![Daishain's 5e D&D Rules, Q&A, And Support Daishain's 5e D&D Rules, Q&A, And Support](/board/YaBBImages/icons/pencil.gif)
Okay, how about this for a summary of the general end point for the castle, that Dai can assume most of the requirements:
- hiring staff and general guards to make the castle a functioning transport/secure home for our party
- changing the structure as needed to secure our possession and make it habitable for all hirelings and us.
- Establishing some basic self-sufficiency with water capture, gardens/farmland areas to reduce costs
He can then just give us a minimum amount per month that needs to be paid to the upkeep, and we make sure that we allocate loot accordingly.
If there are specific needs people's characters have, mention them and see what Daishain says. Lawrance wants a wizard's lab, shared with Poppo of course!
. Edited: Gknightbc on 12th Jan, 2018 - 10:49pm
Everything proposed regarding the bookkeeping sounds good. Daishain can handle it and keep it in the background for the most part. Otherwise it could bog the story down quite substantially. I'm excited for our first mission using the sky castle.
I think we should take Daishain up on his offer to handwave most of the details.I actually really enjoy figuring out some of the managerial details, but I know that is not everyone's cup of tea and I too would enjoy seeing more of the main plot.
That being said here are some of my overly detailed and obsessive opinions on castle management. (I am sorry it got so long. I spent half the day in a doctor's waiting room.)
Our first priority should be securing the defenses. If someone can kick us out nothing else really maters.
Next we should work towards making the castle financially self sufficient. I think arbitrage is the way to go here. Selling iron in a market where it could fetch the best price is a good place to start. We may want to hire someone like a merchant who can keep the books and who would know what the going rates of various goods are in different cities. That way when our main quest takes us to a new locale we can turn to him and ask what we should take with us to maximize profit.
Water management may be an issue to be addressed, and I am curious as to how the previous tenants dealt with it. One option is to fill barrels of water or a cistern out of a fresh water source, such as a river or stream. That has the advantage of being cheap or free in any unattended lake. The downside is it may take some time to fill up. The next solution would be to fly under rainstorms chasing them until we have enough water. This would also be free but we may spend more time than we want storm chasing. Another option is to fly through clouds and condense water onto nets with a cistern to collect at the base. This could be done on the move but would probably not yield much water and would be overly complex. The most convenient solution is to find a decanter of endless water and fill a tank from it.
Some issues that I have thought about farming. Someone brought up the changes in temperature that comes with elevation changes. I am not as worried about altitude but more worried about our latitude. The temperature change according to wikipedia is only as much as 3.5 degrees F per 1000 feet. I just don't want us to lose our crops if we need to adventure to some frozen wastelands. If it feels comfortable for our characters there may be magic already in place to deal with it. If there is not we might be able to install the proper magic ourselves. Non magical solutions may be to build a greenhouse or on a smaller scale a hot box. Additionally if the castle can travel 1000 miles in a day that means it can sustain a speed of 40 miles per hour. Which is great for us but flying pollinators will have a hard time not getting blown away. That can be dealt with by carefully selecting crops that don't require pollination or can be done by hand.
For water concerns. There is a large cistern buried deep in the rock. Multiple rainwater drains top it off. You also find an intake low in the rock with a hatch. Its use isn't immediately apparent, but eventually someone figures out that it would fill the cistern rapidly if the castle is landed in a sufficiently deep freshwater source. Small wards on the intakes filter out most contaminants and wildlife
In regards to adding a farm, notably extending the area and mass of the castle would be significantly problematic. However, a greenhouse constructed in the courtyard behind the main keep should do well.
This castle is protected by magic to a limit, so I don't doubt the temperature would be tolerable at the heights we want to fly it. It was up as high as a mile and bit, if I recall rightly, and we weren't noticeably cold. Besides, lets not get into serious details about running it, unless you want to side story that part. Water is not an issue, now. Food will be available in some fashion, even if it's by paying costs. A greenhouse would merely be a supplement, presuming we even know that technique for farming.
Sorry I went overly detailed. I think we should hand wave it. Luxuries like a greenhouse can be added much later down the road.
I like the idea of a greenhouse, in the castle. But, can any of us be given time to learn the farming technique? Plants will also loose water at a faster rate, in low atmospheric pressures. But filling the cistern with water would help. We could grow fruits, vegetables, even specialist herbs for Alchemy use.
I agree with King, we do have to get those ballista's and similar devices up and running sooner rather than later.
What items would be inside a Warlocks lab if any?
Lawrence, I agree with what's proposed in regards to the bookkeeping. I do believe that the actual diamonds, should be kept, and used for emergencies like death, and the subsequent resurrection fees.