Fortress

A castle, keep or walled camp built for war, with gates, towers, a courtyard and cells below. It is held by soldiers who know every stair and watch every road, so getting in means a siege, a trick or an invitation. The danger is people more than stones: sentries, archers and a garrison that can be called in minutes.

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Hear it

Hazards

  • Sentries. Watchmen on the walls, a guard at every gate, and a bell that wakes the whole garrison. D&D 5e (House rule): Our rule: sneaking in or across the courtyard is a group Dexterity (Stealth) check against the sentries' passive Perception (usually 12 to 14), at Disadvantage by day. If half the group fails, the alarm rings and 2d6 soldiers arrive in 1d4 rounds.
  • Murder holes. In the gate passage, holes in the ceiling. Stones, arrows or boiling water come through them. D&D 5e (House rule): Our rule: each round a creature spends in the gate passage while defenders are above, it makes a DC 13 Dexterity save, taking 2d6 Bludgeoning or Fire damage (stones or boiling water) on a failure or half on a success. A shield held overhead gives Advantage.
  • Portcullis. An iron grille drops with a crash and cuts the party in two. D&D 5e (House rule): Our rule: a creature under the gate when the portcullis falls makes a DC 14 Dexterity save to dive to one side or the other, or takes 3d10 Piercing damage and is pinned (Restrained) until lifted. Lifting it is a DC 25 Strength (Athletics) check; two people can help each other.
  • A fall from the walls. Ten metres of sheer stone below the battlements, and a ditch at the foot. D&D 5e: A falling creature takes 1d6 Bludgeoning damage for every 3 m (10 ft), up to 20d6, and lands Prone unless it took no damage. Falling into the moat, it can use its Reaction for a DC 15 Strength (Athletics) or Dexterity (Acrobatics) check to enter feet or head first and halve the damage.

A scene

  • Old Fort. The smells of the old fort hit first: damp stone, rust, and time. Then, the sounds: rat squeaks, beating wings, and the distant clang of metal beating metal. The fort’s breath is shallow, half-abandoned, half-occupied. What remains when duty outlives purpose? The full generator on the blog

Adventure hooks

  1. A young soldier of the garrison wants to desert. He will open the postern for whoever gets his sweetheart safely out of town first.
  2. The castellan is holding a guest who is either a prince or a pretender. One faction wants him crowned, another wants him gone, and the castellan wants to know which pays better.
  3. The castle is said to stand as long as its ravens stay. One has flown off with the castellan’s signet ring, and the whole garrison is chasing it across the roofs.
  4. An old prisoner has been in the cells so long that nobody remembers his crime, including him. He asks only that someone find out what it was, before he is let go or hanged.

What may happen

  1. The guards at the postern change the password at dusk. A drunk soldier in the village knows tonight's.
  2. A supply cart waits at the gate while a sergeant counts sacks. There is room under the tarpaulin.
  3. Soldiers drill in the courtyard. Their captain is good; the recruits are not.
  4. A song rises from a barred window near the ground, in a language nobody here speaks.
  5. A latrine chute empties into the moat. It is filthy, but nobody guards it.
  6. A young soldier slips out at night and begs the party not to tell. He will trade what he knows for silence.
  7. The banner over the keep is not the one the party expected. The fortress has changed hands.
  8. The armoury door stands open while the armourer eats his lunch.
  9. A keeper feeds the ravens on the tower. He says the fortress falls the day they leave, and two are missing.
  10. The lord is holding a feast. Minstrels and guests are let in through the main gate with barely a look.
  11. A key ring hangs on a nail by the gaoler's chair. The gaoler is asleep.
  12. Old siege marks scar the north wall, and one patch of newer stone is not as thick as the rest.

Creatures

Other sites

Dungeon, Crypt, Graveyard, Ruin, Sewer, Mine Works, Temple, Laboratory, City

This work includes material from the System Reference Document 5.2.1 ("SRD 5.2.1") by Wizards of the Coast LLC, available at https://www.dndbeyond.com/srd. The SRD 5.2.1 is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, available at https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode.

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