franchise rank

franchise renown is based on the average renown of the lead franchisee in each of the eight company positions

the franchise's rank is then determined as normal

based upon the franchise rank, each franchisee receive a stipend towards their lifestyle

rank 0 for renown less the 5, poor lifestyle (18sp)

rank 1 for renown less than 9, modest lifestyle (54sp)

rank 2 for renown less than 13, comfortable lifestyle (18gp)

rank 3 for renown less than 17, wealthy lifestyle (54gp)

rank 4 for renown of 17 or more, noble lifestyle (18pp)

franchise tasks

a franchise can perform 2 + rank tasks each week

the franchise task modifier is 3 + (2 x rank)

franchise headquarters

rank 0

starter headquarters, choice

rank 1

cosmetic, choice x2, expansion

rank 2

cosmetic, choice x3, expansion

rank 3

cosmetic, choice x4, expansion

rank 4

cosmetic, choice x5, expansion

starter headquarters

a four carriages, or two keelboats, or a tavern and inn, or a farming estate, and so forth

arcane

an arcane feature provides a unique magical capability to a headquarters, a haunted headquarters might gain a permanent cohort of friendly undead servants, or a 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 limitation of one casting per day, an arcane feature should be something that doesn’t fit within another category (specifically, a transportation or weapon feature), though the dm is the final judge of what arcane features are acceptable

choice

choice allows the franchisee's to pick the modification of their choice

cosmetic

a cosmetic improvement, allows a franchise to radically alter the look and feel of its headquarters, a beat-up wagon could become a gilded carriage, with luxurious interiors and servants dressed in matching finery, a tavern could proudly display the party’s kills in the drinking hall, feature mugs gathered from dwarven holds around the world, and have a décor matching a particular theme, each cosmetic improves the apparent lifestyle of the franchise by one from poor and possibly all the way up to divine, this becomes the default lifestyle of the franchisee's

defensive

the headquarters gains one defensive feature, planned out by the franchisee's, 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 thinking 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 dm 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 11 + 2 x franchise rank

expansion

an expansion feature allows a franchise to increase the size of its headquarters by 50% of the original size, when doing so, players and characters can define the changes to the current configuration, perhaps the headquarters expands in size laterally, or gains an extra floor. Perhaps a new basement is excavated — or poking around the existing basement reveals a secret level of dungeons heretofore unknown, franchise members can decide on what features are involved in the expansion, including new windows, doors, and furniture, adding certain types of space might also call for extra supporting features, if storage is on an upper floor, a winch might be installed to lift goods, a cellar could add another exit and an area for storing wine or alchemical supplies, or a carriage headquarters could gain a second cart to become a wagon train

secret

a secret feature, is one that remains unnoticed to most inspection, typically requiring a successful DC 25 Intelligence (Investigation) check or DC 30 Wisdom (Perception) check to notice, a headquarters might have a secret exit that guarantees escape and allows franchise members or staff to leave and enter without detection, a secret feature should usually add in-game benefits, such as a potion-brewing laboratory in a secret level of a castle, or a secret cargo hold within a ship that can keep perishables fresh and provide endless stocks of food and water to crew and passengers

transportation

franchisees love gaining some additional forms of mobility, a mobile headquarters can travel a distance of 30 miles per 10 hour day level of transportation taken, this rate of travel can vary depending on weather, visibility, availability of maps, or other conditions

weapon

the franchise can add a weapon to their headquarters, choosing from the options in the “Siege Equipment” section of the Dungeon Master’s Guide, the DM can limit those options or change the details of specific choices, and players can also design unique offensive features, subject to approval by the DM, 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

staff

leaders

leaders earn 9 time their skill modifier in the appropriate coin, 1 leader is required for every 7 staff and the leader must be paid in the same or better coin

staff

staff earn 3 times their skill modifier in the appropriate coin

retainers

earn gold and will go into hostile territory with the full expectation of getting into offensive armed conflicts, for example marines are often retainers as they are often expected to board other craft to capture them

crew

earn silver and will go into hostile territory with the full expectation of getting into defensive armed conflicts, crew will not get involved in offensive armed conflicts, sailors are the most common crew as they are expected to defend their craft

hirelings

earn copper and will prefer not to go into hostile territory, will absolutely flee any conflicts, sailors that are hirelings will not defend the ship and will surrender if attacked

rank 0 staff minimums

2 leader retainers, 2 staff retainers, 4 staff crew, 8 staff hirelings

rank 1 staff minimums

3 leader retainers, 3 staff retainers, 6 staff crew, 12 staff hirelings

rank 2 staff minimums

4 leader retainers, 4 staff retainers, 8 staff crew, 16 staff hirelings

rank 3 staff minimums

5 leader retainers, 5 staff retainers, 10 staff crew, 20 staff hirelings

rank 4 staff minimums

6 leader retainers, 6 staff retainers, 12 staff crew, 24 staff hirelings

weekly costs

expected weekly costs are based the franchise headquarters modified by the franchise rank

actual weekly costs can be higher based on the choices made by the franchisees

rank 0 costs x1

rank 1 costs x2.5

rank 2 costs x4.5

rank 3 costs x7.5

rank 4 costs x11

a tavern and inn, or a farming estate, and so forth

Carriages

Four Worn Carriage (100 gp each) and Eight Horses (50 gp), 800 gp

each carriage has AC 11 and 75 hit points, and moves at the speed of its draft horses (40 feet), four passengers can ride inside, two up front with one steering, and two atop the rear cargo area, up to three people can also sit on the roof of the cabin, for an especially exciting perch when the cart is moving quickly! the rear of the carriage features a generous cargo space for up to 500 pounds of goods, and is protected from the weather.

Keelboats

Two Keelboats (3,000 gp each), 6,000 gp

Tavern and Inn