A Fantasy Barracks’ Powerful Role in the World

This is a fantasy barracks. It has grey stone walls, a brown door, blue windows and a watchtower in the middle. It's in front of a mountain and blue sky and white clouds. Barracks appear in many fantasy cities.
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Sunfire

CONTENTS

The Premise

In imaginary worlds, the military acts as the kingdom’s law enforcement. Soldiers have the power to arrest and detain criminals. With them being responsible for upholding the laws of the realm, soldiers appear in pretty much every city and town. However they need a place to rest, eat, and put criminals in the brig and that would be the fantasy barracks.

The barracks is essentially the military version of a police station, or at least its medieval counterpart. Soldiers spend the majority of their time doing work in and around it, from keeping it spotless to standing guard adjacent to the brig. Essentially a miniature base, the barracks has a mess hall, sleeping quarters, and a training center.

Since the military is the key instrument in how the kingdom upholds its laws, it needs to have at least a decent presence in many of its towns and cities in order to prevent lawlessness from running amok. To ensure the peace of the town/city, a barracks is constructed somewhere either within its boundaries or right outside.

There are several elements in how a fantasy barracks keeps the peace. A common one is to have the soldiers constantly patrol the town. Having a high profile around town reduces the likelihood of citizens committing crimes since it makes it more difficult for them to get away with it.

The barracks contributes to the world in several meaningful ways. One such way is they let the king know where trouble is brewing so he can move to quash it before it worsens. Monarchs seek to maintain and preserve the peace at all costs and will move quickly to stop trouble since it only hurts the kingdom.

This is the nineteenth article in the series looking at the different kinds of fantasy buildings. Interested in seeing what else we have to offer? You can find more on our blog page!

Where You can Find a Fantasy Barracks

The barracks is found mainly in the major cities and towns of the kingdom though you can find a decent number in smaller towns as well. The reason why not every small town had one was because there simply wasn’t enough residents to warrant the cost of building a barracks and besides, their crime rate was considerably lower compared to their larger counterparts.

Once upon a time, these urban centers didn’t have a barracks. It wasn’t until the crime rate started climbing that the military became interested in acquiring land in order to construct the barracks. But where could they build?

As the sovereign head of the military, the king has the power to have a fantasy barracks built anywhere he wished, even if that meant displacing citizens. When discussing where to build one, he listens to the recommendations of his senior military leadership and uses his power to make it happen. The realm usually compensates those who are forced out of their homes to make way for the barracks.

Fantasy cities are important in the genre. This image depicts a city with a castle on a hilltop above it. The city has both rectangular- and square-shaped buildings with a wavy roof on each one. The buildings come in four colors: light yellow, brown, light blue, and white. The roofs come in the following colors: dark blue, red, light black, and dark brown. Many of these buildings have windows and some have a visible door. The road itself runs down the middle of the image, swaying to the right and then the left, ending at the doorstep of the castle. The road also meets two others, one that runs to the left, and the other to the right. Behind the city is a grassy field with blades of grass scattered throughout. A river cuts through the field, meandering from the left edge to the right edge of the image. The castle itself is white with gray shadows. It has four red turrets and diamond-shaped windows. The sky above is a bright blue with two white clouds. Some birds are flying on the left side, above the castle, and the right side.

As for its location, a barracks is found in strategic places in town. It could be next to a major thoroughfare for quick access to trouble spots or valuable buildings like the offices of the city leaders. Another popular spot would be the marketplace since people quarrel over the price of something which can lead to a brawl breaking out.

In some cases, a fantasy barracks can be just outside the town’s boundaries. This is especially true for those located on the kingdom’s frontier or borders, far away from the capital. Being outside of these towns enables them to keep a close eye on their surroundings and to keep an eye on a potential invasion from an enemy kingdom or an attack by pirates or mercenaries.

For cities and towns situated next to a body of water, the barracks is likely to be in close proximity to the harbor or port. The harbor is a major destination in the town; everyday goods and people arrive and depart which means the potential for chaos is a bit high. To ensure that everything is on the up-and-up, soldiers monitor the port daily and stamp out trouble before it starts.

How a Fantasy Barracks Maintains Peace

The soldiers of the kingdom are duly responsible for maintaining the peace of the land. To that end, the barracks upholds the peace and they do so in several ways. Remember that they’re one of several buildings that appear in all major cities and towns and that plays a huge role in how they do their job.

The first element in how a fantasy barracks keeps things calm is through constant patrols. Much like police officers, soldiers walk a beat, meaning they’re told what places to go for their shift and walk around it throughout the day. This has several effects on the townsfolk; they know not to commit a crime when soldiers are nearby and should trouble arise, they can quickly let them know so they can apprehend the troublemakers before it worsens.

Secondly, the barracks assigns soldiers to guard all important places in the city. These places typically consist of the offices/residences of the local leaders, strategic buildings like castles, and so on. Having soldiers guard all these places helps ensure that things go smoothly as well as lower the chances of mischief occurring.

This fantasy harbor has brown buildings with red roofs on each side of a body of water that goes out to the ocean. In the distance is a tall, light blue tower-like object. Above it is the orange sky with white clouds.

The third element in how a fantasy barracks keeps the peace is serving as the site where apprehended criminals and other persons spend the night in the brig. They’re held there until they can be extradited to the appropriate authorities or hauled in for questioning on a crime they’re said to have committed. Taking them off the streets gives the citizens some peace of mind and that they can go about their day without being afraid.

Another way the barracks helps keep things peaceful is acting as the site where the citizens of the realm are questioned over what they know about a crime. A paramount function of keeping the peace is finding the right person who committed the crime. Soldiers do so by asking witnesses and potential suspects the right questions so they can apprehend the right person and they do it in one of the barracks’ interrogation rooms.

Whenever the city or town hosts a major event like an annual holiday feast or if the king or other influential leaders come to town, the barracks takes care of all of the security arrangements. The commander and his subordinates work overtime to ensure that no mischief occurs on their watch since they know these events draw the attention of bad actors. They typically coordinate with the escorting security team though they have a wide latitude when it comes to dealing with local matters.

Why a Fantasy Barracks Matters to the World

You might be wondering how a barracks is important in the grand scheme of things since it primarily serves as a town’s police force or at least the medieval version of it. In many medieval worlds, the military acts as the kingdom’s main means of law enforcement and its top responsibility is ensuring that the citizens of the realm continue to faithfully abide by the laws of the land.

Besides that core function, a fantasy barracks contributes to the world in a number of ways. The first one is to help tether the city/town to the kingdom at large. Soldiers do so by upholding the laws and edicts that the king issues throughout his reign even in the face of steadfast opposition among the populace. They act as a physical reminder of the price to be paid for living under the king’s protection.

One of several kinds of fantasy military buildings, this gray outpost is situated on a snowy plain with a gold path running to the forest in the background. On the other side of the road is a blue lake. The forest has snow-tipped trees and the mountaintops have snow. Above them is a blue sky with oval clouds.

The second is monitoring all potential trouble spots so that the soldiers can send word to the king of trouble. The monarch being aware of the situation in a timely manner gives him an opportunity to deal with it before it worsens or reaches the point of no return. They are his eyes and ears across the realm and they work assiduously to crack down on trouble.

Thirdly, a fantasy barracks is part of the extensive military network. This means it’s commander is continually in communication with other commanders, exchanging information about the whereabouts of wanted criminals or the potential use of military force either against other countries or against certain citizens. Information is the military’s lifeblood; without it soldiers and commanders would be in the blind as to what’s happening both inside and outside the kingdom’s borders.

Fourthly, the barracks is where the soldiers who guard the town issue forth for their shifts and retire for the day. These soldiers interact with the public on a daily basis. They get to learn about them, their hobbies and interests, and so on. Being in close contact with the populace lets them separate the bad actors from the majority of people who are just trying to live their lives on the right foot. Having a good relationship with the town’s residents reduces the chances of them arresting the wrong person though they have no qualms about arresting someone they know and like if he is guilty of committing a crime.

Tying it all Together

A fantasy barracks isn’t just a place where soldiers gather. It’s a place where they eat, sleep, interrogate people and toss them in the brig. It’s all in service of a greater good: keeping the peacefulness of the town. They will do everything they can to maintain even if that means stamping out small matters that have the potential to engulf the town in chaos.

In many cases, the barracks is found in a strategic part of town. As to what that part is, it varies. Some are out on the fringes of the town whereas others are intertwined right into it due to be placed next to an important part like the marketplace.

A fantasy barracks is the epicenter of soldiers’ constant efforts to maintain the peace in town. It’s where criminals who are taken off the streets go, giving the mass public some peace of mind as they go about their business for the day. It’s also where the commander gives all those who serve under his command their assignment for the day.

When it comes to the world, the barracks is an instrumental part in keeping the kingdom united. Its commander is in constant contact with other commanders and other influential leaders of the realm, ensuring that everyone knows the latest happenings while its soldiers converse with the town’s residents everyday.

Are you ready to bring a fantasy barracks into your world?

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Sunfire

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