Rules Index | GM Screen

Settlements and Districts

Source Ultimate Campaign pg. 211
The greatest assets of your kingdom are its settlements. Most settlements start as simple villages, and some grow over time into bustling cities. You can use the District Grid on page 226 to create the initial design for your settlement and decide where to place additional buildings as it grows. You may want to photocopy the District Grid so you can build multiple settlements in your kingdom.

The District Grid is divided into 9 large blocks separated by streets. Each block consists of 4 smaller lots separated by alleys. Treat each lot as approximately 750 feet per side, so overall the district takes up about 1 square mile. On each lot you may construct a building, and each building affects your kingdom’s Economy, Loyalty, and so on. Descriptions of these buildings, as well as the bonuses they provide once they’re added to a settlement, are listed here.

Most settlements only have 1 district. If your District Grid is full and you want to add another district (for example, if you run out of available lots in that settlement and want to construct additional buildings), you can create an additional district for that settlement by paying the preparation cost for the settlement’s terrain as listed on Table 4–6: Terrain and Terrain Improvements). Remember that your kingdom’s Control DC is based on the number of districts in your settlement.

Icons representing each of the building types are shown on pages 224 and 225; you may want to print multiple copies of the icons so you can cut them out and attach them to your District Grid as your settlement grows.

The placement of buildings in your district is up to you— you can start in the center of the district and build outward, or start at the edge and build toward the center. Some buildings (such as the Guildhall) take up more than 1 lot on the grid. You can’t divide up these larger structures, though you can place them so they cover a street. (Streets do not count as lots.)

Construction: Construction is completed in the same turn you spend BP for the building, no matter what its size is. A building’s benefits apply to your kingdom immediately. At the GM’s discretion, construction magic (such as lyre of building, fabricate, or wall of stone) can reduce a single building’s BP cost by 2 (minimum 0). This is a one-time reduction per turn, regardless of the amount of magic used.

Population: A settlement’s population is approximately equal to the number of completed lots within its districts × 250. A grid that has all 36 lots filled with buildings has a population of approximately 9,000.

Base Value: The base value of a settlement is used to determine what magic items may easily be purchased there. There is a 75% chance that any item of that value or lower can be found for sale in the settlement with little effort. The base value of a new settlement is 0 gp. Certain buildings (such as a Market or Tavern) increase a settlement’s base value. A settlement’s base value can never increase above the values listed in Table 4–5: Settlement Size and Base Value (except under special circumstances decided by the GM).

Defense: A settlement’s Defense is used with the mass combat rules. It otherwise has no effect unless the settlement is attacked. You can increase a settlement’s Defense by building certain structures (such as City Walls).

Table 4-5: Settlement Size and Base Value

Population	Settlement Size	Value
Fewer than 21	Thorp	50 gp
21-60	Hamlet	200 gp
61-200	Village	500 gp
201-2,000	Small town	1,000 gp
2,001-5,000	Large town	2,000 gp
5,001-10,000	Small city	4,000 gp
10,001-25,000	Large city	8,000 gp
More than 25,000	Metropolis	16,000 gp

Archives of Nethys

Rules Index | GM Screen

Settlements and Districts

Table 4-5: Settlement Size and Base Value