AD&D - DMGR2 - Castle Guide (2e)

devices- ma ny of which were Bombardment Engine Statistics
more da ngerous to their crew than
to their targe l. Th e m ost vis ua lly Engine Type AD Hits Ran ge Crew Ra t e Mo v e
im pressive of t hese were defin itely Ballista 12 8 1"/27 " 3 1 6"
the bom bards. Bombard 3d 12 10 18 "/40" 2 3 2"
Can no n . lig h t 2dl2 8 1"/36 " 1 1 6"
T h e m ed ieva l bombard was a Cannon. heavy 2dl 2 10 1" / 3 6 " 2 2 6"
m assive pipe con s tru c ted of Catapul t. ligh t 2d 10 10 15" 130" 4 2 4'
Catapul t. heavy 2d 12 15 3 3'
w rou gh t-iron rods or bro nze. Cata pult, a rrow 2d6 8 18 '/36" 6 3 4"
w h ich fi red a very la rge- but rela- Tre buc he t 3d 12 20 6"/18" 3 4
tive ly lig ht- ba ll of s to ne. 24 "/48" 8 Nil

The barre l of a bomba rd was lery. w h ic h m ig h t o therw ise com e d e r. In gam e te rms . lesser-trained
us ua lly set in to a so lid b loc k o f to do mi na te the ga m e. cavalry- those un its wi th a mora le
w ood, w h ic h wo u ld ho ld th e e qua l to or less than 10 -are s us-
weapon steady a nd a bsorb the Each li mea bom bard fires. the re ce ptible to m o rale effects. T he s us-
consid e ra b le reca ll. T h is d esig n is a 10 % c ha nce o f a m isfi re. If the ceptib ility of othe r troop types Is
was far fro m easy to m ove. how- weapo n itself h as suffe re d any left up to the players. or to the OM .
ever. For tra ns port. the bomba rd hils. any rolls o n the m isfire ta ble
had to be lifted bodily o nto a heavy belo w s u ffe r a + I m od ifie r. If the Eac h tu rn in w hic h a susceptible
wagon , 1b s u pport the weig ht o f weapon m isfi res. ro ll 2d4 a nd can· u n it Is w ithi n 4 N of a bom ba rd-
the gun , the cart us ually ra n on s u it the fo llowing ta ble: frie ndly or e ne m y - tha t fi res on
disc-like wheels w h ic h , w he never tha t turn . the u nit must ma ke a
the cart was canted over to one Die mora le ch eck w ith a bonus o f + 2
s ide . . th reatened to colla pse and Roll Result to the ro ll (bomba rd s are frig h ten -
dump the contraption to the 2 -3 Weapo n " ha ngs fi r c" ing. bu t no t tha l fri g hte ning ). S us-
grou nd again. In gam e terms, wag· 4·6 Powde r burn s irregu la r ly; ceptib le tro ops will not ro ut
ons carrying bo mba rds a re limited towards a firin g bom bard.
to na t. clear terra in. Th ey can be automatic scatter
m oved up o r d own h ill o nly on 7·9 Wea pon ex plodes T he impact of a bombard s hot
we ll-paved road s . a nd th e n only if was so great that it would smash
the hill has a r ise (or fa ll) o f less A resu ll of " ha ngs fire" mea ns s plinters from any hard s urface it
tha n I " for ea c h 24 " horizonta ll y. t ha t the gunpowde r has s im ply hit. This "s h rapnel"' was so le thal
fa iled to ig nite. or has fa iled for o ne that it rreq ue n tly ca used as m any or
His torica lly, bo m ba rds cam e In rea s on o r a noth er to ex p lode prop· more casua lties than the actual s hot
virtua lly a ll s hapes a nd s izes. Th e e rly (pe r ha ps it j us t Oa red up . ilself. 1b represent this. each time a
s tatis tics g ive n he re re fe r to a n without e noug h fo rce to expc l the bom bard s hot s trikes rock or s tone
"average" bom ba rd . If players ball ). Th e we apo n m u s t be reo (eilhe r a wall a r a horizontal s to ne
a nd /or re fe rees agree . larger o r load ed . s urface like a pa ved courtyard ).
smaller bomba rds m ay be used . each fi gure wi th in I ~ of the im pac t
A bomba rd tha t explodes Is de- point su ffers an a ttack of AD 10. Ob-
The burning properlies of the s troyed. An y fi gu re wi thin I ~ of vio us ly. to be affected the unit mus t
gu n powder used In ear ly can non the weapon s u ffe rs Id4 hits with be on the same s ide of a wa ll as the
was incons is te nt a t best (qua lity no a rmor c heck a llowed . impact point. Firing a shot agains t
con trol wasn 't partic ula rly s tric t), the ex terio r of a keep will do no
leading to a Sig nificant c ha nce of The na m e. s m oke a nd no ise as- splinter damage against o n troops
m isfires. Europea n artille rists s oc ia ted wi th a bo m bard fre- within tha l keep.
soon learned the ir lessons, a nd que ntly pan icked pac k an ima ls.
guns became much more depend- a nd even mounts tha t ha dn't been A bomba rd s h ot h a s a 4 5%
a ble. For game p u rposes. ho wever. tra ined to ha ndle t he c haos of wa r. c ha nce o f scattering: sca tte r dis-
the ris k of m isfir e s hould be qui te In a fa n tasy world . th is wou ld a lso la nce is Id4 ". half that (round ed
hig h . Thi s w ill lesse n th e d e - be true for troops com posed of up) if the ra nge Is 12 Nor less.
Sira bili ty - a nd h e n ce th e sign - " pri m itive " races o r c reatures who
ificance-of gu npowder-fired arlll- would normally fear fi re an d thu n-

100

Cannon The chance of a misfi re was fee t by t he Roman s an d later
lowe r for ca nnon th an for the less for ces.
A s wit h b o mbard s. c annon standardi zed bombards. but t h e
came in many des igns. Th ese chan ce sti ll did ex ist. Each Lim e a A l thoug h t he ac tual source of
r an ged fro m " poc ket ca nnon " cannon fir es, th er e Is a 5% chance th e weapon's m otive force ranged
with barrel len g ths of little m ore of a misfir e. If the weapon m isfires. from n exible beams of wood
than one foot. to m onsters that r oll 2d4 and con su lt the !.able be- (sh ades of t h e ben t tree) to tor-
fi red shot weighin g 100 pounds. Of low. If the weapon itself has suf- sion ed ropes, the device depended
these bizar re guns. the most ap - fer ed an y hits. a ll r o ll s o n t he o n leverage to propel p roj ectiles.
propria te for siege warfare were The very n ature of the device
the 48-pounder full cannon (our m isfire table su ffer a + I modifier. m ade It som ewhat difficu lt to ad-
heavy cannon) and t he 24- just elevation . On smaller devices.
pounder demi-cannon (our lig ht Die Result t h e rear of the frame or base could
cannon). Weapon " han gs fire" be raised or lowered. but on larger
Roll Powder burn s Irregularly; examples t his was impossible. The
In troduced in the late Flflee n t h 2-3 autom alic sca tter only meth od of alter i n g th e r ange
Century, the full canno n was a 4 -7 Weapon explodes o f t he sho t was to change the
highly effec live w eapo n . devasta t- amoun t of torsion or modify the
ing against stonework and lethal 8-9 weigh t of th e projectile. Neith er of
against "soft" Lar gets like troops. t h ese we re particularl y precise.
A lthough the full cannon never A "han g fire" resu lt is the same making the catapult a nOlorlously
disappeared. th e demi-ca nnon for ca nnon as It is for a bombard. Inaccurate weapon.
sw iftly became the prefer red Si milarl y. canno n have the sam e
wea pon for u se in siege batteries. chance to panic anima ls and prim- The construction of the catapult
Round for round i t performed al- itive troops th a t bo m bards d o. also con strained its role. In most
most as effectively as i ts larger sib- Cannon rounds which strike a cases, It could only b e used as an
ling, w hil e w eighi n g lillie m ore ston e or wooden surface cr eate indi rect nre dev ice , similar to a
than h alfas much . consum ing half large sprays of shrapnel. just as modern h owitzer ; the sh ot would
the charge of powder . taki ng up bombards do. Be sure to read the arc h igh , and then fall on the tar·
less space In t h e batteries and be- section on bombards if you are fir- get. T he only exception to this was
i n g much quick er t o load. ing one or more batteries of can- w hen the catapult w as so close to a
n on in the battle. wall or building that the missile
Both w ere smooth-bore muzzle- struck its target before It reached
loaders. with homogenou s bronze A cannon that explodes is de· th e apex of its trajec tory.
barrels no more than eigh t fee t stroyed. A ny figu re within I ~ of
long. They could be tra nsp orted the weapon suffer s I d4 hits in the A lthough they wer e u su ally u sed
and loaded with r elative ease, and case of a fu ll cannon or Id3 hits for to hurl r ocks or oth er h eavy proj ec-
t h ey fired wrought-Iron ca nnon a dem i-cannon (no armor check al- tiles, ther e w ere no praclical r e-
balls, Fren ch gunsm iths improved low ed) . strictions on w hat could be fired
the basic design by casting two from catapults. The m ost common
trunnions, or prongs. into th e bar- A cannon sh ot (either kind) has a "alternative" loads were quantities
rel Ju st forward of the ce nter of 10% chance of scattering; scatter of small stones. gravel. and even
graVity, These prongs rested al- distan ce is Id2". half t hat (rou nded lengths of chain . Th is m ed ieval
most directly over the ax le of a up) if the range is 15" o r less. shra pnel was n ext to u se less
t wo-w h ee led gun ca rriage. Th e against " hard " targets su ch as
barrel of t h e gun could b e eaSil y el- Co1.to1.pult w alls and the like. but it was bru-
evated or depressed around th e tally effective against "soft"' targets
fulcrum formed b y the trunnions. Catapults of various ki nds have li k e t roops. In game term s, a
For traversing. th e trai ling end of been i n li se for millenn ia. From ca tapult-light or heavy-loaded
the gun carriage was lifted from simple, h as til y- Improvised d e- with this kind of shot does n o dam -
the ground and swung to r ight or vices-smail trees that cou ld be age agal nstslruc tures. but all dam-
left. ben t then released to cast age against units is multiplied by
projectiles-the catapult evolved 1.5. T hus t his k i nd o f load is u sefu l
into m ech anically sophisticated
w h eeled d ev ices u sed to great ef-

'0'

'02

for "sweeping the battlem ents" of of the cata pult's m ax imum range. d eSign ers-a nd unlu c kil y fo r
defenders before an assault. th e chances for scatter drop to those on th e receiving end - th ere
15% for light and 25% for hea vy, was a nother force that could be
Ca tapults can also cast flaming a nd th e scatter distan ce is Id2". u sed : gra vity. Whil e gravity
m issil es, or even canis ters of doesn 't work quite the sam e in the
Greek fire. T ypically. these projec· Catapult• .urow AD&D" game universe as It does in
tiles a re much lighter than th e our own (see the S PELW AMM ERN
u s ual loads used (It's hard to set Ma ny weaponm ake rs through- boxed set for details ). the tre bu-
flre to a rock , after all). but cons id- out the ages experimented with
erably m ore s usceptible lO cross- la rge weapons tha t fired multiple ch eL s tili functions in the same
winds : thus the effective ra nge Is arrows or s pears with great force way.
ha lved . a nd the chance of scatter Is (a nd us ua lly a bysm a l accuracy).
doubled (although the scatter dis- Thes e wer e m os tly Ine ffec tive Whil e s tandard cata pults d e-
tance is ha lved as well) . Flaming agains t s tructures (those fe w that pended on the potential energy
loads do no damage to structures were u seful in such a role have tied up in bent or otherwise
from their Impact. althoug h they been s ubs um ed und er the cate- s tressed materials. tre buc he ts
have normal chances of Igniting gory of ballista) but qui te lethal used the potential energy can·
fl amm able m aterials. Rules for ig- agains t m assed troops. in gam e talned In a heavy weight. On one
niting targets are covered on page terms. a ll engines of this type do end of th e tre buchet's long arm
86 of the BATTLESYSTEMN rules. no damage agai nst structures. was a sling or basket to contai n the
Agains t units, however, fl aming load . On th e other. across a ful -
loads do inflict damage from their One design tha t actu a lly seem ed crum . was a mass of metal or roc k.
Impac t alone. This equates to an to work comprised a rack holding To load th e weapon , th e c rew
AD p f2d6 for both light and heavy four or so large arrows perhaps the pu lled th e basket end down , which
catapults. s ize of javelins . Behind this rack ra ised the countermass off t he
was a s heet of fl exible wood that ground . When they released the
Enterprising comma nders can could be bent backwa rds. Wh en arm . th e coun termass fe ll . acceler·
use their catapults with more un· this s heet of wood was released . ating th e basket a nd load.
pleasant loads. of course. During the upper portion would s na p for-
the Siege of Minas Tirith In J . R. R. wa rd a nd "sla p " the butt ends of Som e very large tre buchets were
Thlkie n 's Lord ofthe Rings. the orcs the arrows. firin g them forward . built a nd used . Theoretically. th e
fired the heads of s lain defe nders only limi ts to their s ize a nd power
Into the City. These exam ples of The actual numbe r of arrows were the strength of the m a teria l
shot from one of these devices var· used a nd the amount of mass tha t
nastiness are devastating to the led from two or three to as high as a could be lifted by the crew.
m orale of the e nemy. and mus t be doze n. The s ta tis tics given are for
dealt with on an individual basis. a n "average " device. s hooting four Since they were such simple ma-
or fiv e projectiles. (Weapons doing chines, tre buch ets were usua lly
The cha nce of scatter Is 40 % for more or less dam age can be used if buill on-site. This meant that th ey
a li gh t catapult and 50% for a players a nd DM agree .) were difficult if not Impossible to
heavy catapult. The cha nces drop m ove. and thus to aim . In gam e
to 25% a nd 35% respectively If th e A shot from an a rrow catapult terms. once a tre buchet is posl·
ca tap ult Is loaded w ith s m a ll has a 60% cha nce of scattering. tloned . it can only fi re dir ectly fo r·
stones or the like. The reason for Scatter distance is Id3 ". ward , or within 5 degrees to ellher
this is s imply that you don 't have s ide of Its center line. Ra nge could
Trebuchet be varied by changing th e m ass of
to be as exact with a scattering the load . th e weight of lhe counter-
round as you do with a solid one. As they built large r and larger mass. or the distance that the arm
J ust as you don 't have to be as pre- ca tapu lts to fire ever-Increas in g was pulled down.
cise with a modern s hotgun as loa ds . military sc ie ntists soon
with you do with a rifle to hit your reached the limits of standard cat· As with other cata pults. trebu·
target. Scatter dis tance is Id3 " . If apult technology. T here was just chets could be loaded with man y
the cata pult Is being used against a so much force that could be gener· s m a ll s tones for use against "son "
wallar building (direct fi re) a nd ated from bent wood or lOrqued
the ra nge Is less than one qua rter rope. Lu ckily fo r t h e weapon targets like troops. In gam e terms.
a trebuchet loaded with this kind

10 3

x

of load does no damage against to move a crush ing e n gine a t its ou t the protection of a framework.
struc tures. but a ll damage against full speed of 3~ per lurn . Four to These wou ld have a si ngle "h its"
units is multiplied by 1.5 (rounded seven ngures can move it 2" . a nd number. representing the device
down). two or three can move It 1". Crush- Itself. Troops operating the de vice
ing e ng ines can on ly be moved are unprotected.
Trebuchets ca n also cast naming over clear. na t terrain (including
roads . but not trails). l\vlce as AD columns s how the s ize of at-
miss iles. o r e ven ca nisters of many figures are required to move tack die (4-sided. 6 -sid ed or 8-
Greek fire. Typically. these projec- a c rushin g engine up e ven a gen tle sided) used whe n the engine is a t·
tiles are mu c h lig hter than the s lope ( 1" rise for every 12 ~ of hori- tacking a certa in ty pe of materia l.
zo ntal distance). and m ove me n t The numbe r of auack d ice rolled is
u su al load s u sed , bUl conslderably up a s teeper inclin e is impOSSible. de te rmined by th e numbe r of fig -
more su scepLible to crosswinds: ures operating the device. as de-
thus the e rrec llvc ra nge is halved. A crush ing engine gels two ai- scribed above.
and th e chance of sca lter Is dou- tack d ice of the a ppropriate size for
bled (although the scatter distance each fig ure he lping to operate the CrUShing Engine St.-tlstlcs
is halved as well). Flaming loads device. At least two ngu res must
do no damage to structures from be available to ope rate it. and no Engine
t heir Impact, althoug h Lh ey have more than fou r can co ntribute to Type Hits Stone Metal WOO(
norm al chances of Igniting nam - th e c rush ing e ng ine's attac k
m abie materials. Rules for igniting strength. The e ngine must be Ram 61 18 4 6 8
targets arc covered o n page 86 of touc h in g the s urface to be at-
the BATTLESYSTEM '" rul es.) tacked before it can cau se damage. Bore 12/ 18 8 6 6
Agai nst units. however. flaming
loads do Inflict damage from their All crus hing eng ines make u se "m
of the sam e terms a nd concepts.
impact a lone. This equates to an whic h are de fi ned below : In this context . a ram is a long
wheeled gallery. Slung from the roof
AD of2d8. Hits is a two-numbe r e n try be- beam by c hains is a large log. This
The c ha nce of scatter for a tre bu - cause. in most cases. a cru s hing log is fr equently capped w it h a
e ngine is enc losed withi n a struc- heavy metal end-piece to increase
c hetis 55% (their lack of accuracy ture (generally a heavy wooden Its impact and da m age. His torically.
was balanced by the impressive roof supported by a framework of this end-piece was often shaped like
damage they Inflic ted when they Um bers) tha t provides pro tec tion the horned head ofa ram. hence the
did hit). The c ha n ce of scatler for th e device as well as for the fig - device 's na m e. Under cover of the
drops to 40% if the trebuchet is ures (maximum of four) tha t are pro tective roof. troops could swing
loaded with s ma ll s to nes or the operating it. The first num ber re p- the log to strike with g reat force
like. Sca tter dis ta nce Is Id6" . resents the number of hits that th e against a wallar gate.
e ngine itself can withs ta nd before
Crushing Engines bei ng destroyed : the second is th e T his design of ram . w here the log
number of hits that the protecUve is suspended by c hains. is muc h
As th ei r name Im plies. crus hi ng framewo rk and roof can with- more efficient than the "standard "
engines trans mit a nd concentrate stand. This fram ework must be de- troop-carr1ed batterin g ram impro-
the e fforts of the troops using them stroyed before th e device inside vised from a large log. For o ne thing.
against stru c tures with w h ich can su ffer damage. Troops u nde r the troops had to expend no e nergy
the dev ices a re in direct co ntact. this framework a re tota lly pro- s imply holding the ram off t he
For example. the small baltering tec ted again s t a ttacks from di- ground . and could concentrate all of
rams described on page 82 of the rectly above. and gai n a -2 bonus their might on swinging the heavy
BATTLESYSTEM'" rules a re to AR against mi ss ile a ttacks thing; thus heavier rams could be
crus hing engi nes. Their larger la unc hed from g ro und level. used . Also. once the ram had been
brethren are more m assive. m ore s wung back. simply releasing it to
deslru c Uve. a nd often co mprise In certa in cases. pla yers m ight
mobile canopies or oth er struc- use crushing engines that do wlth-
tures to protec t the troops us ing
them . Th ey are u sua lly whee led.

At least eig ht ng ures are needed

10 4

swing forward would cause cons id- Bore way of doing things. although it
erable impact: if the troops added eve ntually gets the job done.
their strength to the forward swing Bores (also ca lled "sows" ) re-
of the ram. the impac t could be stag· sembled rams in construction: a The second design has the same
gering. This increased effiCiency is long. wheeled gallery protecting log suspended in s li ngs, with the
reflected in the s tatistics listed the central mechanis m . which is
above. T his kind of ram a pplies one suspended from roof beams. Th is sam e screw-bit headpiece. Here.
AD for each figure operating the de- central mec hanism is usually a however. the log has stakes of
vice. In comparison. lroop-carried log. s uspended in s lings so it can wood or metal driven into it a long
rams apply one AD for each two fig· turn abou t its long ax is. The metal its length to act as handles . In th is
ures involved. headpiece Is a large screw bit. de- design, the log isn't swu ng: u sing
s igned to chew through stone. the handles. troops push the bit
The gall eries protec ting the against the wall and turn the log so
Th ese e ngi nes were designed to that th e bit even tually bites. This
rams were often elaborate enough be used in one of two ways. In is more like using a screwdriver.
to qualify as small buildings in some, the log was pulled back a nd
their own rig hts. As such. their swung agains t th e target like a T h e ga lle ri es protecting th e
destruclion can inflict damage ram. Because of the twist to the bores were often ela bora te enough
on the troops operating the rams. screw bit. the log would turn a li t- LO qualify as small bu ildings in
as discussed on page 85 of the tle on impact. Eventually. the bit their own rights. As such, their
BATTLESYSTEM'" rules. would bite into the wall a nd do
some damage. This is similar to destruction can innict damage on
driving a screw by hitting it with a the troops operating the rams. as
hammer: not the most efficient discussed on page 85 of the
BATTLESYSTEM'" rules .

lOS

For people who don't have the can pretty well control the pace of ter what their commander has to
time (or desire) to play out a long activity. If he or she wants to wait a say about It) to "Garrison surren-
siege with the BATTLESVSTEM'" few days before the next m ajor as- ders". Most results, however, are
rules, we present the foll owing sau lt. the garrison generally has of the form "5% Defender/ 15% At-
quick resolution systems. The first little say in the matter. This issue tacker" . These figures refer to the
Is Imended for use in resolving of timing changes the whole tenor percentage of the current point
sieges and the second for deter- of Sieges. of course. In an all-out at- count for the army that were lost
mining the outcome of entire mili- tack, where the beSiegers know during the phase (point costs are
tary campaigns_ Either of these they have the advan tage In man- discussed in Appendix III of the
settings can serve as an Interest- power. or where time Is of the es- BATTLESVSTEM'" rules).
ing backdrop to a traditional sence. one wave of assaul t will
AD&D* game campaign . follow close on the hee ls of the last. For example, the attacking force
Where the attackers don't have so currently has a total point value of
Siege Resolution great an advantage. or have the 150. The results of the current
luxury to let the garrison starve a phase state" 10% Attacker". The
Although sieges lasting months bit. the same number ofwaves can attacking p layer must remove
or even years are realistic. they're be spread out over weeks or from play figures (or equip ment)
not much fun to play out in their months_ worth at least 15 pOints. The
entirety. This section describes a choice of the figures actually re-
system by which the results of For this reason, the quick resolu- moved Is completely up to the at-
Sieges can be quickly deter- tion system refers to "phases" tacking player. This description
mined: whether the garrison sur- rather than days. weeks or other and the section that follows as-
renders or is overrun, whether the absolute measures of time. Each sumes that miniatures are being
attackers abandon the Invest- phase represents one wave of as- used for at least part of th e Siege. If
ment, and how many troops on sault. and the attacker (usu a lly) not-that Is. if the whole thing Is
both sides are slain. can decide how frequently phases taking place "offscreen"-the two
occur. For example, the auacklng forces can be viewed as "point
This system Is obviously very general can start the next phase as pools". analogous to a character 's
superficial-how else could an 18- soon as the last Is complete. or can
month Investment be reduced to a wait a week or two while the garri- hit poims in an AD&D game.
dozen or so die rolls?-and thus son's morale drops further. Results also frequently Include
not particularly satisfying em o-
tionally. It is strongly recom- Quick Resolutlon System penalties or bonuses to morale,
m ended that the OM running the such as "Defenders morale - 1".
campaign use these results as a ba- De pending on current co ndi - These are applied immediate ly
sis on which to build more tex- tions, one player-attacker or
tured descriptions of events. defender-has the initiative to de- an d remain in effect until the Siege
termine exactly when a phase is is fully resolved.
The system doesn't have to be going to start. That player (the
used throughout the Siege. Quick "phasing" player) rolls percentile In addition to the two finaJ reo
resolution could be used until dice. The roll is modified depend- suits that can come from the
things start getting Interesting. ing on current conditions (see SRT-"Attackers revolt" and
and then the players could resort "Modifiers" following), then the re- "Garrlson surrenders"-there are
to standard BATTLESVSTEM'" or s ult Is referenced on the siege reso- other victory conditions as well.
AD&D,z game rules to resolve the lution table (SRT) in the next mostly morale-related. Should any
"good bits". section . of these conditions come about.
the Siege is immediately over ...
Phases This table can retu rn various reo one way or the other. This is why
s uits . ranging from "Attackers re- It's Important that morale penal·
By their very nature, Sieges al- volt" (the attacking troops have ties or bonuses be applied Immedi-
most never consist of continuous had enough of this nonsense and ately.
action. The attacking commander give upthe Investment ... no mat-

106

Siege Resolution Table - 10% Attacking force has a pai n t ti m e spen t in th is engagem en t and
va lue which Is not m ore its associated m odifier.
Die than 150% of the de·
Roll Result fe n d e r s . 00 to 20 days Nil
0- Attackers revolt 21 to 40 days + 5%
01- 15 0 % Defendersll5% At· -05% Attacking force has a paint 41 to 60 days +10%
value whic h Is not m ore 61 to 80 days + 15%
tackers; Attacker morale than twice that of the de· Over 80 days +20%
- 2, Defende r morale + 1 fend ing force.
16·250% Defenders/IO% At- Supply Conditions
tackers: Attacker morale +05% Attacking force has a poi nt Units which have begun to run
- I , Defe nder morale + 1 value which Is not more
26-400% Defe nd ers/5% At· than th rice that of th e de- short of food a nd water will begin
tackers: Attacker m orale fender's forces. to see the "advantages" ofsurren-
-1 der. Likewise. those who are well
4 1-65 5% Defenders/20% At· + 10% Attacking force has a point s upplied will tend to hold ou t until
tackers value wh ich is greater than things get worse.
66-805% Defenders/ 15% At· thrice that of the defending
tackers; Attacker mora le force. + 10% Defender Is out of supplies.
+ 1, Defender mora le - 1 a nd h as s uffe r ed troop
8 1·90 5% Defenders/1O% At- Special Forces & Equipment losses due to attrition.
tackers; Attacker morale Th e weapons employed by one
+ 1, Defender morale -2 +05% The defender is out of sup-
9~·9Q 5% Defe nde rs/5% At- s ide or another. as well as the s pe- plies. but has not yet s u f-
tackers, Attacker mora le cia l skills and abi lities of the force, fe red any losses from
+ 1, Defender morale - 2 can make a big d iffere nce in the attrition.
100+ Garrison s u rrenders outcome of a ba ttle.
-05% Attacker is out of s upplies
Siege Resolution Table Modifiers + 10% Attackers h ave cannon and has been forced to
a nd defenders do not. scavenge for food .
Modifiers to rolls on th e SRT fall
into several categories. Each of + 10% Attackers have s pell cast- - 10% Attacker is out of s upplies
these groups is detailed below. ers a nd defenders do not. a nd is In an area w here
scave nging for supplies is
Force Size +05 % Attacking fo rce in clud es either difficu lt or impos-
The relative sizes of the two undead . high ly magical. or s ible.
otherw ise awe Inspiring
forces (as ex pressed in their creatures. Morale
BATTLESYSTEMN rules point val- The base morale value for an en-
ues) is very important. As you can +05% Attacking force has fl y ing
see by examining the S RT, the at· units and defenders do not. Ure force is the average of the mo-
tacker will tend to lose many more rales for all the units m a king up
troops tha n the defe nder. This reo -05% Defenders have cannon that force, adjusted for any modi-
fleets the fact that the defe nder has and attackers do not. fi ers applied due to the SRT. The
had time to "d ig In' ' a nd that a cas- fo ll owing c hart g ives the SRT
tie is very difficu lt to take by force. -05% Defending force includes modifiers based on the current mo-
undead. highly magical. or rale of the various s ides. When ap-
-15 % Attacking force has a total other awe inspiring man·
poi nt value equal to or less sters. plying the morale modifier to the
than that of the defending SRT roll . add the bonus for the at·
force. - 10% Defenders have s pell cast· tacker's morale and subtract the
ing units and attackers do bonus for the defender's m ora le.
not
For example, if the mora le of the
Length of Siege attackers is "steady" a pply a + 5%
The total duration of the Siege m odifier to the roll. If th e de·
fe nder's morale Is "elite". a pply a
has a significant effect on m orale,
and hence on the outcome of any
particu lar wave. Consult the tab le
below to determine the effect of the

107

-10% m od ifier to the roll . not true, however. If the modified profit. wh er e vic tory or defeat was
Note tha t the values for " unrelia- m orale of the defend ing force is
higher than that of the a ttacking l ess Imporlant than conduc ting
ble" or " unsteady" troops do not fol- force by a t least 2 poi nts, or If th e on eself in a professional m a nner,
low the above logic. ModiOers for a ttacker's modlHed morale drops
s uch units are reversed . Thus. ·'un- be low 9. th e defe nd e r deci des to som etJ)ing that mattered. and
s teady" a llackers s u btract 10 when phases will be Initiated.
m attered d eeply? 1b som ething
points from the SRT roll a nd " unre- Victory Condi tions
liable" defenders a dd 20 poin ts to It. that might determine the cou rse of
In addition to the ·'Garrlson s ur-
Unreliable (4 or less) 20% ren ders·' a nd ·'A ttackers revol l"" h istory for generations to come?
Unsteady (5 to 7) 10 % resul ts on the comba t results table H e s/lifted his dagger aside,
a bove, there a re other co nd itions
Average (8 to 10) Nil that bring a Siege to an e nd . whic h had been serving to indicate
Steady ( I I to 12) 5% his best g uess as to th e en emy's
Elite (1 3 to 141 10 % If the average mora le (modified ) major axis of movement. for a
Champion (1 5 to 16) 15% of a ll s urviving defe ndi ng units closer look at the map- m or e pre·
Fanatic (17 to 18) 20% drops to 3 or less, or is ] 0 poi nts or clsely, at one small village.
Fearless (19 or higher) 25% m ore less than the average mora le
of all a ttacki ng units, th e garrison Alexia . It was caJled. Not.h/ng
Command imm ediately s urre nd er s.
The competence of the individ- more than a handful of farm
Co nversely, if the average mo· houses. r ea lly. B ut m assing
ual commanders will have a huge rale ofa Ua ttacking units drops to 6 around this tilly croft were armies
effec t on the outcom e of any Siege or less, or Is 8 poin ts or more less the likes of which hadn·t been seen
or battle. For this quick resolution than the average m orale of a ll de-
system. the level of the com- fending units. the attackers give In this Age. Cerlainly. other armies
mande r wUl be the key factor In de· up the Siege.
ciding his or he r a bili ty. were clashing elsewh ere- good
Fina lly, if the a ttacki ng force Is men were dy ing. and Aelfred
To determine th e command ever reduced to 25 % or less of Its Silverhorn could do na ug ht abou t
modifier. s ubtract the level of th e o ri gin a l size (d e te rmin ed by
less ex pe rie nced commande r from points ), the attackers abandon th e it-but trained instinc ts told the
the leve l of the m ore ex pe rie nced Siege. aging warrior i hat it was her e, at
one. For every two leve ls of differ· Alexia. t.ha t mailers would be de-
ence, a pply a 5% m odifie r In favor Fighting Campaigns c ided .
o f th e more ex pe rienced co m-
ma nde r (that Is, a m inus to the roll Aelfred Silverhorn Sighed as he He grinn ed, but ther e was n o
If the defe nder Is more experienced stared at lhe map. Running mirth in it. Ho w w ould they take it,
a nd a n addition to It If the a ttacke r h e wondered . the spirits of tJlOse
has s uperiority). scarred fingers through his close· troops that had died elsewhere-
died a/. his (albeit indirect) com -
Thus, If a n arm y of orcs headed cropped hair. he wondered - for
by an 8 th level commander Is a t- mand? How would they take It
tacking a fortress held by a 12th the tho usandlh time-how he'd
leve l elven ki n g, t he e lve n d e- s hould h e tell them that their ef-
fe nde rs have a 10% bonus wh ic h Is com e to find himself In t.h/s posi- forts and sacrifices were lillie m ore
tion . He was a warrior, yes. A good tha n a s ide-show, a m ere baga telle,
refl ected by a - 10% to rol ls on the
warrior. by Lhegods, in sing le com · compared with the battle that
SRT. bat or leading his m er cenary com ·
pany, the Black Guard. But would bejoined on the morrow?
rhase Initiative In the names of all the gods.
Commander in Chief? Com -
Normally, the a ttacke r controls what had happened to war?
th e ti m ing of phases. The re are manding-and thus r esponsible
two conditions under whic h this Is In m a ny cam paigns. the individ-
for-not one company buL sever al ual battles and actual day-to·day
armies? Wh en had war turned events tha t make up a long.
drawn·out connict a ren·t impor·
(rom som ething waged stricLly for tant except as a backdrop against
wh ic h Player Characters pe rform
h eroic ac tions. This section de·
sc ri bes a sys te m to (rela tiv ely)
quic kly de termine th e outcom e of
a fu ll-scale war that com prises a

'08

number of battles. As with th e between countries. This is true in holders in add ition to other serv-
quick resolution system for sieges. the typical AO&D®game worlds as ices and payments.
detail and depth have been sacri- well. Take a look at the map of the
ficed for convenience and s peed. Il FORGOTTEN REALMS'· cam- While accepting a benefice usu-
is strongly recommended that the paign setting. for an example. Si m - ally e n tailed some form of military
OM running t he campaign use the ilarly. there were no fi rm fri end ly service. sometimes the causality
results generated by this system or e nem y lines. Armies met when- was reversed . For example,
as a basis on which to bu ild more ever and wherever their com-
textured descriptions of the manders wished-a nd cou ld around 730 A.O .. C harles Mar tel
even ts. e ngineer it-and fought there. A needed troops, a nd so began re-
war In medieval ti mes comprised a cru iti n g able warriors. If these
The syste m that fo llows breaks a numbe r of disconnected ba ttles. warriors would swear absolute fi-
full-scale war down into individual few rising above the category of de lity to hi m a nd become his vas-
battles, and then resolves the out- skirmishes. Wars of dom ina tion or sal. Charles wou ld grant them a
come of these battles. This has a s ubjuga ti on we re rare indeed. benefice. This land would be held
number of advantages. First. il Most campaigns had very limited by the warriors and their family so
gives the OM m ore mater ial to s trategiC goals, and ended when long as lhey served Charles well in
work from when describing ongo- one or other of the combatants was a military capacity. Wh ile th is
ing events. unable to co nti nue or lost interes t. seem ed like th e id eal solution.
Wars rarely ended with an arm i- there was a problem: the numbe r
For example, after determ ining stice or peace treaty: instead. they of troops that could be acquired by
the results of a battle, the OM tells just trailed off. frequen tly to brew this method was limited by th e
his players that "after some initial up again in a couple of years or a m oun t of land available for dis-
success based on tactical bril- decades. pe rsal.
liance, Furyondy's forces were
beaten back by the sheer numbers Manpower Oth er trad itions arose that pro-
of the gnoll army. The hu man vided the state-in the person of
forces fought courageously. but When a com mander in chief
were finally overru n . and s la u gh- wants to fig ht a war or defend the the k ing or queen -wilh troops.
tered almost to a man. Thus ended country. there's one Importan t For example. each free household
the Battle of High Horn ". question that m ust be answered: in the Frankish state owed the
where are the troops going to come serv ice of one man with com plete
Seco nd. it makes It easier for fro m? In feudal Eu rope. a number a rms and equipment. Other cou n-
both the OM a nd the players to fig- of different sou rces were tried. tries recognized this as a good
ure out how and when th e PCs can idea. a nd made it their own. Mili-
get involved in the con nlct a nd In the early feuda l period. pow- tary ob ligation became hered itary.
how they can make a difference to er fu l people or institutions. like the
the ou tcome. crown . nobles and the church , providing the crown with a mass
who owned large amoun ts of land levy of free m en In time of need.
War In the Medieval A.ge would " lease" a llotmen ts of this These free men would be obligated
land to othe rs In return for pay- to serve their lord for tours of duty
lbday when we thi nk of war. we ment or service. This practice was ranging from Sixty d ays to six
probably pictu re maps of World called "benefice". In itially. those mon ths ou t of a year. depe nd ing
War I or II. s howing unbroken granted benefice had to work the on the country and the period.
friend ly and ene m y lines with "no- land a nd hand over to th e land-
man's- land" in betwee n them. Al- owner a portion of an ything pro- There was a problem. of course.
though the ideas of a fro nt line. du ced on that land. In 730. Complete arm s and equipment.
defe nce in depth. break th roughs. however. du ring the admi nistra- even for a n in fan tryman. didn't
etc. a re we ll ingrain ed in us thanks tion of the Frankish state by com e cheap. In the case of cavalry.
to war movies. these concepts Charles Martel. military service acquiring a horse. lance. sword.
were unknown to com ba tants in began to be required of benefi ce shield a nd armor was well beyond
the medieval period. the capabilities of a com mon free
la ndholder. Also. th e skills needed
There were no firm boundaries to fight from horseback didn't
come easy. and required more time
to master tha n a farmer or

t09

craftsm an-no matter how fielded by kings comprised main ly Differences In a Fantasy Unl\'erse
dedicated-cou ld devote. If the contingents of vassals commanded
state wanted a fo rce of well- by powerful nobles. Of course. there's nothing tha t
equipped, s kllled cavalry, it would says coun tries in a fan tasy milieu
have to find som e way of providing In Anglo-Saxon En glan d, th e must use a ny of the above tech-
them with equipment and remov- king used a nother source of man- niqu es for rais ing troops: en ter-
ing from them the obligatio n of power. "Thegns" made up th e per- prising and creative com mande rs
working for a living . sonal entourage of ki ngs. or of can , no doubt. devise oth er ways of
powerful landed magnates (w ho acquiring the !:TOOpS they need. In
Thus emerged the knights. were called "eorls" ). These thegns. campaign s based a round massive
Knights were quite different from whether they owned la nd or not. warfare and eternal con fli cts-ore
the mass levy. They we re elite war- owed their lords m ilitary service. hordes attacki ng a n elven forest.
riors, m aintained by the kings a nd This obligatio n arose from their fo r exam ple, or humans wis hing to
great magnates, a nd they became position In SOCie ty, not from their exterm inate a colony of gnolls In
the nucleus of the aristocracy in s ta tus as landowne rs . and so was the nearby hills-th ere m ight be
many European lands. In addlLion different from the ob ligations no n eed to persuade able-bodied
to serving in th e field, they did owed due to benefice. wa rriors to join the fr ay; th ey
m igh t willingly volun teer to do so.
duty as castle gu a rds, In time of Kin gs and lo rd s co uld-a nd The same is true in '"defe nse of the
peace as well as war. did-also h ire mercenar ies (in En- realm " situations. No m a tter what
gland , th ese professional merce- the circ umstances, however, the
The system under wh ich land- n a r y warriors were ca ll ed questions that com manders must
holders owed the crown military a nswer are similar: where do I get
service evolved furthe r under " huscarles"). These m erce naries the troops, how do I equip them .
Charlemagne. Every able-bod ied were paid wages. and were often a nd how can I trai n them to work
m a n who possessed twelve m a ns l a ll owed to sup pl ement this in - together?
(a rather vague measure of land) com e throu gh looti ng.
had to own a m a ll shirl a nd , when Warfare in a magic-sparse cam -
called upon for active duty, must By the twelfth century. knights paign world populated predomi-
bring ra tions for three months and and others who owed military serv- nately by huma ns would probably
clothes for s ix. ice were looking for ways to get out resemble his torical feudal warfare.
of it. Thusarose the practice of "scu- In a m agic-ric h environmen t with
At least one major problem was tage": paying th e liege lord a n m any fanta s tical c reatures, how-
never satisfa ctorily s olved-th e amount of money to avoid military ever, things would be quite differ·
problem of training. Pressing la- service. This payment was theoreti- e nt. William of Normandy didn 't
borers in to military service and cally enough to hire a mercenary for have a squ adron of griffon riders
giving them swords didn 't make under his command. and the Bat-
them warriors. They just didn't the length of time the payer would LIe of Has tings would have looked
have the s kills and instincts that have had to serve. By the reign of d iffe re nt if he had.
could only be gained through Henry II. the role of the paid soldier
months or years of ex perien ce. grew more important than that of Medieval comma nders labored
Thus these peasant "soldie rs" the feudal tenant, as more and m ore under the '"fog of war" muc h m ore
were frequently little more than people paid scutage. than did later generals . Communi-
"can non-fodder" wh en faced by cation was sketchy at the best of
tough, cy nical. and co mpe te nt Knights paid scutage to escape times, a nd totally unrelia ble dur-
mercenary troops. castle duty. as well. These ob liga- ing a c risis: it was also limited to
tions ranged from thirty to ninety the speed of a raCing dispatch
It wasn't only kings who could days per year. Castle duty was r ide r. One can imagine a m essen-
raise armies through the gran ting more incon ven ien t th an dan ger- ge r arriving with an order to cancel
of benefice. of course. During the ous, and rates of scutage were of- th e plan ned advance, just too late
ninth and tenth centuries in Eu- ten accepted that were much to s top the unit from c harging into
rope. many wealthy and powerful lower tha n th e cost o f hiring re- th e jaws of death. Tho. m edieval
lords-both lay and ecclesiastlcal- placemen ts. Thus many castles-
raised and mailltained their own even In militarily sensi ti ve
private armies. Soon, the armies areas-were left with sk eleton gar-
risons in peacetime.

110

genera ls didn't always bother with War rlan5 rreemptlve
reconnaissance or scouts, so their
Why do counlrles go to war? In fear that a neigh bor is prepar-
In tell igence about enemy strength There are probably as many an· ing to attack, a country attacks
and position was often somewhat swers as there are countries, if not fi rst.
l ac k in g, more, Some examples of reasonable
"causes" are mentioned below : Defensive
In a fan tasy campaign, many of
these burden s are lifted , Spellcast- Territorial Som eone else is attacking the
cou ntry and forcing the crown to
ers can provide instantaneous A country needs more land, or defend itself.
commu nication-either th rough b eli eves-for one reason or
spells like m essage or by teleport- another- that a certain area of These reasons aren 't mutua lly
Ing directly to the recipient-as exclusive, of course: there's no
can m agical Items. Scrylng spells land should be with in Its bounda· reason that a soldier on a " mission
and devices can give the genera l ries. (For example, a counlry be· from god" can 't make some extra
Information about the foe a lmost lieves that is "divinely destined " gold pieces along the way by loot-
down to the num ber of arrows in to possess a certain territory.) ing, and once a n Invader has been
each archer's quiver. Plus, fl y ing drive n out, it seems only r ight that
Cultural/ Racial the fight should be taken into the
creatures make exceptional fo r- en em y's hom eland jus t to teach
ward observers. There Is antipathy, based on cui· him a lesson . There migh t be other
tural or racia l grounds, between reasons that don't fit into these
Conversely, magic can add Its two natio ns. (For example, orcs categories, also. For example, a
own burd ens, If you know tha t might attack a neigh boring elven military dictatorship might engi-
your foe has a high -level illusion ist homeland "just because".) neer occasional border skirmish es
on the payroll , you 're less likely to with a neighbor just to toughen up
Religious its troops.
welcome un ex pected rei nforce-
ments into your formation without A neighboring land worships a It's im portant to know the real
some k ind of confirmation fi rst. god totally anti thetical to a coun- cause behi nd a ny conflict because
Also, you r advance m igh t be try's dom inant religion . (For ex- It affects the stra tegiC goals and
s lowed s ligh tly If you 're never s u re am ple. a country launches a " holy ta rgets that each combatan t goes
war" to swee p the " heathens" after. For exam ple. if a country
whether each copse of trees is ac· from the face of the earth.) goes to war because its leade r
tually a un it of h eavy crossbow- wants to regain a valuable deep-
men under a m assm orph spe ll , Just Cause water port that was captured by
Hallucinatory terrain adds yet an- the ene m y, t he attacking army
other level of doubt: Is that roll ing This Includes "wars of liberation" probably won 't split its forces by
launch ing a raid on the enemy's
meadow over there actually Dark- (where a foreign government is be- inland ca pital. If. on th e other
ling Swamp, , , or is the map just hand , the war is religious ly moli -
wrong? It's obvious that magiC lieved to be oppressing Its people), vated, destroying the central tem -
simply re places one form of " fog of p le in the en emy's capital city
war" with a nother, alignment-based conflicts (a coun- would probably be a key goal. In
both cases, the centra l s trategiC
Fantas tic creatures a lso m ake a try that is predominantly Lawful goal of the country being attacked
big differ e n ce, His torical com- would be to repel the invaders.
m anders never had 1O worry about Good invades a neighbor that is pre-
attacks from the sky or from un· StrategiC goals might be sym-
derground, and never had to face dominately Neutral Evil), or cases of m etrical. Thke, for example, two
coun tries who have been vying po-
the fire a nd terror of a rampaging "evening the score" (a country a t- litically and economically for dec-
dragon. ades. Finally, they both decide to
tacks another in retribution for
intelligenl com manders will
consider a ll these com plexities as some real or imagined Insult or In-
serious dangers to be watched out
fo r, but also as potential tools to be jury in the past). .
used In their own cam paigns.
Mercenary

A neighbori n g co untry is
wealthy-perhaps it has many
natura l resources-and is seen as
"ripe for the pickIng".

111

settle the matter once and for all. gressor has managed to avoid giv- manders. by luck. and by such
Armies mass on either s ide of the ing away Its intentions. things as divi ne inte rve ntion. In
river tha t divides the two lands. general. however. the large r army
an d the war is on. In s uch a case. Now the OM mus t determine th e will win the battle. As the saying
each cou ntry has as a strategic strategic goals that each side will goes. "The battle is n't always to
goal to inflict as much damage- pursue_ In th e example cen tered the strong ... but that's the way to
and hopefully humillalion-on the around the " liberation" of the cap- bet", This is reflected in the fo llow-
other as possible. tured deep-water port. the attack- ingsystem ,
ing coun try will send at least one
Setting the Sc.ene army to destroy or rout the enem y Battle Results
troops hold ing the port. while
Before a OM can start to deter- other troops are given the mission Th is quic k resolutio n system is
mine the outcome of a war. he or of c u tting lines of communication based on "bal tl e tu rns", Li ke
she must decide exactly what the and s upply. and intercepting rein- "phases" in Siege de te rmination,
war is about. and what th e s tra te- forcem e nts. In con trast. the coun- these are variable units ofUme: it's
gic goals on each side a re. The OM try being in vaded wou ld so impossible to s ta te ca tegorically
must then figure oul the number position its troops as to protect or tha t "one battle turn is equal to 90
of troops that each side can com- rei nforce the port town's garrison. minutes". Depending on the
mit to th e s truggle. how quickly A smart defender might also send course of the battle, a battle turn
they can be mobilized. and what a s mall force to fl an k the advanc- might represen t a ny where from
their leve l of s kUI a nd equi pm e nt ing a ttackers and play havoc with fifteen minutes to several hou rs.
is. This is why the information their s upply lines. In any case.
above about levies. scutage. mer- wherever opposing armies meet. l b u se thi s sys tem. th e OM
ce narieS, etc. is significant. Th e there will probably be a battle . Re- must roughly determine. using
country or race involved and the me mber that s imply inflic ting the BATTLESYSTEM '" rules. th e
geographical s ituation might ne- damage on the e nemy is a valid poin t value of the forces involved
cessitate a certa in ba la n ce of strategic goal. so a force might be (this will depend on the issues dis-
troops. For example, a nalion of dispatch ed to a mbus h an oppos- c ussed in "Setting the Sce ne"),
sylvan elves wou ld probably favor ing force while on route. The poi nt value doesn't have to be
horse archers more than would a exacl. One force is the n labelled as
colony of dwarves. Otherwise, the Once the OM has determined the Force A, the oth er as Force B, Each
OM must dec ide on a reasonable general course of the war. and baltle tu rn. the OM rolls perce ntile
balance of forces. what each s ide's operatio na l objec- dice, The result is m odified de-
lives will be. the ne xt step is to re- pending on curren t conditions (see
Recent history, political a mbi- so lve the outcom e of eac h in - "Battle Modifiers"), then the resu lt
tions, relations between the two div id ual battle. is referenced on the Ballie Results
combatants. and the cause of the Thble (BRT) table below,
war would have a great effect on the Battle Resolution
initial disposition of the opposed This table returns resu lts in the
forces. For exam ple, if the tension Many people talk of "the ebb a nd form "Force A 5 poin ts, mora le
between two militaristically aggres- flow of battle" . In fa c t. of course. + 1: Force B 10 pOints", These re-
sive countries has been running this is n't a true pic ture. As Cla use- s ults refer to the casua lties in-
high for some time. both states will witz exp lained in On War. a battle nicted upon each side. The
probably have annies m assed near is more like a steady movement number of poin ts speCified In the
their frontiers (or at least have made away from equilibrium . In ge neral. result is s ubtrac ted from the total
sure that their border towers or cas- the balance of battle will favor the point value of the corresponding
tles are well garrisoned and sup- s trongest a rm y, a nd will s lowly a rmy. Note tha t tile system doesn't
plied). On the other hand. one move from equilibrium in favo r of specify where or how those points
country might be totally or partially the strongest force. This move- a re lost. The force is viewed si m ply
unprepared for war. due to its own ment can be influe nced by stra te- as a "pOin t value pool", This is
pacifistic policies or because the ag- g ic and tactica l brilliance ex- a na logous to hit points in a n
hibited by individual com- AO&D®gam e.

112

A result also might s pecify m o- always determines the outcome of Morale
rale effects. Before the battle, the the battle. The base m orale value for an en -
OM mus t determine the base level
of morale for eac h force. Any mo- - 20% Force a Is at least twice the tire force Is the average of the rna-
rale modifiers are added to or sub- size o f force A (in paint rales for all the units m aking up
tracted from the base morale. v a lu e ). that force, adju s ted for a ny modi·
fie rs applied due to the BRT. The
aattle Results Table - 10% Force B Is half again the fo ll ow ing c ha rt giv es the aRT
s ize of fo rce A (In point m odifiers based on th e curren t mo-
Die val u e). rale of the various sides. When ap-
roll Result plying the mora le modifier to the
0- Force A 25 points, m o- + 10% Force A is ha lf again the BRT roll . add the bonu s for force
s ize of force B (in point A's m orale and s ubtract the bon us
rale - 2: Force B 0 value). for force 8's mora le.
points, mora le + 1
01-10 Force A 20 points, mo- + 20% Force A Is a tleasltwlce the For example, if th e m orale of
rale - I : Force B 0 size of force B (i n point force A Is "steady" a pply a +5%
points, morale + 1 v a l u e). m od ifier to the roll . If the m orale of
I 1-20 Force A 15 points: Force
B 5 points Special Forces & Equipment force B Is "elite", apply a - 10%
21-30 Force A 10 poin ts: Force J u st as it is In Siege warfare. the m odifi er to the roll .
B 5 points
31-70 Force A 5 points: Force a com pos ition of a force Is very im · Note that the values for " unrelia-
5 points porta nt in battle resoluLion . Modi- ble" or "unsteady" troops do not
71 -80 Force A 5 points: Force a fiers taken rrom th is table for force
10 points A are applied as positive m odifiers follow the above logiC. Modifiers
8 1-90 Force A 5 points: Force B to the die roll , those for force Bare for s uch units a re reversed . Th u s,
15 points negative modifiers. If fo rce A Is "un steady", subtract
9 1-99 Force A 0 poin ts, mora le 10 points from the SRT roll.
+ I : Force B 20 points, + /-5 Force Includes spell casters
mora le -} of some type. Unreliable (4 or less) 20%
100+ Force A 0 polots, m orale Uns teady (5 to 7) 10%
+ 1; Force B 25 pOints, + /·5 Force Includes highly magi· Average (8 to 10)
mora le -2 cal or undead creatures. Steady (II to 12) Nil
Elite (1 3 to 14) 5%
BRT Modifiers + /·5 Force has bombardment Cham pion {l 5 to 16} 10%
Modifiers fall Iota severa l catego· en gines of som e ty pe. Fanattc(I7to I8} 15%
Fearless {l9 or higher} 20%
ries. Before cons ulting the BRT, to· + /·5 Force has fl yin g crea tures 25%
ta l up a ll the applicable m od· or a irborne units of some
ifiers-posltive and nega· type. Command
tive-for both forces and apply Th e competence of the Individ -
them to the die roll. Supply Conditions
A unit which doesn't know ual com ma nders will have a hu ge
Force Size effect on the outcome of any Siege
The rela Live s ize of the forces in- where iLS next meal is coming from
will te nd to be less eITecLive in com- or batlie. For this quick resolution
volved in a com bat Is, by far, the bat. On the other hand, a force system . the level of the com·
m ost Importan t fa ctor In any bat· which has a solid base of s upplies m ander will be the key factor In de-
tie. While having a larger force on which to draw will be in better cidi ng his or her ability.
does not ensu re vielDry. it a lmost condition to fight.
To determin e th e comm a nd
- 10 Force A has been c ut off m odifier, s ubtrac t the level of the
from its supply lines. less experienced comma nder from
the level of the more experienced
+ 10 Force B has been cut off one . For every {wo levels of dllTer·
from its supply lines. ence, apply a 5% modifier In favor
of the more experienced com-
mander (that Is, a minus to the roll

113

if force B's commander Is more ex- In con trast, morale bonuses ap- options. It can let th e enemy leave,
perie nced and a n addition to It if plied through combat results re- in whic h case the two a rmies sepa-
th e lead er of force A has superIor- m aIn in effect for the day of the rate with no further hostilities.
ity ). battle only. The next morning. th e This doesn 't mean that they can 't
force's morale is a t its n ormal fi g ht each other agai n when
Thus, If an army of orcs headed le v e l. they've been reinforced . of cou rse.
by an 8th level com mander (force It could instead pursue th e flee ing
A) is attacking a legion of elves un - Quitting the Field force and try to erad icate it once
der the comma nd of a 12th level et- a nd fo r a ll. A force tha t is attacked
ven king (force B) , th e elven Wh e n an arm y is reduced to while it is tryi ng to quite the fie ld
defenders have a 10% bonus 40% or less of its original p oi nt s u ffers a 35 point modifier to the
which is reflected by a - 10% to value, and at the beginning of each next die roll on the BRT. If the quit-
rolls on the BRT. subsequent turn , it must make a ting s id e is force A. this is a nega-
c heck agains t its curre nt m orale tive m odifier. otherwise it is a
Morale Issues on Id20. If the roll Is equal to or
Morale penalties a pplied through lower than the force's current m o- positive one.
rale, the force stays in the fi gh t. If. Each turn , the fleeing force
combat results can rem ain In effect however, the roll Is greater tha n
for a number of days. The force's th e force's current morale, th e m akes a ch ec k agains t its cu rrent
morale increases by 1 point per day, force tries to quit the fie ld . Also, if mora le on Id20. If the die roll is
until it reaches its normal level. at a n y ti me a force's m orale drops equal to or less than its c urre n t
Thus, it can take quite some time below 7 , It tries to quit the fi e ld . m orale, the e nti re force rallies, a nd
for a totally demoralized army to re- the 35 point pe nalty is li fted; if the
gain its wiU to fi ght. Th e opposing force now has two die roll exceeds its c urre n t morale.

114

the fo rce con tinues to s uffer under Not m a ny wars proceed to total + 10 Predomi nant alignme nt is
the 35 point penalty. Victory. of course. One side or the Lawful
othe r usuall y runs o ut of re-
Note tha t ir s possible for both sources. or Is so badly roughed up +5 Predomina nt alignment is
forces to quit the fie ld s imultane- that it s ues for peace. Ev il
ously. In such a case, both forces
have one single die roll on which to Suing: for Pe.-c.e + 5 For each major strategiC
rally. If neither does so. the battle Is goal that has been achieved
at an end; if one does. it has the Dungeon Masters can u se a die
choice of pursuing the enemy or roll to decide when a particular -05 Seat of government is sur·
not. s ide loses the will or ability to figh t rounded or under siege
on . There are several conditions
A force can quit the fi eld volun- that will trigge r this die roll : - 10 Predominant a lignm ent is
tarily a t any time. Chaotic
• 50 % or more of troops In the
Campaign Victory-Winning -10 Country is ruled by an auto-
the War fie ld have been eliminated. c rat, dictator, or other
"strong man", not by popu-
During the feudal period, many • Capital or seat ofgovern men t is lar government
cou ntries were at war for extended surrounded or beSieged.
periods of time, They we ren't -20 Country is ruled as above,
fighting continuous ly, to be sure, • 10% of civ ilia n popu lace has but ruler has been killed
but neither were rela tio ns good . during the combat
For one reason or another, one been slain .
country would la unch a cam paign When a country sues for peace,
agai'nst the oth er- fr equ e ntl y • Civilia n populace Is undergo- it tries to negotiate the best terms
without any officia l declaration of Ing severe ha rdship (terror tac- possible with the enemy. Depend-
war. The campaign. often com· lics, s tarvatio n . a nd so ing on the relative strengths a nd
posed of apparen tly unrelated bat· forth ...J positions of the two com batants,
tles, would continue until one side this can range from an equitable
or the other had achieved its stra· If the OM decides that one or compromise ("We' ll both go back
teglc objectives, or no longer had m ore of lh ese cond itio ns applies, to ou r original borders a nd call the
the stom ac h-or the resources- the die roll Is made. S hould the whole thing quits") to humiliating
for the confliCt. Then cond itions country pass the die ro ll . Its forces oppression ("Each able·bodled
would settle back to their normal fight on: the roll Is re peated each adult must work a term in our
level of distrust and tension. This s ubsequent week, however. If the mines, you are forbidden a sta nd-
latter s ituation was more common country fails the roll. It su es for ing army, a nd your ruler must re-
than out-and-out Victory. peace. ceive a pproval from our king
before m aking any major policy
In gam e terms, one side "w ins Roll IdlOO. and modify the roll chan ges"). The OM mus t dec ide
the war" when it has achieved all depending on the current condi- what the outcome will be, de pend-
or most of its strategiC goals. This. tions (see " ModiOers" fo llowing). If ing on the personalities, political
of course. Is up to the OM to deter- the modified die roll exceeds 50, systems, a nd s uch involved .
mine, and depends on what those the country's forces fi gh t on: oth-
strategiC goals are. Using a pre- erwise, the country s ues for peace. Note that it's possible for both
vious example, once the attacker com batants to s ue for peace s imul-
has retake n its captured port Modifiers ta neous ly. In s uch a case, a n eqUi-
tow n. it has achieved its s trategiC The following modifiers are ap- tabl e comprom ise Is the most
objective a nd has no reason to can· likely outcome.
tlnue fighting. A sensible com- plied to the die roll whenever a
mander won't push h is or her luck, country considers s u ing for peace. The above system Is included for
and will stand fast. reinforcing the completeness only. Full-scale war-
town to prevent Its reconquest. + 15 More than 50% of the en- fare has too significant a n effect on
emy troops in th e field have a campa ign for the results to be left
been elimina ted totally up to a die roll . OMs wUl
probably have som e dramatic pur-
pose In mind for the war, or they
wouldn't have started It (or, more

115

precisely, they wouldn't have weak nesses in the en emy's de- around individuals. A c harismatic
given m ajor NPCs th e m otiva tion p lo y m e n t . leader might be able to persuade a
a nd opportu nity to s tart it). This counlry to enter In to a war that
dramatic purpose will probab ly In a fa n tasy world. t he options would otherwise be unpopula r (or
carryover into the eventual out- are even wider. A s ingle c haracter a dictator might force the popu lace
come. can cause grea t chan ges by si mply in to it) . Dec reasing that leader's in-
destroy ing or capturing a powerful
For example. if the DM wants to m agiC item. A well ·tim ed illusion fluence wou ld s ign ificantly lessen
embroil the PCs in an u nder- or s uggestion cou ld goad a n e n · the cou n try's will to fig hl. This de-
grou n d resistance moveme n t. em y commander into making a
with all the opportunities for hero- rash decision. or at least hesitating c r ease in in Ou e nce cou ld take
ism and intrigue that entails. th en before making a move. ma ny forms, ranging from assassi-
the PCs' country s hould lose the na tion or capture to public dis-
war. no matter what the dice may In any battle or campaign. there c r ed it and humi li atio n. Alter-
say. A good DM wB I u se the s iege are certain turning paints. the native ly, a leader of consc ien ce
and battle resolution systems pOints that a re hashed over so of- might be persuaded-either by
above to help flesh out a story line, ten in the h istory books. It's at word or magic- tha t the whole
not to replace it. these c rucia l "what-if' poinlS tha t war is a bad idea. A ha nd fu l of cre·
individual PCs can have a sign ifi· ative PCs would be the best fo rce to
Character Involvement cant effect.
under take tasks like these.
Wars, by definition . are con flicts In an individual batLie or siege, Espionage a nd in trigue offer
between sta tes a nd political sys·
terns. clashes between multiple these turning pOin ts most ofte n grea t opportun ities for player in-
armies liwolving thousands to mil· come down to timing. (" If the at· volvement. Wheth er it involves a
lions of troops. How can individ · tack is la unched immediately, the couple of th ieves sneak ing in to a n
uals affect the outcome of a war? defenders' ranks will s ti li be In dis· enemy command post a t night to
array a fter repelli ng tha t last "liberate" th e battle plans for the
In many ways. In the real world , c harge: if the a ttack is delayed by morrow, or a handful of disguised
an individual preci pitated World only a few minu tes. the defenders warriors try ing to enlist wi th the
War I with a s ingle pis tol s hot. by will have time to regroup." '' If a bandit horde to overhear th ei r ba t-
s layi ng Arc hduke Ferd ina n d in handful of troops can defeat the tle plans. espionage can be tense
Sarajevo In 19 14 . A s m a ll body of garrison members trying to close
disaffected German gene rals could that gate, the army can gain entry a nd exc iting.
possibly have hasten ed the end of to the castle.") Here pes can a lter On the operational level. too-
World War II if their assassination the course of the battie, by distract-
plot agains t Hi tler ha d succeeded. which is between the scope of bat-
In the same era-admlltedly in a ing the comm a nder-with magiC or tle a nd war-PCs could have a
work of fic tion (Th e Eagl e Has persona] combat-or by perfo rm · s ign ifican t effect. A handful of mo-
Landed}-Lleutenam Kurt Steiner ing acts of individual heroism. tivated warriors could destroy im-
could have altered th e cou rse of porta n t s upply depots or cen te rs of
the war had he s ucceeded in his a t- Battles a lso often revolve arou nd com m u n ica tion . p lay ing hav oc
tem pt to kidnap or assassinate with th e e ne m y's ability to wage
Win ston Churchill . Individuals and personaltti~s. A war.
C haotic army held togeth er solely
On a sm a ller scale, acts of indi- by the indomi table will of Its com - As OMs plot out the drama tic
vidua l herois m can have grea t ef- m ander wlll hesitate and pOSSibly story line th at " drives" the war,
fects on the fi e ld of battl e. co llapse s hould tha t com mander
Com mando raids can sabotage be elimina ted. A prideful. arrogant th ey s hould a lso plot ou ta number
equ ipment or destroy s upply de- officer m igh t be goaded into doing of s ig n ificant turn in g points.
pots. Spies can gathe r in tell igence som ething foolis h by the japing of These can the n be injected (su btly)
that will warn their superiors of a ba rd. A commander might hesl· in to descriptions when the players
the e n emy's pla n s. or discover tate ove rlong before mak ing the fi- want to know how th e war is go·
na l c harge if he sees what looks ing. S m art players wiII pick up on
these turning points, and their
like a loved one among the ene- charac ters will get involved . per-
m y's lines. haps a lter ing the course of history
for decades to come.
Full -scale wars, too. can revolve

116



In The Campaig n Sourcebook Second. Cyclops cou ld be the only Basement
and Catacomb Guide. we pre- building built on the site. funds
sented the reader with a number of having run out, and the owners 2. Armory. This room pro·
generic dungeons. Each of these making do on a permanent basis vldes storage for weaponry, as well
was presented in a manner that with what's there. Third. the as a place to repair it. Three arrow
made it easy to take one of the larger castle cou ld have been de- loops guard the entryway. A door
maps straight from the book and stroyed by assault or fire, a nd not to th e Cenual Well of the keep is
flesh it out for use in an AD&D$ immediately rebuilt. Later occu - here (see 6. below).
game. pants (a wizard. a t hief. a
knight ...) migh t restore the shell 3. Barracks. Five sets of triple·
In the foll owing section. we will keep only. as s ufficient for their s tacked bunks provide sleeping
do much the same thing. Each of needs. space for 15 men·at·arms. A fire -
the gen eric castles that follows can place provides warmth. A window
serve as a n exam pie of castle de- This keep would begin as a looks out into t he Cen tral Well.
sign techniques for the novice ar- motte and bailey sort of arrange·
chitect or as a ready- made keep to ment, the dirt from the wet moa l 4. Soldiers' Dayroom. A gen-
house a n Important NPC. Simi- being used to raise the mound eral s itting area, with a table and
larly, an y of these structures could (motte) around th e base of the some chairs. etc.
readily be converted in to a dun · keep. It is placeable alm ost any-
geon setting with the application where. There Is only one door to 5. Undesignated. Th is a rea
of a little Im agination and som e the keep and a balcony overhead cou ld be m ade over to provide fur-
dark magical spells. The informa- h elps to defend It. Once through ther living quarters, m ore storage,
tion given with each of the generic the door. a machlcolaUon (m urder or even a prison . T h ere is no fi re-
castle maps is fairly basic, they are hole) from above, a nd arrow loops place. so heat would come from
In tei-tded to be customized to fit from within. hinder further prog- braziers. T here is a window to 6.
into your AD&D game campaign. ress. The entrance way immedi- but th is could be removed or
a tely turns left and goes up a stair barred.
Cyclops Tower buUt into the tower wall . Note a lso
the midden , with its hatch. This 6. Central Well . This gloomy
Cyclops Thwer is a "shell keep." cesspit must be cleaned out occa- area Is open to the s ky. and lets
In the strict sense. this term de· s ionally. and so egress Is provided . some light from above seep down
scribes a large tower, of which the This Is not mere offensive detail. into the keep. Windows surround
ou ter wall (the sh ell) is of thick ma- The castle of Chateau Gaillard was its walls. The on ly door Is fro m the
sonry. while the inner walls are of reputed to be un takable. The king Arm ory. The fl oor is dirt (I t's too
wood or light masonry. Cyclops is of France besieged it, and fin ally gloom y to grow grass) over the m a-
a stone s hell with wooden inner took it by excavating its midden s. sonry of the central pillar of the
parts. If destroyed by fire. only the Ce ll a r.
"shell " of the tower would remain. Foundation
First Story
One would en counter a building 1. Cellar. A spira l staircase
like Cyclops under three different leads to the upper floors and a well 7. Hall. T h is area Is the entry
circumstances. First. it could be here provides water. The ceiling is from the outside door. It is also the
the first building planned on a site. composed wooden planks over place where people meet and eat. It
Castles were often buUt in stages. joists. and is also the basemen t is heated by two fireplaces. A
sometim es over generations (the fl oor. A stone pillar in the center of s lan ted window sh aft (barred on
Thwer of London Is a good exam- the cellar branches out to form the outer end) provides som e ligh t.
ple). Cyclops Thwer would the n be four supporting archways. This as do the two windows giving out
followed by the inner baJley with area would be used for storage of onto the Cen tra l Well. OfT to one
its curtain wall and buildings, and the many items the inhabita nts of end is an alcove, with a m u rder
fin ally the outer bailey. A charac- the keep wou ld need. hole directly above the doorway.
ter with limited funds could thus Flanking the murder hole are (on
build on a pay-as-you-go basis.

"8

A Shell Keep

Scale: 1 square;;; 5 feet

______~m!~~~====== First Story

- - - - - - - Dungeon and Building Mapping Symbols-------

~ Door ~ Spiral S tairs Ba ttl em en ts
~ Locked Door L a dde r
.-. ~ Arrow S lit

~" :~;:: Double Door ~o:J Ta b le Barred Window

S ,,",' ,, : Secret Door Fireplace Window with
Window Seats
G Doorway [[=:J Bed Window w ith
Glass Pan es
in Roof

~ ••• •Stairs •• Portcullis

119

one s ide) a portcu llis, whic h can be 1 5. Roof. A tra p door gives ac· has gone on to grea te r th ings) the
d ropped d own t hro ugh a s ide cess to the roof. S la te covers the keep could be left in th e ch arge of a
ope ning to ba r the e n tryway, be- m asonry. wh ile the woode n inner steward or even sold . Likely new
low, a nd (on the other s ide) the building Is covered wi th a circ ular owne rs m igh t be a Master Th ief
winc h wh ic h operates the portcu l- s lop ing roof of tha tch . Crenella ted loo king to move up t he soc ia l
lis. In case of overc rowding. ser· ba ttlem e n ts circle the r oof. scale. a m age looking for a sec ure
vants or soldiers would s leep in the home that doesn 't require a huge
ha ll. Bremberthwalte Manor s taff. or even a pries t-the m a nor
house could be made ove r in to a
8. Ante r oom . This room is a Bre mber thwa ite is a s m all forti- hou se of wors hip or s ma ll m onas-
place of waiting (for the haIl) , an d fi ed house. As s uc h . It has only te ry w ith little effort. at least until
a lso a trans it area between the hall room for one famil y. if we think in better things were affordable.
a nd t he spiral s tair. Cabin ets to terms of a mode rn fa mily's use of
hold c h ina or line ns would be here, s pace. For its s ize. Brembe rthwalte is a
as well as the odd bookcase or tro- secure little keep . The one door is
phy, A side door leads to a garde- However. m edieval people li ved well secured . a nd the roofs of the
robe. under much more crowded condi- hall . tower. a nd stair turret a re bat-
tion s . This m a nor house wou ld
9. Kitch e n . The kitche n has a s helter the family ofa knight or mi- t1 em e n ted . In a pin c h . a mu c h
single large fi rep lace for cooking , nor lord . several house serva nts. la rger population (i.e.. tha t of the
and a ba rred s lop ing window s haft and a retinue of may be ha lf a w hole esta te) cou ld withdra w into
for ligh t. doze n m e n a t arm s. w ho could also the hou se for protection .
help out on the estate when not en-
16. Balcon y. As well as being a gaged In warfare. The great window of the hall a nd
pleasan t place to s it on a s unny the first s tory window-seats pose
day. this balcony aids in the de- As s uc h . the Maste r of Bre m - problem s. as they a re very near
fe nse of the oute r door. berthwaite wou ld be seen as at the the ground . T he great window
bottom of the pyramid of s ubin fe u- could be broken : the window-seats
1 1. Wom en 's Sola r. A nu rse ry. da tion . T h is was the process of could be climbed in to. However. a ll
sewing, or s pinning room , An a l- greate r lords gra nting s ma ller es- the window-seats can be s huttered
cove allows access by ladde r to a tates to lesser lord s ou t of their a nd ba rred . One could design s hut-
tra p door in the ceiling . la nd s, in exc hange for milita ry te rs for th e grea t wi ndow . but this
ser vice whe n called upon . is unnecessary trouble. Position -
12. Bedroom . Possibly the ing the window-e nd of the House
master bedroom . a canopy bed T he House itself is not all the re is by a slope makes It ha rder to e n ler
would be here fo r the Mas ter a nd to the manor. There would be th roug h a broke n wi ndow (al-
Mistress . with c h ildre n a nd ser- fi elds associa ted with the house. thou gh m issiles could still e nter
vants s lee ping on t rundle beds a nd pe rha ps a Villa ge. Various tha t way).
(beds s tored du ring the day unde r woode n fa rm buildings (in som e of
the big bed) or m attresses in the wh ic h serfs s le pt with the a n imals Built into the wa lls a re a m idde n
same room. they te nded) would be around the (basem e nt level) a nd a cis tern (2nd
estate . The re would ce rta in ly be a story). The midde n Is a m edieval
13. Me n's Sola r . An offi ce. we ll or s pri n g for w ater ver y cesspit. lOla which the two gard e·
study. or the like. A wi ndow seat is nearby. A diligent owne r wou ld e n- robes (m ed ieva l privies) empty.
he re, as well as sta irs down a nd a circle the Manor Hou se with a
g a rd e r o b e. wall : a woode n palisade. pe rhaps. It is e nte red by a n exte rior
or eve n a stone hedge: thus a s mall ha tch. a nd m ust be cleaned out
14. Second Bedroom . This castle wou ld com e into being with every couple of years, at m ini-
room is very muc h like 12 , a bove. the e nclos ure of the ba iley. mum . T he cis tern is a wa te r tank
but is not as well furnis hed . collecting rain wa ter t hrough a
On the other hand . we could a lso screened dra in on the tower roof.
see Bre mbe rthwa ite as a house In case of em ergency. this is the
ta ke n ove r by a non-wa rrior. As a tower 's on ly in te rior wate r s upply.
s m a ll estate left by its lord (who Figurin g its s ize a t roughly 3 '
wide . 12' long. a nd 9 ' h igh . its vol-

120

ume is 324 c ubic feet. or about 2. Kitchen. A la rge fire place Is 5 . Balcony. This is the sitllng
2.424 gallons. In the case of s ud- in the e nd wall . flank ed by s helves room of the manor house. There Is
den allack and Siege. assume that for cooking gear. A round table and a window seat here. as well as a
there are (ldI 2+ 12)1'100 gallons couple of c hairs is in the center of fireplace with two ch airs and a
on hand. On strict raUonlng. each th e roo m (he re th e cook ho ld s bearskin rug in front of it. A desk
person will use I gallon of water court). A work table s tands oppo- and c ha ir face the outs ide wall.
per day fo r a ll pu rposes. site. Built into the tower wall by next to a hanging tapestry on the
th e door Is a stone s ink . with pip- tower wall . A candle sconce is by
The door has a s mall portcullis ing coming down from the cistern the door. A table and chairs are in
hindering access to the wooden above. A valve turns the water on the cente r.
door. which can be barred . The a nd off. If left ope n, the e nUre cis-
basement tower windows are te rn wou ld drain into the kitch en One can stand by the balcony
small, high up openings. with per- (quite a m ess). A three-legged stool rail . and look down into the ha ll.
m a ne nt m etal grills set In the ma- sits by the hearth. Various dry ing
sonry. They are at the top of herbs and vegetables hang from 6 . Winch. This small balcony
s loping window s hafts that bring the rafters. which s upport a ceiling leads to the winch , which ope ra tes
ligh t into th e towe r. about 15 ' above th e fl oor. In a the portc ulliS.
pinch . kitchen servants would
Map Key s leep in the kitc he n , leaving room 7 . Upper Hall. The ha ll Is two
4 (see below) available for m ore im- stories high. and this area is open
1. Lowe r Hall. As one enters the portant fo lks. alr. showing what hangs above the
hall. there is a candle sconce by the h eads of those standing in 1. be-
door on one's left next to a wooden 3. Storage. The basemen t of low.
wall. Pegs for hanging clothin g are the towe r has a fireplace. a nd
along that wall. and a mirror (metal could be used for many things. 1\vo large c handeliers give light
or glass) ha ngs by the open doorway However. som e place has to be set to the area. An elk head is dis·
at the e nd of the wall. aside to put everythi ng : c rates. played over one fireplace. s hield
boxes. kegs, sacks. The spiral stair a nd ban ners over the other. A 15'
Opposite th e doorway Is a hang- begins he re. A secre t door Is built diam ete r round window pi erces
ing tapestry. attempting to c ut into the ha ll going to the stair. lead· the e nd wall at this level. Th is Is
down on the dra flln ess of all m edi- ing bac k into a s m all passage way. th e only g lass window in th e
eval buildings. Immediately to the A locked door there closes off a house. a nd it is quite a s howpiece.
righ t of the doorway Is an ingle- room labelled "V", for Vault. m ade of stained glass.
n ook : a n e nc losed be n c h . with
ru gs and c u s h ions within. de- 4. Ser vants. Th e firs t s tory 8 , Bedroom. This is the master
signed to ca tch the warmth fro m towe r room Is a pleasant. well lit bedroom of the house. A canopy bed
the fireplace. a nd keep it from be- room . There a re two window seats , for the master and mistress is he re.
ing dissi pa ted . a fireplace, and a garde robe: a cur- with dotted lines showing tha t be-
tain hangs before the ha ll to the neath the bed could be a large chest
There are two la rge fire places stair. A couple of three-legged for treasure. or a trundle bed for
fl a nking th e ha ll . Also facing the stools and a wooden couch are by chUdren . The walls are hung with
firep lace on the door-ward side is a th e fire. tapestries. There is a garderobe. two
la rge a rmc hair. Beh ind it on the window·seats. and a firep lace. A
outside wall is a cabine t (hutc h) Clothes presses are by the oppo· la rge rug Is in the center of the
holding various costly things s ite wall . Four beds (s leeping up to room. 'TWo chairs. a small table. and
(such as the lord 's drinking horn). 8 servants without being cons id- a footstool stand before the fire-
In from of the other fireplace Is a ered crowded) a re her e. with night place. 1\vo clothes presses and a
long table with benches a long the tables be twee n th e m . A sma ll desk and chair set complete the fur-
sides . a nd two wooden upright round table with a couple of chairs nis hings.
c ha irs atei th er e nd . For further de- com ple tes the furniture.
tails see room 7 . It would not be
unus ual for t he m e n at a rms to
s leep in the Ha ll.

12 .

A Fortified Manor House

Tower Roof

Scale: 1 square"" 5 feet

9. Roof. A pItched timber roof 12. Thrret Roof. This conical many years for Kinniver to reach
roof covers the staircase top. Its present state of completion . A
covers the hall. A battlemented first donJon and palisade would be
walk surrounds the edge. with cor· Klnnlver Castle erected on the highest point of the
ner bastions buUt out upon cor· island when the capita l was
The largest and m ost complex of
bels. the castles presented In lhls book. young. and further works would
Klnniver looms over the ap- be added as the city {and the royal
10. Tower Roof. A conical lim· proaches to a greal c ity: a royal power} grew.
ber roof covers the tower. A battle· capital. perhaps. Certainly only
mented walk surrounds the edge. the greatest of lords could afford to As we find it now. Kinniver
Note that opposite the chimneypot build and maintain the place. As it sprawls over most of a large island
on one side is the collector-pipe for Is. KJnniver is the sort of castle situated slightly off·center In a
the cistern on the other side. which would be the prime seat of large river. The main channel of
some mighty governmen t. Other the river Is fairly shallow. and has
11. 'nlrret . The spiral stair· government buildings would exist some dangerous rocks. making
case ends in a turret. As designed. tn the city. including military In- the deeper. narrower side channel
there is no door. In a normal medl· stallations. However. Kinniver the better bet for navigation. That
eval building. the re would be no would be the hom e of the royaJ s ide channel is spanned by a forti-
need. However. in a fantasy sel· family and the base for the king's fied bridge. which arches over th e
elite guards. cen ter of the flow. a llowing small
ting, wher e flight is possible. this Is s hips to pass underneath. The city
Most probably. it would take
a weak point In the defenses. The is surrounded by a wall. though
battlements are built ou t upon cor- the population {especially along
bels.

122

the riverside) Is spreading out be- 3. Downs tream Tower. A 2- first story over that. and a battle-
yond the wall 's protecUon . story tower (Base ment, First S tory, m ented roof with lo ng. pitched
and Con ical Roof with batt le· timber roofs.
The basic design is of three bai- m e n ts). Ladders and trap doors a l-
leys, arranged in line. In addiUon, low movem ent up a nd down. 8. Wharf Ga teho use. Similar
the s lope of th e island allows each to 7 . but smalle r. There is no cellar.
set of fortifications to guard and re- 4, Tavern . A typical grog s hop.
inforce those below it. if so m ewha t s mal l. A p lace for 9. Breakwa t er 1bwer. Similar
m erchants a nd boatm en wa ILIng to 3, above.
The Wharf area sits outside the on th e custo ms ofrtcia ls a nd
castle proper. T he Lower Bailey is guardsme n off-du ty to loiter. 10 . S t a ble. One a nd a half s to-
the main entry point from the city. ries high . Horses and a coach are
The Middle Bailey provides an- 5 . Dock Authorities, A toll · ke pt on th e groun d fl oor (base·
other ga te for m akin g sorlies, as h ouse. The Harbormaster (for both m ent) : a half loft above stores fod-
well as a further staging area In the sides of the river) would have his der and sleeps ostlers.
event the Lower Bailey Is taken, offices here.
The Upper BaUey aids in the de- 11. Lavabo. A one-story stone
fense of both Lower and Middle 6. Lower Bailey. This area Is buildin g. with sinks to was h In a nd
Baileys. The Citadel is a moated generally cluttered with Siege ma- a clus ter of garderobes.
keep at the highest point of the is- c hin ery. wagons, li vestoc k, and
land . The Watergate is a fortified what-have·you. Most locals never 12. Ba rn. A two·story barn.
postern. get further in, so they conduct T he upper level is for storing sacks
their busin ess here. Most equip· of food . hay, etc.
It should be noted tha t using a m e n t used in warfa re is needed be·
design this complex in actual gam- yond the castle, so the re is no point 13. Barracks. About 80 sol-
ing is difficu lt. One cannot show a ll in taking it higher up the is land . die rs could be accom modated
the ' rooms of the castle. on ly the The walls are one story hig h, as here , plus their cook . etc. T here is
buildIngs. In addlUon, because of per the w harf. Be hind buildings 12 a cellar underneath the building.
the h illiness. not a ll floors are on & 13 is a line, which represents where the company mess and star·
the same level. 10 help with read- ground too stee p to build upon . age wou ld be; the basement and
ing the map, a genera li zed eleva- Similar li nes s how In othe r a reas of first s tory are living quarters.
tion, showing certain main the castle, a nd sta nd for the same
buildings. together with water line thing. Using contour li nes (as on a 14. Wo r k s hops . Simple one-
a nd ground leve l. is given. topographical m ap) was cons ld · s tory wooden bu ildings. these are
ered, but makes the fina lcastle de· for the master craftsmen of the
1, Wha r f. These are the gov- sign too cluttered. castle like the smith, arm orer, ma-
ernment docks. Most trade on the son . and carpenter.
river ties up at the c ity doc ks 7 . Bridge Gateh ous e. A formi-
across the river, but policing the dable obstacle. 7a and b a re the 15. Upstream TOwer. As 3.
traffic is the functio n of the local two U·shaped towers, with 7c the
authorities. The wa ll betwee n 3 & passageway between them (note 16. Post ern 1bwer. As 3.
23 Is one story ta ll (15' to the wall that there a re also two portcu l·
walk plus baltlem e nts) . IIses. two gates. and two m urder 17 . Post ern Door. This tight
holes). 7d is the drawbridge con- door a llows egress from the castle,
2. J e tties. These two Jetties necting the gatehouse to the but Is too s mall for assault. It is
function as breakwaters, to s helter bridge across the channel. 7e. The a lso placed in a very narrow, high
the wharf. They are stone path- passage way through th e ga te- place.
ways with low pa ra pe ts. 2a is house slopes up. 1l'ap doors lead
reached via the Breakwater Thwer down into a dank ce llar. The base· 18. Wat ergate Pa th . This na r·
(9); 2b is reac hed via steps su r- m en t is at bridge level. There Is a row path wi nds down to the Wa-
rou nding the Downstream Thwer

(3) .

.23

terga te, whe re a boat is u s ua lly 25. Downstream Gatehouse. 35. Annex. Living quarters for
ke pt. As 8, but with 3 s tories (a base· servan ts. kitchen help . and su c h.
m e nt plus fi rst a nd second s tories As a rule, as man y as 34 persons
19. Middle Bailey, Note that (wall walk)) and roof. migh t be s lept here. There is a eel·
wa lls of the Midd le Ba il ey a re lar. basemen t. and firs t s tory.
higher than the lower walls. These 26. Storage. One story build-
are two s tories h igh (30' to the wall ing for keeping s upplies and tools. 36. Chapel. A large U-shaped
walk. plus battlements). The mid- tower. typical of m edieval ti mes.
d le of the bai ley is kept clear for ex- 27. Bastion. A U-shaped Bas· The cellar is the Crypt. wh ere the
ercise for both man a nd beast. A tion and non-e nclosed U-shaped royal tombs a re. The basement
tilting path cou ld be put h ere. Mili - tower. Ground level is two stories level is the Chapel proper. while
tary drill is held here. A parade high . Wall wa lk level is covered t he first story has a balcony in
ground could a lso be made of it. with a noor. A catapult is m oun ted bac k , with ga lle ries above th e
h ere. to com mand the down - a is les . T h e second story h as a
20. Gate. A si mple gate. but stream a pproaches. s m a ll ba lcony in the rear. with a
nanked by strong towers. Please cle restory walk a long the s ides (a
no te that 42 cannot be ente red 28. Living Quarters. As 24. narrow walk alon g the ta ll glass
from the Middle Bailey. Control of windows). The clerestory allows
th e gale is th erefore th e duty of 29. Whitewater Tower. So access to the baUey wall. The roof
troops in 21. T he re is a wall walk ca lled for its view of th e roc ky is a long . pitc h ed timber affaIr.
on th e fi rst story, above the gate. m a in channel. This towe r has a with rounded ends, surrounded by
ce llar. basem en t. first story. sec- baulemen ts It ca n be reac hed by
21. Middlegate Tower. Given ond story, and roof. the spiral staircase runn ing from
over 'mostly to storage and guard- crypt to roof.
ing the gate. this tower has a cellar. 30. Storehouse. A one a nd a
a baseme nt (ga te level). a firs t half story buildin g. with stu ff 37. Warden's Thwer. Thechief
s tory. a second story, a nd a con ical s tacked a ll th e way up the s ides. ups tream -looking tower. this also
timber roof with battlem e nts. a nd In th e middle . governs the Watergate approach.
It is set very deep In the earth . The
22. Ba rracks. Similar to 13. 3 1. Upper Bailey. Wall s two lowest Ooor. known as th e Pit. is a
except that In add ition to cellar. s tories high . as in the Middle Bai- dungeon. a nd above that is the
basement. and first stor y. t hi s ley. The grass is tended well here. s ub-cellar (guardroom). Further
building has a na t roof. w hich can nowers border th e walks. This is up is the cella r. the n t he basement
be used for exercise and sword - the S tate House part of the castle. (at ground level), a nd first & sec-
play. ond stories. Th e roof is na t, and
32. Upper Gatehouse. Lar gest hosts a rtillery to command the up-
23. Guardhouse Tower, This of the gatehouses. but similar to stream approaches.
tower would constitu te the head - them a ll . This s truc ture contains a
quarters for the guards, a nd a lso cella r. basemen t (gate level) , firs t 38. Forebuilding. This build-
the prison for offend ers amon g th e story. second story. a nd roof. in g a llows access to one of the
sold iery. It has ce ll ar (l ock u p), drawbridges which leads to the cit-
basem en t (office), firs t & second 33. Well. This area serves as a adel. It contains stairs and small
stories (HQl. a nd conical roof with water s upply if access to the river offices ror royal clerks. A cellar.
battlements. Is c ut off. basem en t. a nd first story (bridge
level) m a ke up this structure
24. Living Quarters, This two 34. State Apartments. Living which is topped off by a pitched
story building has a basement a nd quarters for the royal fam ily a nd roof su rrou nded by battlements.
first noor (but no cella r) and pro- sta le guests. T his building has a
vides living quarters fo r m a ny of cellar, basem ent. first s tory. a nd
th e castle'S residen ts . second story. The roof Is pitched
a nd made of s late.

124

39. La va bo. T his washroom dra wbridges, wh ic h alone s upply
a nd garderobe a rea has two s to- access to the tower. The bu ilding
ries. a basem e nt and a firs t noar. cons is ts of a s u b-cella r (with a n
plus a nat roof. allowing access be- a u xilia ry well), cellar, basem en t.
tween 38 a nd 40 on aJl levels . Mid- as well as fir s t. second. an d third
d en s a re carved in to th e roc k. s tories. The building is cove red by
below . a n d access Is fr om th e a co nical roof wi th battl em en ts
Lowe r Bailey for clean ing. (reach ed by ladder via a trap door) .
S tairs are interna l with no su pple·
4 0. Great Hall. Th e cellar be- m e ntary towe r. Note that the Cita-
low th is ar ea is for food s torage. d el h as t h e mos t fl oo rs above
The basem e n t le vel has the ma in ground ; it also s its on th e highest
d ining area ; cou rt is a lso held here le vel of the is lan d .
(note the da is he re). Dashed lines
re present the fi rs t story. a ba lcony, 4 6. Wa t e r gat e Post e rn . The
with gallery ru n ning a ll a rou nd basem e nt le vel is the gate. The
t he ha ll. The roof is pitc hed . with firs t s tory Is a na t. ba ttlem e n led
ba ttle m e nts . Access to t he roof roof for defen se.
battlem e nts is fro m Ba iley Wall.
47 . Ra mp. This is a lo ng a nd
4 1. Entry. Th is is a on e-story ba ttlem en ted wa lk .
high e ntry ha ll.
4 8. Wa t e r gat e Tow e r. This
4 2. Kitch en Tower. This a rea s quare towe r is the on ly m eans of
is used for food storage. bre wing. direct access to 47.
living qua rte rs, e tc. it has a s ub-
cellar. cella r, basem e nt. fi rst story. 4 9. Wa t e r ga te Pool. T h is
second s tory, a nd a con ical roof S m a ll doc k ser ves as a land ing
with battlem e n ts. area for one or two boa ts . Pas t m es-
se nger boats or roya l p leasu re
4 3. Kitche n . T h is area has c raft are ke pt here. Th is a lso pro-
on ly two levels. a cella r a nd a base- vides a m ea ns of h us tling danger-
m en t. T he roof s lopes down from ou s pri so n e rs into c u s tod y:
the wall . persons who m ust be tra nsported
without ruckus can be brough t
44. Kitc h e n Annex . Th e cella r in to th e castle this way withou t
is used for storage. the basem en t is landing. or going through c rowds.
both an office and living q uarters
fo r the m aster cook .
The roof s lopes down from the
wa ll.

4 5 . Citad el. Thi s s truc ture is
the c h ief stronghold for a ny a t-
tempt at a las t-ga s p defense. S ta te
prisoners a re som e times ke pt h ere
in stead of in th e Warde n 'S 1bwer.
The re is a n armory. a n d severa l
state apartm en ts. A pier be tween
45 a nd 38 supports the ends of two

12 5



127

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