The Settlement Creation System

When a player gains a new existing settlement, the following process is followed to determine that settlement's starting characteristics¹.

1. Determine Settlement Size

The scores available to a settlement are determined by the size of the settlement.

Size	Scores Available
Hamlet Less than 100	A hamlet begins with all of its attributes at 1. Up to two of those attributes can be increased to a maximum of 2.
Village Between 101 and 1,000	A village begins with all of its attributes at 1. Up to two of those attributes can be increased to a maximum of 4; two other attributes to a maximum of 3; three other attributes to a maximum of 2.
Town Between 1,001 and 25,000	A town begins with all of its attributes at 2. Up to two of those attributes can be increased to a maximum of 5; one other attribute can be increased to a maximum of 4; four other attributes can be increased to a maximum of 3.
City Between 25,001 and 100,000	A city begins with all of its attributes at 3. Up to three of those attributes can be increased to a maximum of 6; two other attributes can be increased to a maximum of 5; four other attributes can be increased to a maximum of 4.
Capital Upwards of 100,001	A capital begins with all of its attributes at 6.

2. Assign Attribute Scores

Assign the Attribute Scores from step 1 to the Attributes listed below.

Culture*	Represents how easily the settlement's inhabitants can access Developments dedicated to socialisation and entertainment, such as Inns, Taverns, Fairs, Theatres, etc.
Recreation	Represents how much land is given over to recreation areas such as Parks, Arenas, Fountains, etc.
Health*	Represents anything that might improve the health of the settlement's inhabitants, such as Herbalists, Apothecaries, Sewer Networks, etc.
Education*	Represents how easily the settlement's inhabitants can access education, such as Libraries, Schools, Academies, etc.
Production*	Represents anything that produces resources for the settlement to consume or trade.
Food*	Represents the settlement's supporting food network of Farms, Fisheries, Granaries, Mills, etc.
Defence*	Represents the settlement's defences such as Walls, Towers, Moats, etc.
Order	Represents anything in the settlement which might contribute to keeping the peace, such as Town Guards, Jails, Stocks, etc.
Trade*	Represents the settlement's Trade Networks, Transportation, Warehouses, etc.

3. Derived and Optional Attributes

Some of a settlement's Attributes are derived from the Attribute Scores distributed in the previous step, while others are determined by the GM.

Crime	Crime represents the unsavoury forces at work in any settlement. The Crime Attribute is determined by taking the highest of a settlement's Attributes (other than Defence or Order) and subtracting the Order Attribute from it. If this value is negative the settlement has a Crime Attribute of 0.
Wealth	Wealth represents the settlement's incomes. The Wealth Attribute is determined by taking the highest of a settlement's Production, Food and Trade Attributes and subtracting the Crime Attribute from it.
Faith	Faith represents how easily the settlement's inhabitants can access places to practice their Faith. This value is assigned by the GM.

4. Location Bonus

Depending on the location where a settlement is built, certain bonuses or penalties will apply.

Location	Modifier
Arctic	+b to all Checks. -1 Crime.
Cliffs	+b to Defence Checks.
Coast	+b to all Checks. +1 Crime.
Desert	+b to all Checks. -1 Crime.
Floodplains	+b to Food Checks.
Forest	+1 Level to any Production and Trade Developments related to Timber. Apply this each time a new Development is built.
Grasslands	Nothing.
High Mountains	+b to Food and Trade checks. +1 Defence.
Hills	Nothing.
Islands	+b to all Checks. +1 Crime.
Lake	+1 Level to any Food or Trade Developments related to Fish. Apply this each time a new Development is built.
Mountain	+b to Defence Checks.
Plains	Nothing.
Plateau	+b to Defence Checks.
Rainforest	+b to Production Checks.
River	+b to Trade Checks.
Savannah	Nothing.
Swamp	+b to all non-Food Checks. +1 Food.
Tundra	+b to all non-Production Checks. +1 Production.
Valley	+b to all Checks. -1 Trade.

5. Specialisation

Choose one of the settlement's Attributes (not Crime) add b to all Checks for that Attribute.

6. Developments

Each Attribute can support up to 5 standard Developments. Some Attributes have Special Developments, they do not count toward this limit.
Developments are rated 1-5 with 1 being Poor and 5 being Noble. This number represents what the highest quality example of that Development type would be in the settlement - the nicest inn to stay in, the fanciest jewellery store, etc.
When creating a Settlement, for each Attribute subtract 1 from its Attribute Score and then multiply by 2. These are the Development Points available for that Attribute. Developments can start up to one Level higher than their governing Attribute. So, for example, a settlement with a Culture Attribute of 4 would begin with 6 Development Points to use for creating Culture Developments - they could choose to build a Level 5 Inn (for 5 Development Points), and a Level 1 Theatre (for 1 Development Point).

1: not to be confused with the Seneschal or Justicar's abilities to create new settlements, which have their own rules detailed on those pages.

Council Positions

Steward
Proxy
Justicar
Chancellor
Marshal
Advisor
Spymaster
Seneschal

Settlements

The Settlement Creation System
Settlement Progression
Settlement Attribute