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Overview

You'll gain access to the Fighter Stronghold after clearing out the invading trolls from de'Arnise Keep. See the de'Arnise Keep page for more information about how to do this. Afterwards, if you're playing a barbarian, fighter or monk, then Nalia de'Arnise will offer you control of the keep, which will earn you 500 gp a week in taxes. These taxes will go into the cabinet in the library on the upper floor. You can also demand immediate taxes. This will earn you 1000 gp but make your people less happy.

Ruling the de'Arnise lands means you'll have to deal with some problems. You'll trigger most of these events by talking to the majordomo on the ground floor of the keep. Your decisions can gain you or lose you money, and also influence the happiness of your people. To check how you're doing, you'll need to talk to the majordomo. Making your people exceedingly happy won't gain your anything, but if you make them too mad, then they'll revolt and kick you out of the keep, and you'll lose access to your stronghold.

The problems you'll face are described below.

Episode 1: The Merchant Tolmas Bendelia

Bendelia will tell you that his caravans have been getting robbed when traveling through your lands, and he'll demand payment. You can pay him 1000 gp, 500 gp, or nothing, or you can have him executed. The more you pay him, the happier your people will be. Not paying him anything will give you the worst result, even worse than executing him. You'll earn 500 xp if you execute him.

Next up, you'll need to decide what to do about the bandits. You can hire mercenaries to deal with them for 500 gp or 250 gp, or you can ignore the problem and pay nothing. Once again, the more you pay, the happier your people will be. For this case, you'll also earn more xp for paying more, with 15,000 xp, 11,500 xp, and no xp being the amounts you'll earn.

Episode 2: Lastin the Thief

Captain Cernick will tell you that a guard named Lastin has been caught stealing small things from the keep. If you ask Cernick what usually happens to thieves, then he'll tell you that the previous one was executed. If you ask Lastin why he was stealing things, then he'll explain that his wife is sick and her medicine is expensive. This will give you three ways to deal with him:

• You can have Lastin executed. You won't receive anything.
  
  
• You can have Lastin expelled. You'll receive 11,500 xp.
  
  
• You can forgive Lastin and let him stay on. You'll receive 15,500 xp.

You can also pay for Lastin's wife's medicine before deciding his fate. This will cost you 500 gp and not change any of the rewards listed above.

The nicer you are to Lastin, the more your people will be happy. The meaner you are, the more your people will be mad.

Episode 3: Bolumir the Priest of Tempus

You'll meet Bolumir, a priest of Tempus, the war god. Bolumir will tell you that he's been inspired by tales of how you recaptured the keep from trolls, and that he'd like to commemorate the event by setting up a chapel to Tempus inside. You'll have three ways to respond:

• You can kick Bolumir out of the keep. This will make your people mad.
  
  
• You can decline Bolumir's offer. You'll earn 11,500 xp, and the happiness of your people won't change.
  
  
• You can accept Bolumir's offer. You'll earn 15,000 xp, and your people will become happier. Bolumir will set up shop in the former treasure chamber on the upper floor, and he'll offer standard temple services there. He'll also start selling potions and scrolls, plus Boots of Grounding: Talos's Gift and a Staff of Striking +3.

Episode 4: Lord Roenall

At some point after the previous episode, a keep messenger will come up to you and tell you that Lord Roenall is waiting for you in your stronghold, and that you should come quickly. You'll have about a week to comply. If you take too long, then Roenall will leave, and you'll only hear his message secondhand from the majordomo.

Note: If the messenger refuses to make an appearance for you, then you can spawn him with C:CreateCreature("kprunn01").

When you talk to the majordomo, he'll tell you that Lord Roenall is waiting for you impatiently. If you decline to see Roenall, then once again you'll receive his message secondhand, this time from a Roenall guard.

When you talk to Roenall, he'll tell you that your stronghold belongs to his family, and he'll ask you to give it up. You'll have two ways to respond:

• If you acquiesce, then you'll lose your stronghold. Roenall will evict you from the keep, and you won't be allowed to go back inside.
  
  
• If you tell Roenall to take a hike, then he'll tell you that he'll be back -- with an army. You'll see Roenall again in Episode 8.

Episode 5: Chanelle the Maid

You'll meet Chanelle, a girl the late Lord de'Arnise adopted and promised a dowry to. From talking to Chanelle, you'll learn that she loves a poor ranger named Jessup, but that she is also pondering an offer from the rich landowner Malvolio. She'll leave it up to you to decide which one she should marry:

• If you pick Malvolio, then you won't need to pay a dowry, and, in fact, Malvolio will offer to give you 500 gp for your trouble. If you refuse the money, then you'll earn 11,500 xp. If you take the money, then you won't earn any xp.
  
  
• If you pick Jessup, then you'll earn 15,500 xp, and you'll be able to pay 0, 100, or 500 gp for the dowry.
  
  
• You can also decide that neither suitor is good enough for Chanelle.

Your people will be happiest if you pick Jessup over Malvolio, and if you give the happy couple as much money as possible.

Episode 6: Moneylenders

You'll meet two people claiming to be moneylenders. They'll show you a marker indicating that the late Lord de'Arnise owed them 2000 gp. The majordomo will be suspicious of the moneylenders and their documentation, but he won't be able to prove that the debt isn't real. The moneylenders will also threaten to collect debts owed by your people, should you refuse to pay. You'll have two basic ways to respond:

• You can pay 2000 gp. With 15 Charisma, you can reduce the payment to 1000 gp. Selecting this option won't affect your people at all.
  
  
• You can have the moneylenders thrown out or executed. For this case, you'll have to decide if you want to help your people with their debts. The more you pay, the happier they'll be, and the more xp you'll earn -- 11,500 xp for 500 gp, or 15,500 xp for 1000 gp.

Episode 7: Flooded Farms

The majordomo will tell you that a recent flood damaged many nearby farms, mostly because your dikes were old and in poor repair. So first he'll ask you how much you'd like to spend to recompense your farmers. To maintain the happiness of your people, you should pay 5000 gp. This will earn you 15,500 xp. If you only offer to pay a portion of this amount, then you'll earn less xp (4500 to 13,000 xp) and your people will grow angry (unless you end up paying the full 5000 gp). If you don't pay anything, then your people will get really angry.

Next, the majordomo will ask you if you'd like to repair the dikes. If you agree to this, then you'll have to pay 2000 gp, but your people will grow happier. If you don't repair the dikes, then nothing good or bad will happen.

Episode 8: Roenall Invasion

About a week later, the keep messenger will find you again, and this time he'll tell you that Lord Roenall's army is on the move. When you return the keep and talk to the majordomo, you'll learn that Roenall and his army have arrived -- presumably right behind you -- and that Roenall himself is approaching the gates.

When you go outside to confront Roenall, you'll find him with a mage and a few other soldiers, but you'll have a handful of allied guards to help you out. The battle should not be difficult. When you kill Roenall (worth 12,000 xp), you'll automatically win the fight, and you'll be summoned back inside the keep, where the majordomo will heap praises upon you, and invite you to continue ruling "forevermore." This will earn you 50,000 xp. If you go back to the battlefield and loot the bodies, then you'll find a Bastard Sword +1 and Full Plate Mail +1 on Roenall's corpse, and Bracers of Defense AC 8, a Wand of Lightning, and lots of magical arrows on the other corpses.

From this point on, nothing else of interest will happen at the keep, but you'll continue to earn taxes, so be sure to check back in every so often to collect your gold.