Wooden Door Latch

[Zoot]

I'm sure we've all seen old movies where they bar the castle doors with heavy, horizontal beams of wood.

Wouldn't this make a good wood-based emergency lock? Of course, it woudn't be as good as one made of iron--more easily broken and only lockable and unlockable from inside. Still, it would be a viable option for less developed areas.

[NetherSpawn]

A locked building is incredibly powerful thing. Very few people can unlock one because very few people have a crowbar. A door locked with a wooden lock would have to be breakable with a stone hammer or something at about that technology level.

[formerly known as hf]

I like this idea - but it should be made so it can only be locked from the inside...

[The Industriallist]

Ok...
All locks can be locked only from the inside. I assume what you mean is that there is no key involved, so it cannot be passed through while locked.

But that doesn't help with NetherSpawn's objection. You could still unlock it, go outside, hit people, go in, and lock it again for almost the same combat effect as a normal lock. Which would be immensely broken. Unless the latch is somehow easier to break.

[Zoot]

Of course--as I said, it would have to be more easily broken than a lock made of steel.

Sorry--it was rather late when I wrote that. Yeah, a hammer would be fair.

[formerly known as hf]

All locks can be locked only from the inside. I assume what you mean is that there is no key involved, so it cannot be passed through while locked.

That's what I meant - not as clear as it should have been - and I agree - it shouldn't be as difficult to break

[SekoETC]

Sounds familiar.

http://www.cantr.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=2748

[Appleide]

Since a wooden beam inside castles is so heavy, maybe make it you need three people to unlock/lock from the inside. This would prevent quick attacks going out attack and back in. of course, unless all three people are on at the same time, but if they are, the attack must have been well planned and they deserve the fact that it was hard to break the lock.

[Nick]

Sounds familiar.

You will notice, that all suggestions these days sound familiar, because pretty much everything possible has already been suggested over the past 3 years or so.

[Lumin]

And here I thought I had an original idea. LOL, I even thought that a stone hammer could be used to break it, but I see someone beat me to that suggestion, too.

But yeah, I completely agree with this. Some places don't have any iron at all, but should at least have access to the minimal protection a latch would offer. And if a regular lock takes a significant amount of time to break, maybe a wooden one could be broken in half the time.

[T.L.H.E.]

Well, I suggested it way back (yay Seko for dragging it up) and I still stand by it. Wooden locks for all!

[NetherSpawn]

Just a note:

A wooden lock actually provides a huge amount of protection, even if it's easy to break. How many thieves break into buildings in busy towns? Probably none. Having a poorly locked boat would be one thing, but if a building is locked, and it's not a building-in-a-building, thieves will generally ignore it.
This provides immense protection. It's still pretty good for combat, though not for warfare. Maybe if you could only lock building expansions with a wooden lock? That would decrease the thief deterrent, as someone breaking a wooden lock would NEVER be in the center of town, and might (or might not) make sense.

[Solfius]

Just a note:

A wooden lock actually provides a huge amount of protection, even if it's easy to break. How many thieves break into buildings in busy towns? Probably none. Having a poorly locked boat would be one thing, but if a building is locked, and it's not a building-in-a-building, thieves will generally ignore it.

if you can't leave the room without locking it, then the theives will know there is someone inside the room, so I'm not sure how relevant that actually is.

I think that it would be best if there was a simple wooden lock, like the iron one but easier to make and break