Walls

One way to capture a castle or fortress is to climb the walls and overpower the defenders inside. This sort of undertaking is very dangerous, but its simplicity and speed makes it an obvious choice for small bands of heroes.

There are four basic types of castle walls in the AD&D game:

Wooden Palisades: These walls usually are made from sharpened logs about six inches thick. They typically are 10 to 15 feet tall. Defenders cannot fight from atop a palisade unless it is provided with a catwalk or hoardings (see below).

Stone: These walls are made of a single layer of stone or brick and are otherwise similar to palisades.

Curtain Walls: These walls are built of two layers of dressed stone with dirt and rubble packed in between. Curtain walls generally are thick enough to provide a fighting platform and are usually battlemented (see below) to provide extra cover. Curtain walls are usually 30 to 60 feet high and can be from 10 to 30 feet thick.

Earth ramparts: These walls are mounds of dirt, usually carefully packed and braced. Unlike the other three types of walls, which are vertical, a rampart slopes upward at a steep angle. Defenders can fight from atop a rampart, but a stone wall, palisade, or catwalk often is added at the top to provide extra cover. Ramparts are usually 20 to 40 feet high and 40 to 80 feet thick.

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