Class Themes for Strongholds

[Catullus64]

I'm beginning a new campaign, with part of the premise being that player characters will eventually be able to start their own class-themed factions and strongholds. I told the players that before we do character creation as a group, I'd give them an idea of what those class themes and structures would look like.

So I've been brainstorming, and have a decent idea about how each class's themes leads into this kind of gameplay.

Many classes already have implicit social structures associated with their subclasses that I plan to lean on:

Clerics can establish new centers of worship for their deities, either as part of or in schism with the existing religious structure.
Paladins likewise establish knightly orders of religious or secular bent, with keeps to serve as a base.
Druids build new circles as outgrowths of their existing ones.
Bards become teachers of their College's traditions, in either itinerant troupes or fixed residences.
Warlocks establish a new cult of their patron, able to build interconnected cells and sanctuaries in multiple locations.
Rangers build a lodge for other rangers and wild creatures, and set up a territory which they patrol and protect.
Monks build new monasteries or branches of existing monastic orders, of course.


For other classes, it's easy to look to the traditions from D&D editions of ages past to get an idea of how they would work:

Fighters become military leaders with some degree of legitimacy, as either captains of their own chartered mercenary companies, or barons with their own fiefs. They might also become masters-of-arms with their own schools.
Barbarians are similar to Fighters, except rather than feudal lords or professional mercenaries, they become tribal chiefs and war-leaders, or form an elite foreign bodyguard to a king or emperor.
Rogues can establish groups for all sorts of clandestine activities based on their inclination: Thieves' guilds, outlaw bands, spy rings, or resistance cells.
Wizards construct Mage Towers to further their own magical researches, and attract apprentices.
Artificers would build laboratories in a very similar vein to Wizards, perhaps with more of a public-facing character.


Sorcerers are the class that really has me stumped. Try as I might, I can't come up with a compelling, distinct outgrowth of the class into a position of social leadership, since the class is so individualistic in its themes. I'd very much welcome ideas!

[J-H]

MCDM has a Strongholds and Followers book that's pretty decent if you want a mechanical system for it.

[solidork]

Have you considered that maybe this could flow from a character's background instead of their class? A Criminal Fighter probably starts a criminal organization, and a Sage Sorcerer could start a school.

[Catullus64]

MCDM has a Strongholds and Followers book that's pretty decent if you want a mechanical system for it.

I am aware, and I do like Colville's design sensibilities, but I wasn't intending to spend money for this concept. Besides, I feel I have mechanics pretty well in hand, it's theme and story I'm mostly working on presenting.

[Dienekes]

Spitballing here, but what if the Sorcerer’s home starts absorbing the magic shedding from the Sorcerer, creating their own Lair or tear in the Weave. Which both draws in and creates magically transformed peoples. A Wizard may have their scholarly students, but Ms. Higgins, the little old lady who cleans the Aberrant Mind Sorcerer’s house every Thursday grew a new set of eyes and now can tell when any of the neighborhood kids are lying.

[Sigreid]

Don't forget a wizard basically founding Hogwartz/

Wizards can also go the evil emperor route. But any of them can.

[StonerEvanB]

Sorcerors would be self-help gurus; the magical equivalent of motivational speakers.

"You have the power inside you, and YOU have the power inside you. EVERYbody has a spark of magic born inside them, and if you believe in yourself, you WILL unlock it, and you WILL start a new path full of power and confidence, and you CAN Wish your life to be what you want!
...And for everybody who wants to do a deeper dive, I have another seminar available, just for the people in this room, for just 20 GP. That's right, right in that hat, that's perfect..."

[Kane0]

I'm beginning a new campaign, with part of the premise being that player characters will eventually be able to start their own class-themed factions and strongholds. I told the players that before we do character creation as a group, I'd give them an idea of what those class themes and structures would look like.

So I've been brainstorming, and have a decent idea about how each class's themes leads into this kind of gameplay.

Sorcerers are the class that really has me stumped. Try as I might, I can't come up with a compelling, distinct outgrowth of the class into a position of social leadership, since the class is so individualistic in its themes. I'd very much welcome ideas!

Also remember that a character is more than their class, you might be able to draw in the race, background, subclass or in-game events to creature suitable stronghold options.

[Nidgit]

Depending on your player's inclinations, a school for sorcerously-troubled teens or a laboratory focused on recreating the circumstances that led to their own powers are possibilities. It might be the sort of thing that depends more heavily on the subclass than other classes.

You also don't have to answer this question right now. You can let your players frame what kind of legacy or faction they'd like to found since you already have plenty of examples. You might not even have someone pick Sorcerer!

[Abracadangit]

Spitballing here, but what if the Sorcerer’s home starts absorbing the magic shedding from the Sorcerer, creating their own Lair or tear in the Weave. Which both draws in and creates magically transformed peoples. A Wizard may have their scholarly students, but Ms. Higgins, the little old lady who cleans the Aberrant Mind Sorcerer’s house every Thursday grew a new set of eyes and now can tell when any of the neighborhood kids are lying.

I like this! Call it a "Flux," or something similar. And to give it more of a "stronghold" feel, you could have it be a haven for similarly empowered creatures/individuals. Maybe that means sorcerers, maybe that means wizards/warlocks/bards with a more chaotic bent. Planar refugees, summoned magical beasts on the lam, etc.

Or, as a counterpoint to the Wizard's "Tower," the Sorcerer's could be more of an "Atelier." If the Wizard's Tower is a musical conservatory, the Atelier would be a communal createspace for arcanists of all stripes to come together and try weird magics, invent spells by atom-smashing traditions together, and other sorts of activities. Less rigid & controlled experimentation, more anarchic & improvisational expression.

[KorvinStarmast]

Your Sorcerer's stronghold might be best framed as place of elemental power.
Perhaps magical nodes where they experiment with the raw stuff of magic.

[Sorinth]

I'm not sure how much a strict enforcement of the class based strongholds would actually be a good idea. For example, if I made a straight Arcane Trickster with the Urchin background who was denied access to the magic academy because of his background and stole whatever magics he could in order to be a self-taught "mage" he could create a thieves guild focused on stealing magic/knowledge but he's just as likely to want to create a magic school that doesn't discriminate in their admissions process. And what happens if said characters dips a couple levels of wizard?

I think you'd be better off creating the opportunity to found/take over the leadership of these strongholds and let whichever PC wants that particular "stronghold" take it. So when the party saves a barbarian tribe heavily influenced by the Totem subclass from being wiped out by a rampaging monster and their leader was killed don't only offer it to the Barbarian, let the Beastmaster Ranger or Druid lead the tribe if they want to.


For your question about sorcerers. I would expect like a wizard to have a stronghold and a bunch of apprentices. It could be as simple as taking in young sorcerers who can't yet control their powers, even if they can't teach spells like a wizard you can still have a Professor-X school of mutants type stronghold where they learn to control/use their powers in a safe environment.

[Sparky McDibben]

Since sorcerer's magic is largely charisma-based, which represents force of personality, what if the place starts to be influenced by the person? So an elementally aligned sorcerer's lair starts to look almost like a dragon's cave. The Wild Magic sorcerer might experience strange coincidences on a daily basis, etc.

[ZenBear]

Spitballing here, but what if the Sorcerer’s home starts absorbing the magic shedding from the Sorcerer, creating their own Lair or tear in the Weave. Which both draws in and creates magically transformed peoples. A Wizard may have their scholarly students, but Ms. Higgins, the little old lady who cleans the Aberrant Mind Sorcerer’s house every Thursday grew a new set of eyes and now can tell when any of the neighborhood kids are lying.
This one is fun! Lots of variability here, but the through line is taking advantage of natural magic.

Depending on your player's inclinations, a school for sorcerously-troubled teens or a laboratory focused on recreating the circumstances that led to their own powers are possibilities.
This one is great too! X-Men house is perfectly in line with the Sorcerer motif. The latter though can go to some… shall we say *interesting* places if the sorcerer comes from a bloodline. 😂

The main takeaway should obviously be to discuss this with your players and plan it out ahead of time. Be open-minded and flexible as best you can.

An idea of my own that comes to mind is to lean into the CHA basis and make it a social stronghold; nobles, spies, dilettantes, and socialites of every stripe that come for the fabulous mystical parties and stay for all the political gossip and intrigue.