Review of Homeward Bound

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The idea of my players having a castle has always been present in my mind, and I've been DMing for 15+ years. Once (back in 3ed I think) I even bought a splatbook for stronghold creations, but it was just too much work - I didn't want to build every single room, plan out every single floor and wall. Bleh. Too much work - RPGs are only one of my hobbies and I also have to work and have a family. Resources on the Internet are also too complicated and time-consuming (and not easy to find!).

Then there is this short book - yes, it's concise (only 24 pages long) but that's great - the author gets his point directly across, without unnecessary (for this type of book) embellishments. The Manor is a base for the PCs to fall back to between their regular adventures, to rest, train, earn or spend money. Its -their- place in the world.

First of all there are the ideas how to insert this Sleeping Manor (love the magic windows!) into your campaign. Make sense. Then there are descriptions - very nice ones, and each room is presented in two versions (lavish and utilitarian), so the players can choose what they like. THERE ARE NO FLOOR PLANS. And GOOD! I'm from the faction that believes that the moment you show a map to the players, their imagination turns off. There is also a simple and fun system for earning money between adventures.

Next - a number of upgrades for the house. This is the part your players will really love. They are not unreasonably expensive, but provide interesting narrative and mechanical benefits. For example, having a peaceful garden allows the heroes to start their next adventure with extra HP, having a wizard's tower allows the wizard to prepare one more spell, an alchemy lab (with a resident gnome) produces low-level potions and much, much more. So the players now want to come back home - because resting there grants all these small, but useful bonuses!

I also love "Blessing and Dangers," which are 40 random events (actually a few less, since there are 4 "nothing happens" events) that occur while the heroes are away from the Manor. Half of them are beneficial and the other half are not and both effects take place. For example: after clearing out another dungeon our heroes return to the Manor, the players roll two d20 (I use white for good events, black for bad) and discover that when they were away a fire destroyed some of the crops, but luckily a group of wandering mercenaries decided to stay and help.

The other part of the book describes neighbors and lands around the Manor. Plenty of great roleplaying opportunities and I estimate that visiting each location can be enhanced and become a separate game session. The NPCs are interesting and well described and each location is unique and adds to the whole area's mystery. Not unlike "Dark Souls" video games, the clues are here and there, never fully explained, but creating an epic story if you use all of them and the Baron Campaign idea.

Ah, the Baron - an adversary, whose lands border the PCs' lands. Although the book offers only a spine of what could be a really great campaign, it is solid and inspiring. I really, really dig the idea of my players leading a fight against their neighbor, supporting the rebels on his lands, learning the secret of his power, protecting their home, lands and people! FUN!

The book looks nice, although nothing really stands out - the images look like standard stock photos (they probably are) or they're from the Monster Manual. There is a hand-drawn map at the end, but I've seen better. Then again it's not really necessary, but helps to visualize the area. Layout is clear, it reads well, but there is no new art. However, there are several real-life manors presented in the photos, which again may help to visualize the house.

Most importantly - it all works really well. I am currently running "The Rise of Tiamat" campaign and my PCs got the Manor as a reward for their heroic actions in "The Hoard..." They really had fun arguing over lavish and utilitarian look of the Manor. They arrived to the house only to discover it'd been overrun with bandits and also met the Baron's badass son. They met various NPCs in the nearby village, immediately liking some and hating other. They invested some money into upgrades of their choice. They started visiting their neighbors. Went to visit the Baron. Went away to do another Tiamat-storyline quest, but where so eager to return home that I don't know if they'll ever want to continue with the Dragon Goddess.

"Homeward Bound" has been published under Dungeon Master's Guild license and is available only in PDF format. It is an interesting, modern approach to RPGs, mixing new game mechanics with a lot of narrative ideas and it is up to the GM to decide which elements should be used. It fits into any fantasy setting and for the $6 it costs it provides hours of great gaming moments. It's available here: http://www.dmsguild.com/product/201016/Homeward-Bound—simple-rules-for-playerowned-base