Gate Town

A Gate Town is a portion of the city that is constructed outside the main wall. Zol is an extremely dangerous place; bandits, monsters, and war have shaped the nature of cities in very clear ways throughout Zol’s history. Walls were constructed to protect cities from these threats. However, walls hinder the expansion of a city. This limits the amount of people who can live within the safety of a city’s walls.

Ideally, one wants to be within the walls if they fear the dangers of Zol. However, the next best thing to living within the walls is to live just outside of them. As these regions are patrolled by city garrisons, and most can take refuge inside the inner city during a siege. Additionally, the proximity to a city allows for one to benefit from its economy and living in a Gate Town is much more accessible to most commoners. Due to these factors, Gate Towns have consistently popped up all over Zol as soon as city walls are constructed.

A similar phenomenon to this is Outer Villages, which are more a product of agriculture than Gate Towns are a product of other forms of commerce. Both are populated almost exclusively by lowly commoners, and are usually the first to feel the wrath of warfare when it finds a city. Additionally, since there is no physical barrier stopping bandits and monsters from entering, these communities often find themselves at the mercy of these dangers.

Another related concept is Estates which are walled properties of land outside of the city, usually owned by the rich. These differ from Gate Towns and Outer Villages due to the fact they have many more defenses.