As I have implied in the past, player housing is important to players. It allows them to have a place of their own, a place to chat with friends, a place to store their belongings and a place to show their own creativity with decorations.  It also creates an important skill and job specialty as a house builder.

Since the house you build depends on your resources, either the items you have collected necessary to build the house or the money you have to pay someone skilled at building houses, we will include a variety of house styles in the game.

The simplest houses will be small, with a window or two, plus a door. As your skill grows, or that of your builder, and you can obtain more resources through gathering or trading, you can build bigger and/or fancier houses. A variety of choices will be available to you.

Materials: Houses can be built in several different types of materials.  Cost for these materials and/or the ease of obtaining a particular material will depend on your location in the game.  Also, some materials will require more maintenance than others.

The easiest materials to locate and the least expensive will be daub, a mixture of mud, dung, and straw. These will be available in most areas, although not all.  Wood will be needed for beams as well as the wattle walls beneath the daub.  Characters with minimal skills can put together a simple wattle and daub house.  You will need to put work into maintaining your new house though, since daub will crack and peel after a while.

In areas where wood is readily available, those with a bit more skill, can collect wood and build all or part of their house with wood siding.  A daub house can also be combined with wood for elements of the outside and inside.  Wood lasts longer than a daub house but it will also need some maintenance.

Stone will be available in some areas and is a sturdy choice for houses. Skills in cutting and mortaring stone will be necessary so a builder will need to be skilled in masonry.  Another option is to collect stone from collapsed buildings which is slightly easier.  Stone requires little maintenance after it is built so is the best stone for public buildings and bridges.

Often houses are built with a stone foundation, usually of stacked field stone, and then wood or daub above, allowing for an easier to maintain house with less skill required.

Roof:  There are several roofing materials available to the player characters as well.

The simplest is the thatch roof. Reeds, grasses, straw and other material can be used to build an attractive roof with little skill.  Thatch needs to be replaced periodically though as it decays with time.

Wood shingles last longer than thatch and are available in areas with plenty of wood resources. They require a bit more skill than thatch but are not difficult to create and apply.

Slate is a very durable material for a house roof, but not available everywhere. It requires little maintenance and should last a long time.  More skill is required to cut the slate without splintering it and laying it on the roof.

Like slate, tile is an excellent material for roofs. Tile requires clay, a resources that is not available everywhere, as well as the ability to mold and dry the clay tiles so is usually found in warmer, dryer clients.

Other options:

Each window placed in a house will require more resources as well as each door. Usually the windows are made of wood without glass, covered by shutters in the colder climates.  Glass is very expensive, used only in the most wealthy houses and castles.  Doors require iron hinges and handles, usually made by an iron-smith. Both windows and doors will be available in different sizes and shapes.

Upgrades:

Houses can be upgraded with things like dormers with windows, canopies, leaning sheds attached to the side, second stories, additions, etc. All of these are currently available and we are more than willing to accept suggestions from the community on additional options. Our artists have already added lofts and roof beams for added sleeping and storage space. One can also add outbuildings to their lots.

Upgrades will require more resources and high skill levels for the builder, depending on the materials used.

I have some pictures of the simplest houses. These are made of wood, stone, and daub, with various combinations, sizes and shapes. The houses pictured here are only a sampling as the combinations are almost limitless.   If you wish to see something specific, ask and I will post pictures.

While these all have thatch roofs and are most suitable for farming communities and small villages, they are a good idea of what a beginning player, not living in a city, would build.

Next time, I will show some wood shingled houses and maybe a few slate buildings you might find in a larger town or in some parts of a city.

Enjoy!  Please feel free to post comments. I really enjoy your feedback.

Daub and wood cottage with flowerbeds.

Stone Cottage with apple tree.

Wood and daub houses

Daub house with dormer, flowerbeds and chicken coop.

Two story wood and daub house.

Stone and daub house and wood and daub house with shops below.

Wood and daub house with addition.

Variety of simple houses with thatch.

I will put all the new pictures in the website’s gallery.

Here is a lovely scenic view of the valley with it’s country homes.