Settlements and Outposts

This page owns Valenar's settlement ladder and connected footprint rules.

Settlement Ladder

Act 2 is where the first Outpost-tier Settlement appears.
The first Outpost is the first Settlement-tier foothold and the first population-bearing rung of the Settlement layer.
Outpost is a tier within the settlement ladder, not a separate ontology.
Act 3 is where that foothold expands into stable settlement-scale play with broader districts, buildings, labor, and administration.
Later settlement growth expands into broader districts, dependent sites, Banner Network, Province, and Crown play.

The Core remains the MC's fixed personal anchor at the starting Nexus/Wardheart.
The Camp remains the MC's travelling expedition layer.
The Settlement layer begins with the first Outpost in Act 2.
Settlement growth in Act 3 does not redefine the Core as the Settlement or erase the Camp's mobile role.

Settlement footprint depends on connected, controllable Territories.

Claims should not behave like disconnected wish lists.
Growth should follow routes, support land, and defendable corridors.
District logic should emerge from connected purpose and land use, not from an arbitrary paint tool.
Territory connectivity follows the Route network. Claims separated by un-scouted or hostile ground without established Routes do not form a connected footprint; the player must establish Route coverage (Banner Network in Act 4, ProvinceDefensePlan corridors in Act 5) before adding isolated Territories to the same Settlement footprint.

The Settlement layer is distinct from the Core and Camp layers.
The first Outpost must feel like the start of the Settlement layer, not a silent background flag.
Act 2 should read as the first foothold transition; Act 3 should read as the first stable settlement-scale loop.
Settlement growth should create new needs in logistics, defense, labor, and planning.