Phase 1 - Two key things enable rural developments - transport and defence. There is no point growing loads of cabbages (or any other commodity) if you can’t get your crops to market easily or you are liable to be raided by bandits, humanoids or wild animals. This means that a hex must be defended and have a Road or Water link to a town or city before you can build rural developments. For simple Rural developments you do not specifically need a defensive building in the hex - it might be defended by a +2 (or higher) defensive building in an adjoining hex. As soon as you do this colonists start to move it, claim bits of land for themselves and set up smallholdings.

Phase 2a - Once a hex is reasonably safe and there is a decent transport link, you can can start to utilise the hex's natural resources. Plains and Hills can be farmed, Forests can be logged, Rivers and Lakes can be fished - etc. For a small investment you bring in specialists who know how to get the best out of your land, then their expertise and the employment they offer pull in even more people. Some hexes have more than one resource that can be used - for example a forest Hex with a river running through it can be Logged and Fished. This option is particularly good for large land owners, but is not such a good idea if you want to build a town in the hex.

And / or …..

Phase 2b - When enough people have moved into the hex, you can build a village to serve as a social, cultural and economic hub for the hex. Small businesses grow up in the safest place - around the defense point, close to your soldiers. Perhaps a Tavern, a Chapel and a Blacksmith, Local market or maybe a mill, or some other business that uses local resources. This is how you should start if you want to develop the Village into a town later.

Phase 3 - Once the hex is well established and running nicely, you can develop secondary settlements. This could include Mining Villages, Ranches, Vineyards, Country Estates for nobles or anything of a similar nature.

NOTE: Once you start to develop a hex as a rural hex, you lose all benefits from Wilderness developments - apart from Watch Towers.

The table is a brief excerpt from the from the main Transport Links page that lists the development costs for various types of transport link.. Full details of the effects for each of type of transport link can be found here.

You may only have one defensive building in a rural hex - so EITHER one from the Military list or from the Manor Houses list.

These military developments provide a base for your patrols and guards and may form the basis for a village, but do not provide you with a home. The officer in charge of the military often acts as the Lord's bailiff in the hex, and is tasked with looking out for your interests in the town

• Watchtower - A Watchtower flies your flag. Commanded by a Sergeant, a watchtower has a small detachment of Light Foot who carry out local patrols and establish your authority in the hex. It is little more than a tower with a small compound and a Unless there is a village in the hex, these troops are not permanently assigned to the watchtower, but go back to a town for their off duty period. You can upgrade a watchtower to an Outpost or a Villa.
• Cost to build: 1bp
• Restrictions: Any hex (does not require either a road or a water border)
• Benefit: +1 defence for your stronghold (1x Light Foot)

• Outpost – An outpost flies your flag. A standard outpost is larger than a watchtower and comes with an extra detachment of Light Foot to patrol adjacent hexes, it establishes your authority in the area. It is generally commanded by a lieutenant and is about twice the size of a Watchtower. Its courtyard is large enough to offer a safe haven to locals and travellers and is a good stopping place for merchants and other travellers. You can upgrade an Outpost to a Fort or a Large Villa. This counts as a ★★ residential property. If the Village is ever developed into a town, an outpost automatically converts to a Barracks
• Cost to build: 2bp
• Restrictions: hex must have a road or River
• Benefit: +1 Stability; +2 defence for your stronghold (2x Light Foot)

As soon as you have transport and defence people will start moving in. Even before you do anything else you will attract 50 (or so) Smallholders

If you want to live here, you can upgrade to a country estate. These building provide a defensive benefit and count as a Defensive Development when you want to develop a village, however they have accommodation for the Estate owner as well.

Note: You can buid the tower or outpost first and upgrade later.

• Fortified Villa – A villa is similar to a Watchtower, as it comes with a Sergeant and a detachment of Light Foot to protect your house and and other local developments. However, it also a ★★★ residential property (equivalent to an urban House) and provides a home for you, your family and guests. It might serve as a main home for a rural aristocrat, a country estate or even a hunting lodge for a higher ranking noble. You can upgrade a villa to a fortified manor or a keep later, when you have more resources.
• Cost to build: 2bp (Upgrade from Tower for 1BP; Upgrade to a Keep for 3bp))
• Restrictions: hex must have a Road or River
• Benefit: Stability +1; +1 defence for your stronghold (1x Light Foot)

• Fortified Manor House – A Manor House is both your home and your military control point. It is similar to an outpost and comes with a detachment of Infantry to patrol this and adjacent hexes, it establishes your authority on the frontier. It is generally commanded by a lieutenant and runs militia training sessions. However, it also provides a home for you, your family and guests. You can upgrade a Manor House to a Keep. This counts as a ★★★★ residential property and makes a suitable first or second home for an aristocrat or noble, the living accomodation is equivalent to an Urban mansion.. You can upgrade a Fortified manor to a Keep, when you have the resources available.
• Cost to build: 4bp (Upgrade from a Villa or an Outpost for 2BP)
• Restrictions: hex must have a road or River
• Benefit: Loyalty +1; Stability +1; +2 defence for your stronghold (2x Light Foot)

• Keep - A Keep can serve as home to a Lord and also serves as their military power base in the region. It comes with units of Light Foot, and Light Cavalry units tto patrol this, and adjacent, hexes.. The Lord of the Keep is often the Commander of all of the military units in the area. . Although a custom built keep could look very different. (Note that a Rural Keep is no different from a Keep built in a town or city) This counts as a ★★★ residential property and provides a set of rooms for the Noble who owns it - however, it is more suited as a second home rather than a family residence.
• Cost to build: 5bp (Upgrade from a Fortified manor for 1bp; Upgrade from a Villa for 3bp)
• Restrictions: hex must have a road.
• Benefit: Loyalty +1, Stability +2; +3 defence for your stronghold. (1x Light Foot & 1x Light Cavalry OR 3x Light Foot)

Note that basic rural developments reduce Stronghold Consumption, rather than adds economy points. This is advantageous as you don't need to count it when you balance Economy, Loyalty and Security. You can have more than one of these rural developments in the same hex - so long as you pay the appropriate BP costs. NOTE: These developments need to be in a defended hex, which means either in a hex that has a defensive building, OR in hex next to a large (+2 or better) defensive building.

As you develop the hex, different types of RuralSettlement grow up to house the people who move in.

These can be built in any suitable Rural Hex (so long as there is a transport link and defence) even if it is defended by a +2, or greater, defensive building in an adjacent hex. Please note that these only really benefit land owners, as they return a Consumption benefit rather than an Economic benefit. If you have a large town or a city you might want to claim adjacent hexes and use these Basic Rural Developments to mitigate the Consumption costs of multiple city districts. DO NOT build Basic Rural Developments in a hex if you intend to turn it into a town or a city later, as you will lose all of the benefits they confer.

• Resource Hexes - Some hexes are resource rich, and have abundant supplies of something that makes life easier for your settlers. It might be an mineral deposit, special trees, abundant food source or anything else that can be utilised. Resource Hexes reduce consumption by 1bp as soon as they are colonised.
  • Restrictions: must be a defended hex.
  • Benefit: Reduces consumption by 1 BP per Turn.

• Farm – A farm hex contains a number of independent farms (hamlets ) and small holdings (thorps ) that help to feed your kingdom. Most of those farms are mixed economy, and produce the some of the same vegetables, meats, dairy, eggs etc. that a small holding does. However a plains ‘farm’ produces grain, flax and hemp as its main crops; a standard hill farm concentrates on sheep and wool; a desert farm concentrates on dates and goats. However, you can designate other products - if it makes sense for the terrain and fits a role-play need. The hex must contain a road or highway, and if you build a farm in a hex that is noted for a particular type of food stuff, it can concentrates on that – giving you an RP ‘Culinary Speciality’, and may give you a financial bonus.
  • Cost to build: Plains 3bp, Hills 4bp, Desert 5bp
  • Restrictions: Plains, Hills or Desert hex. Must contain a road. Defended.
  • Benefit: +2 Loyalty. Reduces consumption by 2 BP per Turn.
  • NOTE: You lose these benefits if a town or city is developed in this hex.
  • Descriptions of 'Normal' farms and some thoughts on variant farms

• Fishery – A fishery hex contains a number of thorps which make a living from the water. There must be either coast, river or lake in the hex. A hex with a fishery always has small boats available to provide a ferry service. You can build a Fishery in the same hex as a Farm and the consumption reductions stack. Some waters are better suited for fishing than others, and may give you a financial bonus.
  • Cost to build: 2bp
  • Restrictions: hex must contain a water border. Defended.
  • Benefit: +1 Loyalty. Reduces consumption by 1 BP per turn.
  • NOTE: You lose these benefits if a town or city is developed in this hex.
  • Descriptions of fisheries

• Lumber Camp - A Lumber Camp co-ordinates the activities of loggers and other woodland workers and turns trees into usable timber products - suitable for building, furniture making, hurdles, fences or basketry. It is a semi-permanent structure that moves around a woodland hex. However, the hex must be by a road, highway, river or canal that connects to a potential market.
  • Cost to build: 2bp
  • Restrictions: Forest hex. Must contain a road or water border. Defended.
  • Benefit: +1 Loyalty. Reduces consumption by 1 BP per turn.
  • NOTE: You lose these benefits if a town or city is developed in this hex.

rural_development_details

NOTE: Villages are restricted to three developments slots and Size 6.

Once a hex has transport and its own defensive building you can develop it into a village, and add up to three village developments around the defence point to make a primary village. Remember that you need to be aware of the balance between Economics, Loyalty and Security in this village. Most primary villages have a tavern or road house, supported by a religious and manufacturing developments. The table below lists some of the most common developments. Note, however, that villages are not a suitable environment for master-craftsmen.

If a village is a 'stand-alone' development it needs a full stewardship committee to run and manage it. If it is part of a larger estate you just need to nominate a Reeve, Elder or Deputy to run it on your behalf. However, the estate that it belongs to must have a Stewardship committee.

Stewardship committee rules

These are some of the most appropriate developments for a rural Village.

Once the village has been built you may build a palisade.

Military Society Technically, I suppose, you could build a keep and use one of you village developments to build a watchtower, outpost or even another keep, then put a Palisade around it have have a really strong military base. You still need to balance Economy, Loyalty and Stability though. It might be interesting to experiment with Sword School, Military College, Military Academy or Mercenary Base. A Keep, Palisade, Sword School, Merc Barracks and Smithy - looks quite interesting. You would, of course, need to get your DMs permission before you went down that route.

Secondary settlements are all about making more sophisticated use of the local resources and specialist knowledge, and are effectively small specialized villages. They can be built in any defended hex that has suitable transport links. This might be a hex with a city, town or village - or a hex defended by a settlement with +2 or +3 defence points. You must, of course, get permission from the land owner before you may build a secondary Settlement in their hex.

A secondary settlement is based on a Fortified Villa, with a specialised resource attached. The Villa provides apartments for you (or your manager) while the guards defend settlement and business, as per the rural Developments rules, a Fortified Villa may be upgraded to a Fortified manor for 2bp.. Once the core settlement has been established, you may develop it as a small village by adding a couple of other buildings.

• The number of Secondary Settlements that can be supported varies, and is limited to the defence Value of the Primary Settlement.
  Examples (A watchtower (defence 1) can protect one secondary settlements. An outpost (defence 2) can protect 2 secondary settlement. A keep (defence 3) can protect up to 3 settlements.)
• Secondary Settlements are not strongholds. However, they follow some of the stronghold rules. But not all of them.
  • Developing the Secondary Settlement is the responsibility of you, the 'Business Owner'. Like any other settlement, a secondary settlement must retain a balance between Economy, Loyalty and Stability.
  • Consumption Costs are borne by the 'Land Owner', who also benefits from any tax income generated through your business. (note this does not affect the income from your business, and is done in the background)
  • Secondary Settlements do not benefit from the Stewardship rules, and only need a single bailiff or deputy to manage it on your behalf..

NOTE: Like all villages, secondary settlements are restricted to the Villa and three plots However, the economic development uses up one of those pots) and size 6.

Some examples of Secondary developments

You can turn a rural village into a town by clearing the land surrounding it. However, you will lose the benefits of any basic rural developments (such as farme, fisheries etc) as they are absorbed into the new town's hinterland. However, it the village has a secondary settlement, that stays as it is and becomes a secondary settlement of the town.

Clearing land for a town

When you start to develop a town, many more people flock into-the area to take advantage of the new opportunities that are on offer. Every investment of 1bp inside the town, attracts something like 100 people to the area, but only a few of them actually live in your town, the rest of them will make a living in the hinterland surrounding the town - and across the whole hex. As thetown grows into a city, more and more people move into the hinterlands and before long the whole hex is full of people who are feeding supplying and supporting your city.

Farms, Fisheries and Lumber-camps in the same hex as the Town, get swept up in this general hinterland development, and their produce just goes straight into supporting the people of the city - and you lose their consumption reduction benefits.

Think carefully when you plan your developments - and don't build basic rural developments in a hex that you intend to develop into a town or a city. If you do, remember that you need to allow for an increase in consumption across your estates.

Note, however, that Village developments are not lost on conversion to an Urban hex (except for the palisade). One of the best ways to develop a town, is to start by developing a rural hex with a village but WITHOUT any of the basic developments. Then you have a road, defence and an income before you need to clear the ground and get involved in the more expensive developments.