John T., I lol'ed at number two. The answer to the question depends completely on my character motivation. though if I were playing my usual character it would be one of the following: 1) Lay siege to the castle. Even monsters have to eat, and eventually they will come out or start the infighting. 2) Plan one heck of a reentry campaign where I slowly take back my castle. Depending on the surroundings, I would be sure to let the populace know what was going on, so I would have instant recognition when my work was done. 3) Plant a bunch of false treasure maps and rumours amongst various adventurers and champions. Watch them do the work for me. Eat my heart out in frustration when they make of with MY treasure I didn't know my uncle had locked away in the basement. 4) Religious campaign to take back the castle. Call to faith. Use the opportunity to make my castle the base for whatever order answers the call, and add that new flavour / twist to my character and the campaign. 5) If I were feeling adventurous and wanted to add a twist (assuming we were in a fantasy campaign) and the monsters were of one race, i.e. a tribe of goblins, orcs, trolls, (whatever, with a community) I would pay a wizard to shapeshift me into a native monster, arrive at the castle. Challenge their leader for dominion, gain control of the tribe. Set myself up as a profet by preparing in advance (i.e. cheating). Lead them from the castle to something better. Lead them to conquest. Become a legend in my own time. Mysteriously disappear. Go live in my new castle, and wait for a tribe of goblins (now living far away) to start worshipping me as a saint. Who knows, it might confer demigodly powers. At the very least they represent an ace up my sleeve for the future. That's just the things I came up with in 10 minutes.
