keep notes

[Dan]

Some additional information on Stone Keep. I don't care to get pedantic, but I'll introduce a limited number of castle terms just to keep our descriptions consistent.

The wall surrounds an area roughly 400' x 300'. The curtain wall stands 14' tall, 8' wide at the base, and 6' wide at the top. The gate is roughly a foot thick, made of timbers reinforced by iron. At the corners of the curtain walls are small, circular bastion towers that stand about 8' taller than the curtain wall.

The point of this description is that the position is defensible, but this is not a massive or sophisticated fortification.

The final fallback for defense is the keep inside. It has no wall of its own, but it's still a stone building, the roof of which has crenelations. Most of the building is two stories tall. However, the area over the antechamber is only one story tall. Two heavy doors are at the front and back of the antechamber, corresponding with the point where the keep goes up to two stories.

The lower floor of the keep is home to the seneschal, two servants, a kitchen, dining space, and the library. The upper floor houses the Baron, the captain of the militia, two house guards, and a planning room.

[Dan]

Since none of you are playing a priest, the chapel is dedicated to Tymora.

http://forgottenrealms.wikia.com/wiki/Tymora

The chapel is a small building with a narthax and sanctuary. Behind the sanctuary is a hallway with a five-room rectory, consisting of two bedrooms, a cooking space, a meditation space, and a washroom.

[Dan]

The inn -- whose name is derived from a pun based on its proximity to the Standing Stone and two trade roads -- is named the Stop Standing Inn. It has nearly 100 rooms, and is owned by Baron Kohn. Most of its rooms are typically unused, and the Baron had contracted a family to operate the inn, with the understanding that its many extra rooms can be used to board passing soldiers or surrounding townsfolk during an emergency.

[Dan]

The western barracks has sleeping space, armory, and larder sufficient for its 100-man standing militia. At maximum capacity, it can hold about 200 men-at-arms.

[Dan]

The support structure to the north has stabling for 50 horses, several workshops (including the smithy), and an extended armory (used to store armaments for volunteers and conscripts). It has some limited emergency supplies, though most of that is stored at the inn.

[Johann]

So... the main town is outside the keep walls, or is 300'x400' the whole of the town? Then farmland for a few mile radius? Or is the food supply entirely via import?

I just want to settle the town a bit in my mind before we go forward. I had pictured a pseudo-thriving trade town, but if it's all within walls, it becomes more of a border guard-post. Either is fine, but they mean very different things for the feel of the setting.

[Dan]

When it was first built, only the keep was there. But over time, businesses sprung up to support the merchants, farmers migrated in to find a new life (often with the encouragement of the Baron), and so on.

So the town is outside the walls. It's a disorganized sprawl of shops and farms, meandering off to the south and west of the keep proper. Total population of the town is around 750.

[Dan]

Last of all: the bailey.

The bailey consists of grass, weeds, and hard-packed dirt. Soldiers and horses are a common sight to the north and west, while travelers tend to stick to the south and east. Occasionally, patrols will organize or report inside the bailey and some workshop-level activity is performed outside as well.

However, none of the bailey is paved, except a small stone area just in front of the keep structure.

[John]

you say static defenses I say I have to bring a couple more scrolls now