Settlements on the Horizon — Overview
Settlements are living palimpsests — layered documents where history is visible in the present. Generated responsively when players declare intent to visit or establish a location, using geographic foundation, factional dynamics, and historical events.
In engine terms, a settlement is a partial collapse of the six-layer graph. Generation procedures pin nodes and edges; play fills in everything else. The Shadow Horizon holds everything not yet observed.
| What You Generate | Engine Layer | What It Pins |
|---|---|---|
| Geography & terrain | Geography | Hex coordinates, terrain, founding resource |
| Factions & power | Factions | Faction nodes, paradigms, relationships |
| Districts & landmarks | (Settlement layer) | Building nodes with temporal frames |
| NPCs & residents | People | Person nodes with settlement posts |
| Historical events | Lore | Edges + discoverable lore nodes |
| Threats | Quests | Quest nodes seeded by faction action |
The three creation speeds map onto the artisanal-to-automatic spectrum — Quick is a minimal seed, Full is a nearly complete collaborative collapse.
Settlement Tier System
| Tier | Level Range | Settlement Type | Guild Presence | Ex Novo Scale |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1–4 | Village | Bulletin board, local contact | Nestling-Budding (6-9 regions) |
| 2 | 5–10 | Town | Small branch office | Grown (9-12 regions) |
| 3 | 11–16 | City | Full guild hall | Aged-Elderly (12-18 regions) |
| 4 | 17+ | Capital / Metropolis | Regional headquarters | Ancient (20+ regions) |
Settlement Creation Modes
| Mode | Duration | When to Use |
|---|---|---|
| Quick | 5-15 min | Background settlements, mid-session discovery |
| Medium | 30-60 min | Notable towns, between-session prep |
| Full | 90-120 min | Session zero hometown, campaign hub |
Partial Definition is Intentional
Even “full” settlements leave 50-70% undefined. Blank spaces aren’t failures — they’re breathing room for player-driven discovery.
In This Folder
| File | What It Covers |
|---|---|
| Founding | Geography, terrain, founding resource, and who settled here |
| History | Development events that explain the present state |
| Districts | Functional zones and how they change over time |
| Threats | Consequences of faction actions (optional) |
| Workflow | Step-by-step summaries for all three creation modes |
Where This Connects
History comes from Microscope and Chronicle. Buildings get detailed through Beak, Feather & Bone and Street Magic. NPCs generated here are documented in People. Faction dynamics carry forward into Factions as clocks and goals. Abandoned districts become seeds of Dungeons.