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| Finally A Hamlet! |
I'm testing my settlement system by telling the story of Coldwater Bend, a brand new hamlet built by a party of ex-adventurers by the riverbend teeming with trout. You can read Part 1 here, Part 2 here, Part 3 here, and Part 4 here.
Turn 13
Income generates 4 Coin (the Tavern triggered!), 2 Morale, 2 Wood, and a River Trout. Growing to a Hamlet proceeds apace (4 of 6 PP done. Next turn for sure.). Foraging turned up nothing. We get an Attack for an Event this turn, so we'll resolve that after Trading.
Our Specialists take their 2 Coin. Zofia trades a Wood for 1 Iron and 1 Coin (yay, special ability!), and pays 1 Coin to get some Wheat, as a hedge against growth. Tadek takes the Iron and forges weapons, giving a +1 to Militia until next turn.
Bandits mass outside the Palisade, and try to break in. They roll Size d6 (1d6 = 2), and the defenders of Coldwater Bend roll their Militia in d6 (2d6 = 8). Attacks have a 50% chance of casualties, and in this case (1d3-1) 2 defenders lost their lives. This puts us in danger of losing Size if we lose any more People, so maybe we recruit more before finally finishing the Growth project?
For Projects, we'll keep Growth moving, but only pay 1 PP and 1 Wood (only 1 PP to go next turn), and then we'll Recruit more people (1 PP) to get a larger buffer than 2 people before hitting the low end of Hamlet and having to shrink down to Size 1 again. Final Upkeep takes 1 River Trout, 4 Coin (Militia is at 2, plus the Lumber Mill and Tavern, leaving 4), and 1 Morale (leaving 11).
Turn 14
Income brings in 4 Coin (the Tavern triggered again!), 2 Morale, 2 Wood, and a River Trout. Growth is almost complete, and Recruiting attracted 5 people (3 on the dice, +2 for Morale). That brings us to 21 people, 1 more than the Holding population limit of 20, so we'll lose a person at the end of next turn's Upkeep is it's still a problem.
We pay 2 Coin for our Specialists. Zofia trades 1 Wood and 1 Cheese for 1 Iron and 1 Coin (no special ability hits this time). Tadek holds onto the Iron for next turn, giving us some flexibility if we need more Coin or Food to make ends meet. Project work will finish Grown next turn (1 PP), and we'll Forage (1 PP) and see what we get. Final Upkeep takes 1 Food (River Trout), 3 Coin (Militia, Lumber Mill, and Tavern, leaving 5), and 1 Morale (leaving 12).
Turn 15
Income gives us 4 Coin (that Tavern is hoppin'), 2 Morale, 2 Wood, and a River Trout. Our Growth Project finishes, so our Size increases to 2, with all the increased upkeep and other fun that comes with it. Foraging gets us 2 Apples.
We're rolling 2d20 for Events now, and we get Entertainers, and another Attack. The lutist and dancer Nicolina Zielinska moves into the tavern this week (giving +1 Morale and +1 PP). We pay 2 Coin for our Specialists, and Zofia trades 2 Wood for 1 Iron and 3 Coin (Bonus Coin twice!). Tadek takes that Iron and forges caltrops and banding for the gates (temporary +1 Militia).
The bandits attack at night (2d6 = 8), surprising the defenders (2d6 +2 for Morale = 6). They manage to kill 2 more People, then take 1 Apple and 1 Morale. Something more drastic must be done against these hoodlums. Perhaps this is where the adventurers come in?
For Projects, we have a base of 3 PP plus 1 for the visiting bard, giving us 4 total. Since the Size went up, we can also work on 3 Projects simultaneously. So let's Recruit some Specialists (1 PP) and some farmers (1 PP), then work on Irrigating some fields (needs 2xSize PP for another 2 Food income, so we'll spend 2 this turn). Final Upkeep costs 2 Food (River Trout and Apples), 4 Coin (Militia, Lumber Mill, and Tavern, leaving 5), and 2 Morale (leaving 12 - still in bonus territory!).
Coldwater Bend After Turn 12
Current Stats - Size 2, Population 19, Trade 3, Coin 5, Culture 2, Morale 12, Militia 1 +1 (temp).
Infrastructure - Palisade (No upkeep. Gives +1 Militia), Lumber Mill (Upkeep -1 Coin. Income 2 Wood), Tavern (Upkeep -1 Coin. Gives +1 Culture. 50% chance of +1 Coin at Income.).
Specialists - Zofia Gorni (Merchant. Upkeep -1 Coin. Gives +1 Trade and a 50% chance of +1 Coin for each good traded.), Tadek Kowalski (Smith. Upkeep -1 Coin. Gives +1 Trade and can consume 1 Iron to give a temporary +1 to Culture, Militia, or PP for 1 turn.).
Warehouse - 1 Mushrooms, 1 Wheat, 1 Wood, 1 Iron
Notes
I was happy to roll an Attack on Turn 13, and somewhat less happy to roll a second attack on Turn 15. I like the simplicity of the resolution as it stands (adding Morale to the defense roll makes sense to me, which I implemented in the second attack, and it didn't impact the results of the first attack), though I may incorporate the delta between the rolls as a modifier on casualties. I mean, 8 to 2 sounds like the bandits got absolutely pasted, and yet the defenders lost 2 people in the process. And then 6 to 8 still caused 2 casualties? Hm. More to think about here.
I think I might call this test here. Nothing too strange happened with the base system, and the Events threw me quite a few curve balls. I need to expand the initial Project list and add higher-level Infrastructure and Specialist options. I envision Specialists to help with research that will open more Infrastructure upgrades and options for the settlement, but that level of detail won't fit in a tiny zine. For that matter, I'll probably ignore Luxury Goods, since they came up exactly once on a random trade. I don't think they have any real bearing on the base system, they're just nicer and pricier resources to use or trade.
I'm excited to get this out into the wild. Stay tuned over the next few weeks for Bolthaven Folio #3 "Just Settle", and grab a copy if you want to give the basic system a test drive on your own. It'll be Pay What You Want, but I'll probably switch it over to an actual price once I get #5 published and start making bundles.
"Make your party's town come alive and grow while your players try to wreck its economy!"
The tagline still needs work.
Thanks for coming along on this journey with me!
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