Towns & Settlements

Use settlements as active systems, not static rest stops. This page puts town-turn procedures and service pressure first.

At-a-Glance

• Start with Minimal Setting Spine and Town Turns.
• Keep scarcity visible via Settlement Service Volatility and Scarcity Pulse Loop.
• Run social economy through Patronage, Favor, and Obligation Economy.
• Make downtime matter using Downtime Consequences and Complications.
• Attach logistics with Infrastructure Economy and Maintenance Failure Loop.

Play Mode Routes

• Solo Route
• Duet Route
• Table Route (Party)

Solo Route

• Keep one recurring contact and one recurring scarcity pressure.
• Resolve town business in compact turns, then return to field play.
• Let debts and favors steer next-session objectives.

Duet Route

• Build settlement scenes around personal ties and reputation shifts.
• Keep service availability dynamic to force hard choices.
• Use one social complication per town turn for momentum.

Table Route (Party)

• Split settlement opportunities by role so everyone has leverage.
• Track group-level obligations and visible civic consequences.
• Use rotating downtime spotlight to prevent decision bottlenecks.

Player Quick Rules (Settlement Play)

• Enter town with one spending priority and one relationship priority.
• Convert loot to utility fast; idle wealth invites pressure.
• Take favors with explicit repayment terms.
• Leave with one new contact, one rumor, and one unresolved problem.

Referee Procedure Loop (Town Turn)

1. Advance service availability and scarcity state.
2. Resolve patron offers, favors, and obligations.
3. Trigger one infrastructure or governance strain.
4. Apply downtime actions and consequences.
5. Surface one social opportunity and one hard cost.
6. Push one thread outward into wilderness or dungeon play.

Sci-Fantasy Settlement Event Table (d8)

One-Click Deep Dives

Town Turns and Services

• Minimal Setting Spine and Town Turns
• Settlement Service Volatility and Scarcity Pulse Loop
• D100 Carousing

Infrastructure and Trade Networks

• Infrastructure Economy and Maintenance Failure Loop
• Waypoint Network Infrastructure Play
• Cities Without Number SRD

Contacts and Leadership

• Contact and NPC Relationship Networks
• Take Me to Your Leader

Urban Generation

• Urban Block Generation and Sensory Layering
• Augmented Reality City Kit
• In Corpathium

Advanced/Edge Cases

• In solo play, rotate through three repeating town states: shortage, crackdown, and festival.

See Also

• Factions & Domain
• Treasure & Salvage
• Exploration