lh
is looking, to avoid arousing suspicion or frightening
the locals. Though the wagon eventually arrives at the
intended destination. the intervening stop-off points are
unknown- and quite possibly perilous.WEAPON FEATURES
At rank 2, the members of a franchise can add a weapon
to their headquarters. choosing from the options in the
"Siege Equipment'' section of chapter 8 of the Dun·
geon Master's Guide. The OM can limit those options
or change t he details of specific choices, and players
can also design unique offensive features. subject to
approval by the OM. For example, a walking statue that
strikes with a fist could be treated as a ram-or the DM
and the players might agree that it would be fun to use
some of the effects of Bigby's hand for such an attack.
Most siege weapons (whether mechanical or magical)
require two characters, crew. or skilled hirelings to
operate, and such weapons might be slow to reload or
recharge. Headquarters weapons are not particularly ef-
fective against small bands of creatures (such as a group
of goblins), but they can be useful against a single large
threat (such as a dragon). If siege weapons are abused
by franchisees, they might be targeted by enemies,
break down, or require costly maintenance each time
they are employed in battle.
Giant Statue's Fis ts. A giant hollow metal statue act·
ing as a franchise headquarters features a control center
from which the statue's arms can be manipulated. One
fist can be used per round to strike at foes. using statis·
tics similar to a ram (AC 15, 100 hit points. immunity to
poiso n and psychic damage).Giant Fist. Me /ee Weapon Attack: +8 to hit, reach
15 ft .. one object or creature. Hit: 16(3d10) bludgeon-
ing damage.
Lighthouse En ergy Blast. Magical power can be fo.
cused through a lighthouse beacon, requiring 1 round to
gather energy and aim. The following round, the energy
can be released. The beacon has AC 12 , 75 hit points.
immunity to poison and psychic damage. and vulnera-
bility to cold. The explosion of energy can be treated as
a scorching ray, fireball. or lightning bolt spell, as the
OM determines. More powerful features might require
more time to recharge, or could be usable only a certain
number of times per day. Such attacks might function at
longer range but be unable to target creatures or objects
within 60 feet of the lighthouse.ARCANE FEATURES
At rank 3, an arcane feature provides a unique magical
capability to a headquarters. A haunted headquar ters
might gain a permanent cohort of friendly undead ser-
vants. while a giant statue headquarters could gain the
ability to allow the characters to see at great distances
and through darkness or fog. A more generic arcane
feature could instead grant any franchisee the ability to
cast a specific spell of 6th level or lower. with a limita·
tion of one casting per day.
An arcane feature should be something that doesn't
fit within another category (specifically, a transportation
or w eapon feature). though the OM is the final judge of
what arcane features are acceptable.CH.\l'Tl::R 2 I CROWING YOUR l·RANCHfSf'~\Ioney is an ancrnpt to discretiimpossible task Wh '~f d ze the ephemeral-an
i e II ihem that mo · en. .-: ea Off! ce comes knocking
ephemeral. ney is an atte d' ,
mpt to 1scretize the- K'thriss Drow'b
Ever-Changing Ship. Whether an oceangoing vessel
or an airship, this headquarters can alter its appearance
with illusion magic. Additionally, the appearance of
some or all creatures aboard can be changed as i f they
were affected by a seeming spell. Franchisees can alter
the appearance of the ship and its occupants a number
of times per day, or can drop the illusory effects as
needs be. The nature of the illusion magic means that
the ship's size and features do not change, and individ·
uals interacting with the ship or investigating its ap-
pearance have a chance to sec the true form of the ship
and its crew.
S pectral Wait Staff. A tavern headquarters (which al-
ready has a cosmetic feature to make it appear haunted)
now gains spectral wait staff. The spectral staff serve
customers expertly, and speak and understand speech
as if intelligent. However, they are magical creat ions
similar to those conjured by the unseen servant spell.
able to perform all the functions of such a creation and
any other functions agreed to by the OM. Spectral staff
can momentar ily become insubstantial, along with any·
thing they carry. allowing them to serve food and drink
through walls. Any member of the franchise can spend
an action to telepathically command one or more spec·
tral staff members.DEFENSIVE FEATURES
Also at rank 3. the headquarters gains one defensive
feature, planned out by the players in collaboration with
the DM. Ships and other vessels with statistics can gain
an increase to hit points or AC. Or a general defensive
feature could include the choice of any two effects noted
in the guards and wards spell, which can be enabled or
disabled by any franchise member.
Players are encouraged to be creative in thinki ng
about defensive features. An airship might have a deck
that can channel lightning to repel boarders. A wagon
might have transparent windows as strong as steel, and
the ability to retract any rails or platforms upon which
attacking foes could stand. Defensive features might
impose conditions on enemies, or even deal damage.
The OM should limit damaging effects to dealing 10
damage to a single target (5 damage for a multitarget or
area effect) per franchise rank. When a saving throw is
required, a good DC is 12 + franchise rank.
Carriage Ejector Platforms. A carriage gains potent
defensive capabilities in the form of sections of its roof
and walls set w ith powerful concealed springs. This
defensive feature can be activated as a bonus action by
the driver or any creature within 5 feet of them. When
a creature steps or grabs onto a protected section, that
creature must succeed on a Dexterity saving throw or
be flung from th e wagon to a d istance of 10 feet per fran·chise rank. The creature takes falling damage as if it
had fallen that distance.