Maintaining a fort - what is needed

[NewJeffCT]

The last few sessions of my game have seen the players attacking a hilltop fort that was occupied by bandits. They then defended the fort when the bandits counter-attacked in force. (this is a modified version of Kingmaker)

The bandits are now crushed and no longer an immediate threat and the PCs now intend to use the fort as a base of operations.

Because the PCs were higher level than the start of Kingmaker, the fort was bigger to hold more bandits. It's a good 120x150 in size, surrounded by 20 foot high wooden walls. There are 3 watch towers and a front gate is the only access. The fort also has 3 buildings within - one a stable, one a building where the bandits stored goods they were going to sell, and a large two story building that housed many bandits. There is also an extensive underground level that has more living space, storage, as well as a jail.

The bandits did some light maintenance themselves, but the PCs are going to be going out adventuring and not doing the day to day carpentry, painting, and maintaining needed to run a fort.

Besides men to defend the fort, what sort of personnel would a typical medieval fort have? (they'll obtain the services of a mercenary company to defend the fort down the road...)

What other types of people are needed:
Carpenters
Painters
Rope Makers
Cooks
Hunters & Fishers to catch food - could be some of the merc company?
Maybe an engineer or architect type? - could be one of the mercs as well?
Clothiers/Tailors/Seamstresses to maintain the regular clothing
Armorer & apprentice to maintain armor
Stable hands
Leatherworker for leather works, including shoes?

I'm sure I missed a bunch?

Thanks

 

[Stormonu]

Blacksmith - for nails, metal braces and other mundane metalworks and tools. Though the armorer might be able to do some of this work.

Laborers - to perform general tasks around the fort, haul goods, make minor repairs, tend to defenses, dig sewage pits, etc.

Entertainers - someone to help keep the drudgery away, whether a troubador, jester, showgirl, etc.

Castellan - someone to mind the laborers and the fort when the PCs are away.

 

[Loonook]

Men at Arms: 1:3 of all men, preferably with a few spellcasters for any needs that may come up RE: major events. We'll count them as an additional 60ish men at least, who are going to have a LOT of downtime. They can serve as unskilled (your warriors) or semiskilled (Experts, PC class, Aristocrat) in handling various skills.

I would say that out of them you probably have at least 1-3 fair hands at a forge, some who have skill with architecture (building a palisade that will stand during a conflict is a valid skill... and knowing the weak points of a defense), and a chaplain for morale. Most units will have at least one medic per 20 men, who could be a Cleric or really any class with the Heal skill.

I would have the following based on 200 non-combatants:


120 Unskilled. Your tired, poor, huddled masses needing protection... If they will work for it.

30 semi-skilled laborers: These guys can mend a fence, lay a true path, mix mortar, hew logs, tend stills and cauldrons for leatherworking, spirits making, etc. Around 10-20% of these laborers will be going about with specific work crews.

2 Masons, 3 Apprentices. The walls will need checking, repair, stabilization, etc. Apprentices can do most work but if there need to be new stones cut from a quarry or specific architectural locations worked on your actual masons should be on that.

1 Healer, 1 Apprentice. Not necessarily a Cleric but people who can mend bones, pull fevers, and generally just use that sweet Heal check to save you money on CLW when possible .

1 Cook, 4 Apprentices. Someone needs to chop, slice, bake, poach, butcher and prepare these dishes. Unskilled laborers could be of great use here, as can a mercenary who has been sent to Kitchen Patrol for some transgression. On a big rush you're probably looking at 1:10 unskilled laborers/men at camp. A cookhouse can boil large amounts of water for laundry days also.

A smith and apprentice: Two smiths should be able to perform most of the necessary repairs. If need be some of your Guards are going to have skills in repairing armor, and any mercenaries worth their salt will have a farrier/smithy who can perform duties (and gets paid a Sergeant's salary just to make sure those animals are kept going).

1 Tanner: Leather is very useful if there are animals in the fields for it. If you have any leather suitable animals being kept in a herd out in the acreage around your keep you're going to want a tanner. Any of your men who have served as shepherds or trappers/rangers will have the ability to help out a Tanner, though it is nasty business due to the nature of the work.

X Tailors: Most of your mercenaries are going to be able to do passable work or have brought along followers who can do most of the work. While a Tailor is a nice addition to a keep, it isn't strictly necessary.

1 Roper: A semiskilled roper can easily produce rope with unskilled labor that will suit your purposes. A ropewalk is probably placed outside in a three-walled structure allowing for the use of either a simple mechanical braider or hand-braiding. Remember that the size of your walk will determine your maximum yield, so I would suggest around a 200*10' outbuilding with good access to a wagon.

Stablehands: Unskilled; having done the work you could cover 20-30 stalls in an 8 hour work-day with adequate time to maneuver bedding, grain, hay, and other materials. The horses, when able, should be set out with adequate time to ride to keep them fresh... Horses laid into a stall for too long will develop stall vices and generally become difficult to deal with, and weaker than their free-ranging counterparts without lunging or hotwalking while barded.

Then your other 30 odd individuals can be spread out. You'll need mill hands for handling the grist mill somewhere near the property, shepherds for your flocks, a castellan and staff for the maintenance of the interior rooms, at least two people to keep track of your coin, and preferably bowyer/fletchers and woodsmen to maintain your quality stock of arrows, bows, and stout wood for staffs. I would send a contingent with at least 10-15 trained huntsmen into the forest, along with the same number of woodsmen to fell trees, clear brush, etc.

If you want to be completely self-reliant you cannot go wrong with beekeepers, candlemakers, a brewer and assistant, a distiller to produce stronger spirits, an alchemist for production of needed chemical materials around the place, and of course those who make life a little better for your mercenaries... Entertainers, if you will . Happy sellswords are non-stabby sellswords.

You're going to be paying minimum 100 GP/day for overall upkeep, pay, and repairs to begin, with an initial outlay dependent on what was left when the bandits flitted out. Once you establish a strong enough hold and gain the loyalty of the people taxes on produce will help to support your garrison, and you may want to look into hiring a barrister or local Wise Men to preside over your group. The place will be able to reap dividends when you can get those mercs out, probably by training and outfitting the populace.

Outfitting your irregulars would cost around 18 gp/person if you use simple weapons (2 daggers and a quarterstaff) and leather armor... Which wouldn't be horribly odd for irregulars of the type. With training you could in theory turn half of your Unskilled Commoners into Warriors, then get them some better armament .

Slainte,

-Loonook.

 

[NewJeffCT]

Thanks Loonook. How did you come up with 200 non combatants? That figure seems a bit high based on a 120' x 150' or am I missing something? I was initially thinking about 50 soldiers to guard the fort and maybe 20-25 support types, but thought that seemed high.

I was hoping for an idea of what would make up the support and your answer was good in that regards.

 

[Grogg of the North]

The way I've always treated forts, boats and the like is quite simple.

Leadership.

All those low level followers? Those are the people keeping your fort supplied, your boat sea-worthy, and making it so you actually have a place to call home.

 

[NewJeffCT]

The way I've always treated forts, boats and the like is quite simple.

Leadership.

All those low level followers? Those are the people keeping your fort supplied, your boat sea-worthy, and making it so you actually have a place to call home.

Thanks - I am sure the party will attempt to find a good castellan or steward for when they leave to go adventuring. However, for flavor text purposes, I was hoping to get more detail on the other support personnel in the fort.

 

[NewJeffCT]

Blacksmith - for nails, metal braces and other mundane metalworks and tools. Though the armorer might be able to do some of this work.

Laborers - to perform general tasks around the fort, haul goods, make minor repairs, tend to defenses, dig sewage pits, etc.

Entertainers - someone to help keep the drudgery away, whether a troubador, jester, showgirl, etc.

Castellan - someone to mind the laborers and the fort when the PCs are away.

Thanks - part of Kingmaker is the party establishing a kingdom. There will eventually will be a town near the fort that will provide entertainment and non routine support for the fort.

I'd XP you, but I need to spread it around more first.

 

[SnowleopardVK]

In terms of stuff, they'll probably want:

Food/Water Supplies - To feed the men who maintain the place. (They'll probably want a few capable hunters/gatherers to help keep these stocked as well, or perhaps if they can set up small farms. Depends on the setup of the fort. My players have a fort built into the side of a small rocky mountain, and they've set up terrace farms.)

Weapons and Armour - Assuming there's at least some combat-ready men defending the place while the PCs are away, they'll need these. Best to keep extra to account for weapons breaking or getting lost, or to account for the number of defenders in the fort increasing.

Tools - Make sure every tradesman there has what they need to work.

Wood & other raw materials - Useful for smithing, carpentry, etc. And it's good to have wood supplies so that when the enemy smashes down the main door of your fortress you can begin repairs right away without having to chop a tree down first.

Alcohol & other comforts - Booze, soft beds, musicians, dancers. Got to keep your people happy if you expect them to keep wanting to work for you.

Noncombatants - Might actually be a good idea to keep some non-combat-trained folk around. Raise the spirit of the soldiers, give them extra incentive to protect something, and lighten the mood of the place in general.

Commanders - To keep soldiers organized.

 

[The Red King]

My evil players have enslaved a group of humans and allied themselves with a brood of goblins that live in the dungeons and caverns under the castle. They use them for all the "dirty" work.

Yes, the place is a mess, and stinks, but thats how they like it!

 

[Loonook]

Thanks Loonook. How did you come up with 200 non combatants? That figure seems a bit high based on a 120' x 150' or am I missing something? I was initially thinking about 50 soldiers to guard the fort and maybe 20-25 support types, but thought that seemed high.

I was hoping for an idea of what would make up the support and your answer was good in that regards.

Honestly I'd put it higher... The location is .43 acres, which in a typical low-density of a city would be ~ 30 individuals... However, this is a keep. Stronghold Builder's Guide, which is not horrible for measures if terrible for costs (it will cost you more to have a fancy bedroom than a +3 suit of armor...) puts that at 45 spaces. Let's add a quarter of that in the second story, a quarter in the area, and just even it out to 4 SH spaces on the 3rd floor. Small, unassuming keep that has room to billet 900 soldiers in a pinch (maximizes to 1152 if soldiers are sleeping in every five foot space, cramped quarters could fit double... which is probably more to the case ). A simple billet fits 10 individuals in moderate comfort so we claim 25% of the spaces...

The place sleeps 180 in the keep with this small but cheap version of the 'original plan'. If you're hotracking the beds, which is probably the case for your soldiers, you can sleep 2-3 soldiers/room space/day, cutting down their requirement to 22-33 beds, or 2-3 SHS rounded down. This allows you to fit 150-160 civilians living in the castle full time in comfort, in rooms that existed within the keep proper or your underground location.

75 SHS.

Now let us just do this will clusters, making our math much easier. 100 soldiers can train, eat, and sleep in comfort in a space of 29 SHS (see Army Base) for 24k. Fill the extra 34 slots with your semiskilled laborers, your castellan, two smiths, and maybe the master of your masons.

46 spaces.

4 Guardtowers, billeting 6 soldiers each (so lets put all of our laborers in the Army Base) for 2 squares.

44.

Prison Complex below, can sleep 60 'prisoners'. So put your unskilleds in this area (or they sleep in their own homes outside and come in during siege... Noone wants to sleep in a jail ). 13 spaces.

31.

Residential (fancy) sleeps 30/unit, and Residential (basic) sleeps 10. The fancy residences are only 4 squares larger, but have more bedrooms... never really made sense. So let us go with a modified version of the Barracks (much more of a common room sleeping arrangement) at 10 individuals/space. This is probably what any keep would actually have for unskilled laborers, who are going to be low man on the totem pole for this purpose. The place also has kitchens attached (for a keep I would assume what they mark as a 'luxury' kitchen being most efficient, feeds 100/2 shs). 16 + 4 for 160 sleeping and 200 meals prepared, will need your cooks and 12 semiskilled assisting.

11.

Smiths will need their forges, let us put that as 4 Fancy) at 4.

7.

Stables, which are more than likely have been built for the original owner's steeds to lap in luxury, fit 24 Large horses at 4 spaces.

3.

Now we place a little advanced library (1 space, 3 different sets of books), and a temple (2 spaces) rounds us out.

Now this is just the basic keep setup. You build additional fortifications, which don't cost more for the 2nd story, in simple wooden fortifications. That opens up 34 additional spaces rounded up for 33.75, providing for plenty of structures like workshops for all your skilled laborers (lets count that at 6 overall), additional stables for 60 steeds (10, replacing slots on the ground floor of course ), and leaving you around 18 SHS to screw around with with Courtyards, additional comfortable rooms for your new adventuring group to build rooms (2-3 spaces), more storage room for reserves built within the castle itself (3000 Cu ft/SHS).

And that is just enclosed in walls. Wanna build more walls? Expand the place out to the next stronghold space (10 feet wide, 10 feet tall, with a perimeter of 96 walls for maxing out the space) comes to 57600 GP. If you go with wood to begin as palisades to allow you to expand until there is more cash? 9000 GP. If there are hills? Enjoy -10-30% off of the construction (-10% is standard for stone, but I'd give them a bonus for their masons and additional mountain resources).

Then you have more spaces to invite skilled and semiskilled laborers to the site, and can build up to the size of a Small City. The erection will cost you a bit and take a month or so if you have available materials in wood (and quite a bit more for stone), but can be assisted by spellcraft and other options. Hiring from local settlements will speed everything up, and you can definitely crush the whole thing in a few month... Build it and people will come .

Slainte,

-Loonook.