms............................................................................13
Chambers......................................................................................................13
Magical Upgrades........................................................................................18
Example Stronghold....................................................................................20
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Introduction
Dungeon World is a great game that provides characters tons of fantastic adventures, treasures,
and coin, but one thing it seems to be lacking is ways to spend that hard earned coin. Granted,
if you have over a million coins to spare you might as well buy a grand castle, but, what does
owning a castle entails? You can assume that is fortified and you might need to hire guards to
keep it safe but how does that impact the settlements around you? What if you want to have an
alchemist’s lab that can craft potions for you? Or barracks to train your hirelings? Hopefully in
the pages below you will find the answer to those questions and the guidelines provided will
enrichen your game.
What’s Inside
Strongholds contains guidelines on how to build and acquire strongholds and what to equip
them with.
• The Basics (Chapter 1): This chapter describes the types of strongholds you could have
along with their price, their tags, and the different ways to gain them.
• Building a Stronghold (Chapter 2): This chapter briefly covers the look and feel, the loca-
tion, and the construction of your stronghold. It also possess rules for adding special cham-
bers to your stronghold that provide one or more benefits to you as you add them.
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5
The Basics
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In Dungeon World terms, a stronghold is not a steading, it does not have its own economy nor
a thriving population (although it could and if you take care of it, it really should. You shouldn’t
be surprised if you see that some villagers have built houses around your keep while you were
away). A stronghold is your base of operations, your command post, your headquarters, your
fortress of solitude, it is where you store your loot and where you go to lick your wounds after
a fearsome battle with Durguzoth the demonlord. Potentially, it can also be where you visit the
adept you hired to tend the arcane lab built within your stronghold to help you identify mag-
ic items. It can also be where you receive the baron of Hillcliff to ask for their aid or intimidate
them to help you against the approaching orc horde while sitting on your throne, inside your
remarkable throneroom.
New Tags
Arcane: The item can only be used by someone capable of working magic.
Coaching x: A chamber that can serve to train hirelings where x is a specific skill. Each addi-
tional skill point gained this way has a cost equal to that chamber and takes longer and longer to
learn. 0-1 SP, takes a week. 1-2 SP, takes several weeks to a month. 2-3 SP, takes a few months.
Defensible: Is built on an advantageous location; easy to hold out against sieges.
Fortified: This stronghold has thick walls, arrow slits, iron doors, moats, stockades, barbicans,
turrets, and enough defensive positions to keep this place well secured.
Guarded: Your stronghold has enough guards to effectively defend your property.
Hidden: It is well hidden, either via magic or due to its location.
Infernal: A chamber or the entire stronghold was built upon unholy ground or the residence of
a fiend.
Mobile: It can move either by walking, flying, floating or swimming.
Nexus: Place of power that can be harnessed for rituals.
Populated: Indicates that people are living in or near your stronghold.
Portal: Has access to a magical portal or circle for teleportation.
Resources x: It has access to one or more resources.
Sacred: A chamber or the entire stronghold is built upon consecrated ground.
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Stronghold Types
What do you think of when you imagine a stronghold? Typically, a stronghold is a fortified
structure such as a castle or a keep but it can basically be anything you want; a temple or monas-
tery, a tower, a cave complex, a mansion, an island, or even a giant hollowed tree.
Hovel 20 coins
A hovel is a small, humble dwelling with space for maybe one or two people and
essential tools. While technically not a stronghold, a hovel could bear one small
chamber such as an arcane lab or an apothecary’s shop.
Cottage 500 coins
A cottage is technically a small house, usually of only one story. Common cottag-
es can hold from 4 to 6 people in them with enough space for a kitchen and even
a parlor room. Additionally, a cottage could bear between two or three chambers.
House 2,500 coins
A house is… well, we all know what a house is but in game terms it refers to a
large dwelling that typically has enough space to hold up to 10 people. It gener-
ally possess a second story, a basement, room for a kitchen, a front room, attic,
larder, pantry, and even a space for domestic animals outside. A house typically
has between two to four chambers.
Mansion 50,000 coins
A mansion is a very impressive, large estate. Filled with great halls, bathrooms,
bedrooms, dining rooms, well stocked pantries and embellished rooms all
around, mansions are the home of the wealthy. A mansion typically has between
two to eight chambers.
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Keep fortified, 75,000 coins
Keeps are the strongest and most secure parts of a castle, sometimes they are
built on their own basically making them fortified towers. Keeps typically con-
sist of two or three stories with a basement, lower and upper halls, small rooms,
kitchen, lobby, latrines, a pantry, and fighting platforms for keeping guard. A
keep typically has between three to six chambers.
Castle fortified, 250,000 coins
A large fortified building with high walls, battlements for defense, barracks,
gatehouse, blacksmiths, stables, moats, and anything you could think of to feel
safe. A castle can easily hold inside between 100 to 200 people (Unless you are
preparing for war that won’t be necessary). A castle typically has between four to
ten chambers.
Grand Castle fortified, 1,000,000 coins
Grand castles are huge and extremely well fortified structures with patches of
land big enough to foster a farm within its walls (adding the populated tag to the
stronghold). Grand castles are difficult to maintain and it is only recommend-
ed for those adventurers who have so many coins that their children and their
children’s children could live off that money without having to lift a single sword,
let alone brave a dungeon. The number of chambers and of people a grand castle
could have are only limited by your imagination, and the size of the land you
acquired.
Grotto
For the purpose of stronghold making, a grotto is a set of natural or artificial
interconnected caverns that could be used as such. If for some particular reason
you find yourself in a position where you can actually buy a cavern, the GM can
determine the price in coins by comparing the size of the cavern system with the
size of other strongholds with a coin value.
I.e. If the cavern can hold 4 to 6 people and have enough room for other areas,
then you can easily use the price of a cottage.
SIDEBAR: Monthly Upkeep
On page 331 of the Dungeon World rulebook there is an entry for a month’s upkeep of buildings, which
is 1% of the cost. Paying the upkeep is what keeps your stronghold in good conditions: floors cleaned,
servants fed, and storage rooms well stocked. Keep in mind that when you add a chamber (see page 13),
its cost is added to the total worth of the stronghold, thus increasing the upkeep cost.
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Gaining a Stronghold
A character can acquire a stronghold by purchasing, conquering, or constructing one.
Of course, purchasing is the easiest way to obtain a stronghold but it may not be the quickest.
A cottage or a house are relative easy to find on sale, but a mansion, let alone a castle or keep are
hard to come by. Most of the fortified strongholds are occupied, their owners not willing to part
from their homes easily. You can attempt to find one for sale which may require a long journey
elsewhere (which might be a good source for adventures) but the GM has the final say. When it
comes to strongholds, size matters. Having a castle means that there is more space to add cham-
bers. Maybe you want to keep things simple with only two or three chambers to your home.
Conquering a stronghold has its limitations just like purchasing one. You can’t really choose
where it is located nor its layout and looks. Taking over a tower that belonged to an evil wizard
shouldn’t pose any great repercussions, but Baron Hillcliff ’s castle? Other nobles would hardly
approve of this action and may lay siege to your new conquered home, or, a distant family mem-
ber may challenge you seeking revenge.
Constructing a stronghold is your best option when buying or taking one by force won’t do,
doing so shouldn’t cost more than buying one. The only downfall with constructing one is time,
building a cottage using wood could take months to build and if the location you picked is re-
mote or dangerous, it could take even longer. Building a keep out of stones could take years,
even decades. A character with the ability to create magic items or perform magical rituals could
create a device or ritual that could expedite the process. What is required to come up with such
methods it is always up to the GM. Below you can find an example of a ritual:
Clockwork Construction Crew
When you complete this magic ritual and say what needs to be built, small clockwork creatures form
from the materials bought and begin to carry out your command. The stronghold can be arranged or
divided in any way as long as it is within the size of the structure you pay for.
• Its going to take 1d4 hours for hovels, 1d6 hours for cottages and houses, 1d4 days for mansions,
1d6 days for castle and keeps, 1d8 days for a grand castle.
• It will require materials in coins equal 1000 coins + 1/2 stronghold’s price.
• You will have to disenchant a magic item to do it.
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SIDEBAR: A Simple Way Out
Before we delve into stronghold building I’d like to present a simple way to handle a stronghold: By using
a move. We cooked up a move for The Scoundrel that allowed him to control a hideout in a similar mat-
ter the ranger controls his animal companion. We present that move below:
STRONGHOLD
You have a stronghold somewhere in the world, where is it? how did you get it? what do
you do there?, who takes care of your stronghold when you are gone? Answer these ques-
tions now. Your stronghold can serve as a base of operations for your party.
Your stronghold has 4 stats; Resources, Security, Network, and Flaws. Choose a set of
bonuses and distribute them among the 4 stats (Minimum +1 for Flaw):
+2, +1 ,+1, +1
+2, +2, +1, +0
Choose as many conveniences as its Resources:
Near other settlements, many servants, beautiful view, well kept, mansion.
Choose as many defenses as its Security:
guards, traps, secure vault, easy to defend, easy escape route.
Choose as many communications as its Network:
travels fast, effortless, magical, impossible to track, agents everywhere.
Choose as many weaknesses as its Flaws:
Easily found, surrounded by dangerous creatures, marauders abound, many rivals
When you use your stronghold in sticky situations…
…and you try to bribe, carouse, or buy supplies, add its Resources to your roll.
…and you parley, add its Network to your roll.
…and you try to smuggle something or someone to your hideout, add its Security to your
roll.
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Building a Stronghold
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Creating a stronghold can be time consuming but it is the most rewarding experience; you along
with your party get to decide the look and feel of your stronghold, its location and what sort of
rooms and chambers it will have.
Will it be a cliff-top castle, will you all agree to make a seaside grotto with a shrine dedicated to a
god, or maybe in a calm valley?
Look & Feel
Every stronghold starts as an idea. Sit down and discuss with your group what sort of stronghold
you wish to build and what are its aesthetic components. Some questions to ask.
• How does it look like from the outside? Is it rustic, pristine, or just plain creepy?
• What are the walls and floors made from?
• Are there any notable features that can be seen from the outside? How about the inside?
• What sort of decoration can be found inside? What about smells?
Location
Now it’s time to decide where will it be located. Depending on the questions answered below,
your stronghold may possess one or more tags, such as hidden, defensible, populated, or even
infernal.
General questions while selecting a location:
• What type of terrain is dominant? Is it a marsh? Is it a hill? Or perhaps it’s a forest?
• What is the climate generally like? Is it warm, cold, or somewhere in-between?
• What are some of the notable nearby features?
• What are the closest steadings?
• What sort of monsters roam the area?
• Is your stronghold hidden or easy to find?
• Does it have an easy escape route?
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Construction
Now that you have a general idea of how your stronghold will look and where it will be located,
it is time to start planning out where each room will go. It is up to you and your group to decide
how you wish to keep track of your stronghold. Making a floorplan is ideal, it could be a simple
sketch with rooms, corridors, ceilings, and floors or a more complex map detailing every door,
table, chair, chandelier, beds, dressers, carpets, and so on. The purpose of each room is up to you,
decide which type of furniture it has and its decorations. These are all included in the price of the
stronghold, if you wish to make something elaborate which goes beyond the scope of what the
building usually has (such as a floor made out of amber for a cottage), it will cost extra.
Chambers
Chambers are rooms but with special functions that provide a benefit. Each chamber has a cost
in coins which is added to the total cost of the stronghold, which increases the monthly upkeep.
Some chambers have space for upgrades, each upgrade costs the same amount as the original
chamber but it is not added to the stronghold’s monthly upkeep.
Most chambers come with the option of adding an assistant. If you choose to have an assistant,
what race is it? Is it an extraplanar creature bound to the lab such as an imp or perhaps it’s a
magical homunculus?
Auditorium +Coaching (minstrel)
Cost to add benefit: 400 coins
Built with pleasant decorations and amazing acoustics, this chamber helps your
message get across quite well.
• When you parley in this chamber, take +1 to the roll.
SIDEBAR: Essential Rooms
As an adventurer sometimes it is easy to overlook what is essential for the common folk and what is
needed in a stronghold. The following is a small list of essential rooms for your stronghold: Armories,
baths, kitchens, well stocked pantries, bedrooms with enough space to hold each member of your party,
guestrooms, service rooms for all those working under you, storage rooms, secured prisons, vaults for
your treasures.
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Arcane Lab +arcane, +coaching (adept)
Cost to add a benefit: 500 coins
This laboratory is equipped with everything you need to perform magical re-
search and an assistant. You gain the arcane tag for the purpose of manipulating
magic items that require you to be a magic user. Whenever you build or upgrade
this chamber, choose one:
• When you or your assistant takes a few minutes to analyze a magic item,
the GM will tell you what it does.
• When you use ritual, you can ignore one requirement that the GM tells
you.
• When you or your assistant has time and materials to brew, you can craft
potions and alchemical substances at cost.
• When you spout lore about magical monsters and effects, take +1.
Apothecary’s workshop +coaching (priest)
Cost to add benefit: 350 coins
This chamber comes equipped with an assistant and everything you need to
craft medicine and tend wounds. Whenever you build or upgrade this chamber,
choose one:
• When you or your assistant has time and materials, you can craft antitox-
ins, bandages, halfling pipeleaf, and poultices and herbs at cost.
• When you or your assistant has time and materials, you can craft poisons
you have used before at cost.
• When you recover in your stronghold, it counts as being under the care of
a healer.
Aviary
Cost to add benefit: 500 coins
This chamber has everything you need to confine and train birds to deliver
messages. Will you train pigeons, ravens, or perhaps an exotic bird only found in
your world? Whenever you build or upgrade this chamber, choose one:
• When you send a bird to deliver a message to a location, it arrives and
returns in half the time it would take going by foot.
• Your messenger birds can safely arrive and return from a location.
Barracks +coaching (warrior or protector)
Cost to add benefit: 600 Coins
This chamber or group of chambers houses all of your soldiers. The pricing is
intended for castles or anything smaller, barracks for a grand castle usually cost
twice as much.
• Add the populated and guarded tags to your stronghold.
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Chapel +coaching (priest)
Cost to add benefit: 300 coins
This consecrated chamber is dedicated to the worship of a deity, presumably one
you worship. To what sort of god is it dedicated to? Whenever you build or up-
grade this chamber, choose one:
• When you spout lore about a subject related to your god, you can roll
twice and choose the better result.
• When you Commune with your god, take +1 to the roll.
• When you bolster against an enemy of your god, hold +1 preparation for
each week spent.
Endless Vault
Cost to add benefit: 10,000 coins
This room is full of endless rows of racks to hold weapons, armor, and coins.
• When you try to retrieve an item you have stored in your endless vault,
you find exactly what you need but it takes a while.
Feasting Hall +coaching (minstrel)
Cost to add benefit: 600 coins
Feasting halls are large chambers equipped with everything you need to keep the
belly of your guests full and happy. Whenever you build or upgrade this chamber,
choose one:
• When you invite others to your hall and carouse, take +1.
• When you invite others to your hall and carouse, you don’t need to pay
100 coins to do so.
• When you invite others to your hall and carouse, a miss counts as a 7-9 to
you.
Hunter’s Shelter +coaching (tracker)
Cost to add benefit: 600 coins
This large chamber is equipped with everything needed to hunt game, forage for
food, preserve food, and if large enough, to store and train animal companions.
• When you train in this chamber with your animal companion, for every
week you spend pay this chamber’s cost and choose another training for your
animal companion.
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Library
Cost to add benefit: 350 coins
This chamber is stacked with books, scrolls, for you to do any type of research.
Whenever you build or upgrade this chamber, choose a subject, you take +1 to
spout lore about that subject while in this chamber:
• Spells and Magicks
• The Dead and Undead
• Grand Histories of the Known World
• A Bestiary of Creatures Unusual
• The Planar Spheres
• Legends of Heroes Past
• Gods and Their Servants
Marketplace +Resources
Cost to add benefit: 700 coins
This huge chamber serves as a great opportunity to buy and sell goods and ser-
vices. Your stronghold has access to one or two resources (GM’s choice). You can
purchase and sell equipment under 15 coins.
You can choose this option each time upgrade this room:
• Increase the market limit by 10 coins.
Meditation Chamber
Cost to add benefit: 3,000 coins
This room has nothing but a mat weaved with magical runes for you to sit in and
meditate.
• When you spend at least 3 days meditating in this room, you can uncheck
an advanced move you have taken that is not the requirement of another
move you have and replace it with another advanced move from your class.
Purloiner +coaching (burglar)
Cost to add benefit: 500 coins
The sole purpose of this chamber is to have what you need to train thieves.
• When you or your assistant has time and materials, you can craft poisons
you have used before at cost.
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Throne Room
Cost to add benefit: 4000 coins
This chamber holds an impressive seat and prominent decorations that help in-
timidate or sway others.
Whenever you build or upgrade this chamber, choose one:
• When you parley in this chamber, as long as you are seated in this cham-
ber your presence counts as leverage.
• When you parley in this chamber, you can roll twice and choose the better
result.
Torture Chamber
Cost to add benefit: 800 coins
This chamber is equipped with Machiavellian devices to help you torture your
enemies. Whenever you build or upgrade this chamber, choose one:
• When you parlay to intimidate in this chamber, your presence counts as
leverage.
• When you parlay to intimidate in this chamber, a miss counts as a 7-9 to
you.
War Room
Cost to add benefit: 1200 coins
A war room is equipped with everything you need to prepare for your next ad-
venture. Whenever you build or upgrade this chamber, choose one:
• When you bolster in this chamber, hold +1 Preparation
• When you bolster in this chamber, you gain preparation in half the
normal time.
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Magical Upgrades
Sometimes having a well stocked stronghold isn’t enough. What is a fortified wall to a ghost or
what is the point of having a huge mansion if you can’t reach a room in a timely manner? Below
you will find handy magical upgrades that will improve life in the stronghold. These upgrades
can be added to any room or chamber.
Amphibian Stronghold Mobile (swimming)
Cost to add benefit: 5,000 coins + ½ stronghold’s price.
Your stronghold and part of the earth that sustains it rises and lands on the nearest water source that can
fit it. You can order the castle to move towards a location by water but it takes twice as long as a ship.
Arcane Ward
Cost to add benefit: 1000 coins
Arcane runes can be placed in any room that can provide one or more of the benefits below
• No sound escapes this room to the outside.
• No one can enter or leave this room unless they speak the password.
• Whenever a creature enters this room, you are telepathically warned.
Binding Circle
Cost to add benefit: 500,000 coins
This sequence of sigils allows a room or even the entire stronghold to be considered a place of power for
the purpose of rituals. What sort mighty being have you bound to your stronghold?
Call Stronghold Mobile (Teleportation)
Cost to add benefit: 20,000 coins + ½ stronghold’s price.
You twist the fabrics of reality to bring forth your stronghold to an unoccupied area that it can fit in.
Flying Stronghold Mobile (flying)
Cost to add benefit: 10,000 coins + ½ stronghold’s price.
Your stronghold and part of the earth that sustains it rises to the sky (around 100 to 200 feet). You can
order the castle to move towards a location but it takes twice as long as if going on foot.
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Larger on the Inside
Cost to add benefit: 25,000 coins
Your stronghold extends into other dimensions to fit an additional chamber without growing its exterior
size. The building’s non-Euclidean topology will start to attract the attention of arcane and extra-dimen-
sional creatures.
Moving Stronghold Mobile (walking)
Cost to add benefit: 5,000 coins + ½ stronghold’s price.
Your stronghold gains legs that allow it to stride through the land. Are they chicken legs or maybe giant
mechanical ones?
Teleportation Circle 3 charges
Cost to add benefit: 1,000 coins
This circle is inscribed with intrinsic sigils that allow you to teleport to a location you have been before.
Name a location you have been before.
• When you recite the password and step into the circle, spend 1 charge and you and everything you
carry is teleported to an area nearby the desired location (GM’s choice). After the circle has no more
charges, it can be recharged with an arcane ritual requiring 150 coins in ritual components per charge.
Teleportation Door
Cost to add benefit: 500 coins.
A door adorned with arcane runes that can teleport you anywhere within your stronghold.
• Name where in your stronghold you wish to go. When you recite the password and open a tele-
portation door, it will lead exactly to the location you thought of within your stronghold. Each tele-
portation door is a one way door.
Watchful Sentries +guarded
Cost to add benefit: 800
Magically crafted sentries float or fly about always observing your stronghold. What are they? Floating
eyes or maybe gargoyles?
• When an uninvited creature enters your stronghold, you and your allies are warned telepathically
about the intruder.
• Your watchful sentries can see invisible creatures.
• Your watchful sentries can send you mental images of the intruder.
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Example Stronghold
FIRST FLOOR
10 8
9
11 11
12 6 7
5
1. Courtyard
2. Privy
4 3 3. Barracks
4. Stables
1 2 5. Anteroom
6. Feasting Hall
7. Kitchen
Gate 8. Servants’ Quarters
9. Throne Room
10. Chapel
11. Vaults
SECOND FLOOR 12. Storage
13. Bedroom Suites
14. Library
13 13 13 14 15. Arcane Lab
15 16. Aviary
17.Watchtower
13 16
13
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