Home and Sanctuary

[Perdurabo]

Hi everyone

I would like to present a topic for discussion. If this has already been covered in another thread I do apologize, and if there are any official rulings covering this, I haven`t found them (or I can`t remember what was written). I would like to use a hypothetical example: If a member of a fellowship belongs to the Woodmen culture and his home is Woodland Hall and the fellowship decides, after an adventure in the area, to open Woodland Hall as a Sanctuary (all criteria met), would the Woodman also have to spend one of his undertakings to Open New Sanctuary, or just the rest of the fellowship since this already is the Woodman`s home? Will his home then be considered a Sanctuary for the rest of the fellowship, but home to him, or will it be considered a Sanctuary for the whole Fellowship? In this example no other characters belong to the Woodmen culture. The first question answers itself if it is possible to make ones home into a Sanctuary. The matter changes entirely if it the LM approves characters opening Sanctuaries alone or in pairs etc. but it is my impression that the game is laid out in such a way that group acheivement is key, and that Sanctuaries, Patrons, Songs etc. are things which the group in most cases attain as a whole. My questions are based on the RAW, in which case Open New Sanctuary is only possible if the whole Fellowship stays in the same location. After almost 60 sessions with my gaming group the subject hasn`t come up, but if (when) it does, I would like to have considered a few options.

Has anyone experienced this situation? Are there any clear rulings?

Thanks!

[Rich H]

I play very fast and loose with the RAW regarding this so I'm not sure my advice would be the best but here's how I generally handle Sanctuaries in my campaign...

Each PC begins with their Home listed as a Sanctuary (edit: for them alone, not for anyone else)

PCs may open up Sanctuaries individually if they wish and this just means they get access to better options/undertakings/etc at such places in comparison to those PCs which don't have such a place listed as a Sanctuary.

This has allowed me to run very different Fellowship Phases for PCs staying in the same place (eg, The Elven King's Halls) but having it listed as a Sanctuary (eg, the Wood Elf PC) or not (eg, the other PCs who could select it if they wanted and the Dwarf PC that couldn't select and needs to succeed at an Encounter to stay in such a place).

As you mentioned Patrons; I tend to have that as a group undertaking as the Fellowship of the PCs gets the support of the Patron rather than individual PCs. When a new member joins the fellowship I tend to allow them to meet with the Patron in a loose Encounter where the other PCs introduce him and he is accepted by the Patron based on the good words and counsel of the other characters.

This all seems to work okay for my campaign and gaming group. I also generally let this stuff develop organically, within the Adventuring Phase usually, and therefore some time awards such things for free without the need to spend an undertaking.

[Falenthal]

Regarding the RAW, Home is not a Sanctuary.
Even in the Heal Corruption undertaking it's stated that the hero's that are in a Sanctuary get two rolls, those that heal corruption at home get only one.

You can see under the Open Sanctuary description that a Sanctuary is a place where you know influential people, and can get help from different persons. If a place is just your home, you might have your family there, but not know personally the king or governor, or anyone in a high position, or get any special help from anyone that's not your family or close friends.

[Stormcrow]

A sanctuary is a place that is "particularly suited to support the needs of a company of adventurers, and inhabited by a host willing to welcome them." That is not automatically true of anyone's home, except for Lake-men. The place is suited to support your needs, but not those of your friends. They might get permission to spend a Fellowship phase there once without making it a sanctuary, and thus get everything they need for that phase, but part of the Open New Sanctuary undertaking must include the host gathering those resources needed for the company to spend time there whenever they want.

For instance, your woodman from Woodland Hall has a home there, but it hasn't necessarily got the space and resources for your company for a long period. When you Open New Sanctuary, you can describe how the company builds a house for themselves on the property of their host or expands the living space of the host's house, how they gather supplies, and how they make connections and friendships in Woodland Hall to establish their place there.

If you don't open a sanctuary in a place you spend a Fellowship phase, you're just a guest living off the charity of your host.

[Rich H]

Regarding the RAW, Home is not a Sanctuary.

It may as well be for the character in question, surely? I mean what's so egregious about letting a person's home also be a Sanctuary for them? Not for anyone else, just for them? Am I missing something? I realise that if you only allow groups to take the undertaking together to make a place a Sanctuary then this isn't possible but if you ignored that limitation (ie, group is separated over time and is in different places so such an undertaking could be taken separately under such conditions) then is there an issue?

[Perdurabo]

A sanctuary is a place that is "particularly suited to support the needs of a company of adventurers, and inhabited by a host willing to welcome them." That is not automatically true of anyone's home, except for Lake-men. The place is suited to support your needs, but not those of your friends. They might get permission to spend a Fellowship phase there once without making it a sanctuary, and thus get everything they need for that phase, but part of the Open New Sanctuary undertaking must include the host gathering those resources needed for the company to spend time there whenever they want.

For instance, your woodman from Woodland Hall has a home there, but it hasn't necessarily got the space and resources for your company for a long period. When you Open New Sanctuary, you can describe how the company builds a house for themselves on the property of their host or expands the living space of the host's house, how they gather supplies, and how they make connections and friendships in Woodland Hall to establish their place there.

If you don't open a sanctuary in a place you spend a Fellowship phase, you're just a guest living off the charity of your host.

This is pretty much the same conclusion I have drawn as well. It also seems like this is the way it is intended to use the "third option" of the Fellowship Phase (i.e. spend a Fellowship Phase in a place that is neither Sanctuary or Home). This also seems clear from some of the last remarks made in some of the published adventures, where it states that the fellowship may Open New Sanctuary at the end location, or are offered to stay there over the winter etc. as guests, without the necessity of openeing a new Sanctuary.

[Stormcrow]

There are only slight mechanical differences between going home and repairing to a sanctuary, so if you want to call home a sanctuary it doesn't make much difference. But the game assumes that sanctuaries are places set up for a company of adventurers, so there's a narrative difference to be made during Fellowship phases.

If I were forced to justify why a hero's home considered as a sanctuary doesn't grant him the slight mechanical bonuses of sanctuaries, I would suggest that a hero in a sanctuary without his companions would be bothered by people asking him where his friends were, why weren't they visiting, making him miss their Fellowship. This reminder of being alone cancels out the slight mechanical benefits.

[Rich H]

If I were forced to justify why a hero's home considered as a sanctuary doesn't grant him the slight mechanical bonuses of sanctuaries, I would suggest that a hero in a sanctuary without his companions would be bothered by people asking him where his friends were, why weren't they visiting, making him miss their Fellowship. This reminder of being alone cancels out the slight mechanical benefits.

I like that.

[Falenthal]

Regarding the RAW, Home is not a Sanctuary.

It may as well be for the character in question, surely?

I'm not defending this point of view, but the OP asked for the RAW, and that's how it's stated in the book, AFAIK.

But it's also interesting to implement a difference between Home and Sanctuary for someone's hometown: it's not the same to be an annonymous citizen, fulfilling your duties there, than to be a respected and recognized hero there, beyond the circle of your family and close friends.

[Rich H]

Regarding the RAW, Home is not a Sanctuary.

It may as well be for the character in question, surely?

I'm not defending this point of view, but the OP asked for the RAW, and that's how it's stated in the book, AFAIK.

I know, was just asking not implying anything.

But it's also interesting to implement a difference between Home and Sanctuary for someone's hometown: it's not the same to be an annonymous citizen, fulfilling your duties there, than to be a respected and recognized hero there, beyond the circle of your family and close friends.

That's an excellent point too.