Summon Frank Lloyd Wright I (help me design an awesome castle for my PC's)

[Bobby Baratheon]

The PC's in my campaign are pretty rapidly amassing wealth, and the country in which they reside is falling into chaos between two foreign invasions, a vicious magical plague, a bloody civil war, a sudden surge in monster numbers and someone setting off a locate city bomb and reducing a fourth of the country to wight-infested ash. It's all because of a murderous elven magocracy across the sea, who wants to soften up their LZ The common people's suffering is immeasurable, and their leaders are too busy slitting each others throats to protect them. So, naturally, the PCs want to set themselves up as brutal, tyrannical warlords. :smallamused: Specifically, they drew inspiration from medieval "robber barons" that camped on rivers and forced tolls on everyone.

I want them to have an awesome base, and in the current climate they're VERY unlikely to be able to find sufficient laborers and material to be able to build a castle without any of the powers that be taking notice and confiscating/destroying it. Instead, I want to have an awesome fortress already made, and occupied by a duke-***-rebel. The PC's and the rebels have beef (oddly enough, they have beef with everyone except the local mafia, with whom they're best friends), and one of the PC's has a habit of tagging captured rebels with Necrotic Cyst so he can keep tabs on them. Getting them there isn't the problem. The problem is making a fortress amazing enough to interest them.

I'm thinking there should be something distinctive about this fortress that'll make it more attractive real estate. Currently, I'm imagining a reasonably sized, strategically placed bridge fortress on a major river (like the Twins from ASOIAF), but with some sort of mechanism that can lift the bridges up to allow boats to pass (or just to have the bridge be super high so they can sail under). I'm also thinking it'd be cool to have each half of the fortress be on a cliff, and maybe a central keep on an island in the middle of the river. The PC's are definitely going to get besieged once people start to hear of them taking over, though the specific group besieging them will depend on who they cheese off most in the intervening time. This should be a fun story arc, and it'll be interesting to see if they end up aligning with any group or starting they're own faction.

What would you, as PC's, want in a fortress? I'd like to keep the basic premise here of a river fortress, but I'd love to hear what your ideas are. What can I add to make it even more memorable? More importantly, what should I name the fortress (though they're probably going to rename it)? How big should I go? What defenses should it have, bearing in mind that this setting is somewhat low magic (arcane magic is much less common than divine magic)? Any ideas on materials, or layout?

[ExLibrisMortis]

Personally, I'm rather partial to flying fortresses. They're easy to defend, convenient to travel in, and when you've squeezed the population of X down to coppers, you can move on to Y. That said, flying fortresses may be a bit extreme, in terms of what they can do and how exotic they are.

You could have a huge animated adamantine harbour chain (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boom_(navigational_barrier)), that sits across a river. The only way past it, is through your castle, which is conveniently built around - and partially over - a bypass.

And have a look at the Stronghold Builder's Guidebook, especially for items that allow the control of weather around the castle. Having a permanent hurricane around the fortress, except on those travellers and caravans that enjoy your protection, motivates people to pay like few other things do, especially if you control a strait (or pass), like the Bosphorus, so there's no way around.

[Bobby Baratheon]

I don't have access to the Stronghold Builder's Guide, but I'll see if I can dig it up at the local game store. The chain idea is genius, but I'd imagine there's got to be a way to toughen it up so people don't just blast through. Then again, that's only really an obstacle for the peons that have to travel by boat, so I guess it's kind of a non-issue.

I considered a floating fortress, but they're only level 8 and I don't want to give them too much power too soon. I think the central keep could have latent flight abilities that have to be activated in a special ritual, though. That way they get to keep it at higher levels, and that's another plot hook.

EDIT: a flying fortress would also bring down the ire of pretty much everyone else on them, and I doubt they could survive that at this level. Everyone else is busy enough that they might overlook some upjumped river bandits for the moment, but that would push them more into "active threat" territory.

[Deophaun]

Your title has just made me horrified at the idea of Frank Lloyd Wright designing a castle. He'd probably do something like make the living spaces on the keep protrude beyond the palisades or something.

[Bobby Baratheon]

Yeah he probably wouldn't the best castle designer out there. . . Maybe he can design the PC's summer home? Also, he was the first famous architect to come to mind :smalltongue:

EDIT: Imagine a fortified version of this.
http://www.charlesphoenix.com/david-and-gladys-wright-house-scottsdale-az/

[ExLibrisMortis]

Most likely you want D&D's equivalent of de Vauban (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S%C3%A9bastien_Le_Prestre_de_Vauban), which might just be Mordenkainen, or someone like that. After all, his mansion's pretty good. Or Halphax, the 8th-level vestige, who grants a +16 competence bonus on Profession (siege engineer) and Knowledge (architecture and engineering) if you bind him.

Theoretically, star forts are pretty good, because they tend to have fortifications thick enough, and covering enough ground, that you can't carve through them (with Mountain Hammer or something). That's what the Earth design is for - stopping artillery from bringing down your fancy stonework fortress, by building with packed earth as well, which doesn't shatter on impact. However, the SBG has a 5' unworked stone wall at 8 hardness and 900 hp, and a 5' layer of packed earth at only 2 hardness and 30 hp. In other words, you can pretty much dig through packed earth at 5' per round, as long as your full attack is ~65+ damage, where stone would stop you cold for at least a minute (enough time for a patrol to show up). Basically: if you're building a start fort, convert the mud to stone. In fact, convert all the mud below your fortress to stone, too, to better stop tunnelers. Burrow speeds are easily available as CR 8 encounter, after all.

[Bobby Baratheon]

That could work well for the central island fort. I'm thinking that the bridge parts of the fortress are going to be glorified, souped up gatehouses, while all of the main stuff will be in the central island. It's easy enough to say that in the distant past a powerful wizard raised up an island (and turned it to stone) in the river as a favor for the king, who then built a fort on it which has over time been built and rebuilt into the glorious star fort it is today. Also, a flying star fort would be awesome :smallbiggrin:

Additionally, our setting is Renaissance level tech, so the Star Fort is a pretty good fit. Is there any sort of magic reflecting substance I can coat onto its walls? I could just homebrew it, but I'd prefer to use something already established.

EDIT: One of the players is a binder, so that works out pretty nicely as well.

[Alistaroc]

Alright, I LOVE designing castles, so here's one I whipped up.

I'd second Stronghold Builder's Guidebook, it's a great resource for castle-building. Now then, a river fort... I'm rather partial to a naval setup similar to Constantinople, similar to what's mentioned above. Go for either a Riverine chain stretched across the river, for immunity to damage and being nigh-invisible to boot, or if you'd prefer a "low-magic" feel, this:
Alright, time for some MATH kids! Using the Hudson River Chain as an example, and simplifying the calculations considerably, by using the density of iron, and the weight and length of each link in the chain,we can determine that a chain using simply cylinders as links would be approximately 4 1/2 inches in diameter. Let's round that up to 5. Now, Obdurium, from the Stronghold Builder's Guidebook, has Hardness 30, and 60 HP/inch, with a Break DC of 48 + 4/inch. So we've got a chain with Hardness 30, 300 HP, and a Break DC of 68. But we're not gonna stop there, no siree. Dungeonscape's Superior Craftsmanship gives us 5 hardness and 150% HP, and Magically Treated(from the SBG) gives us double hardness and HP. Our finished chain has Hardness 70, 900 HP, and a Break DC of 68. Try getting your ship through THAT.
Ahem. Anyways. Onto the castle proper.

So, one bank of the river is low, flat, covered with gravel or sand, forming a surface ill-suited for construction, marked only by an outcropping that juts slightly into the river, a solid stone edifice. Atop this outcropping stands a tower, with a small dock along the bottom edge. A lone, portcullis-covered door leads into the tower from the dock. On the shore side of the tower, a single portcullis-covered door again leads into the tower, and a tall wall forms a semicircle around the base of the tower, creating a courtyard of sorts, the only exit of which is a gate flanked by a formidable, squat guardhouse. On the other bank is a tall bluff, a sheer cliff facing the river. Atop the tower, a bridge stands over the river, far enough above the water so as to let ships by beneath, and wide enough to let a medium-sized cart pass by. Beneath the bridge hangs a pulley system that hauls freight up from the river below or the tower base, and swings it across into the bluff, just beneath the bridge.
Both the bridge and the pulley system vanish into caves in the cliffside, opening into caverns that are the beginning of a rather large system carved out by men(or dwarves) years ago. These caverns form the heart of the keep, and extend to the top of the bluff, atop which a watchtower is perched, to the bottom, and down into a series of mineshafts beneath the keep proper. The main road runs right through the bluff, out to the other side, another sheer cliff(the whole bluff is sheer cliffs, no getting any sizable force up them). The road goes through a gate midway up the bluff, and across a drawbridge to the top of a hill, from which a winding road descends gradually to ground level.

You can't get down the river unless they hoist the chain cross, and you can't take the keep unless you sneak in without being noticed by the watchtower higher than anything for miles, and either;
A) Siege the tower, break through, fight your way up, fight your way across the bridge(which undoubtedly has a drawbridge section, or can be collapsed), through the gates at the bluff, into the main road, and into one of the tunnels into the keep proper, getting through vicious tunnel fighting to take the place.
B) Get up the hill, across the raised drawbridge, through the gates, into the main road tunnel, and into one of the tunnels into the keep proper, getting through vicious tunnel fighting again.

Either way, it's a pain for anyone to get into, unless you're a small, skilled team that can scale the bluff and get in through the watchtower. :smallwink:

Btw, I'd just Google "d&d Stronghold Builder's Guidebook" if you're looking to grab a copy, I find some good links come up with people selling or giving away used copies.

[Bobby Baratheon]

A tunnel system would be cool - it reminds me a lot of Menegroth. I'll admit, it was a little hard to properly visualize all that, but I had to skim through it a little bit. I'll give it a more thorough looksy when I get home. I am liking the concept though!

[Alistaroc]

A tunnel system would be cool - it reminds me a lot of Menegroth. I'll admit, it was a little hard to properly visualize all that, but I had to skim through it a little bit. I'll give it a more thorough looksy when I get home. I am liking the concept though!
My writing skills are lacking haha...
Here's some poorly drawn digital sketches to help interpretation xD
Aerial View (http://imgur.com/QC75iBl)
Side View (http://imgur.com/QC75iBl)

[Bobby Baratheon]

My writing skills are lacking haha...
Here's some poorly drawn digital sketches to help interpretation xD
Aerial View (http://imgur.com/QC75iBl)
Side View (http://imgur.com/QC75iBl)

Thanks a ton!!! That makes it a lot easier to grasp. I am definitely going to use at least part of this plan (i still like the central island fort). Also, you have just been promoted to chief royal architect in the playground. I have absolutely no authority to give that title, but it's yours nonetheless!

[Alistaroc]

Thanks a ton!!! That makes it a lot easier to grasp. I am definitely going to use at least part of this plan (i still like the central island fort). Also, you have just been promoted to chief royal architect in the playground. I have absolutely no authority to give that title, but it's yours nonetheless!
Can...
Can I put that in my sig? xD

[Bobby Baratheon]

Yeah for sure!

[Gildedragon]

Have no bridge across the river, but a device that generates floating disks to go across. The lack of a bridge allows for taller ships to come through.

build the castle in the middle of a long bridge that can be drawn up.
Or build the bridge wide enough a castle town can spring on it. A fortified bridge has the benefit of being highly defensible and hard to lay siege to. Just have a lot of light along the banks at night. A town on the bridge will a) provide resources and b) make the people thankful to their overlords. thankful people with a resource rich town: they can start raising an army with that.

a pair of animated riverine chains can be had up and downstream to prevent any sabotage (sending logs or broken ships to batter the bridge, or dam it). Ships cross the river only by their leave.

another way to defend the bridge castle: befriend or create a monster ecosystem in the waters. tame those beasts. if someone tries to attack or not pay the river tax: well the kraken take them.

[Bobby Baratheon]

Have no bridge across the river, but a device that generates floating disks to go across. The lack of a bridge allows for taller ships to come through.

build the castle in the middle of a long bridge that can be drawn up.
Or build the bridge wide enough a castle town can spring on it. A fortified bridge has the benefit of being highly defensible and hard to lay siege to. Just have a lot of light along the banks at night. A town on the bridge will a) provide resources and b) make the people thankful to their overlords. thankful people with a resource rich town: they can start raising an army with that.

a pair of animated riverine chains can be had up and downstream to prevent any sabotage (sending logs or broken ships to batter the bridge, or dam it). Ships cross the river only by their leave.

another way to defend the bridge castle: befriend or create a monster ecosystem in the waters. tame those beasts. if someone tries to attack or not pay the river tax: well the kraken take them.

Hmmmm I'm liking the castle town idea, though I'm thinking it'll be on one of the banks rather than the central island. Maybe a good fishing/trading town?

The tamed monster is kind of intriguing. It kind of reminds me of Abhorsens House from the Old Kingdom series, where they can summon huge waves of glacial water to defend the island house. That's not going to work here, but a tamed kraken might do the trick. Krakens are more than intelligent enough that I might just have one float up the river and threaten to sink ships unless they make a deal with it. I don't think I really want to give them a ton of stuff right off the bat.

[Gildedragon]

Hmmmm I'm liking the castle town idea, though I'm thinking it'll be on one of the banks rather than the central island. Maybe a good fishing/trading town?

The tamed monster is kind of intriguing. It kind of reminds me of Abhorsens House from the Old Kingdom series, where they can summon huge waves of glacial water to defend the island house. That's not going to work here, but a tamed kraken might do the trick. Krakens are more than intelligent enough that I might just have one float up the river and threaten to sink ships unless they make a deal with it. I don't think I really want to give them a ton of stuff right off the bat.

See the Chateau de Chenonceau

have the kraken live in the waters. they can kill it or tame it or whatever. Or in the castle's old library. ooooor in the town's coat of arms: A fortified bridge and tentacles or something like it

The town: have it be ON the bridge, or partly on the bridge, over the waters. like the Ponte Vecchio or the Krammerbrucke or the Pulteney Bridge

The castle/bridge could have a lot of wondrous architecture already set in place but damaged or unpowered or the like. Who knows what they'll find in the cells and cellars of the castle itself...

[Bobby Baratheon]

One reason I want to put the town on the bank is to make it more vulnerable to assault. These people will be the players' subjects, and I'm hoping to coax a little roleplaying out of them and maybe a little genuine affection for the town. That way, when the inevitable siege comes, the players can shelter the townsfolk in their castle and feel good for protecting them. I want them to really develop a bond with this place and invest in it, if only to give them a greater sense of verisimilitude and a stronger connection to the game world.

[Gildedragon]

One reason I want to put the town on the bank is to make it more vulnerable to assault. These people will be the players' subjects, and I'm hoping to coax a little roleplaying out of them and maybe a little genuine affection for the town. That way, when the inevitable siege comes, the players can shelter the townsfolk in their castle and feel good for protecting them. I want them to really develop a bond with this place and invest in it, if only to give them a greater sense of verisimilitude and a stronger connection to the game world.

Fair enough.

As to more wondrous architecture options they might find or develop:

Mills on the riverbanks: not for milling per-se but to power experimental devices (ravenloft: legacy of blood) they find. A mill that generates food magically. Excellent to keep the peasants tied to the city and focused on higher gp crafts than farming. They become dependent on the lords for their food, as they don't produce any.

[Bobby Baratheon]

Mills on the riverbanks: not for milling per-se but to power experimental devices (ravenloft: legacy of blood) they find. A mill that generates food magically. Excellent to keep the peasants tied to the city and focused on higher gp crafts than farming. They become dependent on the lords for their food, as they don't produce any.

I'm liking that idea! That would also make the fort more strategically valuable as well, especially if I fluff it that no one knows how to replicate the "ancient" magic of food/water traps. If I place it near some mountains, which I'm considering, it could turn into a vibrant smithing town/armory, which again would explain its strategic value and make sense as to why the rebels want it. A thriving dwarven enclave would be kind of cool too, as one of the player's character has a vitriolic dislike of dwarves which is always good for some laughs.

[Bohandas]

If a portal was incorporated much of the stronghold could be hidden on another plane, allowing a lower profile.