Taking up on what some have already said and adding a bit of ideas from my side I would say that

a)  Castles/towers or keeps (I?ll just call all of these castles) are usually built in some strategic position to either defend or may oversee comers and goers. Alternatively castles are the bases of the rich folk who collect the taxes from the immediate area.

b) Castles actually cost money to keep and maintain

c)  Castles need to be lived in ? not just by the owner but by defenders, servants and workers (NPCs?)? (These would cost more money as well)

d) If the castle underlies control of some land, it implies patrols and tax collectors and a good avenue for war against your buggering neighbor

e)    If the castle was built for strategic purposes, (say it has one of the only three lifts to the next level or the destination of a trade route) travel fees or a wage (in case of say a watch tower manned by PC/NPC mercenaries) would be the source of income to the owner

f)   If a castle is attacked and left unmanned, it would effectively be some nice stonework or feature in the game. (Like many have said a castle without an obvious purpose is just a waste of time ? better the tent)

g)    Attacking a castle implies siegecraft,  siege engines and a huge army ? (Unless I am grossly mistaken, historically to man a successful siege, you the manpower advantage of at least 10:1)  Or else a demolition person with some handy C4. In any case not an easy task indeed.

h)    Castles are useful to build an army ? it provides a good base for people to gather to and train ? marching forth when the time comes.

i) Finally apart from any implied benefits listed above (taxes and fees) castles may hold structures useful say for research (say a new spell) or manufacturing ((some super magic weapon or something) or simply holding shops taverns or inns or whatever who pay a fee to be there.  

Now I have just skimmed the surface of these points but I guess that one could realize that the idea of building manning upkeeping a castle could be thought of as interesting by many.

But it would also imply a whole new dimension in the game mechanics ? where strategy has more value than role-playing.

It would be really nice to have a game which can also cater for stuff like that but my guess is that that would mean a huge amount of work from development?s side. It would surely be worth the hassle if all could enjoy this but thing about the landscape mottled with castles outcrops infesting the place. Making it difficult to own a castle (ie very few will ever have the privilege of building or owning one) will make it not worth the while to go through all the development work.

So my final say is that shops and the like are fine but castles and other ?big? structures should be avoided and left to NPC domain (with the exception of maybe towers). Unless PCs will be allowed to possess siege engines such as catapults or gun powder, Structure demolition should also be avoided (or at least made very difficult)  

Finally this is just my opinion and i might be completely wrong about what today\'s developers may come up with and in what time.

[[I?ve been through Riune?s and Valfaran?s posts and have to say that they are creating a beautiful and very inspiring story line. I was itching to join in the post but at the same time I did not want to ruin the magic with my much poorer writing skills. So I decided to come up with a new tread just remotely related which (with a little bit of help from any of you guys) might turn out to be a half decent story and if both treads proceed maybe allow them to cross paths in the future. (Riune, Valfaran  are you going to keep on adding to the story or are you going to abandon it just like that? Please don?t keep us on edge) Just feel free to correct and criticize as you please.]]


Anakletos the Taladan high priest set behind his desk waiting for the guest to walk the hall towards him in silence. If it were up to him he would make the fat noble walk up and down the hall all the day if it just made him loose a little bit of that extra weight and maybe that irritating wobble in his pace. He wondered momentarily if the noble man would be able to pass through one of the waste shafts in one whole piece. This was no time to think about disposing of him, the greedy fool had his uses yet.

As usual the high priest and the noble would enquire about health and family along with informal greetings not that either one of them really meant it but both had some thing to gain from each other but like the noble man, Anakletos was no stranger to politics and the art of trade.

Once the greetings were done the high priest stood up and motioned with a finger to one of the acolytes who attended the priest. The acolyte promptly jumped into life and when over a small table, prepared two goblets poured wine from a decanter and readied the chairs for his master and the guest. This ready the acolyte clapped his hands briefly and left through a small service door behind the desk, accompanied by all the other acolytes who up till now were completely silent and motionless.

The two man sat down and took up the glasses in their hands

?So, what news do you bring me today my good friend?? started again Anakletos in a warm tone which one would use on his close relatives and friends.

?The favor you asked is complete.? The noble returned boastfully ?The rats have been purged as you wished? returned in a pitiful attempt to hide his feelings. Slight signs of greed and expectation and maybe even a bit of triumph showed on the noble?s face and the high priest would not miss those signs especially since he knew that a price was agreed beforehand for such ?favors?.

?Really? That quick?? Anakletos asked in surprise. Not that he did not know already, there were spies reporting to him at every corner and niche in Yliakum?s society and he could get to know of all major events within the hour but as the saying goes ? don?t show your left hand what your right hand is doing - especially not to the fool sitting in front of him. But a useful fool he was, if anything went wrong, all fingers would point at him. Even now it was only the merchant?s power and heavy guard that was keeping some of the lesser folk from putting a knife in his back. His greed and ruthlessness has already made him step on too much toes and one day he would find one who would manage to get through the defenses.