D&D 5E [SKT] Players want to 'own' Nightstone

[Imaculata]

Sorry I explained that badly, ...derail the published material... would be a better way to put it. You are correct that D&D is not a book with predicated outcomes - at lest not if the DM is even slightly good - but the option I presented here would take the campaign well away from what's in the book and require a fair amount of work from the DM. He'll be planning at least a session (more IMO) to allow for the PCs to play through actually getting Nightstone.

The trick I employ for this problem, is to simply deligate all that base-preparation work to the players. I present them with a simple price list, and ask them to design their base for themselves. And as it turns out, the players really love doing that sort of stuff. It makes that part of the campaign all their own.

Once they are settled in, they of course need to hire npc's for various tasks in their base. These npc's then serve as a way of handing plot hooks to the players, and get them back on the trail of adventure.

As a graybeard (over 30 years of D&D experience), it chaffs me when 1st-5th level PC "bums" decide they want to be landowners and the players go insane when they can't do this out of the gate (the pre-gen's gate in this case). If one of them had rolled Noble background, it'd be only slightly less of an issue. As is, they said:

If they have the finances, what's stopping them?

 

[Eltab]

When my group began playing through PotA, we cleaned out the cave near town first. After going most of the way through the Earth Dungeon - which sat right under the town - I suggested we should move ourselves into the cave. Because we were becoming a danger to the inhabitants due to the attention we were garnering. (Also because I wanted to design a customized base for us in the empty caverns.)
I never got the chance to go through with this, but it still sounds like a fun diversion.

As long as the players realize they are going to be travelling a lot in SKT, sure go ahead and let them design a nice warm roaring fireplace and comfy bed to return to once in a while. If they succeed in solving the giant problem, they can get a one-lifetime-only deed to the place, with option to pay the Nandars to make the deed perpetual. (In effect, they become subordinates of the Nandar noble house.)