How much should it cost to build things?

[Lupine]

My players are consistently wanting to build things in the city that they are in. For the most part this hasn't been an issue, because the population is freezing to death, so there's lots of open buildings :smallfrown:

However, should they start wanting to build stuff that doesn't really have a way that it could be modified to meet their needs, how should I approach this, if at all.

Currently, my idea is if that comes up, the "building a stronghold" section of the DMG would be how I would give the cost, but the section is both very expensive, and limited in option (eg, it doesn't have an entry for a shop, or a house, or a cottage.

They are almost tenth level, if that helps

[Griswold]

Currently, my idea is if that comes up, the "building a stronghold" section of the DMG would be how I would give the cost, but the section is both very expensive, and limited in option (eg, it doesn't have an entry for a shop, or a house, or a cottage.

You can try the "recurring expenses" section in the "Between Adventures" chapter of the DMG. It lists daily costs for inns and farms and shops.

It looks like for each of them (for the ones which are also strongholds), that the price to build is roughly 1000x or 2000x the daily cost. That'll make it easy enough to afford farms, for example.

But ultimately, the cost is going to be relative to the campaign. Why do you think the costs for strongholds are "very expensive"? What, exactly, are your players spending money on, apart from these buildings? Once they have a few thousand gold, they should have all the potions and equipment they need. And then their money needs are arbitrary.