During Shadows of Amn events, you have the opportunity to obtain a stronghold based on Gorion’s Ward’s class choices after the completion of certain quests. Each stronghold has its own functions that range from adding more gold to your coffers to creating exclusive magical items. Obtaining a stronghold also opens up a series of subsequent quest events, yielding more XP and rewards.
Only one stronghold can be acquired (except when acquiring the Five Flagons Theatre as an evil charactern). Multi-class protagonists will be offered strongholds of all their classes, but taking the first prevents them from obtaining any other, even if they’ve completed the prerequisite quests. For dual-class protagonists, only the current active class(es) counts towards the stronghold check, for example, berserker (9) > mage (8) are only eligible for The Planar Sphere until they finish the dual so that de'Arnise Hold is added to the list. In classic games, there were ways to bypass the restriction such as intentionally refusing Nalia’s offer then setting off to finish the prerequisite quests for other strongholds; all are invalid in the Enhanced Editions, which have fixed these exploits.
Remember to loot but do not leave any important items within some stronghold areas during the prerequisite quests, namely de'Arnise Keep and Mae'Var's Guildhall etc, as the stronghold area you have access to later is technically a different one (with different area codes) and you have no means to return to the area’s previous version.
| Prerequisite quest | Active class | Stronghold offer |
|---|---|---|
| The de'Arnise Keep has been Invaded | Fighter, Barbarian, Monk, Blackguard | Ruling the de'Arnise Keep and Lands |
| Investigate the deaths in the Umar Hills | Ranger | Ranger-Protector of the Umar Hills |
| Rescue Garren's child from Firkraag | Paladin (except Blackguard) | Paladin Stronghold Duties |
| Find and Destroy the Cult of the Unseeing | Cleric | Cleric Stronghold |
| Animal trouble in Trademeet | Druid | Heeding the Spirit of the Grove |
| The hunt for Valygar Corthala | Mage, Sorcerer | Claiming the Sphere |
| Find Proof of Mae'Var's Treachery | Thief | Thieves' Guild Stronghold |
| Rescue Raelis and Haer'Dalis from the planar prison | Bard | Running the Five Flagons Playhouse |
| N/A | Shaman | N/A |
Notes[]
- It is possible for an evil protagonist to acquire the Five Flagons Theatre as a stronghold without being a bard. More details can be found on the page Running the Five Flagons Playhouse.
Related mods[]
- Tweaks Anthology (cdtweaks)’s multiple strongholds component
- Expanded Mage Stronghold
- Expanded Thief Stronghold