We introduced Matt Colville‘s Strongholds & Followers rules into our work D&D game at the end of last year (while they were still in playtest). Not long ago, the final book was published, so I figured it was about time Vlad built one (or two).
One mechanic that’s involved is that, for every level of stronghold a character builds and for every tier of play the character has been in, they receive a random artisan, retainer, ambassador, or powerful ally. Here are the stories of how Vlad met his first four allies.
Dockson
Vlad couldn’t quite place when he’d decided to build another forge. He just knew that, after three decades of wandering and fighting, his will to wander was waning. He increasingly found himself thinking of happier times – before Overlord Artim tore his home apart, before the schism and the exodus and the slavers. In those moments, Vlad would look down and realize that his hands were busy tinkering.
Well, why not? He’d been a silversmith – one of the most successful in Khorim – for over two centuries. Clearly, the Mother was speaking to him. Vlad – a cleric of clan and family, hearth and home – needed to finally make a home again. And why not here, at the edge of the wilderness in an uncharted continent? After all, it’s not like there were any other settlements to choose from in this New World.
And so, Vlad followed Mya’s promptings and built The Golden Arm (why not go ahead and hang a lantern on his deformity?) right in the center of the Pit’s ancient core. Luckily, he was able to partner with Dockson – a local scribe with a fantastical gift for managing massive and complex projects with ease.
The proposal was for the eidetic scribe to manage Vlad’s ventures while he was busy with spiritual work, metal craft, and the occasional quest. Vlad, in turn, would fund Dockson’s tannery, provide a generous salary, and allow the scribe to record and map the Guild’s exploits.
Dockson agreed to Vlad’s patronage, which was truly a blessing from the Mother. After all, Vlad had to divide his attention between two homes these days…
Kodi
The sail out to the eastern peninsula was nearly a day-long excursion. By this point, though, Vlad had gotten used to it. This new form had an efficient method of passing time that appealed to the dwarf’s contemplative calling, and Vlad found that he could see his destination growing in the distance after what felt like no time at all.
As Vlad traveled the gentle slope of the duned beach, he thought how strange it was that, not a year ago, this imposing structure served as the heart of an orc invasion. Now, though, it was largely unoccupied. Only a small corner of the once-fortress betrayed what would become its future.
His vision was of a beautiful temple to Mya, anchored to a high tower with an ever-burning fire at its top. It would be full of clean lines and simple comforts. The Mother’s sanctuary would serve as a beacon to those who would sail in from the Old World. The first strip of land a traveler saw would say to them, “Welcome, wanderer. Here is a home. Here is a place for you.” Then they would sail into the shelter between the open arms of the land. The vision brought a tear to Vlad’s remaining eye.
It was, of course, still just a dream. The masons could only work so quickly, and they were just now putting the finishing touches on what was, in reality, a modest stone chapel.
“You must be Vlad,” a voice said behind him. In Etelan, of all things. Vlad was glad he’d spent those months in practice with Prince Ovin.
He turned to the speaker. In front of him stood a wild woman – a tall, tan-skinned Etelan who looked as if she had been living in the wilderness for years. Which, to be fair, was probably true; the Etelan settlement was not much more established than a barbarian camp.
A familiar monotone voice sounded in his head. Female elf. Normal reach and minor melee capabilities. Capacity for aggressive evocation magic detected. Threat level: moderate. It had been nearly six months, and Vlad still hadn’t gotten used to that.
He shoved the voice aside and smiled up at her. “Is said that I am now very recognizable,” he said in rusty Etelan. “Yes, I am Vlad. What brings you to Mya the Mother this evening?”
She did not smile back nor answer Vlad’s question. “You are the one who rescued our Princess from the Broken Tooth and White Tusk?”
“Me and several of my comrades, yes,” Vlad answered. “Though I am ashamed it went as poorly as rescue mission can go.” His head bowed slightly.
The stranger did nothing to reassure Vlad. “And now you’re taking the orcs’ place in this land?”
He held up his hands in gentle protest. “I am building sanctuary of Mya. She will protect home and clan here.” His hands went down. “Where once was place of war, will now be place of safety.”
She nodded tersely. “And you are the one who restored the Princeling’s tongue?”
Vlad tilted his head slightly. “Again, this was thing I and companions-“
“And this,” she gestured from Vlad’s head to his knee, “is the price you paid for it?”
Vlad squinted at her, then looked at the left half of his body. Its bronze looked golden in the setting sun. “Is memory, maybe call ‘receipt,’ of price paid.”
She was silent for a moment. Vlad knew enough to let it linger.
Eventually, the Etelan nodded. “I am the Stormward Koditon. You can call me Kodi.” She extended a hand.
Vlad reached out and clasped it.
“I’m your new bodyguard.”
Freog the Gray
Vlad was the one to discover the giant in the basement.
He was happy to let professionals build the Mother’s sanctuary, but no hands but Vlad’s would construct his forge. He was building out ore crates when he felt the tremor. Vlad was never very nimble, and was unable to scurry to safety before the floor gave out underneath him.
It was a long fall, so long that Vlad felt his right leg snap when finally hit stone. Thanks to Mya’s gifts, such injuries never hindered him for long. But that didn’t make the pain any less exquisite.
After he was able to walk again, Vlad stood and rotated one of Esmeralda’s gems into his active ocular slot. Suddenly, the pitch black of his surroundings crystallized into sharp blacks and grays. He was in a vast cave. Certainly not the largest he’d ever seen, but far larger than anything he’d imagined would be hiding under his workshop!
Vlad turned to the pile of rubble the memorialized his most recent anguish, and looked up. “Something between fifty and eighty feet,” he mumbled to himself in estimation, and began preparations to Shape the stone.
The ground shook, and Vlad’s attention was diverted from plans of return. He quickly realized where the sound was coming from. Through a large tunnel entrance that Vlad had overlooked in his initial scan came a grey-skinned giantess, easily three times Vlad’s size. She stopped at the tunnel opening and looked stone-faced (no pun intended) at the hole in the cavern ceiling and then at Vlad.
“You broke my living room ceiling,” she observed in a sing-songy dialect of Giant. “That was rather rude.”
Vlad tried to think. Female stone giant. Extremely strong and durable. Exceptional melee and ranged capabilities. No magical capabilities detected. Threat level: high. Yeah, that wasn’t helping either.
He decided to go with deference. “My apologies, mistress. I am arriving here by accident. You see,” he gestured to the hole in the roof, “my home is above your home, and the stones gave way.”
She eyed Vlad suspiciously. “I have heard more rumblings above. The city – it is growing?”
Vlad nodded. “Slowly, yes. But always.” He raised his hands in a sign of non-aggression. “Might you allow me to repair damage I have done?”
She nodded, but removed a tree-sized club from a strap on her back. Clearly, this giantess had experience with magic users in the past, and knew enough to be wary.
Cautiously, Vlad turned his back to her and began Shaping the stone. He spoke aloud as he worked. “I am Vlad of Clan Smiðrheim.” The hole in the ceiling closed up as if it had never been made. “Cleric of Mya, and friend,” the rubble from the fall melted into the stone floor, “to all who seek the shelter of home and family.” When the work was done, Vlad nodded to himself and turned to the giantess.
Her face still unreadable, the giantess slowly rested the club against the cavern wall by the entrance, and moved toward a large alcove to her right. “I have not had company in a long time.” She leaned down and opened something of a chest that Vlad had mistaken for a large boulder. “Would you like some tea?”
Vlad’s eyebrows nearly climbed on top of his head. “Tea would be lovely, mistress.” He began moving toward the boulders that most resembled a table and chairs. “May I ask name of most generous hostess?”
The gray giantess lit a fire and placed a cast iron pot the size of a cooling barrel over it. She sat down. “My name is Freog.” She clasped her hands on front of herself on the table. “Now, tell me of what’s going on above-ground. I haven’t been up there in years!”
Xiang
Giant found, bodyguard inherited, and steward secured. Forge built, phase one of the sanctuary completed, and business beginning to come in. Vlad had finally settled in, and found that Mya’s intuition had been right; he felt much better now. He was able to be present again.
And, presently, he was feeling the draw to adventure again. It can never be simple, can it?
Realizing that he’d been too distracted with his projects to spend much time at The Toppled Table, Vlad found himself out of the loop on the Guild’s latest goings on. Demi often visited him, even bringing the occasional gift – thoughtful girl – and shared the most interesting tidbits: a mysterious Dwarven fortress, gnolls in swamps, a temple of Ioun. Still, Vlad committed to spend more time at the Table and gather all of the details that he could; he hated not knowing things. Starting tomorrow.
That night, Vlad dreamed. He’d only had a couple like it in his life – all sent by the Mother – and this dream was of a similar quality. But it was definitively not of Mya.
He was in a network of tunnels, somewhere deep, deep below the earth (there was enough dwarf left in Vlad that he knew this instinctively). Rather than the stale air of the deeps or the moisture of the Underdark, this place was filled with an energy that made Vlad’s arm hairs stand on end. An ambient, blue light permeated the entire complex.
There seemed to be nothing to do but to explore. But “exploration” quickly devolved into “wandering.” The tunnel network was a warren of intersecting paths and, despite what felt like hours, Vlad never seemed to get his bearings.
At the point of giving up, Vlad said in raised voice, “what am I supposed to be doing here?”
The ground rumbled and Vlad watched as sapphire crystals emerged throughout the tunnel around him. A voice, one that both seemed to come from everywhere around him and yet whisper inside his mind, said, “I have been watching you. You seek balance. You wander along many paths. You do not know which will fulfill your destiny.”
Vlad suppressed his annoyance. “Maybe that’s because you made this maze unnavigable.”
The voice merely chuckled in reply. Vlad felt the vibrations deep in his chest.
“Who are you,” Vlad asked aloud.
“One who also seeks balance. One who Remembers. A defender of this Place.” The voice was pure equanimity, full of the distance only gained with profound perspective. “My name is-“ and Vlad’s mind was filled with unintelligible symbols and emotions. “But you may call me Xiang.”
“And why am I here, wise Xiang?”
“I am here to assist, to maintain balance,” it said simply.
Vlad knew that it was much more complicated than that. But it wouldn’t do any good to argue with a being this vast. If Xiang wanted to “help” him, it was because it would serve Xiang’s purposes to do so.
“I am happy to receive your aid,” Vlad said. If this thing wanted to do something, it had better get to it.
Another chuckle. “Such impatience, even for one so comparatively long-lived.” Vlad felt a sense of weight enter Xiang’s voice. “The correct path is one that you follow to the end. Balance is maintained by moderation. But things are not currently balanced and now is not the time to divide your efforts. You must focus and achieve an objective.”
“But which objective – path – should I take,” Vlad asked.
And was answered with silence. He waited ten seconds. Thirty. A minute. Five. Finally, Vlad sighed and started walking. As he moved, deep blue crystals formed at his sides, not leading the way but following his progress. When he came to an intersection, he chose to stay on the current path, not straying left or right. After only ten minutes or so of walking, Vlad came to a wall. With a door at the center.
The crystals retreated back into the ground, and Vlad knew he was alone again. He opened the door, and immediately stepped into another dream. A normal, restful dream. The kind that you weave and feel and taste and forget. And so he did…
