Residence rules from Cityscape: How big are the houses?

[Kafana]

Alright, so Cityscape p.34 lists the three basic types of housing. Since I have a character that will own a house (most likely average), I'd like to print out a map of her house in a grid like fashion. That being said, I have no idea what the size should be, how many rooms should it have, etc.

Is there a homebrew that defines this and if so could you give me a link. Alternatively, discuss :D

[Slipperychicken]

You could compare it with Stronghold Builder's guide and the DMG rules for buying buildings (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/wilderness.htm#cityBuildings). I'd probably consider a poor residence equivalent to a "Cottage" (just a single 20x20x10 stronghold space, or less if it's in the city), an average residence equivalent to a "simple house" (providing 4 such spaces), and a fine residence equivalent to a "Grand House" (7 or so spaces, probably two floors).

As for the design, you could probably look up blueprints for similar historical buildings. Obviously, your PC would get to decide how her furniture is arranged: It is her place, after all.

[Gildedragon]

What is the city feel, how classy is your char? A single space seems right for most city folk. It is the space over a shop, a studio apartment.

[Kafana]

I'd like to bump this to get more opinions and ideas. Has anyone managed to incorporate this into his or her campaign? I realize D&D isn't The Sims, but I think that my players would enjoy to have a modest house which can have the lion head of a chimera they killed a while back mounted on the wall, or perhaps the enchanted water clock they found in the lair of a dread necromancer, and so on. They could welcome guests in their homes, organize raids from there and so on. There is definitely a significant amount of roleplay potential that a well defined home can bring, so I'd like to get as many ideas and opinions as possible.

[Phelix-Mu]

Having property, especially a stronghold that the heroes control, is usually an iconic phase in many campaigns, even if it only happens at the very end.

For these purposes, I can't suggest enough the Stronghold Builder's Guidebook, if you haven't looked at it. 3.0, I know, but everything aside from the pricing guidelines should be perfectly accurate (and even the prices could probably be used as they are). It's really an excellent resource, and probably worth the resell price if you can get a used copy online.

That being said, usually I award property for free at some point in the campaign, as a reward for some manner of completing quest or doing favors for someone. Usually it's either a small property somewhere important, or a large, empty place somewhere significant for future events (or out of the way if I don't want to involve it in future conflict).

One concern that I have seen voiced is that characters/players may avoid setting down roots or developing attachments to people/places because they worry that such are liabilities that may be targeted by the in-game enemies or otherwise turned against their owners. In order to ameliorate those concerns, I'd make a point of asking the players how they feel about the matter out-of-game; if they look at it as a perk, go for it. But if they just see it as an albatross, probably best have it be a footnote or something and move on.

[Kafana]

For these purposes, I can't suggest enough the Stronghold Builder's Guidebook, if you haven't looked at it. 3.0, I know, but everything aside from the pricing guidelines should be perfectly accurate (and even the prices could probably be used as they are).


How should I modify the prices without it being too complicated to fit 3.5?

[Phelix-Mu]

How should I modify the prices without it being too complicated to fit 3.5?

It's mostly the specific, named items that may have had their prices changed, as some of the formulas changed from 3.0 to 3.5. But I'd only really worry about it for items that made the 3.5 DMG.

Otherwise, another common complaint is that the discount for being able to use your own spells to craft a castle aren't big enough, since you can make almost an entire stronghold with just spells over the course of a matter of weeks, if you aren't really looking for something too complicated/fancy.

Usually, though, by the level that the big bucks can be spent on the big houses/forts, a few thousand here or there in price differences aren't a big deal. If necessary, maybe make loans or favors from the party or npcs available, and just fudge the prices a bit to allow the appropriate level of coolness to make the place appealing and useful. If the players/characters aren't going to enjoy/use it, then what's the point?