My hope is that an update to the settlement system will encourage more interaction and engagement, and allow players to finally start using the resource donation aspect of the population expansion system, by giving settlements the tools to prevent exploitation without the need for 24/7 management and oversight.
With this settlement overhaul, resource spending occurs on a monthly basis, the resource cost per registered citizen is drastically reduced, and hostile population expansion is slightly increased. The primary resource expenditure becomes City Maintenance and the NPC Guard Force.
[Guards]
Each settlement has a NPC Guard Force hired for a per head fee by the settlement leaders. These guards enforce settlement exiles and combat population expansion in adjacent areas, with varying degrees of effectiveness, depending on their number and strength. NPC Guards may also spawn outside of the settlement limits to represent their fight against encroaching populations.
Each NPC Guard costs a certain amount of resources to maintain. The cost becomes higher if Guard strength is increased.
Requires: Food, Cloth, Metal, Gold (If above average quality)
[City Maintenance]
Settlements must repair their buildings in order to maintain security. Resources must be spent on maintenance for each occupied quarter in a settlement, in addition to a base value for settlement buildings. Failure to meet the requirements results in compounding reduction of maximum door and lock strength, to represent decay.
Requires: Wood, Metal, Stone
[Resources]
Resource: Purpose - Consequences of Insufficient Supply
- Food: Feeds NPC Guards - NPC Guards Die/Depart
- Wood: Maintains Settlement Structures - Maximum Quarter Lock DC and Door Strength Drop
- Cloth: Outfits NPC Guards - Guard Quality Decreases
- Metal: Maintains Settlement Structures and Outfits NPC Guards - Guard Quality Decreases and Maximum Quarter Lock DC Drops
- Stone: Maintains Settlement Structures - Maximum Quarter Door Strength Drops
[Trade]
Any settlement leader or officer with permission may arrange monthly purchases of resources from a selling settlement, plus a caravan fee per unit of weight.
Any settlement leader or officer with permission may set a resource or treasury minimum to prevent oversales or overspending.
[Citizenship, Leadership, & Exile]
Citizens are required to visit their home settlement once every six in game months or risk having their names removed from the list. Automatically removed citizens may purchase citizenship again at a reduced cost, at the settlement where they last held citizenship.
A citizen majority may indicate a vote of no confidence, to force an election, after three in game months, if the leader is considered unfit.
Poor guard quality may allow a character to infiltrate a settlement under exile, however, speaking to a settlement official triggers an increased Bluff check. A failed Bluff check causes all NPC guards to become hostile until the character has left the settlement's borders.