Chapter 6:

Unusual Castles

The castle design system presented in the previous chapter has been purposefully simplified. The reason for this is fairly obvious--by keeping it simple we have made it easy to use and kept it highly versatile. In this chapter we will discuss some of the more unusual types of castles that may be found in the typical AD&D game. In some cases, where it seems needed, we have included notes on the use of the castle design system.

The oriental empires of the twelfth, thirteenth, and fourteenth centuries thought in terms of great achievements and magnificent structures. While feudal Europe lacked the population and resources to build anything more than a motte and bailey, or in their greatest achievement, construct a concentric castle, the oriental empires engaged in massive developments. Their works were beyond anything imaginable by medieval Europeans. The palace of Shi Huangdi, for example, required the efforts of 700,000 slave laborers working for more than two years. By the time the palace was finished it could house and entertain 10,000 guests. Oriental empires are obsessed with size and grandeur. They do not think twice about building gigantic statues that stand a hundred feet tall, or constructing 3,000 terra-cotta statues of foot soldiers to be placed in a tomb. When an oriental palace or castle is built, it is looked on as a place of exquisite beauty. Thus, all oriental castles are required to be built with the price and time increments for "ornate" structures. When a character constructs a keep, more often known as a palace or castle, he must remember to build all facets of his estate in larger than life proportions. That is, if he desires a moat to surround his keep, make it a large moat, measuring hundreds of feet wide. If he plans on building a wall, make it two or three times as thick and high as the standard European wall. In oriental kingdoms, land is gained either by grants from a noble lord or in conquest and aggression. Rarely will a lord obtains land by Royal Charter. In addition, the practice of one lord buying land from another is unheard of. Honor is the driving force behind oriental castles. To create a mighty fortress is to gain honor. To make it also a work of art, is to prove oneself a wise and thoughtful lord. By combining these elements, an oriental lord may prove himself to his peers and his beloved ancestors.

Thieves' castles, or "strongholds", are almost always built closer to major centers of civilization than typical warrior holdings. Thieves rarely seek land charters or grants, and only in a very few instances will they take land by force. More commonly, the thief simply buys a small parcel of land, usually near or within a town or great city. If need be, and the situation presents itself, a thief will also lease the land he requires to feed and care for his retainers. Unlike most adventuring thieves, the common burglar or highwaymen cares little for the dangers and unknowns of virgin countryside, besides there is nothing to steal in the wild lands. A thief will tend to go in for very meager looking exterior fortifications, suggesting to the passerby that little is held within. Once in his domain, however, a thief's keep will be adorned with precious silks, beautiful sculptures, and fine statues. Gold and silver plates and eating utensils will be set at the tables and a variety of servants and underlings will serve aged wines and succulent foods of every variety. In short, thieves like the good life, and they do tend to pamper themselves when they can. A stronghold will often start out as nothing more than a large wooden building. As time goes by, it may develop into a stone building if the thief becomes very successful later in life. As his fortunes grow, so does his estate. Unlike warriors, who often set out to build a mighty fortress, thieves find that their keeps just evolve around them. The interior and the basements beneath such a building will be a maze of rooms and corridors, some laced with lethal traps for any foolish invader. The former characteristic is often the result of the castle's growth, while the latter is an intentional safeguard. In general, since the thief's stronghold is so close to a town or city, and within the boundaries of another lord's estate, he rarely worries about large scale invasion. Rather, the thief must contend with his own kind, who are fond of slipping in and stealing a bauble or two.

Wizards, in general, are a haughty lot. They prefer a secluded tower in some remote land to a mighty keep in a civilized countryside. A wizard is also far more interested in the esoteric realms of magic, than in maintaining a large assemblage of servants, retainers, and farmers. They will rarely seek to become a lord and thus be forced to deal with the day to day activities of some petty fief. Wizards, with their cunning intelligence and resourcefulness will almost always seek to gain a land charter or grant from the prevailing government. Some wizards may attempt to take land by force but, as wizards are not known for their battle prowess, they usually leave that method to the warriors and knights. Wizards' keeps are always constructed of stone and more often than not contain a moat with some terrifying beast to keep the many distractions at bay. As one might imagine, the use of magic in the construction of a wizard's tower often overshadows the common folk who might be called upon to build it. Tales may be told for generations to come of the great magician who built his home with a brilliant display of fire and magic--and a little help from the townsfolk.

In most fantasy environments religion will be an enormous institution, coveting large tracts of land and hoarding large coffers of treasure and tribute. Priests' temples will vary in size and shape considerably, depending on the type of climate, the lay of the land, and the people of the area. Once a priest builds his fortress, the character will often receive financial support from the community in the form of tithes, in theory equal to a tenth of the local town's worth. This, on more than one occasion, has caused rifts between lord and religion. The priest's fortress is not made or broken by the tithing or by large tracts of land, but by the ability of the local church to touch upon the peasants' hearts and souls. Through this unique ability, the religion will be stronger than any barony or fiefdom could ever hope to become. In most realms it is as bad to have no religion as it is to have no laws. Any decent and religious lord will be all but required to construct a temple or church first on or near the site of his own castle. Thus, a priest's fortress can, and many of times will be, found within the boundaries of another lord's barony. In certain rare occasions, a priest may go off into the wilderness to construct his own fortress, but in such cases the priest's goal is seclusion. As a rule, his retinue and ambitions will tend to be far smaller than those of his city dwelling brethren. A priest's fortress will always be made of strong stone, unless the surrounding land and people are too diminutive to support such a construction or his faith forbids its use. The fortress will act as a shield against outside influences as much as the castle's walls do. In any event, the fortress will usually be opulent in every aspect of its design. Where possible, roofs of buildings will be worked metal such as copper, and plated with silver, gold, or other luxurious metals. Unless the tenets of the faith forbid it, a priest's fortress should always be ornate. The centerpiece of the priest's fortress is the large cathedral structure at its heart. This portion of the keep contains the greatest amount of adornments including friezes, facades, colonnades, statues, and fountains. Such constructions are assumed to be present in any ornate cathedral. A religious fortress, unless located in lands fraught with danger, will rarely construct large defensive walls or battlements. Some religious temples may contain a number of underground constructions such as large wine cellars, secret abbeys, long twisting tunnels, or a number of underground chambers used for various purposes. A priest will more than likely be given a land grant from the head of his religious institution. In some cases, however, land may be acquired by Royal Charter. On rare occasions, priests may come into possession of the land they desire after a fierce crusade against an opposing faith. In such cases, the morale of the local work force is likely to be poor, at best. Priests, depending on their doctrines, moralities, and alignment, will either favor slavery and the use of fear and pain as inducements, or will revile against the use of such horrors and hire their local workers with gold and divine offerings of assistance (blessings, working of wonders, curing, healing, salvation, etc.).

The paladin character will construct a castle that is similar to the general outlines presented in the basic construction system. However, they will also have a number of design elements that are similar to those of a priest's castle. After all, a paladin is a mixture of warrior ethics and divine morality. In truth, the paladin has the best of both worlds. From the very beginning, the paladin's castle will be looked on with envy by the warrior lord and peasantry alike. The paladin's castle will be constructed in the form of a typical keep, utilizing the best technological achievements possible for the area. At the heart of his castle, however, will be his temple or the church to his deity. The paladin character will often gain the land for his keep through his or her crusades against infidels or evil creatures and empires. While any paladin of note is almost assured to receive a Royal Charter or land grant in time, they prefer the more direct method of acquiring land by conquest. A Paladin will never use slaves or use inducements of fear and pain to acquire workers for the construction of his keep. Rather, the anointed knight will use payments of gold and his divine gifts of healing to aid the local peasantry. Since a paladin is almost certainly a great hero who is beloved by the masses, recruiting workers is seldom a problem.

The ranger character will construct a keep that is modest and practical. All castles built by such characters are considered to be spartan in design and lack any trace of ornamentation. Every effort is made to maintain the integrity of the local land. The result of this tendency is that a ranger will rarely level or clear the land, but will try to live off the land as best he can. With his insights and ability to commune with nature, his lands will always have plentiful game and food. In addition, the ranger will keep the swamps and thick brush in his lands as a natural defense. Rangers will also demand less in tracts of land, for they will hold the view that the land is not for them alone. A ranger character will ask for very little land if offered a Royal Charter or land grant. Unlike a typical warrior or paladin, a ranger rarely has high ideas of controlling vast tracts of land and people. A ranger will work best with nomadic or semi-nomadic people, since his idealogy would match those types of cultures. In such cases, a ranger ignores the usual Production Modifier associated with such peoples. In his case, the PM is assumed to be 1.00 for both societies.

A druid character will construct a castle somewhere between that of a ranger and that of an elf. Utilizing the styles of both with grace and splendor. A druid obtains his land almost exclusively through the use of a Royal Charter, though may use the other methods in certain rare occasions. A druid will ask specifically for areas that are heavily wooded and that are rough and often mountainous. Once a tract of land has been found, the druid will set about clearing very small portions of the land, with a conservative eye towards destroying anything of natural beauty. A typical druid shrine will be comprised of a loose fitting stone wall, looking more like a picket fence that will also serve as an astronomical aid or in divination of spirits. In the heart of the stone wall, which may be circular or square, will rest a stout wooden keep. In some rare instances, the lower level of the keep may be composed of large, semi-dressed stone blocks. Around the keep itself will be gardens and paths. In fact, hallways and rooms built from living shrubs and trees are not uncommon. Druids will use their magic to affect the rate of growth of these rooms, constructing them in a fraction of the time that might be required if they were molded naturally. Along with the gardens and natural rooms, druids will construct a number of dens, both of stone and wood, for woodland creatures such as wolves, bears, and other such beasts. These animals will act as guards and sentries, enabling the druid and his close retainers to concentrate on more pressing matters. Rarely will druids use or ask for help in constructing their estates from the local peasantry. The druid would rather take his retainers, followers, and special hirelings and carve out his shrine at a more leisurely pace. Druids will never use slave labor, nor use animals of any nature abusively. As a rule, though, the work force of a druid will consist of a great variety of sylvan beings, including centaurs and similar creatures. Druids rarely concern themselves with political endeavors or conquest, but have their own interests that occupy their time. Druids, will be more than happy to live within the confines of another lord's estate and become his loyal vassal.

The dwarven style of living and their culture radically differs from that of humans. Their unusual attitudes and tastes have resulted in the construction of castles and keeps that are very strange to human eyes. As a rule, any castle that is built by humans under the guidance of dwarves will be assumed to have workers of "average" skill or better. Any structure built primarily by dwarves will have workers of "good" skill. The morale of a primarily dwarven crew is never worse than poor, because they enjoy working in stone more than anything else. Dwarves tend to dwell underground. At the very least, they like to have a rocky shelf cloaking them from the rays of the sun and stars. They have three basic castle types that include the Kiva design, the Pit and Cistern design, and the Spoked Well design. Dwarves hate slavery and will never use slaves, or construct their citadels with the use of whips or through fear and intimidation of workers. On the other hand, dwarves have the ability to offer great amounts of gold, silver, gems, and worked iron in the form of weapons and armors as inducements in the recruiting of laborers. It should be noted, however, that dwarves in general are quite greedy and will not offer such goods unless the labor is superior or in great demand. As a rule, dwarves will not hire other races to do their work for them. Rather, they prefer to labor at their own steady pace.

Kiva Design

The most radical design of the three is the Kiva citadel. It is built on a ledge or plateau of rock along a sheer mountain face. Usually, though not always, the structure is capped with an extending stone face that shields the keep from airborne attacks. From this plateau the dwarves dig a single thin road or path leading to the outside world. Along its length they may build one or more barbicans or gatekeeps. Along the plateau, the dwarves ingeniously quarry stone from the rear of the cave and construct, with chisel and hammer, both flat faced and curved stone walls. With the precision of fine craftsmen, the dwarves snap these broad blocks of stone together with wood and steel pins. The result is a fortified castle of unequalled might. Few kiva citadels have ever fallen into enemy hands, and those that have were taken only after a major loss of life to the attackers. Within the kiva citadel, the dwarves will have built cisterns of water both for drinking and for use as tanks for the breeding of blind catfish and lake trout. With such provisions, the castle can withstand a prolonged siege.

Pit and Cistern Design

Unlike the kiva citadel, this design type is built completely underground and normally only constructed in areas with large out outcroppings of rock or dense clay soil. In construction of this type of castle, the dwarves first find a large suitable cave. If that is not available, they will build under the shelter of an expansive shelf of hard stone. From there they dig straight down, creating a vast pit with a diameter ranging anywhere from thirty to one hundred feet. From the walls of the pit, the dwarves construct a spiral staircase, wide and stout enough to hold mules, ponies, horses, and men. In the sides of the pit, they open up wide and tall tunnels that radiate upwards at a slight angle, usually no more than fifteen degrees. These hallways lead in turn to the rooms and great halls of the keep. At the far end of each tunnel is a wide cistern holding water. From these great chambers, the dwarves draw their drinking and bath water. Further, they employ this resource to power various winches or mechanical devices. Wasted and unused water, runs down the sloping corridors where it falls into the pit. Thus, the bottom of the pit will gradually fill with water and be used to maintain a school of fish similar to those raised in the kiva citadels.

Spoked Well Design

In this design, which is an offshoot of the pit and cistern citadel, the emphasis is placed on numerous small pits, called wells, that rarely exceed fifty feet in depth. From each well, a number of tunnels radiate outward. In a number of cases, a pit and cistern design has been converted over to a spoked well layout, with the central and older shaft still used as a reservoir for unused water and as a "farm" for various fishes.

Elves are very similar to humans in their physical appearances and can easily walk among men without drawing too much attention. Despite their physical similarities, however, elves are very different mentally, with their concepts of material wealth and time being radically divergent from those of humans. This is no more sharply observed than in the construction of their castles. It should be noted, however, that the generally pacific nature of the elvish people leads them to call their keeps "sanctuaries." The thought of a castle as a primarily military structure is a human invention. The largest and most prominent difference in the design of a sanctuary is the amount of time an elf is willing to put into it. In human terms the construction of a castle is measured in years. Elves, on the other hand measure their construction times in decades. Time means nothing to an elf, at least time as seen by humans. As they view it, there is little need to scurry around like excited children building a snowman. The construction of an elvish sanctuary starts with a basic idea, much as any castle construction does. From this starting point, however, the elf spends his time meticulously adding to his idea nearly branch for branch, leaf for leaf. All of these details he will keep secret, for it is the love of the elven people to hold secrets great and small. As one might expect, elves build their sanctuaries from living things. To an elf, a home made from cut and hewn wood is like living in a mausoleum; the elves barely put up with it from the 'younger' races, but the sight does revile them. Cut stone is used in elven sanctuaries, but it must never cloak the sky or cast large shadows. Thus, stone is used as more of an ornament than as a fortification or dwelling.

Light and warmth are small concerns in elven sanctuaries and with a touch of magic and the generosity of elves, few visitors will ever feel cold, hungry, or isolated in its living embrace. In designing his sanctuary, an elven character will rarely, if ever, enlist non-eleven races in its construction, nor is it necessary to claim a large tract of land to build such a sanctuary on. In actuality, elves do not claim territory as the younger races do. An elf will never close the door to his keep, so to speak, since he does not believe he owns either the trees or the ground it is on; he is simply using it. It is worth noting, however, that elves will die to protect their forest castles from hostile intruders.

Elves also do not believe in slavery and will never use force or pain as inducements. Elves also rarely offer gold or other monetary awards as inducements, but rather the promise, a spoken contract that has never been broken, of better times and more plentiful harvests in the area. Most humans and demi-humans, if they have any sense, will quickly agree to help the elf. These workers will no doubt laugh behind the elf's back at such undertakings since to them the sanctuary will look very much the same when the workers are young as it does when they are old and feeble. Elves rarely clear land as humans or other demi-humans might, but will clear the ground of debris such as rotting logs, dangerous fens and marshes (where monster may prowl), rocky pitfalls, and such. Elves tend to attain their land through Royal Charters given to them by elven courts, though some impatient elves will seek out land grants from human or halfling courts.

The history of elven sanctuaries extends so far back that even the nearly immortal elves do not remember the origins of their design. There are two general styles of elven sanctuaries, the Green Labyrinth design and the Blue Ring design. Green Labyrinth The features of this type of sanctuary are best understood if one imagines that he is flying above the keep and looking down on it with magical vision that can pierce the tops of the dense trees that make up it's roof. In this way, one could see that the green labyrinth is nothing more than a complicated maze of greenery. The design of such a sanctuary will take anywhere from several years if poplar and other fast growing trees are used, to centuries if oak, maple, or spruce are used to create the walls of the maze. In any case, the entire maze is choked with snares, brambles, and similar natural hazards.

Within the labyrinth the elven lord can create rooms, chambers, chapels, anything desired. With the careful planning inherent to elven sanctuaries, an area of the forest can be grown in such a manner as to offer entwined branches that act as a secure roof, or create beautiful courts and living halls.

Blue Circle

This design obtains its name from the circles of blue sky that dome the ring of trees that make up the sanctuary. This design type is far less complicated, though not necessarily any quicker to develop. The elven lord grows his "castle" in predetermined sized rings that, upon development, will create various sized green courtyards. The trees that make up the ring will be worked and molded by delicate and tender hands into rooms to be used as storage areas, living quarters, dining areas, libraries, or whatever else is deemed necessary by the individual.

Although not well documented, these small folk do on occasion build strongholds and sizable castles. Of course, most halflings would be content with a comfortable and clean hole in a boring little valley far from adventure and intrigue. When a halfling sets out to build a fortification, it will almost always be of a simpler motte and bailey design. After all, reasons the halfling, there is little point in cluttering up the countryside with a great mass of stone and timber. A lesser keep can do the job just as well and still provide for a comfortable and happy home. As one might expect, the dwarves find halfling keeps to be, at best, amusing. Elves, on the other hand, can see and respect the halfling's love of nature and its goodness as it is reflected in the more basic castle. The main difference between a halfling keep of this type and those built by humans is one of perceptions. In a halfling motte and bailey, the tower on the motte is only the tip of the iceberg.

Nestled beneath it is a maze of housing, rooms, and nooks. Above all other concerns a halfling stronghold must be comfortable. In general all of its rooms will be plush and very well kept, and if possible each will have its own fireplace or stove--a cold halfling is an unhappy halfling. The second concern for halfling holds is that of storage space. A halfling keep must have enough dry storerooms to outlive any but the most prolonged of sieges. In addition, the food kept here is not salted meat or meager grains, but finely preserved foods and good wines. Halflings will not sacrifice their comfort over something as minor as an enemy attack. After all, A hungry halfling is even more unhappy than a cold one. Halflings in general will not use slaves or use pain and fear as an inducement to work, it's just too messy and disruptive. Strangely enough, however, halflings always have a litter of small gold and silver items laying about that they may tempt workers with. Even more strange, is that after the work is all done, they seem to have regained all of their pretty things. Halflings dislike swampy ground and will shy away from it, rather building in moderate and temperate areas full of small copses and shrubs with creeks filled with trout and tasty frogs.

The gnome is an ancient brother of the dwarf, with many similarities to the short but muscled men of the deep. Despite their similarities, gnomes "are" very different from dwarves and build their own styles of castles. Gnomes seem to be the rarest of demi-humans, but that's not because they have a low population. Like the dwarves, gnomes have a very lopsided sexual imbalance, with far more males than females. Communities of gnomes are far more reclusive, and prefer living in huge underground environments. Rarely do gnomes venture to the surface and seek lives under the open sky. The typical gnome enjoys a close knit relationship with other gnomes and in community affairs; they find very little need for venturing in the strange lands of the surface world. The gnome doesn't have the preoccupation, like the dwarves, in taming nature under the hammer and anvil. Nor is the gnome as preoccupied with the preservation of nature as the elves. The gnome, if like any race, is more akin to the halflings who enjoy a good drink and a warm bit of food over adventure or intrigue. Gnomes have one of the longest life expectancies of any demihuman race--only the elves will outlive them. With this in mind the gnomes have a very laid back attitude in castle construction, very often working on individual constructions by themselves or with close friends and family. Gnomes will never use slaves or even offer inducements for those who don't openly offer their services. In the gnome's mind, someone being paid to perform work is in reality a slave to the gold coin, and will have the wrong frame of mind in construction. Such workers will do inferior work.

As for the actual design, a gnome prefers the spoked wheel designs of the dwarves. With the only difference in the two designs being that the gnomish castle will be topped with a stone tower of some nature, usually rounded and with full battlements. The gnome will also build the kiva design base as well. When they do, they select areas with large out outcropping of rock, using much stronger rock sheets to form the kiva buildings. In this way, the buildings are almost impervious to outside attack and can withstand the harshest weather for hundreds of years. Gnomes prefer to go through their own kind to secure land grants and Royal Charters, but on certain occasions, they may make a quick journey to a nearby dwarven or even human court to ask for the right of settlement.

Orcish keeps tend to be primitive and can be constructed just about anywhere. They are typically built exclusively by slave laborers, and use excessive inducement by the use of the whip and hot poker. As such, the morale of their workers is almost always "very poor" and orc task masters are forever bemoaning their fate at having to work with such "lazy" servants. Their forts are simply constructed by building a wooden palisade surrounded by a field strewn with boulders and sharp rock to prevent any organized charge by infantry or calvary. This design makes moving siege weapons close almost impossible without a great deal of manual labor under the cruel eye of the orcish archers. On the inside of the wooden palisade, the bailey is flat except for a sharp angled motte topped by a simple stone fort normally consisting of the great hall on the ground floor, elite troop and the lord's living accommodations on the second and possibly third floors, and with any upper stories delegated to simple defense. These floors will bristle with battlements and arrow slits. Orcs obtain land in but one way, by force. An orc hasn't the patience to wait for a Royal Charter and rarely stands out from his peers enough to merit the gift of a land grant.