Stormspire Citadel
Built into the side of the mountain overlooking Stormhold, Stormspire Citadel stands as the bastion that defends the city, and a retreat for it's peoples, should the outer walls fall.
Defenses
Stormspire is built with a number of outer walls, each expanding from the original gateway. The most outward walls are the newest, featuring the most modern and up-to-date armaments and defenses, including scorpions, ballistae, and all manner of other mechanisms to stop both ground and airborne attacks.
As the layers of walls are peeled back, the older defenses are still cleverly designed, though a bit outdated; they feature a multitude of sharp corners, making life exceptionally difficult for anyone with a long ladder or a battering ram.
Each wall and gate section are hewn from existing rock wherever able, making them thick and sturdy against everything, including magical assault. The gates themselves are a 'man-trap' style, interlocked within the gatehouses so the outer and inner gate can not both be raised at the same time; this allows defenders to trap attackers between them and stab through small openings in the walls, known as 'Murder Holes' with spears or other polearms, or to fire crossbows or even utilize the Dwarven Secrets of Fire, filling the space with liquid flame to incinerate their enemies.
Below the citadel, the grand gates leading into The Underway are heavily guarded, the winding paths patrolled constantly by fearless Dwarves who've dedicated their lives to defending the city and the citadel from the terrors below the earth. Though the defenses are not as formidable as those on the surface, no force of man or beast has ever breached into Stormspire from below; ancient runic traps, runic defenses, and other nasty surprises await anyone who attempts such foolishness.
Stormspire Citadel was designed to be impregnable, and, while she has fallen under siege several times (typically by marauding Greenskins from the Desolate Wastes), no force has ever broken through to put the populace of Stormhold to the sword.
As the layers of walls are peeled back, the older defenses are still cleverly designed, though a bit outdated; they feature a multitude of sharp corners, making life exceptionally difficult for anyone with a long ladder or a battering ram.
Each wall and gate section are hewn from existing rock wherever able, making them thick and sturdy against everything, including magical assault. The gates themselves are a 'man-trap' style, interlocked within the gatehouses so the outer and inner gate can not both be raised at the same time; this allows defenders to trap attackers between them and stab through small openings in the walls, known as 'Murder Holes' with spears or other polearms, or to fire crossbows or even utilize the Dwarven Secrets of Fire, filling the space with liquid flame to incinerate their enemies.
Below the citadel, the grand gates leading into The Underway are heavily guarded, the winding paths patrolled constantly by fearless Dwarves who've dedicated their lives to defending the city and the citadel from the terrors below the earth. Though the defenses are not as formidable as those on the surface, no force of man or beast has ever breached into Stormspire from below; ancient runic traps, runic defenses, and other nasty surprises await anyone who attempts such foolishness.
Stormspire Citadel was designed to be impregnable, and, while she has fallen under siege several times (typically by marauding Greenskins from the Desolate Wastes), no force has ever broken through to put the populace of Stormhold to the sword.
History
Stormspire Citadel was, in fact, the original construction of Stormhold, hewn from the rocks more than 600 years ago. As the clan became a throng, and a throng became an army, the city needed to expand, both above, and below, the earth. The citadel's surface defenses were left intact, but outer layers were built, and more outer layers, until it became a concentric ring of walls, towers, gates and chokepoints, leaving the Citadel heavily defended from any surface siege.
Tourism
Generally, visitors to Stormhold are not permitted free access to the Citadel. However, as the Citadel is also the seat of Griswold Ironhammer, official visitors are given somewhat limited reign to traverse the massive stone fortress.
Founding Date
408BD
Type
Fortress
Parent Location
Owner
Ruling/Owning Rank
Owning Organization
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