Engineering

The majority of civilized populations in Kaledor are, by necessity, housed within walled communities known collectively as "strongholds". In addition to the traditional city state strongholds, there are many settlements that have devised other ways of keeping their citizens safe from the myriad dangers that roam the wilds of Kaledor.

The most common form of stronghold is the elevated, walled city. Strongholds like Rothwall and Toran utilize these tactics to both spot approaching threats from a distance and keep those threats from interacting with the general populace. Since not all dangers take the form of marauding beasts, but are in fact more stealthy and skilled at infiltration, even visitors such as trade caravans are not allowed into the city. Rather, during their visits they stay in a probationary annex that goes by different terms for each city, but often referred to as a "pen" or "yard". These annexes are walled, to allow visiting travelers a reasonable amount of protection, and in themselves are often the size of small towns. Citizens are often allowed to petition for guests to enter the cities, but usually it is those of notable clout or reputation that are trusted with this invitation, while commoners are largely ignored.

Another defensive tactic is the subterranean shelter. Most often employed by dwarven strongholds, a single, large chamber is carved and made into a city of stone beneath the rocky crags of mountains. While most of these underground communities feature multiple tunnel pathways out of the city, their means of accessing the surface are usually limited to one or two vault-like passages known as "surface gates". The surface gates are sealed in times of crisis, and the dwarves have been known to spend decades cut off from the rest of the world. Since this extreme form of defense leads to isolation, it is not unheard of for dwarven communities to remain closed long after the danger has passed, content within their self-sustaining cities of metal and rock.