Dungeon Master's Guide Rules Supplement

The Castle Guide

Sample file

TSR, Inc. Table off Contents

Introduction 3 Chapter 6: Unusual Castles . .69 Chapter 1: The Feudal Setting .5 Oriental Designs 69 Designed by Grant Boucher, Troy Social Classes 6 Thieves' Castles 69 Christensen, Arthur Collins, and Members of the Court 8 Wizards' Keeps 69 Nigel Findley The Role of the Church 10 Priests' Fortresses 70 Additional Design by Timothy B. Politics and Churches 13 Paladins' Castles 70 Brown and William W. Connors Crimes and Punishments . . .14 Rangers' Forts 71 Edited by William W. Connors Death by Taxes 17 Druids' Shrines 71 Black & White Art by Jean Populating the Castle 21 Dwarven Citadels 71 Elizabeth Martin A Day in the Life of a Peasant 23 Elven Sanctuaries 72 Color Art by Jean Elizabeth Mar- Chapter 2: In The Days Strongholds 74 tin, Erik Olson, and Ken Widing Of Knights 25 Gnomish Castles 74 Graphic Design by Linda Bakk Knighthood for Non-Warriors 26 Orcish Keeps 75 Typography by Gaye O'Keefe The Road to Knighthood . . .27 Chapter 7: Warfare! 76 Cartography: Supvr./Designer: The Chivalric Code 29 Offensive Tactics 76 Dave Sutherland Falling from Grace 32 Investment 77 Artist: Dave Sutherland, Frey Rogue Knights 33 Starvation 77 Graphics Heraldry 33 Thirst 78 Demi-Human Knights 35 Fantastic Combat 79 ADVANCED DUNGEONS & DRAGONS, Chapter 3: The Tournament .38 Reduction 80 AD&D, , PRODUCTS OF Jousting 39 Escalade 81 YOUR IMAGINATION, , Archery 41 Airborne Operations 82 , and the TSR logo Chapter 4: The Evolution Of Breaching the Walls 84 are trademarks owned by TSR Inc. Castles 42 Siege Attack Values 84 @1990 TSR Inc. All Rights Reserved The Castle's Role 42 Excavation 86 Types of Castles 43 Mining 87 Printed in the U.S.A. Chapter 5: Castle Trickery and Corruption . . . .89 Distributed to the book trade in the United Construction 45 Morale Issues 89 States by Random House Inc. and in Can- ada by Random House of Canada, Ltd. Dis- Acquiring Land 46 DefensivSamplee Tactics file 90 tributed to the toy and hobby trade by The Construction Site 48 Fortifications 90 regional distributors. Distributed in the Climate Type 48 Sorties 92 United Kingdom by TSR Ltd. Geography 48 Defending the Walls llllh93This product is protected under the copy- Ground Cover 50 Morale Issues 96 right laws of the United States of America. Resource Availability 51 Surrender 97 Any reproduction or other unauthorized use of the material or artwork contained The Work Force 51 Siege Engines 98 herein is prohibited without the express Local Social Structure 51 Chapter 8: Quick Resolution written permission of TSR, Inc. Worker Skill 52 Systems 106 TSR Inc. TSR Ltd. Worker Morale 52 Siege Resolution 106 POB 756 120 Church End, Castle Design 54 Fighting Campaigns 108 Lake Geneva Cherry Hinton Castle Modules 54 War in the Medieval Age . . .109 WI53147 Cambridge, CBI 3LB Average Construction War Plans Ill U.S.A.ll United Kingdom Time & Cost 59 Battle Resolution 112 Works of Art 59 Campaign Victory- Overhead Costs 59 Winning the War 115 Final Calculations 59 Character Involvement . . . .116 The Work Force 60 Chapter 9: Generic Castles .118 Work Seasons 62 Cyclops Tower 118 Monthly Events 63 Bremberthwaite Manor . . . .120 The Castle on the Moors ... .67 Kinniver Castle 122 Introduction

Prepare yourself for a voyage the evolution of castles in medi- Using The Castle Guide back in time. eval Europe and provides an over- As you can see, there is a great As you read this book, you will view of their advantages and deal of information in this book. Of be drawn back through the years disadvantages. Following that, we course, you can use as much or as to an age when castles dominated present a modular system for the little of it as you want in your the landscape of Europe. Here, design and construction of castles AD&D game. If you are using the amid these mighty stone halls, you for use by Player Characters and Complete Fighter's Handbook in will find knights in shining armor NPCs alike. With this simple sys- your campaign, you will find that and great battles fought by men tem, the DM can determine just much of the information in this and women with steel swords and how much it will cost a character book works well with the cavalier iron nerves. to build the keep of his dreams and and swashbuckler kits especially. Welcome to the Age of Chivalry. how long the construction will However, anyone who runs a cam- take. Included with this are rules paign that has elements of feudal What's in this book? for the use of magical items and Europe in it will find something of The Castle Guide is an out- monsters in the building process. value to them in this book. growth of the AD&D® 2nd edition For those of you who are fond of For those who want to set their game rules. In the Dungeon Mas- the BATTLESYSTEM™ miniatures campaign against the backdrop of ter's Guide and Player's Handbook rules, we have included the a great war, as was done in a general rules system was estab- third portion of The Castle Guide. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings trilogy, lished that allows the Dungeon Here, we expand upon the the quick resolution systems pre- Master to run a variety of BATTLESYSTEM rules and pro- sented in chapter 8 will allow play- role-playing styles. In this book, vide rules for resolving long sieges ers to focus on the role-playing however, we will focus in on a spe- and the defense of castles. Material aspects of the game, while still be- cific style of game, one set in a soci- in this section addresses the ele- ing able to change the course of a ety similar to that of feudal ments of a fantasy world that battle or turn the tide of an entire Europe, and give you the back- make defending a castle more than war. ground information you need to just an exercise in historical simu- If you enjoy wargames and make it come to life. lation. In addition, we look at the want to mesh your AD&D® game The first section of this book be- various Sampletypes of castle files found in campaign more fully with your gins with an overview of medieval the AD&D game, including those BATTLESYSTEM games, the sec- society and the feudal system in of the dwarves and elves. tions on warfare will also provide general. Here, you will come to un- If you aren't interested in fight- you with lots of information for derstand the forces that drive a ing out individual battles with new scenarios. With the addition feudal government and the rela- miniatures, we have taken care to of the material in this book, role- tionship between the state and its include a pair of quick resolution playing's premier miniatures rules churches. systems. The first of these can be system reaches new heights. Following this, we go on to detail used to resolve individual sieges, the ways in which player charac- while the second can be employed Knights, mount your horses. The ters can become knights, the stout to determine the victor in an indi- time for battle is at hand! defenders of the realm. The code of vidual battle or all-out military chivalry is examined and the campaign. standards by which a knight must Lastly, we have included a trio of live his or her life are addressed. In generic castles for use by the closing the first section, we offer a in setting up his guide to medieval tournaments. game. If time is tight, any one of Here, characters get the chance to these structures can be easily show off their skills and try for the adapted to serve as an NPC's base hand of the beautiful princess (or of operations or as a model of medi- handsome prince). eval design techniques. Our second section examines Sample file Chapter l: The Feudal Setting

Merging Fact and Fantasy along the lines of Tolkien's works the time they have reached ninth and the stories of King Arthur. In level, the characters are usually Many of us got into role-playing this book, we will assume that this fairly well known and have ac- games when we met some friends is the norm. Of course, because the quired the status of folk heroes. As who simply asked us to "come by AD&D game is your game, no sin- he begins to attract followers, the and watch." Little did we know gle style of play is considered to be character cannot help but come to that we had already watched correct. If you and your players are the attention of the local govern- plenty of role-playing games in our having fun, then you're playing ment. all too short lives. In fact, the films the game properly. It is almost certain that, given and novels we've read over the As with all things in the AD&D time, they will become as well years hold that same spark of game, your interpretation is what known in their homelands (or the imagination that drew us into matters, so feel free to pick and region in which they adventure) as these crazy games in the first chose, discard and exploit. The George Washington, Abraham place. more excited you get about your Lincoln, or the Wright brothers are When setting up a new cam- choices, the more your campaign in the modern United States. Of paign world, there are two basic will thrive and grow. Hopefully, course, this may also mean that schools of thought: those who feel this information will give you a they are expected to undertake the game should be very histori- wealth of adventure ideas and add tasks which seem impossible and cally accurate and those who do life to all your future gaming. confront unstoppable armies as a not. Of course, the introduction of Enjoy. matter of routine duty to their magic into the historic world is a king. Oh well, that's what they get mainstay of the AD&D® game and for giving up the simple life of a cannot help but distort an other- Notes on Campaign blacksmith. wise historic setting. Politics In any case, it is important to So, which do you choose in your In many campaigns, the prob- note that relationships with the lo- campaign? Is your world going to lems of national politics fall into cal nobility (even for those who are be classically accurate, as it was the background for lower level a part of it) are not always cordial. seen in the great Roman and Bibli- characters. After all, the majority Just as the king can be a very valu- cal epics we've all watched on TV? of first leveSamplel adventurer files are not able friend, so too can he be a Or will the world have an element able to cope with problems like deadly adversary. of magic and superstition lurking major wars, thwarting the ulti- just out of sight (or even in full mate evil, or slaying that most hor- view), like the great epic stories of rible of horrors, the dragon. At this Feudal Society Excalibur and Conan the Barbar- point in their careers, the charac- The basic element of feudalism ian? ters are not going to be overly con- is simple enough to understand. If you choose the latter, you cerned with the ramifications of All in all, it is nothing more than must decide how far to take the the king's political alliances for the an agreement between two men, a magic. Very popular in recent fan- same reason that most of us are lord and a vassal, to work together tasy literature are the "no holds not experts in the details of our for their mutual betterment. barred" magical worlds where ev- country's own foreign relations: it The lord, who is the recognized eryone and their brother lives and simply doesn't enter into our daily owner of a piece of land—gives it to breathes magic. In many ways, lives. the vassal, who will manage and this is similar to the way in which As they progress in levels, how- live on it. In exchange for such a fa- the average person sees technol- ever, things will begin to change. vor, the lord is entitled to certain ogy today. After all, most people At first, this will be only a passing duties and favors from the vassal, have no idea how a television set thing. Perhaps one adventure which include the payment of works, but they accept it as a com- brings their actions to the atten- taxes and the requirement that he mon part of their daily lives. tion of a local baron who, for better support the military forces main- The average AD&D campaign re- or worse, makes a mental note to tained by the lord. mains somewhat in the middle, keep an eye on the characters. By In most cases, the owner of the land is the king and the vassals are Of course, the key to the whole Serfs his nobility. Of course, one can't thing is land. Whoever owns the By the time of the middle ages, expect the nobility to work the land has the power. While there slavery had gradually fallen out of land themselves, so we come to the are certain regions which might favor in feudal europe. While there serfs and common folk. not belong to the king (a yeoma- are certain to be isolated pockets of The vassal, in an agreement man's farm, for example) these are slave trading in most worlds, the similar to that he which he has insignificant when compaired to vast majority of a chivalric cam- with his king, turns the land over the vast stretches of land owned by paign world should not be a party to the peasants and serfs to farm the king himself. Even such small to it. While the distinction between and live on. Like the vassal, they patches of independent land will a serf and a slave may be obscure agree to work the land and provide be forced to recognize the power of to many, the most important thing their lord with income and food the king, of course, if they are to to understand is this: the serf had from it. Of course, the serfs ex- expect any protection or assist- certain rights. pect to earn enough money to live ance from the crown during times on and to be protected by the lord of war or calamity. While he did not own the land in times of unrest or military con- which he worked and did not have a say in the local government he flict. The lord knows this, just as Social Classes he knows that he can expect the was acknowledged to own himself. same from the king, and is only too One important aspect of the feu- Unlike more primitive societies, happy to provide it. While this dal system is its clear and almost where members of the lower class doesn't mean that life for the serfs absolute recognition of social were thought of as animals or is wonderful, it does allow them to classes. Anyone born as a serf can property, the poor in a feudal soci- live without fear of extreme repres- expect to die as a serf. There is no ety are recognized as having a sion or exploitation. provision in such a society for the right to fair and just treatment by advancement of individuals from a the nobility and society in general. The feudal system works well so lower class into the higher classes. Most feudal estates have laws to long as everyone in it recognizes This is not to say that it is impos- protect the local serf population their own responsibilities and the sible, only that it is very difficult. from abuse or mistreatment—even rights of others. Since they are in a by members of the nobility. While position where it is in their own How might someone in a lower Sample file these laws may be more or less en- best interest to do so, they almost class make the jump to a higher forced, depending on the disposition always do. Those who ignore thier place in society? Usually by doing of the local lord, the fact that they duties or seek to take advantage of a great service to one's lord or exist at all is a major turning point their own position are quickly church. In some societies, in fact, in cultural evolution. pegged as trouble-makers and any knight has the right to bestow may well be strongly disciplined the rank and title of knighthood on by the leadership of the society. any individual who proves himself Yeomen worth on the field of combat. Of The reasons for this are simple Unlike the serf, who spent his course, the problem with such an enough to understand. While the days laboring on land owned by approach is that it often ends up in King may not care too much about his lord, a yeoman was recognized the would-be knight's death at the the life of a single serf, he must as the owner of his own farm. As a hands of a better trained and bet- concern himself with their overall rule, it was not a large estate, but it ter equipped warrior. As we said, it happiness. Without the serfs, his was enough to provide for his is not easy to improve your place vassals have no power or income. needs (and those of his family). If in such a system. Without the power and income of times were good, it might even pro- the vassals, he himself is impo- In the following section, we will vide a surplus which could be sold tent. Each block in the pyramid of examine the many levels of society or bartered for a few choice items power rests very solidly on those which characters in an AD&D® or luxuries. below it in the feudal system. game will encounter. In many cases, of course, a yeo- Without the support of the base, man will swear loyalty to a near-by the entire structure will collapse. lord and pay him or her some trib-

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