How much does it cost to build or rent a building?

Question

A player playing a Paladin in my current D&D campaign has asked how much it would cost to build or rent a building to house his followers from the Leadership feat. It would only be a small premises, enough to house a handful of followers, but it'd need to be able to be upgraded should the need arise.

I applaud the players thinking around this so I'm going to allow it – I just haven't a clue how much this should cost. How much should I charge the player for building a new premises for this purpose and how long should it take to build in-game? Also, if a building were rented, what would be an appropriate weekly charge?

Answer 1

The 3.5 Dungeon Master's Guide contains a small table on building costs. Page 101.

But, for detailed guidelines on how to handle character-made buildings in 3E (including detailed cost and construction time rules), refer to the Stronghold Builder's Guidebook. It is a 3.0 book, but requires minimal updating.

As far as renting goes... you could calculate the building's cost, and decide on a PE Ratio (price-rent ratio in real estate) to get some kind of a guideline on how much you should be charging. D&D economics are not exactly fleshed out, though (and they probably shouldn't be), so you have a lot of freedom here.

Answer 2

The economic systems in D&D3+ strongly emphasize game balance over realism. The reward system is tightly tied to character level, and the pricing system is tied to combat and adventuring value. To avoid equipment and power imbalances, it's a good idea to keep utility items relatively cheap, even though something like a keep might realistically cost much more. To address realism concerns, you can use a grant from the local rulers to offset the cost of the keep. You could even provide a stronghold at no monetary cost to the paladin – perhaps he could swear loyalty to the local lord instead. That way you pay for a primarily role-playing benefit with a role-playing cost.

Answer 3

If you want a good OSR interpretation of a D&D economy, you can do no better than Adventurer, Conqueror, King (ACKS).

ACKS offers a solid economy, good rules for building, holding, and extending strongholds, as well as hirelings, etc. .

Answer 4

In the context of an Open World design the location is key, as well as the material it is thus made out of. I'm currently an Aritificer who was just banished from the thieves guild and as I was exiled went to a tri city mining town in a half a mile wide hole set in these grasslands. Transportation costs for the lumber, the amount of left over earth and stone from mining, and the ability for myself to craft warforged on demand means that resources are covered as well as labor. I live in a town with people advanced in building and mining, so designing costs are as well my commodity. I build a 2 level home (lets say 1000 per level, plus 500 for every two levels above ground for structural support) and furnish it with a well sized furnace, holsters for made items, tools etc. lets say 500 for each inch of space on a grid of designed furnishings, and do this for the same upstairs and lets say a basement as well. so (1000 per level x3 = 3,000 , 4 grids per levelx3 at 500 each grid change = 6,000, labor and material = 0) Overall House cost is roughly 9,000 for a 2 story home with well made furnishings and good foundation, 4 bedrooms and a basement made out of stone and wood.