What an awesome idea for a post! One take: If a lord has the resources to build a stronghold or castle, they must also have resources to garrison and fortify it as well. Clerics to make the castle hallowed ground, mages to put wards on doors and in rooms, and beasts (mundane and rare) to patrol the grounds (and skies). And regardless of the level of fantasy, a network of informants and spies is always good for defense, or even a preemptive offense. Looking forward to hearing what others have to say. 👍🏽
Yeah, for sure. If you can afford a super yacht, you got to be able to afford the annual upkeep. Same with a castle, as you mention. Building a castle without the magical upgrades and the extra muscle would be unwise in a high-magic setting.
The use of informants and spies is a great point. What's the best way to avoid your castle being put under siege? ... prevent the hostilities in the first place or foil the invading army before it can ever get close.
I like your thinking, bringing a bit of realism into a fantasy setting. My opinions would be:
Aerial Assault: A good immediate plan would be to have a dragon army of your own, but if this is not feasible there are always ballistas, cannons, or just a solid stone roof would work.
Subterranean Sabotage: Now this would depend on what creatures live in the area as to what would be best but a possible all around solution would be a metal barrier below ground. Burrow ability allows movement through earth and rock but NOT metal. Or if you want to be even trickier, a large mimic colony, trained purple worm, pact with a blue dragon (if castle inhabitants are of a more evil alignment).
Mighty Magic: This one is a bit more complicated as each class has its own unique abilities and rules. The easiest solution would be for YOUR mage to set up multiple anti-magic fields in strategic areas. Another possibility if the castle doesn't have a mage is to arm the castle to the teeth with constructs such as Helmed Horrors and and various types of golems as well as siege weapons. (Constructs mostly because they can't be charmed and many damage and protection spells exclude constructs.)
Nice! I like the variety and layers of countermeasures to keep the stronghold safe.
Even for a fantasy realm, I think establishing that internal logic and striving for realism within the setting greatly helps immersion for the reader or player. It also gives them a dependable framework in which they can observe patterns and develop their own strategies or theories about what could happen next.
For subterranean defense, one could approach it as a barrier, a moat, labyrinth, or a countermeasure.
A barrier would include something like a half-spherical section of stone underneath the soiled earth made of an extremely hard stone such as quartzite.
A moat would either employ an underground lake extended across the lairs beneath the castle, filled with ravenous creatures,
A labyrinth is a utilization of an extended dungeon, where most dungeons are designed to imprison or store valuables, this is to create sufficient challenges and ordeals to would be attackers.
A countermeasure could be mechanical, such as a ballista-like contraption that fires bolts that function like earthen torpedos, or a series of burrowing creatures that hunt down potential diggers.
... Wow! What an awesome post. I think innovating some answers for the question of subterranean defense is helping inspire an article of my own. Would love to provide backlink to your post!
Hey Matthew, awesome that the post sparked some new ideas and a future article! I'm most intrigued by your labyrinth idea around and underneath the castle. On one hand, the defenders have done the attackers a favor by doing part of the excavating work for them, but on the other hand ... that very fact creates a level of dread, what's in this ominous labyrinth? Why did the castle's architect seemingly make it easy to approach or traverse beneath the castle? Maybe the uncertainty makes the attackers overly cautious. Really cool options to consider!
What an awesome idea for a post! One take: If a lord has the resources to build a stronghold or castle, they must also have resources to garrison and fortify it as well. Clerics to make the castle hallowed ground, mages to put wards on doors and in rooms, and beasts (mundane and rare) to patrol the grounds (and skies). And regardless of the level of fantasy, a network of informants and spies is always good for defense, or even a preemptive offense. Looking forward to hearing what others have to say. 👍🏽
Yeah, for sure. If you can afford a super yacht, you got to be able to afford the annual upkeep. Same with a castle, as you mention. Building a castle without the magical upgrades and the extra muscle would be unwise in a high-magic setting.
The use of informants and spies is a great point. What's the best way to avoid your castle being put under siege? ... prevent the hostilities in the first place or foil the invading army before it can ever get close.
I like your thinking, bringing a bit of realism into a fantasy setting. My opinions would be:
Aerial Assault: A good immediate plan would be to have a dragon army of your own, but if this is not feasible there are always ballistas, cannons, or just a solid stone roof would work.
Subterranean Sabotage: Now this would depend on what creatures live in the area as to what would be best but a possible all around solution would be a metal barrier below ground. Burrow ability allows movement through earth and rock but NOT metal. Or if you want to be even trickier, a large mimic colony, trained purple worm, pact with a blue dragon (if castle inhabitants are of a more evil alignment).
Mighty Magic: This one is a bit more complicated as each class has its own unique abilities and rules. The easiest solution would be for YOUR mage to set up multiple anti-magic fields in strategic areas. Another possibility if the castle doesn't have a mage is to arm the castle to the teeth with constructs such as Helmed Horrors and and various types of golems as well as siege weapons. (Constructs mostly because they can't be charmed and many damage and protection spells exclude constructs.)
Nice! I like the variety and layers of countermeasures to keep the stronghold safe.
Even for a fantasy realm, I think establishing that internal logic and striving for realism within the setting greatly helps immersion for the reader or player. It also gives them a dependable framework in which they can observe patterns and develop their own strategies or theories about what could happen next.
For subterranean defense, one could approach it as a barrier, a moat, labyrinth, or a countermeasure.
A barrier would include something like a half-spherical section of stone underneath the soiled earth made of an extremely hard stone such as quartzite.
A moat would either employ an underground lake extended across the lairs beneath the castle, filled with ravenous creatures,
A labyrinth is a utilization of an extended dungeon, where most dungeons are designed to imprison or store valuables, this is to create sufficient challenges and ordeals to would be attackers.
A countermeasure could be mechanical, such as a ballista-like contraption that fires bolts that function like earthen torpedos, or a series of burrowing creatures that hunt down potential diggers.
... Wow! What an awesome post. I think innovating some answers for the question of subterranean defense is helping inspire an article of my own. Would love to provide backlink to your post!
Hey Matthew, awesome that the post sparked some new ideas and a future article! I'm most intrigued by your labyrinth idea around and underneath the castle. On one hand, the defenders have done the attackers a favor by doing part of the excavating work for them, but on the other hand ... that very fact creates a level of dread, what's in this ominous labyrinth? Why did the castle's architect seemingly make it easy to approach or traverse beneath the castle? Maybe the uncertainty makes the attackers overly cautious. Really cool options to consider!