I’m currently designing a keep for my players to explore. It will be a ruined keep, taken over by an evil cult. But to start off the design, I am looking at how it would have been designed in its prime. Here are some rooms I’ve thought of when creating the layout.
Military function
- Armory
- Smithy
- Fletcher
- Training room
- Lookout posts
- Infirmary/Hospital wing
- Gatehouse
- Barbican
- Place of Arms
- Commander quarters
- Guard bunks
Every day operation
- Great hall (mess hall)
- Steward’s Office
- Clerks/Tax assessors/Scribes Office
- Kitchen
- Distillery
- Scullery
- Larder/Storeroom/Cellar/Ice House
- Servant quarters
- Bathroom
- Well/Cistern
- Dovecote
- Stables
- Kennels
- Courtyard
- Gardens
Political function
- Hall of Justice
- Dungeon/Prison/Oubliette/Tower
- Throne Room
- Vault/Treasury
Noble quarters
- Drawing Room
- Bower
- Rooms for the Lord/Lady
- Formal sitting room
- Informal sitting room
- Private study
- Personal library
- Private dining room
Research
- Library
- Alchemy lab
- Solarium
- Wizards quarters
Religious
- Temple/Church
- Clergy quarters
Can you think of some more?
Editing to add the suggestions from the comments.
One thing that should be larger and more prominent is large food and water storage areas. Castles, during sieges, were designed to not only house and feed the normal staff but the subjects from outlying farms as well.
It could be a place to add some details.
Eg: Huge underground cave that was turned into a natural water cistern but is now filled with something else…
May or may not be an actual room in a castle, but there’s often going to be one or multiple cesspits. This could literally be simply a pit under a garderobe/bathroom or it could be a walled and enclosed space, but if present it would be serviced regularly by gong farmers.
More detail: The cesspits will usually be placed outside the walls (and away from the water storage) of the castle and the garderobes were often placed in the outer walls with a shaft leading to the outside of the castle.
Check out the YouTube channel Shadiversity and his reviews of castles. It will give a greater appreciation for the… MACHICOLATIONS!!!
The kitchen would also have a smaller adjacent room, or even part of the main room which would be the scullery, where they would wash the dishes etc.
Scullery is an awesome word so it’s a shame to leave it out!
The Scullery has been added! :)
This is super useful, thanks!
