Residence Expansion

[Andras]

First off, this idea is not completely original. This idea has been taken from another game and adapted for this one (primarily because it was my favorite part of that other game and it may work here). Also, I do not want to create anything game-changing. I want to add something that, while not needed, makes the character just a bit stronger.

When you look at our residences, many of us have some sort of castle, hall, tower... ect. In other words, we have buildings that would ideally have space for more people to live at or possibly have a small town built around. Of course, our residences have been infested with monsters before we have taken them, so no one else would be there and no town would be there either. This is where the basis of my idea begins.
______________________
Buildings:
Buildings more or less create places for people you can recruit to live or work. Afterall, if you recruit a Blacksmith without having a Forge, he can't exactly work. That being said, you can't just build a forge without materials. So the beginning buildings would have to be...

Lumber mill - Allows you to go on repeatable quests for lumber. If lumberjacks are hired, they will acquire lumber daily.

Mine - If miners are hired, they will acquire ore and stone daily. If special ore veins are found, new minerals are accessible. My original idea was to have ore veins added in various quests. One issue would be the fact that many people have completed old quests and wouldn't have access to them. So, in new quests, added as random encounters (in those random caves perhaps?).

Once those two buildings are built (with a stash of materials found in the store room of your residence), more advanced buildings can be created. Some would also be Mutually Exclusive

Barracks

Forge

Graveyard

Wizard Tower

Witchhunter Quarters/Wolf-den

Merchant - Adds a place to sell items

Ect.... if this idea takes off I will add more ideas here.

Edit
In order to prevent this from becoming a resource management game, one possibility would be to simply scrap the idea of resources and simply use gold. This would prevent it from making the game (or this aspect of the game) about getting resources. Scrapping the idea of resources does effect the next few ideas so keep that in mind.
______________________
Recruitment:
Recruiting people to join your residence in order to add new features. These characters can be people from other quests, often depending upon choices, and from challenges and quests. A fine example would be....

Barynbor - To recruit him, you must first beat him in combat and own a barracks. Unlocks Combat Training at your residence, where you must beat him again for a temporary MR boost.

Lumberjack ______ (up to three, random names?) - Recruited from Borimm's Forest Hall with gold.

Miner ______ (up to three, random names?) - Unsure for now.

Ranger _____ - Allows you to choose a favored enemy, giving you an MR bonus against them (Ogre, Troll, Goblin, Tzaril). May only choose once.

Alchemist - Creates potions for your guards to use during their quests.

Ect....
_____________________

Now for what I really wanted to focus on... the choices the player would have to make. If certain minerals are extremely limited (say only enough for one building that requires it), then the player would have to choose between the ones listed and decide which of the bonuses they want. Of course, the ideas aren't listed yet, and once again, I will expand if other's like the idea.

In addition to making choices, I would like to add an alignment effect here. Different alignments get access to things the others do not. If you are no longer of that alignment, you lose access to that bonus until you return to it.
For example, Diabolic/Demonic (I would say demonic only but that would be pointless because then only Iakor wielders can get it) can summon (with gating) a Demon. I say Marquis Andras (there is a reason I chose this name, Andras is reportedly a Marquis of Demons and focuses on Chaos) and can make a deal with a demon. What bonus this would gain, I am uncertain. Perhaps a minor damage boost to Gating damage. Saintly would be able to either summon or recruit a different being and get a different bonus, perhaps a minor bonus Restoration Healing (in combat).

____________________
Guards:
Here is a part that I am uncertain that if it is needed or not, or if it would even fit, but it would allow for a lot of the buildings to be more useful. Characters are recruited and placed in a guard retinue. They get upgraded by gear created by the blacksmith (and maybe even the enchanter... afterall, if you recruit a mage, he will likely need a staff) and trained by various recruited characters and through your own General Experience.

While they do get stronger through training from recruited characters, they also get stronger from quests they embark on. In other words, they go on their own seperate quests, without you. You fight as them for some easier quests (perhaps as simple as defending the town or clearing a small dungeon). Their stats go up as they level. These quests would have to be repeatable.

These guards would be different depending upon what type is hired. I would limit the number of guards you can hire, lets say 5 for now. Also, recruited people/built buildings unlock different guards, maybe even a guard of a certain type of a certain level to unlock advanced ones as well.

Warrior - The first average character. Medium Armor.
Knight - Can wear heavier armor than Warrior. Heavy Armor.
Rogue - More damage for less SP. Light Armor.
Berserker - No Armor. Average Damage, increases as SP decreases. Access to Battlerage.
Elementalist - The basic mage. Requires a Wizard Tower. Low SP. Average NV. Robe armor.
Summoner - Can use gating in combat. Low SP. Average NV. Robe armor.
Necromancer - Requires a Graveyard. Can use Necromancy in combat. Moderate SP, Low NV. Robe armor.
Demoness - Requires the Demon Andras. Can use Gating. Moderate SP
Werewolf - Requires a Wolf Den. Then bring a guard with you against Talderus Redborn (must get bitten and then brought to the wolf den to complete the transformation). Randomly regenerates small amounts of SP. High Base SP (but cannot use armor)
Witchhunter - Requires a Witchhunter Barracks. Extra damage versus anyone with specials.

Armors increase SP depending upon what is built and what that character has access to.

Now for the big bonus that everything led up to....
You can take a guard with you on normal quests (only one). Different Guards grant different bonuses.

Warrior - As the first Guard available, s/he is the weakest. Deals small damage randomly.
Knight - Will randomly block some damage taken (does not include specials, and does not include all damage taken, just a fraction. So if you are suppose to take 8, he can block at a certain number of it, say 3. But if you get hit by 30, he will still only block 3).
Rogue - Randomly backstabs an enemy at the start of combat, dealing damage.
Berserker - Deals damage randomly, dependent upon your SP. The less you have, the more damage he deals.
Elementalist - Uncertain
Summoner - Uncertain
Necromancer - Uncertain
Demoness - Uncertain
Werewolf - Taints them, lowering the enemies MR for either a set amount of turns or for the battle.
Witchhunter - Will rarely block an enemy special... completely.

The effects get stronger as that guard gets stronger.

If anyone has ideas for what special abilities the various guards can have, please post them. Ideas for buildings, guards, and recruit-able NPCs are welcome as well.

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Simplified Version:

First off, You'd pay to freshen up your residence. Then you can pay to add buildings.

You'd build buildings (Barracks allows all fighting types, Forge allows for armor to be made, and Wizard Tower allows for all mage-types) with ranging gold/minor XP costs. Then you can hire people at varying rates (X gold per every hour that character is logged in) to work as craftsmen and supply gatherers. They will support your guards.

Then you can hire up to 6 guards: 3 fighters and 3 mages. Fighters: Warrior and Knight/Rouge (only if you're above/below Neutral). If you're at Neutral, you can only recruit warriors.
Mages: Elementalist/Necromancer, Summoner and Healer*/Witchhunter.

There would be some way (probably a hidden random roll every X minutes) for Bandits and monsters to attack your residence. This cannot happen until you have at least one guard. Then battle would ensue with 3 pairs pair of guards (one Mage and one Fighter in each) Vs. the bandits or monsters.

Healer - Decreases the time it takes for your troops to recover in the barracks (itself included). Low SP. Average NV. Robe armor.

[Doolipalally]

I appreciate the thought you've put into this. My immediate reaction, though, is that although you do say you don't want to create anything game-changing, this would have a major effect and would change the 'feel' of the game quite a lot.

There are lots of games out there which work on a similar basis to your outline: they're about building power bases, expansion of villages, recruiting armies and workers, husbanding resources, etc etc. I've played a few and liked some.

Do we really need another one?

Sryth at the moment is different. It focuses on story-telling, rather than a complex game mechanism. That's what makes it stand out from other games.

This sort of development would require a lot of time and effort to implement. For example, if your idea about being accompanied on quests by recruited 'guards' were to be adopted, it would have a big effect on the difficulty of existing quests. Were you thinking that it would only affect new content, or were you envisaging that existing content would be modified to allow for the new developments?

I like the idea of developing residences so that they become more useful to their owners. I'm just not sure that what you describe is the best way of doing it.

One more thought: our characters at the moment are solitary adventurers, sometimes making their own way through the world, sometimes acting as swords for hire for various individuals, whether it's a city guard captain or a border ranger leader or a Thane or the king himself. If they started turning their residences into small towns and recruiting not only workers but also warriors, then they would effectively become noblemen within Tysa, earning revenue from their holdings. How would you reconcile this with the existing system of Thanes governing under the king? What about the economic implications?

[Zedalion]

Personally, I'd just like the ability to make my residence not a crumbling dump. My character would happily spend hundreds of thousands of gold pieces to change that one line of descriptive text. :)

[Andras]

The other games focus on building large-scale military in order to dominate other players. This would be stand-alone. You aren't trying to dominate the realms, or anything.

That being said, my idea may have come off as too complicated. It may need to be simplified a great deal. I would rather it be simple and something to work on as you complete quests. For example, when you explore, you find an ore vein. Or you find someone you can recruit. Things you get as you play. Or, even simpler, no resources, just use gold. I just placed those two things there as a basis. I would, however, prefer that things still be based upon choices, where you need to choose between options rather than being able to get everything.

There is a great deal of balance that needs to be focused on. I just placed ideas that popped into my head into the fields. The frequency of effects may balance it. For example, if the Witchhunters effect only occured as often as Hale Blade's full heal, I do not believe it is too unbalanced.

The guard's quests would not be quests that the player would normally undertake, it would be their own unique quests.

You pointed out two of my biggest concerns actually. The story and the development. Development may take a very long time, which I do not want. I would rather prefer other things get developed. The other issue is the story. Much of what is written really wouldn't make sense with a guard being with you. Not sure how to work around that either. It isn't as if you can miraculously summon them for battle and then have them leave afterwards.

As for becoming a noble, I am uncertain if that is an issue for the moment. There are five thanes and more than five towns. If the town stays small, you may not become a noble. Also, if you are not the owner, merely someone with a residence nearby who is invested in expanding the town, then you don't own the area. But I do understand your point of it becoming too large. The town would have to remain small for this to work.

In other words, the idea obviously needs work.
____________________

Just thought of something. You mentioned economic implications. I assume you are referring to how a new town would effect trade in the kingdom. Considering multiple towns get destroyed throughout the game (Kolnia, Silverwisp... maybe others, I have not completed everything), I do not think the addition of a town will greatly effect things.

[Doolipalally]

Development may take a very long time, which I do not want. I would rather prefer other things get developed.

This is a recurring problem with Sryth. Much of the time, when people make suggestions, the consensus seems to be 'would be nice in an ideal world, but we'd rather have the loose ends tied up and more new adventures'.

Much of what is written really wouldn't make sense with a guard being with you. Not sure how to work around that either. It isn't as if you can miraculously summon them for battle and then have them leave afterwards.

There's also the idea of 'familiars', which seems to be something the GM dreamed up and then put on indefinite hold. Presumably they would operate much like the guards you're talking about. I've been wondering for a while whether part of the reason for shelving them was that it was too complicated to work out the mechanisms for having them with you, and how they would affect the storyline.

As for becoming a noble, I am uncertain if that is an issue for the moment. There are five thanes and more than five towns. If the town stays small, you may not become a noble. Also, if you are not the owner, merely someone with a residence nearby who is invested in expanding the town, then you don't own the area. But I do understand your point of it becoming too large. The town would have to remain small for this to work.


I wasn't very clear when I was talking about that. I was using 'noble' in a very vague sense, just to mean 'landowner with power'. I didn't mean to equate 'noble' with 'Thane'. Thanes in Sryth are more like regional governors, really, in that they're political appointees. We don't know whether any estates or wealth go with the job.



Just thought of something. You mentioned economic implications. I assume you are referring to how a new town would effect trade in the kingdom. Considering multiple towns get destroyed throughout the game (Kolnia, Silverwisp... maybe others, I have not completed everything), I do not think the addition of a town will greatly effect things.

Actually I meant more with relation to our personal finances. There's a gold cap, which means that the GM's decided that accumulation of wealth is not going to be one of the game's objectives. If our characters possessed the sort of resources you're talking about, that would normally lead to the generation of wealth.

[Andras]

There is a gold cap? What is it?

If you don't own the land but rather assist in helping to fund it (afterall, you do get access to other things there so there is incentive to help create everything without owning it), you don't necessarily need to have to generate wealth from it. It does sound a bit odd to more or less fund something but not own it but... it's an angle that may work.

[scout1idf]

There is a gold cap? What is it?

1,000,000 gold tokens

[Andras]

I assumed a million would be the cap. Seems to be the number most games go with.

I do have to ask, why do people quote posts right above them? It is fairly obvious what you are responding to.

[Lyrehc]

People quote posts above them because they never know when someone else may reply in the middle. Cuts down on possible confusion and/or the need to edit or serial post to clarify intent.

[thingirl]

(BTW, we have horizontal rule tags. /hr])
[hr]

This sound interesting, but way too much. And like Dooli said, this isn't the real feel of Sryth. However...


First off, You'd pay to freshen up your residence. Then you can pay to add buildings.

You'd build buildings (Barracks allows all fighting types, Forge allows for armor to be made, and Wizard Tower allows for all mage-types) with ranging gold/minor XP costs. Then you can hire people at varying rates (X gold per every hour that character is logged in) to work as craftsmen and supply gatherers. They will support your guards.

Then you can hire up to 6 guards: 3 fighters and 3 mages. Fighters: Warrior and Knight/Rouge (only if you're above/below Neutral). If you're at Neutral, you can only recruit warriors.
Mages: Elementalist/Necromancer, Summoner and Healer*/Witchhunter.

There would be some way (probably a hidden random roll every X minutes) for Bandits and monsters to attack your residence. This cannot happen until you have at least one guard. Then battle would ensue with 3 pairs pair of guards (one Mage and one Fighter in each) Vs. the bandits or monsters.

Healer - Decreases the time it takes for your troops to recover in the barracks (itself included). Low SP. Average NV. Robe armor.

EDIT: People quote posts above them because they never know when someone else may reply in the middle. Cuts down on possible confusion and/or the need to edit or serial post to clarify intent.

Exactly. That's especially helpful when you're a type slow.

[Andras]

I am going to edit the first post to include some of the changes posted.

thingirl, would you like for me to add your post as a quote for another view of the idea?

[Lightwielder]

Can I be blunt? I do not like this idea.

I intend no offense to you, Andras, but I don't think it would really fill into Sryth very well. It would wind up like the Border Ranger's Guild and the Library of Longlight. You get them maxed out, but then there's nothing else, and you keep waiting for something else, and then you just forget about them.

I'd rather that the GM be focusing on adventures, and stuff like that.

[scout1idf]

I assumed a million would be the cap. Seems to be the number most games go with.

I do have to ask, why do people quote posts right above them? It is fairly obvious what you are responding to.
Quotes are also helpful on an unexpected page change as well.

[thingirl]

thingirl, would you like for me to add your post as a quote for another view of the idea?

Umm, sure. You don't have to ask. It's your thread. Although my idea is a wayyyyyy cut down and less complicated version of yours.


I'd also like to add that you would have resources to give to your support people, but you would buy them with gold.

[Andras]

It's just polite to ask. I want to put it in because it is a simplified version. It's another option.

[kzero]

Seems like very detailed ideas, Andras. The GM would probably be very interested if you sent him the contents of your initial post, if not just for future possibilities (via the Send Feedback link).

But like others have said, most of them seem very radical from the game's current mechanics, except possibly adding additional residence buildings. I haven't yet gotten my own residence, though, so don't have much else to add.

[scout1idf]

.......But like others have said, most of them seem very radical from the game's current mechanics, except possibly adding additional residence buildings........

I always assumed that other buildings existed, just that their relevance has not been added.

Kinda like when a new location opens up in a village or city. It was always there, we just didn't need it (yet) so we didn't see it.

[Young Ned]

Actually, the GM already has some plans for allowing us to enhance and upgrade our Grand Residences. When he first added the residences to the game, the announcements said that it would be possible to improve our residences "soon", though I don't recall him ever saying in what way exactly. (Which doesn't mean he didn't say, just that I don't remember whether he did.)

So some of your suggestions may already be covered by his plans, and/or some of them may conflict horribly with those plans. Impossible to say until we find out more about his plans.

[Zedalion]

Apologies for pretty severe necrothreading.

Residences and improving them has been a concern of mine for some time now. I wrote to the GM about it and received a response, I thought you all might be interested to see it.

---------------------------------------

Here's my original message, formatted a bit weirdly, probably because I submitted it through the little suggestion portal within the game.

Hello,

I know the game keeps you very busy and I know you must receive a
hundred suggestions a day with players advocating for whatever their
own special request might be. I just like to periodically throw in my
two cents as a friendly suggestion and nothing more.

I'd still really like to see the option to renovate the residences.
This wouldn't have to do anything fancy- just a way to spend gold to
improve the description of the residence. Perhaps one could also pay
for additional servants, guards, a standing army, and so forth. None of
this would have to have a function, just be described upon entering the
residence.

It would help suck gold out of people's inventory, at any rate!

Anyway, as I said, nothing serious, just an item from my personal
wishlist.

--------------------------------

And the response from the GM;

Hi, thanks as always for playing and for writing. I appreciate the
suggestions and feedback.

Upgrades/enhancements to the residences are on the list for the near
future. Some of the upgrades will be functional, but many will be
cosmetic in nature that will help to enhance a score that will be
associated with each of the special residences. The residences will
have a leaderboard of their own, based on their overall score.

The ideas you've mentioned are just the sorts of things that I will
be looking to incorporate in the residence upgrades.

Thanks again, and please let me know if you have any questions or
if you have any more suggestions for the residence upgrades.

As always, all the best!

----------------------------------

So, thoughts?

[Oldschool]

I like it - thanks for querying the GM and posting his response.

[Havoc]

You know what would be cool...

Residence expansions that need AT... but are cosmetic only. They would serve no purpose whatsoever, apart from adding to your score. For example, you could build a grand fountain, and whenever you want, toss a toekn in, for 'good luck'. These tokens would be collected up by your janitor every day, and donated to the Border Rangers' widows* fund.

Benefits:
GM - gets more donations
Big Donators - get something to do with their excess tokens
The rest of us - get to compete on a *slightly* more equal footing
Border Rangers - see a massive surge in recruitment

Downsides - None that I can see


* Sorry, that should be spelled windows. You'd be suprised how often the windows at the one-of-a-kind indoor archery range need replacing. And the windows that those dammed urchins/bandits-in-training break. And the one we lost during the last thunderstorm. And the set they were trying to paint, but used slightly sharper brushes than intended. And the ones at the vault, that ended up an unfortunate casualty of the last raid. And of course, that really clear glass door I walked through last visit. (What? Just because it's a door doesn't mean it's not also a window.)



Figure out how much, if any, of this post was serious.

[Oldschool]

LMAO and repped when allowed.

Envisions a few members reactions....

http://t1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQeceKOROYlnGEX39AMlj87_c3tCFwoU xNlmefA4Xd17ICtBj4&t=1&usg=__RVSh0opGvzjtQjSo62NDviAaZW0= ;)

[Elrond]

First off, thank you, Zed, for the initiative to write and for the information. Changing the dormant residence description and status would be a much appreciated development. But dang it! I want the cellar issues resolved. I don't want to live in a ghost den. It is my residence and I want to rest there. For adventure; I can always seek it outside the residence.

[Oldschool]

Considering current events a bump seemed appropriate.

Was trying to find the "private fence" mention. Iirc it probably came from the old forum as I seem to recall possible renovations/etc... being discussed there as well.

Well necro'd the old forum and it seems it wasn't exactly a suggestion. From the Farmdyn the estate merchant" thread on the old forum, http://shadowwolf47.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=talk&action=display&thread=4655



Actually, I'm guessing that these residences will be on the same lines as the ones won from the 'Festival of Blades'.

The benefits of that residence are:
1) Increased item storage limit
2) A private grinding dungeon (actually not worth much xp)
3) A 'Fence' who buys your items for 75% of value, upto a max of 5000 gold. (if i remember correctly)
4) Instant travel to and from most cities, and to a few choice replayables.

The downsides:
The item management system is quite a pain in the **** Still since they're already in place and we seem to already have two of them maybe we'll get our own fence.





And I stumbled across these from earlier in this thread. Legendary initiative and divination to Zed btw.

Personally, I'd just like the ability to make my residence not a crumbling dump. My character would happily spend hundreds of thousands of gold pieces to change that one line of descriptive text. :)

Apologies for pretty severe necrothreading.

Residences and improving them has been a concern of mine for some time now. I wrote to the GM about it and received a response, I thought you all might be interested to see it.

---------------------------------------

Here's my original message, formatted a bit weirdly, probably because I submitted it through the little suggestion portal within the game.

Hello,

I know the game keeps you very busy and I know you must receive a
hundred suggestions a day with players advocating for whatever their
own special request might be. I just like to periodically throw in my
two cents as a friendly suggestion and nothing more.

I'd still really like to see the option to renovate the residences.
This wouldn't have to do anything fancy- just a way to spend gold to
improve the description of the residence. Perhaps one could also pay
for additional servants, guards, a standing army, and so forth. None of
this would have to have a function, just be described upon entering the
residence.

It would help suck gold out of people's inventory, at any rate!

Anyway, as I said, nothing serious, just an item from my personal
wishlist.

--------------------------------

And the response from the GM;

Hi, thanks as always for playing and for writing. I appreciate the
suggestions and feedback.

Upgrades/enhancements to the residences are on the list for the near
future. Some of the upgrades will be functional, but many will be
cosmetic in nature that will help to enhance a score that will be
associated with each of the special residences. The residences will
have a leaderboard of their own, based on their overall score.

The ideas you've mentioned are just the sorts of things that I will
be looking to incorporate in the residence upgrades.

Thanks again, and please let me know if you have any questions or
if you have any more suggestions for the residence upgrades.

As always, all the best!

----------------------------------

So, thoughts?

[Zedalion]

I am, needless to say, really psyched about this. It's the kind of small thing that a number of you may not have cared much about, but it was weirdly deeply important to me.

I even updated my location description!

[Lightwielder]

Actually, I think we do. We all know that that is what you have been hoping for quite some time. :) Have fun, Zedalion.

[darkrkngl]

One thing I'd like to see added within the fixing of the residence is a conclusion to the mirror and a possible enhancement for the residence from it.

The quest would require a set Grandeur level (say 80 since it's the current max and would be a nice addition), having finished the shadow swarms already and midnight visitor since it covers some info on the subject, possibly the broken hilt quest for Tallys as well for the ring(if sold/dropped it magically appears on residence bed at beginning of quest and vanishes at the end). Basically, you enter the mirror and, through steps or one big quest, clear out the shadows and/or master within the realm, as the last foe dies a shadow mark leaps from their body onto yours giving claim of this realm to you.

Now that you are its master you can develop this realm. If he isn't the previous master, the mage that had been mentioned in midnight visitor could help and guard the realm for you. My idea would be for it to become a study. A new set of quests could be made to have you running around gathering a small library and equipment to gather to finish piecing it together. the final reward would be a place which gives a reduction in skill/power development cost. I would only venture to something like 5%, which would be considerable but not game breaking. Also after finishing it you are given a hand mirror which, while not on a quest, would be able to teleport you back to the study from anywhere in the realm.

[thingirl]

I don't remember saying it, so.. Welcome to the Forum, Darkrkngl!

I like that idea. :) Especially the return to the study.

Or maybe it could be another quest... The magician (assuming he's helping you for the moment) gives the mirror to you, and the first time you use it, it teleports you to somewhere else and strips you of your weapons and armor and you have to first get them back and then defeat the magician. And after he dies, a portal appears to the study, which is now firmly under your control.

[darkrkngl]

Thanks for the Welcomes everyone, both here and everywhere else within the forums. One other idea would would be a trophy room for the MP monsters, basically a head, portion of pumpkin shell, urn of tar, etc given to those who land the finishing blow to the monster. This is not an item right now, I know, but would be introduced after the room is installed. This would be for bragging rights and possible 5-10 grandeur each.

Also it would be interesting if we were able to have a "walk-through tour" of the top house(s) to be able to see their decorations in addition to seeing who was on top. This might be hard to code so I would put a lower priority on this idea than installing new quests and enhancements for our characters

[darkrkngl]

I guess now we need to suggest how we'd like so of the currently just decorative.

For my part I'd like the living tapestries to be like the old man from the Goblinclaw inn in that they provide quanta jumps to put right what once went wrong. a similar reward would also be nice, but I don't want to seem like I'm just asking for boosts and would be fine with just xp and gold ;)

also for humor, I'd like to be able to enchant my Troll head to say a random fortune every time I return home from a long day of gathering blobs and blood gems.

[gregwalton]

I use my coachman extensively, especially when grinding, but I just returned from longspur downs and notices that my trusty charger Dauntless was slightly fatigued. I think adding a stable with stablehands, would be a fine addition to Griffonflight Castle. I would work just like the quickstone auto rest, whenever you return to the residence, your mount is cared for as if you had made the all the clicks to TEND TO YOUR MOUNT. Either the cost of maintenance could be assumed in the cost of the stable, or you could auto deduct the gold each time you return.

On a side note, since I believe the residence is basically a mechanic to part players from their gold, I think another way to add realism would be to add a monthly upkeep charge to the residence to cover the expenses of the minstrels, huntsmen and women, and all the other servants. It would also do away with the daily $150 to feed the moat monster. Just lump it all into a $1000 GP a month (or more) and call it upkeep.