Rank the strongest castles in your opinion

[Jadakiss]

Post in order what your top 5-8 range as far as overall castle strength. When it comes to holding out during a siege with about only 20% of the soldiers of what the said enemy has.

I have a little wager with a friend of mine as to which ones will place where, so I will post my thoughts on it later. and go by how the castles currently are as far as the most recent text.

Even if its just a top 3 thats fine, but try to rank them in order. 1 being the strongest or best (which ever way want to look at it)

[The Bastards Giant Friend]

This could be fun. I am going to use the following parameters: in Westeros (so no Qarth) and current (so no Harrenhall, although perhaps it could still crack the top 8).

1- Storms End, it defied the Storm Gods wrath. May be resistant to magic. Can be resupplied by sea

2- Riverrun, it requires three separate camps to be fully sieged. Rivers allow it to maintain some supplies.

3- The Eyrie, almost impregnable. 

 

I think it is important to note that a massive siege force can exhaust supplies and eat itself out of victory. So I am not too concerned with the 20% ratio you suggested. I am more thinking that these castles must withstand a well established siege for an indefinite amount of time. So I have a high value on the potential for resupply.

Honorable mention (no order):

-Greywater Watch

-Moat Cailin

-Places deep in Dorne or far in the North (thinking of attrition just getting to them)

 

Dragonstone is obviously weak AF since Loras took it in a day with limited forces. (Sarcasm)

[Universal Sword Donor]

#9 has to be Craster's keep

[H Wadsworth Longfellow]

1. Dragonstone - Designed from the start to be a fortress using advanced building techniques.
2. Casterly Rock - On the coast, can be resupplied by ship. 
3. The Twins - Easy access to the river.  Good source of food and water.  Strong construction.
4. Eyrie - Location, location.
5. Storm's End
6. The Red Keep
7. Winterfell

[Free Northman Reborn]

There is a spoiler chapter from Winds where Arriane and her companions ask this very question. If I recall, the great castles of the Seven Kingdoms that they mention as contenders include Storm's End, Casterly Rock, Winterfell and one or two others. So at least in-universe these named castles are generally considered to be among the strongest in the Realm.

[Greywater-Watch]

5 hours ago, Jadakiss said:

castle strength. When it comes to holding out during a siege with about only 20% of the soldiers of what the said enemy has.

There are several defense strategies, e.g. not to be found (Greywater Watch), difficult to access (Eyrie), highly resistant to a siege.

By the definition of this post (castle strength during a siege), Greywater-Watch must be ruled out.

If Moat Cailin is to be put into the ranking, it only counts for an attack from the South. But in this case it would be extremely strong due to an open supply by land (from the North) and support from the West by the crannogmen (if Moat Cailin was held e.g. by loyalists to the Starks).

The defense of the Eyrie is based on a similair mechanism as Moat Cailin (only few attackers can approach at the same time), but the Eyrie could be cut off supply. thus Moat Cailin ranks higher in my opinion than the Eyrie (under the above said condition of a siege actually in place).

Winterfell is in my opinion clearly weaker than Casterly Rock or Storm's End (no supply possible by sea, hence easier to be cut off all supply).

So, my ranking would be:

1. Moat Cailin
2. Eyrie
3. Storm's End
4. Casterly Rock
5. Maegor's Holdfast

[Stormking902]

1. Storms End 

2. Casterly Rock

3. Riverrun 

4. Highgarden - HG is always never brought up as strong but jesus it has 3 walls and a maze to keep intruders out and has a huge grainery to keep its men fed. 

[usama]

God Rank: GreyWater Watch fucking find it first then move your siege along with its movement.

1.Eyrie

Honorable mention: Moat Cailin

2.Storm's End

3.Harrenhal (If you got the numbers to hold it)

4.Casterly Rock

Condition: The assaulters don't have dragons, you have supplies well stocked.

 

[Lord Asher Forrester]

1 Casterly Rock

I am to agree with Maestre Yandel, The Rock is the best defended Castle on Westros. In fact it suprises me that I'm the first to say here that Casterly Rock is at first place. Of course we most commonly will consider mainly the defenses against an invasion of men walking or on horseback, but If atacked or sieged by a dragon or dragons, Casterly Rock is praticly the only one that would provide decent protection, I think it's weakest point would be  the entrences to the "inside port", wich could in theory be invaded by the sea somehow, maybe by the Ironman, beasides that... The Lion' mouth is the only other known "door", so we have the "bloody gate/moat Cailin effect" going on here too, everyone that tries to invade the Rock will be completely vulnerable to archers and other siege defenses

 

2 The Eyrie.

Mighty Defenses like the bloodgate and the three "castles" that preceds th Eyrie itself make this almost impenatrable by infantry and specially by cavalary.

 

3 Storm's End.

Thick Walls at one side, the ocean on the other, this one is also almost impenetrable, and if I am not Wrong this first three i listed had never been taken by "common" invasion or siege.

 

4 Harenhall.

Surprised that this one has not been listed yet, it is a very fortified Colossus, it has nothing very special on it's defenses besides 5 enormous "corner" towers, very high and Strong (sorry for this joke) walls and a position with a good vison of possible attackers, but if well provided of army and food it could last very long sieges easily.

 

4 Greywater Watch.

I do think that even if found, Greywater Watch mus have decent protection against any attackers, as the ambient provides everything that the crannogmens need to survive praticcly any attacker. Any force that tries to siege it would have to do it on a swamp like terrain, wich would need proper transportation, and would exclude any chance of cavalary or great siege weapons being brought to the act, and would give the Crannogmen archers very easy targets.

Any troop that try an attack would be very worn off at the time they finally reach it, probabbly suffering from dieases, poison, lion lizards,etc; If I am not wrong the crannogmen have some real guerrilla warfare Vietnam's style techniques, attack suddenly and then flee and hide on the swamps, attack when the enemy is sleeping or on the move, try to take their food supplies, etc.

 

5 Dragonstone.

Only can be attacked by the Sea, wich means that only a great army with a large fleet is needed in any try of attack, and it position on the top of the isle provides a good vision to the defenders and a hard position of vulnerability to any attackers.

 

6 Riverrun.

Provides very decent protection against anyone that tries a siege due to the motives well explainded on the books, basically the terrain, because of the river, oblies the sieger army to divide itself.

7 Winterfell.

Have two quite big walls and a good moat, very hard to invade if protected by a decent quatity of well trained men.

I won't list Moat Cailin as it has only decent protection against south attackers.

 

Sorry for any gramatical or spelling errors, i am not an native english speaker and i am a preety tired and sleepy now.

[Lord Asher Forrester]

double posted by accident, sorry

[Davjos]

Don't worry Lord Asher, I agree with you. 

1. Casterly Rock. It has the highground, has acces by sea. It has multiple layers of defence, a single entrance. It has a gold mine underneath is where you can store years worth of food and thousands of people. And mines have airshafts etc so there are probably unknown, secret exits. 

 

2. Storms End. Giant drum towers. Need I say more. Also Bran the Builder, magical and 'defeated the Storm King'. Less accesibility than the Rock. Davos had to sneak through the lines so it has Some resupply-issues. 

 

3. Moat Cailin when defending against the South. Although the shitty Ironborn could take it. One to

 

4. Maegor's/Red Keep. Three gatehouses is very, very strong. But the secret passages are a big danger. Also the Common Folk overran it during the Dance of Dragons, so not THAT strong. 

 

After this the castles are pretty even. 

 

5. Riverrun. Splitting up forces in three camps, very defensible location, acces to rivers. 

 

6. Dragonstone. Valyrian-build, only accesible by sea. Supply lines are easily blocked though. 

 

7. Winterfel. Very old, a little dated maybe. Show-Winterfel lacks drum towers, parapets, moats and battlements. Three walls is strong though. 

 

8. The Eyrie. A long siege, starving the Eyrie out from the bottom of the mountain (preferibly during winter) is not enough to take the castle but it's enough to take the castle out of the equation. No resupply-possibilities. A smart commander could beat the Eyrie without taking it.  

 

Edit: 6,7,8 and 4 are pretty even in my list tbh

[Neilos]

1) The Eyrie. Surprised it doesn't top any other lists so far-- besiegers must climb a damn mountain in order to assail it, passing three other waycastles, with arrows raining down at every point. It completely negates cavalry through location alone, and makes camping almost impossible, unless they're right at the bottom of the mountain. Lysa was right when she said it was impenetrable.

2) Storm's End. Absurdly thick walls. A frontal assault is doomed, and the thickness of the masonry renders most siege weapons useless, unless you have a few decades to spare.

3) Casterly Rock. Gigantic, semi-natural fortification, able to resupply by sea. Almost on a par with Storm's End, only losing out though sheer thickness of the masonry at Storm's End.

4) Harrenhal. Colossal in size. Breach the outer wall, and you've barely started. 

5) Moat Cailin, for reasons well enough explored in the books.

6) The Red Keep. Surrounded by a city, and all the might of the Crown's soldiery. Not ideal in location, though.

7) Riverrun. Makes a camping siege almost impossible, unless you have tens of thousands to spare camping the other sides. Can make itself an island.

8) Highgarden.

9) Dragonstone.

10) Hellholt, or The Dreadfort.

[Jon's Queen Consort]

1. Storm’s End. If the Gods hadn’t been able to conquer it no one will.
2. Eyrie
3. Greywater Watch
4. Moat Cailin
5. Casterly Rock
6. Twins
7. Harrenhall
8. Winterfell
9. Riverrun
10. Dragonstone

[khal drogon]

Casterly Rock

The Eyrie 

and the Storm's end in that order.

[The Bastards Giant Friend]

What about the Hightower? The labyrinth might be a place to escape dragonfire.

[Dragon Seed]

1.Greywater Watch...........It would keep floating away and the enemy would have to keep packing up and trying to follow it.

2. Winterfell................Able to grow their own food in it's glass houses through the coldest of winters.

3. Casterly Rock..............Enemy would have to control the land on the North, East and South sides plus the sea on the Western side.

[Endymion I Targaryen]

1. Eyrie. Unapproachable.

2. Casterly Rock. 

3. Storm's End. 

4. Greywater Watch. A moving castle is a good idea.

[Dofs]

1) Casterly Rock - literally untakeable even by dragons

2) Eyrie - untakeable but is weak to dragons

3) Storm's End - the strongest 'normal' castle

 

These are, imo, the indisputable top 3 and exactly in this order. The gaps between these 3 are quite big as well.

 

 

[Adam Yozza]

When it comes to repelling an assault:

1. The Eyrie- You have to climb a mountain and take three separate castle's just to get there.

2. Casterly Rock- Close to the Eyrie but not quite there. Still it's layout would make it damn near impossible to take by force unless you outnumbered the defenders by a thousand to one.

3. Storms End- Believed to be one of the strongest castle's and has never in it's history been taken by force of arms.

4. Moat Cailin (If attacked from the south)- A small force of archers and spearmen here could hold off massive armies from the south.

5. Riverrun- You'd still have to attack from three camps, and the river's mean that ladders and such are impossible to use. Attackers would have to use missiles and the drawbridge to do anything, which would give the defenders a massive advantage.

If we're going on ability to survive a siege:

1. Greywater Watch- Attackers would first have to find the damn place, set up camp on a swamp and then follow it when it moves.

2. Casterly Rock- Plenty of room to store grain and given it's layout would be incredibly difficult to siege.

3. Riverrun- Has a large granary and the rivers can be used to ensure some supplies still get through. Natural Defenses force a besieging army to split into three camps.

4. Storm's End- As we've seen, Storm's End can hold out for a long time in a siege and there are ways for supplies to get in.

5. Winterfell- It can grow some of it's own food by use of the glass house's, conditions would have an effect on southern armies that Winterfell's hot springs would prevent for the defending Northerner's.

[Jadakiss]

Kind of surprised some people have dreadfort and storms end so low