Not entirely true. If a force remains within the walls of their castle (and it is conceivable for there to only be one within a given region), that would leave attacking forces free to loot and pillage the country side, but at the same time, the attackers can't move on further into their enemy's territory until they had dealt with the defenders lest they emerge behind them and catch the attackers in a pincer with defenders from a further in castle.
The city or stronghold
is the castle. The rural region is the countryside. There isn't a castle in a rural region.
That may not be how you've interpreted it, but that is canonically how the BattleMaster universe operates.
That can be changed by allowing what I proposed. Cavalry can go around tearing up the countryside while the defenders hide behind the wall and then are very useful if the defenders decide to sally forth. Further, if we have it so that the walls, once taken, allow the cavalry in through the gate where they can start ripping up the defenders within the walls.
I mean, we
do have that. But it loses the main benefit of cavalry in BM: their charge.
Cities aren't just built out nowhere. They start as a settlement that is desirable to reside at for one reason or another and grow until they become cities. Typically, this was because they were at a location which facilitated trade, like river forks, as trade hubs afforded convenient locations for artisans to build their shops. Sure, you can build a structure just about anywhere, but a collection of buildings does not make a city. A population does. This stands in stark contrast to fortifications which are built and staffed to defend an area of import to someone. Unlike a city, which grows organically, a castle is a more deliberate structure.
And it is not one you will be able to build, because in BattleMaster, a castle is effectively what a Stronghold region
is.
Well, you've got my recommendations. Lock in food stores for the duration of a siege, allow the defenders to choose whether or not to sally forth, attackers can't attack without siege equipment, allow them fortifications to be built anywhere. Other things like murder holes in the gatehouses or oil on the walls are good ideas for addons, but those are kind of predicated on an actual siege mechanic being built.
And some of those recommendations are, indeed, pretty close to some of the ideas I already have in mind for improving fortifications at some point in the future.
