Inspiration for your new hearth

I could be bounded in a nutshell and count myself a king of infinite space. (Hamlet II.ii.272)

The Doctor’s police box – the Sanctum Sanctorum of Doctor Strange – Encanto‘s Casita – all these deceptive exteriors conceal surprising interiors and capacious volumes. These extradimensional structures aren’t portals as such, like a wardrobe passage to Narnia, or the quincunx-shaped Edgewood house in John Crowley’s Little, Big. They’re not outdoor landscapes of endless depth, like Ryhope Wood in Robert Holdstock’s Mythago Wood and sequels. These places are bases. Whether a house or a vehicle or a snowglobe, each of these domiciles serves as a free-standing headquarters, a trusted place – a home. These safe spaces inspired Manse Magnificent.

Some little-big houses in fantasy stories encompass literally the entire universe: the library in “The Aleph” by Jorge Luis Borges; Evenmere in James Stoddard’s novels The High House, The False House, and Evenmere; the Palace of the Goddess in Michael Swanwick’s The Iron Dragon’s Daughter. Manse Magnificent‘s Cornerstone builds its hearth on a smaller, less metaphysical scale. The player characters live the good life in what amounts to a fine hotel. We skip the “infinite interior” idea. Imagine trying to dust it all and clean the rugs.

The hearth provides worry-free refuge for any adventuring party. After a hardscrabble day scrounging for treasure, your group can take the refuge that suits you. Is it a plausible medieval cabin, a faintly anachronistic Renaissance villa, or a gonzo playhouse? You choose. You can eat a sedate meal, relax in the study, and retire to your dim bedchamber; you can run bumper-car races in giant water bubbles rolling down the hallways. Some groups think it’s fine to stage kaiju battles in an amusement-park arena, but draw the line at an indoor pool or a grand piano. Customize the weirdness to your taste. Manse Magnificent may bind you in a nutshell, but its kernel is your own personalized, individuated, exclusive dream nut.

And even this comfy nutshell can prompt adventures. To take advantage of your cool private labs and workshops, you need rare materials from the outside world. Your Host hears news and gossip from across the multiverse. The library holds untold secrets. You can join an interplanar club. And now and then you may happen on an unexpected attic or sub-basement. As real estate agents like to say, this place is full of possibilities.