Layout of a Keep

[Gulzhad]

I don't know if this is already a topic, and if it is please let me know. Either way, I would like it if someone posted the layout of a keep they used for a game, or saw someone else use. This keep needs to be run down. Thanks!

[Hendrik]

Hi there,

I would love to help and point you to a map on the interwebs, but ... what kind of castle are you looking for?

- European or Asian?
- wooden or stone?
- early, high or late middle ages or even later or earlier than that, what style?
- Motte-and-bailey or truly a keep as in Donjon or an extensive castle?

The wikipedia entry on castles is a good starting point.

Cool castles are:
Krak des Chevaliers
the Teutonic Order's castle Marienburg

An awesome (even if very late medieval / renaissance) keep is the Donjon Château de Vincennes (Vincennes Keep wikipedia entry)

A great resource for RPG is the world of Hârn related Lythia.com, which has a huge (and free) download section with high quality maps, medieval adventures etc. etc.

Cheers
Hendrik

[Hendrik]

Page 129 of The Old Ones might also be helpful. It lists the standard layouts for forts. It may not be exactly what you want but may aid as a starting place.

That just gave me the idea - idiot me - a great book you can get within the blink of an eye:PALLADIUM's BOOK OF WEAPONS & CASTLES has load of maps, nicely done, too. You can get it, see link, at drive thru for USD 4.47 at the moment.

[Gulzhad]

Thank you everyone, the book on weapons and castles is one I have been meaning to get for a while. I think I have the other one about Old Ones.

I was thinking a stone keep, one that is from the high Middle Ages. Also, it would be European.

Thanks again, I will start with the Old Ones book first

[drewkitty ~..~]

start out with terms.
Keep, a fortified stone house.
Castle, a keep with some sort of wall structure around it.

As for maps of castles, <what I found with google>, they unique and conform to the lay of the land.

[Hendrik]

start out with terms.
Keep, a fortified stone house.
Castle, a keep with some sort of wall structure around it.

Is not a keep by definition rather a fortified tower structure (i.e., donjon) and not a house, no matter whether it is stone or wood, or something in between?

For example, the keep in a motte-and-bailey construction (which may or may not have a wall and with one would technically be a castle with a keep) was made of timber mostly, roughly up to and including Norman times, at least, which is why not so many are left in England, France and Germany.

There have certainly been stone keeps in paralell and only stone afterwards. I guess it was more a question of cost and availablility of stones. No "serious" high middle ages (or later) castle would sport a wooden keep.

That is not to say that I do not agree with your definition of castle. On the contrary, I agree, but whether or not keep, wall fortification or any structure would have been built with timber would depend more on the age it was built in, and again cost and availability of material.

[Gulzhad]

I guess I was thinking like a mini castle. When I think of "keep" that's what I think of.

[drewkitty ~..~]

The keep can be a tower, but most often they are fortified houses.
The reason being is that the house is the home of the local lord. Over time the lord, of his decedents, upgrade the keep by adding a wall about the keep they live in. Thus turning the structure into a castle. With the keep still being the family home.

[pblackcrow]

Old Ones type 3 fort/keep. It's really good even if they mislabeled a few of the rooms and things.

[Gulzhad]

Old Ones type 3 fort/keep. It's really good even if they mislabeled a few of the rooms and things.

Thanks!

[pblackcrow]

No big.

[tmikesecrist3]

any one see any lay outs for new world star forts? I could posably use that for one of my games espacly of they portect a bay or something

[tmikesecrist3]

maybe it would help if I explained more about the game I am trying to run. its set in the 1770s I allowed the dime god child of a greek goddess whom she placed in a Koran monastery to train after his father passed on. that may have been a mastake but since he oked the chaster its kind of late to go back on it. but in a nut shell for some reason the ship is there, if I am not mistaken its French Indo-china at this point the ship sails under french colors but the caption is a Scottish Jacobite fighting a private war with england France of course for a price looks the other way. The pc at the beginning has no idea that he has signed onto the next best thing to a pirate ship. going for a mix of fantasy high adventurer in a historic setting there is magic and there are dragons. but I do kind of need to figure out how some things are going to work... I know katsuna has some tw sailing ships on her page I wonder if I could use some of those items as a base line. though I dont know 18 ponders sound huge for a schooner