The Silent City: Settlements

In the Silent City, the players, while nominally playing their individual PCs during any given adventure or delve, are actually playing the collective will of their surface settlement. This little camp will hopefully grow and thrive, supported by the delving of the players as they dredge up magic and devices from the Silent City.

The randomized starting settlement is given a rating; this is known as Settlement Quality, or SQ. SQ is an abstract number that represents, among other things, size and ability to survive adverse events. SQ is rated on a scale of 1-100, with 1 representing little more than an armed camp of a few farmers and adventurers, and 100 representing a thriving city. Most settlements begin play with an SQ in the 2-8 range.

SQ can be lowered by random events during the Development Phase, by actions taken by the characters, or by the communal will of the settlement to spend its SQ on various temporary boosts and boons.

Player-triggered SQ Drops
Players can choose to take any of the following actions at the commensurate cost of SQ.

2 SQ: Players may create a generation of adventurers using either the 4D6 Droplow, Order or 3D6, Arrange, methods.

4 SQ: Players may create a generation of adventurers using 4D6 Droplow, Arrange.

1 SQ: A single player may dispatch a recovery adventurer from the surface directly to the nearest Haven or Safe Place to the current delve. This recovery adventurer will arrive in 1d4 hours per layer between the player and the surface. They will recover the lost belongings of the dead adventurer, if at all possible, and will be half the level of the dead adventurer.

SQ Levels: Every 10 points of SQ is another advancement level for the town. Settlements receive a +1 bonus on all defense checks for each bracket they have reached (for a maximum of +10 at SQ 100).

Settlement Actions. Each season, the settlement can be directed to perform an action (harvest a certain type of resource, for example) with effects up to the DM.

Building Slots. At every SQ level, the settlement unlocks 5 building slots. A building takes 1 season to build, and then provides a permanent benefit to the settlement.

Development Phase
Spring
Migrants. Roll a 1d10 and add +1 for every SQ level, and every point of Fame the Settlement has. If the roll is equal to or higher than the current SQ, increase the SQ by one.
Random event on a 1-3.

Summer
Random event on a 1-4.

Fall
Roll 1d6 for crop yield. On a 1, decrease the SQ by 1. On a 6, increase the SQ by 1.
Random event on a 1-3.
If your settlement is on a trade route, a merchant comes by every fall in addition to whatever other random event you have.

Winter
Roll 1d6 for winter severity. On a 6 (5-6 in a cold environment) reduce the SQ by 1.
Random event on a 1.

Random Events
Roll a d10 each season to determine if there is a random event. If there is, consult the table below:

1. Accident! Someone important has died. SQ drops by 1.
2-4. Merchant; a merchant carrying a gold limit of goods equal to 100xSQ arrives to trade.
5-6. Monster attack.
7. Monster hold discovered.
8. New ruin discovered.
9. Severe weather damages crops; add +1 to the next winter severity roll.
10. Good weather boon to crops, add +1 to the next crop yield roll.