Gatekeep

A major step in the evolution of the castle, a gatekeep permits the defenders of the castle to confront attackers before they reach the main gates themselves. In essence, a gatekeep is much like a barbican that is set away from the castle walls and connected to them via a pair of strong stone walls. Even if the outer barriers of the gatekeep are breached, the walls act to create a killing field that makes the final assault on the gates even more difficult.

A lesser gatekeep consists of two small, round towers and a linking structure (essentially a small barbican) that are set some 20’ out from the castle’s main gate. Two 15’ high walls run from the flanking towers to the main gate and secure the structure to the castle.

Greater gatekeeps are somewhat larger and incorporate four medium, round towers. Two are positioned forward just as they are in a lesser gatekeep, but two more are built into the castle walls around the main gate itself. In this way, the rear towers can provide better fire into the killing fields between the castle and outer defenses and can also support the forward towers in holding off attackers. Persons in the forward towers can move along the top of the walls (which provide partial cover from enemy archers) to reach the castle towers. In times of combat, this is dangerous to attempt.

Grand gatekeeps are the ultimate in gate defense. They are composed of four large towers, arranged in the same manner as the towers in the greater gatekeep, and can hold off huge numbers of enemy forces for extended periods of time. The two forward towers are set some 30’ out from the castle and 40’ apart. A fully enclosed stone passage runs along the upper section of the two flanking walls, allowing easy and safe passage from the towers to the castle and back again.

Module Type	Tech	Time	Gold
Gatekeep, Lesser	5	1,950	33,275
Gatekeep, Greater	6	4,625	40,620
Gatekeep, Grand	7	6,410	110,800