Building Walls: Bastions & Cantrips Unveiled
I had thought we were done with UA, at least for a little. But Jeremy Crawford surprised us with a new UA. This one, which explores a taste of “material designed for the next version of the Dungeon Master’s Guide…” and focuses on two areas: Bastions and Cantrips. Most of this play test looks at the new subsystem called Bastions, a proposed way for players to create individual home bases that, through time and money, can create passive benefits to the party. This seems like an interesting way for players to create a lasting impression on the world they exist in, but I have some reservations about it. So let’s dive in!
(Art: Magic the Gathering by Cliff Childs)
Starting Note
The proposed Bastion system is entirely optional, as this document initially states. Due to how the mechanics operate, they are best suited to campaigns that allow the players to journey somewhere, adventure, and then return home. As you will see, Bastions work best when you have a campaign where time passes at a decent rate. I am going to review this Bastion system as if I wanted to use it for table, even if it does not fit perfectly, offering plausible suggestions for making it fit.
Why Bastions?
This system, according to the play test interview, aims to provide a few things. The first is for players to have a place to spend their gold, but keeping it enjoyable. As I have said in the past , it is easy to have loot accumulate when a party goes adventuring. If a character has nothing to spend their gold on, it can make that reward feel a little pointless. Even worse, the accumulation of gold could cause unintended consequences down the road, changing how you intended for an encounter to happen. Bastions would present a way for players to spend their hard-earned gold that feels creative and with a definite benefit.
The developers also intended bastions as a way for players to get a taste of DMing, creating a “shared storytelling space” for both player and DM to work together. According to the play test “DMs should be as permissive as possible with the stories players tell in their Bastions, but players should know their control goes only as far as the campaign’s larger story, which the DM strives to make fun for everyone”. So players will get a piece of the world all of their own that they can shape.
What is a Bastion?
At level 5, each player will receive their Bastion. The circumstances of how a player gains this structure are left to be discussed between player and GM, with examples such as inheriting or being gifted either land or a structure that they can then renovate. Bastions start off with several facilities that represent the rooms and features that this space has available.
These are in two groups: Basic Facilities and Special Facilities. While players can add basic facilities at a cost, they can only add special facilities at levels 9, 13, and 17. Each Bastion starts off with two basic facilities and two special facilities of the player’s choosing, with the special facilities being of an appropriate level.
Basic facilities comprise the more mundane elements of a building, such as a Bedroom or Kitchen. While they do not give any sort of mechanical benefit, they provide flavor to the structure.
Special facilities have mechanical benefits tied to them. These locations have mechanical benefits tied to them, but also require hirelings to work in and maintain each one. The developers assume each special facility to generate enough income to pay the salary of its hireling, on top of whatever benefit the player received. This document includes 29 special facilities, ranging from a Library (available at level 5) to a Demiplane (available at level 17). These facilities provide most of the mechanical aspects of the Bastion system, which happen through Bastion Turns.
Bastion Turns
Whenever the players have time to create something, whether it’s a stronghold or a business, it always presents a slight danger of derailing the game. The prospects of wealth will often be a motivation for the party, and having a place to stay can present a way for characters to do that without having to fight monsters. If the building also functions as a business, it can be even more of a danger. Outside of the game, the players themselves can become enthralled with non-adventuring activities. Looking through the current Downtime Activities, found in Xanathar’s Guide to Everything, there is a wealth of options there to build out a rich life in a single location. The Bastion system aims to avoid this pitfall by making most of the effects of passive.
A Bastion’s special facilities provide their in-game benefits in the background while the players adventure, operating on Bastion turns. These turns occur every 7 days of in-game time, regardless of if the player is there. At each of these turns, the player issues a Bastion order to each of their special facilities.
A Bastion order tells the hirelings in a specific facility to do a specific action that will give a specific benefit. Players must be at their Bastion in order to issue most Bastion orders, otherwise the Bastion automatically takes the Maintain order. The list of orders provided are:
Craft - Hirelings craft an item that can be made in a given special facility.
Empower - The special facility confers a benefit (called a “temporary empowerment”) to a PC or someone else.
Harvest - Hirelings gather a resource produced in the special facility.
Recruit - Hirelings recruit creatures to your Bastion.
Research - Hirelings gather information at a special facility.
Trade - Hirelings buy and sell goods or services that are stored or produced in a special facility.
Maintain - The entire Bastion focuses on maintaining the Bastion instead of executing orders.
The Craft, Harvest, and Research abilities all show that a player character can perform them, but doing so means they will not progress when the player leaves the Bastion. Besides generating the showed items, each special facility will generate several Bastion Points.
Bastion Points
(Art: Magic the Gathering by Winona Nelson)
As facilities operate, a player accumulates Bastion Points, or BP. Each special facility shows the die size used to determine the BP earned, ranging from 1d4 to 1d10. The Maintain order shows that each facility will only generate 1d4 points. BP has a few specific uses, but the main option described is gaining Magic Items.
Whenever a character with a Bastion gains a level, they can spend BP to gain a single magical item. Each item’s rarity level corresponds to a specific amount, starting at 20 BP for a Common and ending at 700 BP for a Legendary item. Rare magic items and higher rarities also have a level prerequisite attached to them as well, to avoid any potential game breaking opportunities. This section also notes that any item gained in this fashion must be approved by the DM prior to getting.
Other than that, there are two other uses. Characters can spend 10 BP when they gain a level to have their Bastion spread tales of their heroic deeds (like fantasy social media, but without the fear of an egomaniacal man child taking it over). For the next 7 days, the character has Advantage on all Charisma checks while within 50 miles of their Bastion.
If a character dies, that player can spend 100 BP to return to life in their Bastion on the following day. A character returned to life in this fashion may not do so again until they gain another level.
Bastion Events
At the end of a Bastion where the Maintain order is issued, the DM will roll to see if something happens at the Bastion. The table has a mixture of good and bad events, ranging from an attack on the Bastion, which can kill defenders, to discovering or creating a magic item. There is a 55% chance of an event happening here, with nothing happening on a 1-9 on the die.
Bastion Destruction
While this system shows that while it is hard for a Bastion to be destroyed entirely, it can happen. If a character issues no order to their Bastion, for several Bastion turns equal to the character’s level, the Bastion becomes abandoned and eventually looted. Characters can also willingly abandon a Bastion, and have the same thing happen. In either situation, a character whose Bastion has fallen can choose to create a new one, working with the DM as if they were making a Bastion for the first time.
Thoughts
This system is pretty large, taking up 21 of the 23 pages. Even removing the sections listing elements, such as the facilities or events, we still have a rather large and complex system built in, and because of that I have a lot of thoughts about this.
The Good: World-Building and Gold Sinks
First off, I think the core idea is pretty interesting. Collaboratively creating at the table is some of the most fun you can have in a Dungeons & Dragons game, and this system really delivers that. Players get a chance to leave a lasting imprint on the world, which is awesome. The system also serves as a way to steadily drain the party’s gold. Crafting the perfect stronghold is neither quick nor cheap, and it will give players something worthwhile to invest in.
The Bad: Passive Systems and Resource Trade-offs
There are quite a few areas that fall flat. Bastion Points and special facilities feel too passive for my tastes. They feel like Downtime Actions without commitment from the players. It undermines the active engagement that makes D&D (and other TTRPGs) so unique.
Moreover, the whole system of Bastion Points feels like just another limited resource. Players are trading gold for BP and it just feels lacking. I would prefer more flexible options, maybe that focus on short term benefits over long term changes. And while the resurrection mechanic looks balanced, do players really need another way to reverse death?
The Questionable: Timing and Vulnerability
I also don’t know how I feel about Bastion Actions happening every 7 days. I don’t think this will play out well in fast-paced campaigns, like Curse of Strahd. It almost feels like you’d have to change either the adventure or the Bastion system to make it work at all.
I also don’t like the rules leaning towards making these Bastions untouchable. These feel like a great place for a BBEG or rival faction to try to target. This creates the perfect place for high-stakes action. Isn’t that what D&D’s all about?
Bastions by Bjarke
After sharing the Bastion rules with my table, I got a mixed bag of reactions. While some players weren't quite sold, others were eager to experiment. This got the gears turning in my head—how would I, as the DM, remix Bastions for my game?
One Bastion to Rule Them All
(Art: Magic the Gathering by Jung Park)
First off, I’d toss the idea of individual Bastions for each PC. The concept is cool for each player getting to flex their creativity, but this removes the collaborative aspect of D&D. My solution is to focus on the document’s guidelines for combining Bastions. This way, the party collaborates on one large stronghold. Each player can still have their own corner of the Bastion to customize, but it becomes a team endeavor. This also means less DM headache-I wont have to juggle multiple one-on-one conversations about individual strongholds.
Upgrade Your Defenses
I want to have Bastions play a more active role in the game, so that means focusing on defense. We have to assume Bastions are not impervious to attack, and would probably be targets for powerful enemies. Flipping the narrative and having the players create the dungeon makes for an unusual and memorable encounter. To that end I would try to expand the options for defenses for Bastions, opening up the chance for some real “Home Alone” shenanigans.
Luckily, I have a TON of traps and other defenses to choose from. Beyond the Golden Vault has a ton of DM facing resources for running heists, but honestly, this material would be perfect for a party looking to protect their base.
Final Bastion Thoughts
I find it slightly frustrating that the first information we receive regarding Dungeon Master’s Guide revisions is not anything related to DMing a game, but a completely optional rule set that is built as a player facing choice. Most of this play test has been focusing on the player specific options, leaving out any changes that will be made to monster design or general elements of running the game.
When I heard we were getting a sneak peek at the DM material, I got excited that this would be something to help with the review. I am looking forward to seeing how monsters change, so that I can better see the impact on the player facing changes. Instead, we got this system that, while interesting, does not really do much to that extent. Hopefully, we end up with some DM-facing content sooner rather than later.
Also, I wanted to acknowledge that MCDM’s Strongholds and Followers covers fairly similar material as Bastions do. I have not had a chance to fully go through Strongholds and Followers, but now it has moved up on my priority list.
Revised Cantrips
Now, let's talk cantrips. Wizards of the Coast threw us a curveball, tinkering with some of the OG spells in ways both exciting and questionable. Here’s the lowdown. At the very end of this play test document, we get a list of changes made to the cantrips based on feedback on the previous 7 Unearthed Arcana we have had for OneD&D. While not too extensive, I wanted to go over the changes that were made here.
Acid Splash
What Changed: Morphs from a Conjuration spell to an Evocation spell, putting it in line with its acid-y siblings.
New Mechanics: Now forms a 5-foot-radius sphere, affecting any creature caught in it.
Blade Ward
What Changed: You can now cast it as a reaction.
New Mechanics: Inflicts Disadvantage on a creature’s melee attack roll.
Chill Touch
What Changed: Damage is bumped up from 1d8 to 1d10.
New Mechanics: No longer inflicts Disadvantage on Undead targets.
Friends
What Changed: Adds clarity by specifying it grants the Charmed condition for up to one minute.
New Mechanics: Removed text about making the target hostile when the spell ends.
Poison Spray
What Changed: Range increases from 10 to 30 feet.
New Mechanics: Now an attack roll spell and switches from Conjuration to Necromancy.
Produce Flames
What Changed: Now a Bonus Action to cast, and you can attack as an Action.
New Mechanics: Light range increases by 20 feet, and attack range extends to 60 feet. You can now target creatures and objects.
Shillelagh
What Changed: Scales with other damaging cantrips.
New Mechanics: Now offers the option between Force damage or the weapon’s usual damage type (i.e., bludgeoning).
Shocking Grasp
What Changed: Now only prevents Opportunity Attacks.
New Mechanics: Removed Advantage against enemies wearing metal.
Spare the Dying
What Changed: Transforms from a touch spell to a ranged spell.
New Mechanics: Range increases as you level up, and Druids get access to this spell.
True Strike
What Changed: Forget everything you knew about this spell; it's been completely rewritten.
New Mechanics: Casting this spell now enables you to use your spellcasting ability for your next attack and damage rolls, instead of relying on Strength or Dexterity. Damage can be changed to Radiant, which scales like other cantrips.
The Good
There are some changes here that I think do a good job of changing up the original spell. Blade Ward feels like it can have a use now. Casting as a Reaction means that it does not compete in Action Economy, and it does not do too much to make it overpowered.
Acid Splash and Poison Spray changing schools makes sense to me, now making these align with some of the other options out there. I especially like that Acid splash is an AOE, and makes me think it will have some more opportunities to use it.
I also like the Shillelagh levels like the other cantrips. I think it will allow a druid to be more of a front-line fighter if they choose and could be interesting.
The Bad
In alphabetical order:
Chill Touch losing its Undead effect feels like a gut punch to me, and I feel like the comment that “it rarely gets used” is false. Whenever I make a character, Chill Touch is high on my list since it can really help against the undead. I think the name should be changed. As it is, it feels like we now have cold Fire Bolt, and that is dumb.
Friends losing its drawback feels way too powerful for a cantrip. The original spell was useful, but maybe a bit too punishing with its wording (I am guessing the writer got scammed at some point and said NEVER AGAIN FRANK). But I think there should be some inherent drawback in there. At the least “The target knows they were charmed by you” and at the most, something showing that they will be less friendly towards you in the future. Otherwise why do we even take Charm Person?
Spare the Dying gaining range is something I would never want at my table. When a PC goes down, the party has a limited amount of options to resolve it. They can use a ranged healing spell (such as Healing Word) or they can run over and try to revive them. For many creatures that was a Medicine check, one that could be improved with a Healer’s Kit. Spare the Dying made it an auto success, but you still had to move around the battlefield, risking yourself in order to save your ally. Now this cantrip reduces any sort of cost involved to just an action. Add the range increasing, and now the back line cleric can easily revive allies at the front. This is a big no for me.
Any spells I mentioned neither felt okay to me, or I did not really have any feelings one way or the other on them.
Conclusion
This surprise UA brought with us some new ideas, but this sneak peek felt more like an undercooked birthday cake than a joyful surprise. The Bastion system has a lot of potential in it. It provides a system that a lot of players have wanted for a while. It provides a gold and time sink and includes some elements that avoid creating incentives for the party to stop adventuring. But the system needs more time in the oven before it sees the light of day.
The system currently encourages individual players to create by themselves. This creates a ton more work for the DM to balance, but means that players will spend less time together and more time staring at their own sheets. We also see a potential way for players to gain magical items with no genuine effort on their part besides planning and waiting. While there are notes in there that specify “DM Discretion”, do we really need to keep making the ones running the game the bad guys? In the same vein, this feels like the exact place that could get destroyed by a BBEG late in a game. I think there need to be better rules for this.
Bottom line? The system's got potential but needs fine-tuning to really shine. I think leaning more into the defenses of the place and allowing for more involved attack situations could be interesting and truly emulate the changing of the seats that this is supposed to be. I also think that more of the resources made should be limited use or consumable, to better avoid trading one unbalanced resource for another.
Finally, we had cantrips. A mix of good, bad, and just okay with some notable cantrips. Blade Ward feels like it will actually get used now, and I like that a lot. Spare the Dying and Friends have had any sort of drawbacks removed, which makes them a little too powerful for their status as Cantrips. Hopefully, in the future we will see more adjustments here.
So what do you think about these changes? Are they something you want in your game, or just something you will just put to the side. Let me know below or on social media!
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