Upgrading Herford

Forward

In the following article, I will go over what sort of upgrades you can make within the town of Herford, or even just somewhere within the Edge of the World itself. Please keep in mind that all of this, even the entirety of Strongholds and Followers, are merely guidelines. ANYTHING is possible in this world! If you think of something that isn’t detailed on this page, bring it up with me and let’s discuss it!

Building Strongholds

Overview

To me, building strongholds is a very exciting prospect that I would love to have the option of as a player. Not all of you may feel the same way, but I am offering it for those that that do. We will be using the rules from Strongholds and Followers, with some minor tweaks. If you have not yet received a copy from me, contact me and I will provide one.
The biggest tweak to make is that of time. Because time at the Edge of the World travels at the same speed as real life, the rules in the guidebook means we would be waiting a very long time for anything to complete. For example, a 1st level keep takes 150 days to construct. I doubt any of you would want to wait 5 real months for your stronghold to complete.
That being said, I still think there’s value in waiting for your prize, and hopefully it makes it feel that much more valuable. I will consider the time cost for each build and upgrade on a case-by-case basis, but in general it will usually cost half the time as stated in Strongholds and Followers.
There are already lots of buildings in Herford that could fit the strongholds listed in the book. For example, there is already a Keep occupied by the Lord of Herford, a Temple attended by Takayasu, and many Establishments run by the citizens of Herford. In most cases, you’re still welcome to build your own stronghold (with the exception of the keep), but you will first need permission from the Lord of Herford. Let me know you’re interested in building and we’ll have a chat.
Upgrading existing strongholds is certainly possible, and it means you would become the owner of that location and gain the benefits associated with it. Of course, this is usually much more expensive than building a level 1 stronghold, and not every citizen will be okay with somebody else taking over. Let me know what you would like to upgrade, and I’ll tell you who you need to convince to do so.
Below are the specific options for each stronghold, and the mechanical effects associated with them. This is not an exhaustive list, and if you think of anything else you’d like to try, talk with me and I’ll work with you to get you what you want. Bear in mind that these are simply summaries of the costs from Strongholds and Followers. The actual benefits, as well as the full rules on building strongholds, are detailed quite well in that rulebook.

The Keep

Herford’s Keep

Herford currently already has a keep, owned by Lord Sybul von Lübeck and defended by Captain Sanne and her compliment of guards. Building a second keep within the city is not possible. However, if somebody was willing to spend enough coin to upgrade the current keep, Sanne, who is intensely focused on protecting the city and her people, might be willing to name you “commander of the guard”, despite the protests of Lord Sybul.
Cost: 15,000 gold
Time: 25 days
Result: Owner of a level 2 keep within Herford. You would gain all the benefits associated with owning a level 2 keep. You would also gain Sanne as a retainer, and her guards as your followers, but you make an enemy of Lord Sybul von Lübeck.

Building your own keep

The Edge of the World is a huge expanse of land, which means you can certainly find space to build your own keep. This is, however, a dangerous prospect, due to the hostility of the wilderness. Additionally, unless you find a way to ally yourself with Herford, they would be none to happy that you are intruding on their demesne.
Cost: 10,000 gold
Time: 75 days
Result: Owner of a level 1 keep wherever you build it, and the establishment of a new city within the Edge of the World. You are, however, going to have to defend it from the wilderness several times over the course of the construction, and you will either need to make allies with Herford or risk a retaliation of some sort.

The Tower

Building a Tower

There is currently no tower in Herford or anywhere near it, so you are able to construct your own wherever you wish. Building one inside Herford’s demesne, however, means you must acquire permission from the Lord of Herford first, otherwise Sanne and her guards will stop you.
Cost: 8,000 gold
Time: 60 days
Result: A level 1 tower of your own and all the associated benefits detailed in Strongholds and Followers

The Temple

Upgrading the Tōsha

The current temple in Herford is the Tōsha, originally built by the Church of the Divine Light, though they sent no priests to attend it. Takayasu, a traveler from the distant land of Shibetsu, discovered nobody was maintaining such a beautiful temple and went about doing it himself. He welcomes the worship of any deities within the temple, and overall the people of Herford welcome his assistance. If someone wished to invest in the temple and upgrade it to level 2, Taka would welcome the improvements, but only with the promise that the temple remain as it is: an open, welcoming establishment that anybody may find solace in, dedicated to no specific god. If you agree to that, he will allow you to invest and become the high priest of the Tōsha.
Cost: 11,000 gold
Time: 20 days
Result: The owner of a level 2 temple, and all of the benefits associated with that. The one caveat is that if your god is the Divine Light, your deity will not appreciate a temple dedicated to any god. You may have to look into building your own temple if this is the case.

Building your own Temple

It is very common for cities to have many temples dedicated to many gods. Nobody would be upset about you building a new temple, and in fact, many people would encourage it. Like any other new construction, however, you will have to gain permission from the Lord of Herford, Sybul von Lübeck.
Cost: 8,000 gold
Time: 60 days
Result: A temple dedicated to any god, pantheon, cosmic force you wish. You gain the benefits of owning a level 1 temple as detailed in Strongholds and Followers. Keep in mind that this doesn’t necessarily have to be an actual temple. For example, druids can build a “druid’s grove” that has the same benefits of a temple, but with different flavor. You may use whatever flavor you wish, as long as you run it by me first.

The Establishment

Upgrading an Existing Establishment

There are many establishments currently existing in Herford already. Smitten, the blacksmith owned by Kristall, the Tooth and Incubus Tavern run by Gunther and Sif, Pandemonium Elixirs, and so on. You have the option of investing a large sum of money into some of these establishments and becoming the owner and gaining the benefits of owning an establishment. However, not all of these proprietors will be willing to sell their business, even if you let them stay and run it. Let me know which establishment you are interested in upgrading, and I will tell you who you will have to convince to do so.
Cost: 8,000 gold
Time: 15 days
Result: You become the owner of a level 2 establishment, along with all the benefits as detailed in Strongholds and Followers. Depending on how you convinced the previous owner to sell, you may have acquired a new friend, or a new enemy.

Building a New Establishment

Of course you always have the option of building your own establishment. This will almost certainly have to be done within the walls of Herford, as any lone building outside the city will be too dangerous to maintain in the wilderness. As with all new constructions, you must first acquire permission from Lord Sybul von Lübeck. This establishment can be pretty much anything you would like that makes sense: a library, a general store, a tavern, a theater, etc. Keep in mind that if you build an establishment as a competitor to an existing one, you may draw the ire of that shop’s proprietor as well as their most loyal customers.
Cost: 6,000 gold
Time: 45 days
Result: You own a level 1 establishment of whatever flavor you wish and gain the benefits as detailed in Strongholds and Followers.

Minor Upgrades to Existing Buildings

Perhaps you are not interested in owning your own stronghold but still want to contribute to the town, or maybe you’ve thought of some interesting way to invest in Herford. Anybody is able to make minor investments in any of the buildings within Herford to gain some added benefit. What that benefit is depends on the building and how willing the owner is to make changes. Making these upgrades may require a bit of convincing on your part.
Most upgrades will cost 1000 gold for an initial upgrade, but this can be reduced by supplying useful ingredients or supplies. For example, finding a source of metal for the smithy would certainly help reduce the cost of upgrades.
I do not have a list of things that can be upgraded here, because in most cases you are going to have to discuss the upgrades with the owner of that establishment. For example, Gunther does not really care that his ale needs some improvement. You might be able to convince him to import some expensive brews from civilization. Trying to convince him to improve his brewing skills and provide better ale would be more difficult, but would mean the ale is cheaper.
If you can think of anything you would like to improve, run it by me, and we will certainly talk about it. It’s likely there will need to be some convincing of some sort (not necessarily through Persuasion rolls) in order to make the upgrades.