More detailed descriptions of key terms.

Economy is a strange beast. In the modern world we think in terms of monetary value and everything comes down to £, $, €, ¥ or some other currency. In the earliest days, however, it was pure barter – I’ll give you this basket of apples for a leg of that pig – or something similar. However, for most of the time (since the invention of money) it has been a mixture of the two. And so it must be in a fantasy world. Adventurers live in a world dominated by Gold Pieces and the value of their equipment, but many commoners live in a barter based economy, where they might exchange a few hours labour at the mill for a sack of flour. They have cash as well, but probably copper and silver pieces – which don’t really impinge on the financial world of adventurers, nobles, professionals or aristocrats. Which means that the ‘overall’ economy metric must be a measure of both.

In truth, even adventurers and nobles have elements of Barter in their economy. You need to get licences to build? Sure there is a fee … It is probably negotiable and varied according to how well the parties like each other, who wants what from whom, which club you are a member of – all forms of barter. The only difference is that amount of currency is involved, is decided the bartering / negotiating / dealing.

Economy always comes down to a mixture of Gold Pieces, having the right resources, having good will, knowing the right person, belonging to the right club – and knowing when to offer your own (or your businesses) services in exchange. It is imprecise, and is difficult to convert into Gold Pieces, but Econ defines the economic wellbeing of a society. Econ is one of the factors that decide relative importance, and influence, in a town, settlement or nation. It is, primarily, a metric of interest to the wealthy. Commoners (and many other NPCs) don’t really care, so long as they don’t starve to death, freeze to death.

However, in the balance, low economy means that there isn't enough work to go around and people are out of work, while high economy means your people are being overworked and aren't getting enough leisure or family time. Both causes for civil unrest.

Loyalty, on the other hand, is all about the resident, and what makes this a good place for them to live. Does my town have things that make my life better? Public baths to get clean, parks to walk in, is the excrement cleared from the streets? Basically, does my town (village, city etc) care for me?

Too little Loyalty, shows a dissatisfied public, which will eventually lead to public unrest. Depending on the settlement's political outlook, this could be public demonstrations or protests - which, if not acted on, could turn violent. However, too much loyalty probably means that small groups of people feel unable to protest - and could lead to resistance, sabotage or insurrection.

Stability is about governance and maintaining a consistent environment for the people to live in - and is mainly a function for the town’s rulers. Courts and jails keep criminals off the street, a granary reduces the harm caused by a bad year for crops, a local market is a structured place for people to sell their goods, a public works keeps the street and buildings in good order and a mint provides a stable currency. There is a cross-over with defence, as guards are needed to keep street crime down.

A settlement with a higher-than-expected Stab, is liable to be highly regulated – which some residents will find oppressive and will eventually lead to discontent, resistance groups and perhaps sabotage. A low Stab settlement will be more chaotic, there might be high levels of street crime, anti-social behaviour and vandalism.

Defence is primarily about immediate action. In the countryside, the guards might chase away a small band of goblins, or deal with a wolf that is worrying sheep - but they won’t chase them home to clear out the den. In a town, the city guard might break up a fight, stop a theft, break up a fight or cuff the ear of an urchin stealing bread - but they aren’t going to investigate crimes. Longer term solutions are a matter for the city rulers, be they a lord or a council, and that is a function of Stability. It might be that the Town council (or Lord) assigns a unit of guards to assist the courts or sends his scouts to clear out a wolf den - but, except in a few cases, it isn't the immediate concern of the guard officers.

Defence has a secondary function as well. A settlements defence points are used to define the size of an army that can be raised if attacked, in times of war, or dealing with insurrection. However, that is handled by the mass combat rules, rather than the stronghold rules.

In game terms, Defence points are expensive. Soldiers, guards and scouts all need feeding, housing and paying - but they don't bring in any income or grow food - so a society whose DEF is too high is short of resources. That leads to shortages for the rest of society and increased levels of discontent. A settlement with too little Def, on the other hand, will be plagued with minor crime, anti-social behaviour and vandalism - because there is no one to stop the perpetrators.