Settling Around

A problem I had never really managed to solve was how to actually create a sustainable settlement in the wilderness- the kind that gets attacked at some point, but up until then runs just real smooth. Supposedly, we ought to have many of those all around the map, several villages that can't grow too big, or else they're buffet'd. Safe Harbor, for instance, has 50 people. There may be others- I assume the maximum would be around 500 people, which is a fair number for a village.

So I wanted to start off a simple subject: what can you do to keep a settlement from being found/attacked?

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Location is the first thing I'd check. I'd go for underground whenever possible, either looking for a large, uninhabited cave, or a tree under whose roots I can burrow- if I can burrow in that dirt, anyone can, but not everyone will be able to get through the spaces between the roots. A little illusion might help you conceal the spot while you're still shoveling dirt out of it.

Besides between roots, another good place to plant my flag would be a valley somewhere real high, with ridiculously harsh winds, and mountainsides rough as fuck. Hell, I'd carve some sharp edges on the rock myself! Valleys have the effect of limiting wind chill (and if that fails, I can always make some stone walls to reduce wind speed manually), so it wouldn't be as cold in there; I'm sure I could plant something and start a bit of a community. The only problem would be harpies that decided if the place's warm enough for me it's warm enough for them- specially if they find the spot before I do. Disguising the valley with magic would be the best alternative to coexistence I can think of.

Rough spots to reach are good too. An island in the center of a lake, for instance, specially if it's a lake too small for giant mermaids but too deep for things that don't swim, and the island is full of trees; they'll keep harpies from scouting you out. Fairies would be a problem- but only if they see you in the first place! There are also places that are plain inhospitable, but thanks to shoes and clothes, we make do in- like salt flats and white deserts; anyone looking down from the sky will get a nasty case of glare from all the white, anyone trying to get to you while naked will be in for true hell- specially when you force them to chase you around on your terms. Hell, get some white threads to make white tents- and they'll be unable to glare at you from all the glare!

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Okay, any thoughts yourself? Just trying to spark up some conversation here.

* A river or other water source nearby, can be used as a barrier to slow preds, and you wont have to send people out far for water/fishing
* An area that others many escape routes, a cliff with a natural path leading down, etc. Just because having a town that's on the edge of a huge cliff, with a castle hanging off, looks cool, jsut wait 'til the preds come knocking

Ohh The glare idea is interesting, never thought of that one

Ilceren wrote:

I would look for something too small or difficult for preds to access. As you have said, caves, rifts and such. But still beware of the human-sized threats, they can blow your cover if you have to fight them constantly and you use guns or big magic.

I'd personally look for a place where trees grow together very close to each other. They would make a natural obstacle for predators, since they need a good space between plants to move. Fairies are still capable of going through, but nothing's perfect in this world. Though seeing the proximity of the trees, you could set up hidden traps easily to counter them, as torn wings normally equals a win. Camouflage nets can be used if the settlement is either on the tree, at its base, or underneath.

Yes, Firlianae comes to mind ^^

Razor has a house at the base of the Giant Tree, but he just tells preds to piss off. If they break his house, he rages.

Razor wrote:

Razor has a house at the base of the Giant Tree, but he just tells preds to piss off. If they break his house, he rages.

Kind of hard to break a tree, but if he rages, not a lot he can do about it. Or so I would think