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Alerham Castle Fortress Stronghold

Purpose / Function

Reason for Construction: 

Life’s Work. It was built as a labor of love by a dedicated craftsperson and their team.

Design

Expense: 

Significant. The fortress was built with a large budget, allowing for high-quality materials and some luxury elements.  

Design Theme: 

Wealth. Luxury and opulence.

Entries

Raised Entrance? 

Entrance is on ground level.  

Entry Defenses: 

Portcullis and drawbridge.  

Alternate Entries: 

Drain, Blocked. A drain pipe emerges somewhere in the landscape outside the fortress. Its final several yards are entirely filled with large stones to allow water to easily pass, but not intruders.

Denizens

Residents: 

Original. The original residents, their descendants, or successors are in residence. This might be the person responsible for building the fortress and/or their family, or the people they stationed there (or their descendants/successors).  

Residents Relations: 

Favored Guard. A member of the guard is being shown preferential treatment by the resident(s).  

Resident Hobbies: 

Hawking  

Resident Attitude: 

Angry. The residents hate being here. Not a day goes by where they don’t actively think about leaving, but they have stayed for some reason, perhaps one outside their control.  

Special Feature: 

Resident - Great Person. A person of significance, or renown, lives here.  

Current Issue: 

Stolen Goods. Some of the food and/or supplies have been swiped.  

Issue Severity: 

Dire. The issue is a major problem and needs addressing immediately. Failure to resolve the issue quickly enough will likely result in irreversible consequences, or potential loss of life.

Contents & Furnishings

KEEP

 
  • Shape: Box. A square or rectangular keep maximizes internal space and is easier to construct. Furnishing, outfitting and decorating straight walls is considerably simpler.
  • Size: Small. (5x5 / 7 squares)
  • Exterior Wall Thickness: 15 ft. (3 squares)
  • Number of Floors: Four. Three above-ground floors and a cellar.
  • Furnishings: Basic. Most of the contents of the keep are very basic, of poor quality, or in poor condition, though some may be decent.

ROOMS:

(1) Bedroom

  • Can sleep up to two people (in two singles, or one double, bed).

(1) Kitchen

(1) Dining and Receiving

Privy.

  • Indoor alternative to a separate outhouse.
  • 5ft. x 5ft. (one square) room, somewhere along the exterior wall.

Closet.

  • Storage for clothing.

Solar.

  • Living/recreational room for the main resident(s).
  • Comes with a bed. Can sleep up to 2 people.
 

CASTLE

  • Geographic Advantages: Cliff
  • Style: Motte-and-Bailey. The keep is built on an earthen mound, or hill, and surrounded by a high fence or wall. The wall extends down the hill to form a large, circular yard (the bailey), where other buildings are located.
  • Size: Medium
  • Massive Curtain Walls. The fortress’ curtain walls, and Keep exterior walls, are huge.
  • Curtain Wall Thickness (Stone/Wood): (30 ft. / 25 ft.)
  • Curtain Wall Height (Stone / Wood): (55 ft. / 50 ft.)
  • Number of Towers Along Curtain Wall: 13
  • Curtain Wall Towers:
  • Tower Shape: Round (Cylinder)
  • Tower Size / Height (= to wall height +[ ]): Large [+30 ft.].
  • Tower Roofs: Uncovered

Barracks Location: 

  • Built-In [Walls]. The barracks facilities are attached to the fortress walls (in the walls if they are thick enough, attached to them if not), and house the garrison. Within, there could be separate quarters (for officers, training, etc.), or there could simply be common areas, used as needed.

Bailey Outbuildings:

  • Medium. 8x8 / 64 squares (Stables)
  • Small. 6x6 / 36 squares (Servants’ Quarters)
  • Medium. 8x8 / 64 squares (Forge)

Hazards & Traps

Bizarre Location: 

Abyss or Chasm. The fortress is built on a platform suspended directly over a deep hole or crevasse.

Special Properties

Oddities: 

Watchful Beast. A local small creature (squirrel, rabbit, weasel, or similar), has been seen sitting on windowsills (even those that are, seemingly, inaccessible) or in open doorways, (sometimes, even interior doorways) doing nothing but staring, making unblinking eye contact with any in the room who look at it, never looking away, never moving unless approached. Once approached, it vanishes without a trace, and reappears another day.  

Magical Properties: 

Deceptive. The fortress appears differently to onlookers outside of its walls than to those inside them.

Architecture

Primary Building Materials: 

Brick. Man-made blocks, comprised of mud, clay, or sand, mixed with a binding material such as straw, baked hard.  

Resource Origin: 

Locally Made/Harvested [Preserved Surroundings]. Building materials were sourced from the site of the structure itself, and from nearby areas, but sustainably, without depleting any harvesting locations.  

Condition:

Poor or Incomplete. The fortress is in disrepair, with loose stones or timbers, gaps, holes, rot, or other issues that might adversely affect the structure’s integrity. The exterior is not completely intact. If under construction, it may be nearing completion, or up to a few years from being finished. Residence within the fortress would prove inconvenient, at best.

Defenses

GARRISON

Garrison Size: 

Modest. The garrison’s size is large enough to sufficiently defend the fortress and allow for reasonable guard shifts.  

Garrison Equipment: 

Good. Guards are equipped with above-standard kit, and have a dedicated training area and equipment for use. They utilize highly refined practice techniques,such as specific drills, for a variety of situations.  

CASTLE

Curtain Wall Defenses:

Hoardings. 

Temporary, wooden shelters are constructed, protruding out on top of the walls, allowing defenders to fire directly down on attackers. These would require fireproofing (such as a covering of soaked animal skins), but can be deconstructed and stored in peacetime

Batters. 

  • The bottom portion of the wall slopes outward and is, therefore, much thicker. This hinders the approach of siege towers, makes undermining difficult, and stretches siege ladders to breaking point, if they can bridge the distance at all. In addition, it removes a blindspot for defenders - the area directly beneath them.
  • Barbican: The gatehouse leads to a walled approach, ending in a drawbridge.
  • This is a forward structure acting as a checkpoint and, for attackers, a forced navigation of lethal obstacles leading up to the castle’s main gate. If the castle is concentric with a second wall, this is the entry through the outer wall.

Gatehouses; 

  • Strong Gatehouse. One and a half times the height and thickness of its wall. Entry is covered by heavy doors and a portcullis.
  • A gatehouse guards a primary passage through a castle wall, and is often one of the best protected parts of the castle. A gatehouse has, at the very least, large, heavy doors, able to be barred when necessary. There could also be a portcullis (a large grill made of heavy wood or metal) to be dropped to seal attackers out (or in!).
  • Barbican Gatehouse: Grand Gatehouse. Twice the height and thickness of its wall. Entry is covered by heavy doors and a portcullis.

Moat: 

  • Dry Moat. The moat is not filled with water and is, instead, a deep pit encircling the fortification. This could be purposeful, or the lack of water could be due to drought.
  • A moat is a trench dug around a fortification designed to present a very difficult obstacle, and to make undermining the walls, or approaching them with siege equipment, difficult or impossible. Often they are filled with water (usually by diverting a nearby stream or river), but they can also be left dry. Moats are also an excellent place for other hazards, such as dangerous animals or hazardous objects.
  • Moat Width: 25 ft.
  • Moat Depth: 25 ft.

STRONGHOLD

Brutal Defenses:

Attacking a stronghold can be a particularly gruelling endeavor. As well as walls, towers, and defenders, many strongholds have particularly nasty tricks up their sleeves The awe-inspiring degree of ingenuity and brutality can be things of song and legend (or terrifying bedtime stories), and these tales might even be enough to dissuade an attack in the first place.

Stalwart Defenders. 

A portion of the fortress’ defenders are extremely well-trained in general warfare and siegecraft, and are particularly loyal

History

History: 

Previous Residents. Someone of note lived here before the fortress was built.
Founding Date
Age: Very Old. The fortress was completed between 200 and 500 years ago.
Type
Castle
Parent Location
Environmental Effects

Location in Relation to Settlement: 

Outskirts. The fortress is located on the very fringes of the settlements’ occupied land, perhaps within farming country, or the stretch of land between the settlement proper and the wilderness.  

Environment: 

River. The fortress is near a steadily flowing stream, or other watercourse.  

Local Impact: 

Irritating. The fortress’ construction, or presence, caused some annoyance, or small issue, within the local area.  

Local Impact Change: 

Negative. Things have gotten worse.

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