The latest DnD playtest might have cleared up one of the oldest mysteries in Dungeons and Dragons. That is, according to Redditor u/Sleidman, who has used the new Bastion rules to explain why Wizards always seem to live in towers.
The playtest, shared by Wizards of the Coast on October 5, mainly focuses on new base-building rules players can use to create ‘Bastions’. Once a DnD character reaches level five, they can invest gold into building unique rooms for one of these structures.
Doing so has a range of benefits depending on which of the DnD classes you play as. For example, a DnD Wizard might add a demiplane to their Bastion, which can grant them temporary hit points and the ability to fabricate non-magical objects.
Our party Wizards can build towers thanks to the Bastion rules, but why would they choose that over a regular fortress? As u/Sleidman explains, it’s all about the gold pieces (GP) you need for construction.
“Many of the best Special Facilities available for a Wizard’s Bastion, including Demiplanes, Guild Halls (available due to the Wizard’s new 2nd level ability), Menageries, and Gardens, are or benefit from being Vast size”, they write in a Reddit post from October 6. “That’s 36 squares or 30×30 ft.”
“Bastion facilities can be stacked on top of each other with multiple levels”, they continue. “Creating a wall around your Bastion greatly increases the survivability of your Bastion Defenders. This issue, though, is that walls are really expensive: 250 GP per five feet.”
“If you were to make a wall around all nine of your Vast-sized facilities that were all on the ground, you’d have to surround an 18×18 square area.”, u/Sleidman says. “That would cost 19,000 GP. Alternatively, you could make a tower of all your nine facilities, and it would only cost 7,000 GP.”
According to u/Sleidman, this Wizard life hack seems like a feature of the new Bastion system rather than a flaw. “Personally, I think that this new Bastion system is incredibly thought out and cool”, they add. “Definitely feels like someone’s passion project and I’m here for it. Things like this only emphasize that.”
If you need a break from building Bastions, why not try some DnD character creation? Our guides to DnD races and DnD backgrounds can help you with your next DnD character build. We can also tell you more about the latest playtest, including how it fixes the worst DnD cantrips.