Sneak peek: Work in progress rules for managing an adventuring guild’s headquarters

Disclaimer: Most of these rules are not completely original and inspired by other works. Other rulesets used are: Old School Essentials, Carcass Crawler issues, Demesnes and Dominations, On Downtime and Demesnes, Forbidden Lands and the 3e Stronghold Builder Guidebook. Also, these rules aren't finished!

Rules for managing an adventuring guild’s headquarters

1.      Reputation

2.      Hiring retainers

3.      Hiring laborers, artisans and specialists

4.      Construction

5.      Rooms (WIP!)

Comfort (WIP!)

Income and expenses (WIP!)

Passive Income (WIP!)

Debt (WIP!)

1 Reputation

The party’s reputation greatly influences the success of their business practices inside the town or region. The factor in reputation during play, the referee can use the modifiers in the reputation table and apply them to any relevant situation, like recruiting, bartering or passive income rolls. Reputation usually starts at ‘unknown’ and is influenced by the party’s actions and the town’s knowledge of this. Reputation changes happen at the start of a session of play, decided upon by the referee.

Reputation table

Reputation level	Modifier
Renowned	+3
Respected	+2
Liked	+1
Neutral	0
Unknown	-1
Disliked	-2
Avoided	-3
Hated	Instant failure + players’ plans actively thwarted by locals

To decide upon the current reputation level the referee should keep track of the following factors:

Factors that influence reputation negatively

-          Bad and/or refused proposals by NPC’s

-          Low pay for hired help

-          High mortality rate of retainers

-          NPC knowledge of bad behavior and/or crimes committed by the players.

Factors that influence reputation positively

-          High pay for hired help

-          Knowledge of successful expeditions, especially when hired help participated

-          Low mortality rate of retainers

-          Investments in public relations, e.g., hiring minstrels and town criers or giving out pamphlets

Reputation events

Every week there is a 2-in-6 chance of reputation event. The event should be rolled by the referee on the reputation table. 

Reputation event table

Roll 2d6 + reputation modifier	Event
12	Donation! And anonymous admirer gifts 2d10x100 gold!
11	Experienced adventurer wants to join up! Demands only a ¼ share. Roll 1d3+1 for level.
10	Invited for publicity event! Free drinks at the local tavern and reputation is positively impacted.
9	Volunteers! 1d4 level 0 retainers want to join the guild. Negotiate with them with an additional +2 on the reaction roll.
6-8	Visitor! Roll for peasant or noble as per On Downtime and Demesnes. (if not owned, roll for a rumor)
5	Personal attack! Reputation is negatively impacted by, e.g., indecent graffiti, a hit piece in a pamphlet or slander by a competitor.
4	Unexpected taxation! A local tax collector has it in for your guild. Pay 1d6x100 gold or get rid of him. Apply reputation modifier to a minimum of 1 and a maximum of 10.
3	Robbery! 1d8 robbers try to loot your headquarters while the players are away. If the robbers are not killed, roll on the robbery table!
2	Uproar! Besieged by 3d10 locals. They don’t want you here!

 

Robbery table

Roll 1d6 + security modifier	Event
6	Bolted shut! Robbers couldn’t find their way in
5	Guards called! Robbers took too much time trying to enter and only steal 1d4x100 gold and don’t touch your items.
3-4	Quick sweep! Robbers enter and steal 1d10x100 gold and 1d6 items.
2	Vandals! Robbers enter and smash your stuff! 3d6 items destroyed and 1d4 rooms destroyed.
1	Full sweep! Robbers enter and take everything.

2 Hiring retainers

Retainers can usually be found in taverns, but the party can invest in other means to attract them.

Locating potential retainers

Frequenting drinking establishments: Spend a full day and 50 gold for a  3-in-6 chance of attracting applicants. Apply reputation modifier to maximum of 5-in-6 and a minimum of 1-in-6.

Posting notices of help wanted: A character can spend a day posting notices in public places. Costs 10 gold for the printing. There is a 2-in-6 chance of attracting applicants, who arrive in 1d4 days. Apply reputation modifier with no maximum or minimum.

Hire an agent: Spend 300 gold to hire a recruiting agent. Applicants arrive in 1d4 days. Only fails when reputation level is hated.

Applicants

Applicants table

Settlement	Townsfolk	Adventurers
Village	1d4	1
Small Town	1d6	1d3
Large Town	2d4	1d4
City	2d6	1d6

 

Offering wages

Once an applicant has been located, the hiring PC must offer them a certain wage.

Townsfolk: Will want a daily rate of pay
Adventurers: Will want a daily rate of pay plus a share of the treasure recovered

Wages table

Generosity	Daily rate	Loot share
Lavish (+2)	10gp	Full share
Decent (+1)	5 gp	2/3 share
Standard	1 gp	½ share
Poor (-1)	5sp	1/3 share
Mean (-2)	2sp	¼ share

Applicant reaction

The applicant’s reaction is decided by roll on the reaction table, modified by the party’s reputation and generosity of the offer.

Applicant reaction table

Roll 2d6	Result
12 or more	Offer accepted, +1 loyalty
9-11	Offer accepted
6-8	Roll again
3-5	Offer refused
2 or less	Ill will, reputation damaged

 

Guards

If your building possesses a guardroom, any or all retainers can be stationed as a guard. Guards will try to fend off robbers even before they try to enter your buildings.

3 Hiring laborers, artisans and specialists

Apart from retainers, an adventurers guild can hire a variety of laborers, artisans and specialists, some of which are required to staff rooms inside the headquarters. In most cases a minimum employment time of 1 week is expected, except for construction workers.

List of laborers

Type	Weekly wage	Description
Wench	2g	Required for staffing a taproom
Construction worker	3g (daily wage is 5s)	Required for building rooms
Clerk	3g	Required for staffing a kitchen

                                                                                      

List of artisans

Type	Weekly wage	Description
Cook	5g	Prepares meals and rations
Bowyer	20g	Crafts bows, crossbows and ammunition
Carpenter	10g	Crafts furniture and wooden structures
Tailor	10g	Crafts cloth and leather clothing and armor
Blacksmith	10g	Crafts metal tools, can also assist armorer or weaponsmith
Weaponsmith	20g	Crafts metal weapons, can work with special materials
Armorer	30g	Crafts heavy armor, can work with special materials
Printer	30g	Crafts books and other printed material

 

List of specialists

Type	Weekly wage	Description
Minstrel	30g	Sings about the guild, positive effect on reputation
Animal trainer	50g	Required to train exotic animals
Spy	50g	Gathers information about a person or group
Jurist	75g	Necessary to bring a legal trial to action or to mount a defence
Physician	75g	Treats physical afflictions like wounds or diseases
Priest	75g	Treats mental and magical afflictions like mania or curses
Humanist	75g	Collects books and gathers knowledge, can identify magic items.
Alchemist	250g	Recreates or researches potions, poisons and alchemical items
Sage	300g	May be consulted to answer unusual questions

 

4 Construction

Constructing buildings and rooms: A guild can construct buildings and rooms by hiring construction workers. One paid construction worker can build one space or one size of a building or room per week, e.g., one construction worker can build a small building (with 10 space) in 10 weeks, or a kitchen (size 2) in two, while ten construction workers can build a small building in a week, and a kitchen in about two days.

Buildings: There are three building sizes a guild can own in a town: small, medium and large. Buildings can be bought or constructed. Small and medium buildings can also be enlarged by one level for 1000g.

Type	Cost	Space
Small building	2000g	10
Medium building	3000g	15
Large building	4000g	20

 

Security

A guild can invest to secure a building’s locks, doors and windows. This increases the security modifier of a building, which in turn protects it from robberies.

Type	Cost	Cumulative security modifier
Advanced locks	1500g	+2
Reinforced doors	1000g	+1
Reinforced shutters	1000g	+1

 

 

Rooms: Buildings can be filled with a variety of rooms. The sum of all room sizes can never exceed the space of a specific building.

Room type	Size	Construction cost	Production cost	Staff
Alchemical laboratory	3	3000g	Variable	Alchemist or MU
Baths	2	500g	5g/week	Wench
Bedrooms	Variable	200g/size	None	None
Chapel	4	1500g	None	Priest or cleric
Common Area	2	500g	None	None
Dining room	3	1000g	None	Wench
Guardpost	2	400g	None	Guard
Hospital	3	750g	5g/week	Physician, wench
Kitchen	2	750g	10g/week	Cook, wench
Library	3	750g	10g/week	Humanist
Magic Laboratory	3	3000g	Variable	MU
Menagerie	4	1500g	5g/week	Animal trainer
Printing press	3	2000g	10g/week	Printer
Prison cell	Variable	200g/size	None	Guard
Shop	2	400g	None	Clerk or PC
Smithy	3	1500g	30g/week	Blacksmith, weaponsmith, armorer
Storage	Variable	200g/size	None	None
Study	1	300g	None	Jurist, sage, spy
Taproom	3	1000g	10g/week	Wench
Workshop	2	1000g	20g/week	Carpenter, tailor, bowyer

 

5 Rooms

Alchemical laboratory

The alchemical laboratory allows the (re)creation and research of potions, poisons and alchemical items. The laboratory must be staffed by at least one paid alchemist (250g/week) to produce anything.

Components: All potions, poisons and alchemical items are made using two types of components. These components are:

• Standard Components (SCs): Sulfur, distilled water, brimstone, black powder, common metal shavings, ground up common plant and animal matter. An alchemist can use an alchemical laboratory to convert common found materials into Standard Components. Per provided material an alchemist can make 1d6 Standard Components in a week.

• Magical Components (MCs): Silver shavings, gem powder, fairy powder, earth metals, ground up rare/magical plant and animal matter. An alchemist can use an alchemical laboratory to convert uncommon or magical materials into Magical Components. Examples of items that can be changed into magical components are rare earth metals, precious stones, dragon teeth, ectoplasm, vampire blood, relics, unicorn horn, etc. Per provided material an alchemist can make 1d4 Magical Components in a week.

Potions: Potions need 2 MCs per spell level to create.

Recreating potions: An alchemist can recreate potions at half the normal cost and twice the normal speed.

Researching potions: An alchemist may research new potions recipes. Researching a new potion recipe costs twice the normal cost and time.

Poisons: A variety of poisons can be made using Standard and Magical Components. A paid alchemist can invent 2 recipes per week (roll 1d10 on a table of choice). See Old School Essentials Advanced Rules for usage.

Creation time: 1 alchemist spends 1 day per component used to create a poison.

List of bloodstream poisons

Type	Damage or effect (If Save Fails/Succeeds)	SC	MC	Save Mod.	Chance of Detection	Onset time	Production cost
1 Chrome orange	15hp/0hp	1	0	+6	80%	1d4+1 rds	10g
2 Caustic sludge	10hp/0hp	1	0	+4	70%	2d4 rds	20g
3 Poxvial	Befuddled/no effect	0	1	+4	60%	1 rd	50g
4 Scarlet sting	25hp/0hp	2	0	+5	65%	1d3 rds	75g
5 Banegal	20hp/5hp	2	0	+2	20%	2d4 rds	175g
6 Pale unguent	20hp+weakness/5hp (weakness= -2 Atk.& Dmg. /2d4 rds)	3	0	+3	30%	1 rd	500g
7 Blackblade	35hp/0hp	3	1	+4	40%	1rd	600g
8 Distillation of ichor	Death/ No effect	2	4	+3	15%	Instant	1500g
9 Blood of Infernus	Death/ No effect	0	6	+2	10%	1 rd	1750g
10 Cyan solvent	Death/ 15hp	10	0	-	5%	Instant	2500g

 

List of ingested poisons

Type	Damage or effect (If Save Fails/Succeeds)	SC	MC	Save Mod.	Chance of Detection	Onset time	Production cost
1 White hellebore	20hp / 10hp	1	0	+6	80%	2d4 rds	5g
2 Extract of cinnabar	30hp / 15hp	1	0	+5	65%	1d4+1 rds	30g
3 Bogwretch	20hp+disease / 5hp (disease=green flaky skin, 1hp/day)	2	0	+4	50%	1d4 rds	50g
4 Yellow lotus powder	Sleep / no effect	1	1	+3	50%	2d4 rds	100g
5 Black hellebore	40hp / 20hp	2	1	+4	40%	1d2 rds	200g
6 Purple lotus powder	Charm / no effect	2	1	+3	20%	2d4 rds	400g
7 Black lotus powder	Death / 25hp	3	1	+3	15%	Instant	500g
8 Gorgon’s tears	Petrification / 10hp	0	5	+2	10%	1d4 turns	800g
9 Antithesis of weal	Death / 30hp	0	8	+2	0%	1d4 turns	1000g
10 Ether of dissolution	Death / 30hp	0	10	+1	10%	1d4 rds	2500g

 

Bloodstream poisons

Banegel: A pale pink, odourless gel that becomes almost completely transparent when applied to a blade. Occasionally used as an anaesthetic, due to the numbing effect it has when applied to flesh. 2) ed

Blackblade (type III): A fizzing black grease that seeps into the metal of a blade when rubbed in.

Blood of Infernus: A ruby liquid sold in tiny vials of black glass, but three drops constitute a dose. It is said that this poison puts its victim's fate into the hands of the arch-devil Infernus, and that those who survive have the fiend's favour.

Caustic sludge: A rough grey paste of corrosive metals, a common byproduct of alchemical processes.

Chrome orange (type I): A bright orange lacquer with an acrid metallic odour.

Cyan solvent: A thin, bright blue liquid, with a very faint caustic odour. Can also dissolve gold and silver-up to 100 coins (or equivalent weight) per dose.

Distillation of ichor (type IV): A viscous, midnight black liquid that reeks of sulphur. Produced from demon ichor by a closely guarded alchemical procedure.

Pale unguent: A sweet-smelling white balm. In addition to taking damage, a victim of the pale unguent is stricken with weakness, suffering a -2 penalty to attack and damage rolls for 2d4 rounds.

Poxvial: A noxious green froth with a vile carrion odour. Disappears when rubbed into a blade, but the odour lingers. Distilled from the fermented flesh of ghasts. A victim of poxvial is befuddled, suffering a-2 penalty to attack rolls and saves for 2d4 rounds.

Scarlet sting (type II): A sticky scarlet liquid with a delectable honey aroma. Derived from giant bee venom.

Ingested Poisons

Antithesis of weal (type V): A greasy, invisible powder said to be extracted from another dimension. The powder is utterly devoid of flavour and odour.

Black hellebore (type III): Powdered leaves of the rare black hellebore plant. Its earthy odour is mild, but its deep black/purple hue is often distinct.

Black lotus powder (type IV): A fine powder, utterly black in hue and faintly redolent of musk.

Bogwretch: Sticky green slime distilled from plague corpses. Dissolves in liquids, but leaves a bitter note. A victim of bogwretch is infected with a disease that causes their skin to flake and turn green. This causes 1hp damage per day, until cured. The disease is non-magical.

Ether of dissolution: A cloudy grey liquid with a mild almond odour. A victim's very soul is imperilled, magical resurrection has a 25% chance of failure.

Extract of cinnabar (type II): A fine, deep red mineral powder with an acrid, bitter flavour.

Gorgon's tears: A milky white, ambrosial sweet liquid. A victim of gorgon's tears is turned to porous white stone.

Purple lotus powder: A deep purple powder that fizzes gently in liquids. A victim is charmed for 24 hours (per charm person) by the one who administered the poison.

White hellebore (type I): A pale powder derived from the roasted seeds of the white hellebore plant. The powder has a strong smoky odour that is hard to mask.

Yellow lotus powder: A pungent tan powder with golden specks. A victim of the powder falls into a deep slumber for 4d4 turns. Victims can be forcefully awakened (e.g. by slapping).

Alchemical items: To create an alchemical item, the alchemist must know the recipe, possess the right amount of components and the funds to cover the production costs. A paid alchemist can researching in a laboratory can invent 2 recipes per week (roll 3d10 on alchemical item table).

Creation time: 1 alchemist spends 1 day per component used to create an alchemical item.

Item name	Description	SC	MC	Save vs.	Production cost
3 Acid	Corrodes organic matter, 1d6, splash 2 rounds	2	0	B	20g
4 Adhesive	Makes a 1ft area extremely sticky. requires solvent to unstuck	1	0	P	10g
5 Alchemical Fire	Fire that cannot be put out with liquids. 3d6, splash weapon.	2	2	B	1000g
6 Bottled Lightning	Creates an item that casts Lightning Bolt once opened	2	3	W	1000g
7 Expanding Foam	Fills a 10x10x10 area, and is as dense as a hay bale	3	0	N/A	20g
8 Explosive, Impact	Explodes on impact or with pressure, 1d6 10x10x10 area.	2	0	B	30g
9 Explosive, Fused	Is ignited and can be rolled or thrown, 1d6 10x10x10 area.	2	0	B	30g
10 Explosive, Ice	Explodes on impact, causes freezing in a 10x10x10 area (-10ft to movement and -2 on attack rolls) and does 2d6 damage over 3 rounds	2	4	B	1000g
11 Explosive, putty	Destroys a locked or stuck door, -2 to surprise rolls for enemies behind door	2	0	N/A	30g
12 Explosive, Web	Entangles targets like Web in 15x15 area	2	2	S	250g
13 Fireworks, Chinese firecracker roll	Attracts enemies for 1 turn	2	0	N/A	20g
14 Fireworks, Rocket	Hits on THAC0 19 Deals 1d8 damage on impact.	2	0	N/A	30g
15 Flashpowder	Blinds target, 1d4 rounds	2	0	W	50g
16 Grease	cover a 10ft area with highly slippery material, not flammable	2	0	B	20g
17 Itching Powder	target cannot stop itching self (-2 to saves), lasts 1 turn	2	0	W	50g
18 Liquid Fire	Cover an item with a flammable material that doesn’t harm the object. Can cover one medium weapon, two small weapons, or 10 arrows. Adds 1d4 to weapon’s damage. Requires a spark to ignite coated object. Ignition lasts 3 rounds.	2	1	B	750g
19 Liquid Ice	Covers an item with an icy material that doesn’t harm the object. Can cover one large weapon, two small weapons, or 10 arrows. Freezing (-10ft to movement + -2 on attack rolls) on a failed save. Lasts 1 turn	2	1	P	750g
20 Liquid Silver	Cover an item with silver, useful for fighting against specific creatures.	2	2	N/A	750g
21 Rusting solution	Causes metal objects to rust. Non-magical weapons fall apart after one round, magical weapons degrade in one turn. Armor degrades by 1 AC per round until it rusts off	3	1	B	750g
22 Sleeping powder	Replicates the Sleep spell on impact.	2	4	S	1500g
23 Smoke pellets	-1 to enemy surprise rolls in 10 ft area	1	0	N/A	10g
24 Smokerod	-2 to enemy surprise rolls in a 10 ft area. Can be carried like a torch	1	0	N/A	20g
25 Sneezing powder	Target cannot stop sneezing (-2 damage)	2	0	W	30g
26 Solvent	Rapidly dissolves any adhesive material on a 5ft area	1	0	N/A	10g
27 Spore Balloon	Creates a slow moving, floating balloon full of a specific type of mold. Explodes on impact and covers target	4	2	B	1500g
28 Sunstick	Functions like a torch, but is waterproof and doesn’t release smoke. Cannot be unlit once used and lasts two hours	3	0	N/A	30g
29 Tanglesack	Entangles a single target, similar to Web	2	1	P	50g
30 Thunder pellet	Deafens target, lasts one turn.	2	1	P	250g

Shop

A shop allows an adventurer’s guild to sell specific items, e.g., treasure they found during an expedition, equipment that has been replaced etc. A shop needs at least 1 clerk to start selling items.

Choosing specific items to sell: A guild can select 20 items or bundles of items (eg., three torches) to present at their storefront per shop. The 20 items can be written down on the shop table. If the value is not known, the referee will decide upon an appropriate value.

Selling items: Every week, a shop staffed by a clerk sells a random amount of items. To determine the amount of items sold, roll the dice specified by the shop table. Once an item has been sold, roll again with an appropriate dice to determine which specific items were sold (so, 1d4 for up to 4 items, 1d6 for up to 6 items, etc.) Reroll empty slots.

Determining the selling price: A clerk can’t always sell an item at it’s base value. To reflect this, roll 1d4 for every sold item. The result reflects the percentage of the value at which an item was sold, e.g., a result of 1 is 25%, a result of 2 is 50% etc. Having at least a “liked” reputation in town, a +1 modifiër can be added to the result.

Items sold per week	Item name	Value
	1
	2
	3
	4
1d4	5
	6
	7
	8
	9
1d6	10
	11
	12
	13
	14
1d8	15
	16
	17
	18
	19
1d10	20