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Using magic to help build an undispellable castle
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<blockquote data-quote="Ciaran" data-source="post: 9884834" data-attributes="member: 756"><p>Possibilities in B/X itself:</p><p></p><p>Using <strong>conjure elemental</strong> to command an earth elemental seems like it should be useful, but it's not clear just what an earth elemental can do when it comes to working stone. If nothing else, it's an inhumanly strong laborer, and I'd be inclined to let it quarry stone highly effectively.</p><p></p><p>Piling gravel into a mold, casting <strong>transmute rock to mud</strong>, then dispelling the effect should work to create sizable stone blocks in place. This should actually help in a lot of ways; there's no need to quarry big stone blocks, move them overland, or even lift them into place — workers can just carry manageable baskets of rocks and pebbles. AD&D suggests this would yield a soft rock like sandstone, which isn't ideal, but historically sandstone castles were a thing so that's not a major strike against it.</p><p></p><p><strong>Move earth</strong> can create a motte and bailey, which isn't stonework but also is nothing to sneeze at. In addition, stripping away masses of topsoil from the underlying rock could allow the creation of quarries right next to the worksite, vastly reducing the time needed to ship the worked stone.</p><p></p><p>And that seems to be it for B/X. Not a lot of options here.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Ciaran, post: 9884834, member: 756"] Possibilities in B/X itself: Using [B]conjure elemental[/B] to command an earth elemental seems like it should be useful, but it's not clear just what an earth elemental can do when it comes to working stone. If nothing else, it's an inhumanly strong laborer, and I'd be inclined to let it quarry stone highly effectively. Piling gravel into a mold, casting [B]transmute rock to mud[/B], then dispelling the effect should work to create sizable stone blocks in place. This should actually help in a lot of ways; there's no need to quarry big stone blocks, move them overland, or even lift them into place — workers can just carry manageable baskets of rocks and pebbles. AD&D suggests this would yield a soft rock like sandstone, which isn't ideal, but historically sandstone castles were a thing so that's not a major strike against it. [B]Move earth[/B] can create a motte and bailey, which isn't stonework but also is nothing to sneeze at. In addition, stripping away masses of topsoil from the underlying rock could allow the creation of quarries right next to the worksite, vastly reducing the time needed to ship the worked stone. And that seems to be it for B/X. Not a lot of options here. [/QUOTE]
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