Tile Types Reference

Overview

The world is a flat-top hex grid where each tile covers approximately 1 km². A flat-top hex at 1 km² area is roughly 1.24 km wide (point-to-point) and 1.07 km tall (flat-to-flat).

Every hex has:

• A terrain type that sets its movement modifier, exploration time, and resource profile
• A movement class (road, trail, or wilderness) that overrides the speed modifier when infrastructure is present
• A knowledge state per player (unknown → rumored → traversed → explored → charted / stale)
• A hidden content layer (resources, creatures, treasures) that is only revealed on explored state

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Settlement Tile Types

Settlement hexes suppress wild resource and creature spawning. They provide services, crafting stations, and social functions.

City Center (city_center)

The hub of Trevalkaan. Market, Adventurers Hall, guild buildings, main work order board, civic administration.

• Movement: full road speed within
• Resources: none (all commerce; no gathering)
• Footprint: 1 hex

City District (city_district)

Inner ring surrounding the city center. Crafting quarters, temples, noble residences, barracks, harbor ward, banking district.

• Movement: full road speed
• Resources: none
• Footprint: 6 hexes (first ring around center)

City Outskirts / Slums (city_outskirts)

Outer ring. Low-cost housing, roadside inns, stables, workshops, informal markets, smuggler presence, transitional farmland patches.

• Movement: road speed within; slows to wilderness at the true edge
• Resources: trace forageables (weeds, scrap) — no meaningful wild yield
• Footprint: 12 hexes (second ring)

Full Trevalkaan footprint: 19 hexes (~3 km across at 1 km²/hex). The inner 7 hexes (center + 6 districts) are the city proper. The outer 12 outskirt hexes are the informal boundary zone.

Village Center (village_center)

Core settlement hex for each of the 6 starting villages. Inn, board, crafters, basic market, branch warden post.

• Footprint: 1 hex per village

Village Outskirts (village_outskirts)

Adjacent hexes claimed and maintained by the village. Local farms, community woodlots, mills, livestock fields.

• Footprint: 1–4 hexes depending on village size and type
• No wild creature spawning; resources are owned (harvesting without permission flags theft)

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Natural Terrain Tile Types

Plains (plains)

Open flat land. Farmable candidates, grasslands, open grazing ground.

Traversal (wilderness)	Exploration Time
0.50× speed — ~24 min/hex	30 min

Resource distribution:

Resource	Density	Notes
Grass / wild feed	Very high (70–90%)	Animal feed ingredient; always present
Root vegetables	Medium (25–40%)	Wild carrot, turnip varieties
Wild herbs (common)	Low (10–20%)	Basic alchemy inputs
Small game	Medium (30–50%)	Rabbit, pheasant; seasonal and depletable
Stone (surface)	Trace (5%)	Occasional surface finds only
Timber	None	Open plains have no trees

Creature presence: Small game animals (rabbits, pheasant); wolves following prey herds at low density; bandits using open terrain for ambush (event-driven, not permanent spawn).

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Farmland (farmland)

Cultivated hex. Owned by an NPC settlement, a player guild, or a named NPC family. Unsanctioned harvesting triggers a theft conduct flag.

Traversal (paths between fields)	Exploration Time
0.55× speed — ~22 min/hex	30 min

Resource distribution:

Resource	Density	Notes
Crops	High — but owned	Requires permission or purchase; theft flag on violation
Livestock	Medium — but owned	Same ownership rule
Wild herbs (field edge)	Low (10–15%)	Grows at margins
Small game	Low (10–15%)	Farming activity suppresses wildlife

Creature presence: Minimal. Pest events (rats, feral animals) are event-driven spawns, not permanent.

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Light Forest (forest_light)

Sparse tree coverage. Passable on foot; mild visibility limitation.

Traversal (wilderness)	Exploration Time
0.40× speed — ~30 min/hex	45 min

Resource distribution:

Resource	Density	Notes
Timber (softwood)	Medium (40–60%)	Standard construction and fuel wood
Firewood	High (60–80%)	From fallen branches; quick gather
Berries / wild fruit	Medium (25–40%)	Seasonal
Wild herbs (woodland)	Medium-high (35–55%)	Strong representation
Mushrooms	Medium (20–35%)	Scattered finds
Small game	High (50–70%)	Good hunting ground
Larger game (deer, boar)	Medium (25–40%)	Territorial — depletable by overhunting
Stone	Trace (5%)	Occasional surface finds

Creature presence: Deer and boar in territorial groups; wolves and foxes as predators following prey; forest bandits (low density, event-driven).

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Dense Forest (forest_dense)

Thick canopy and undergrowth. Hard to move through; rich in resources and danger.

Traversal (wilderness)	Exploration Time
0.30× speed — ~40 min/hex	60 min

Resource distribution:

Resource	Density	Notes
Timber (hardwood)	High (60–80%)	High-quality construction material
Rare timber	Low (10–15%)	Exotic wood for specialty crafting
Wild herbs (rare)	High (50–70%)	Dense flora; rarer alchemy variants present
Mushrooms (rare)	Medium-high (35–50%)	Unique dense-forest species
Large game (bear, large boar)	High (50–70%)	High danger; highly territorial
Furs (apex predators)	Medium (30–45%)	From bear, wolf, feline hunts
Stone	Low (15–25%)	Occasional outcrops
Ore (trace)	Trace (5–8%)	Shallow mineral seams in deep forest bedrock

Creature presence: Bears, large cats, apex predators at high density; very territorial. Dense forest creatures migrate rarely — overhunting creates dead zones that persist longer before refilling.

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Marsh / Wetland (marsh)

Saturated ground with reeds, standing water, and difficult footing.

Traversal (wilderness)	Exploration Time
0.25× speed — ~48 min/hex	60 min

Resource distribution:

Resource	Density	Notes
Marsh herbs (unique)	High (55–75%)	Exclusive to marsh hexes; unique alchemy inputs not found elsewhere
Reeds / fiber	High (60–80%)	Crafting material
Peat	Medium (25–40%)	Fuel; slow to harvest
Fish / amphibians	High (50–70%)	Freshwater and semi-aquatic catch
Bog wood (timber)	Medium (20–35%)	Lower quality; useful for specific crafts
Rare marsh materials	Low (8–15%)	Event-driven; bog preservation finds, unique components

Creature presence: Amphibious creatures (marsh serpents, large amphibians) at moderate density; water predators; bog-dwelling monsters at low density with high danger rating; migratory aquatic species appear seasonally along waterway hexes.

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River / Waterway (river)

Flowing water. Crossing without a bridge or ford is extremely slow.

Traversal — no bridge (wilderness cross)	Traversal — bridge or ford (road class)	Exploration Time
0.15× speed — ~80 min/hex	Road class applies	45 min

Resource distribution:

Resource	Density	Notes
Fish	High (60–80%)	Freshwater species; seasonal variation
Clay	Medium (30–50%)	Riverbank clay; ceramics and construction
Sand / gravel	Medium (25–40%)	Construction aggregate
Reeds (riverbank)	Medium (20–35%)	Similar to marsh edge
Alluvial ore (trace metals)	Low (10–15%)	Pan-mined from riverbed
Freshwater	Abundant	Cooking, alchemy, expedition supply

Creature presence: Freshwater fish and aquatic animals (non-hostile, resource only); river predators at low density; aquatic monsters as rare dangerous spawns.

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Hills (hills)

Rolling elevated terrain with exposed rock and mixed vegetation.

Traversal (wilderness)	Exploration Time
0.35× speed — ~34 min/hex	45 min

Resource distribution:

Resource	Density	Notes
Stone	High (60–80%)	Construction and crafting stone
Ore — base metals (iron, copper)	Medium (30–50%)	Consistent seam presence
Wild herbs (hillside)	Medium (25–40%)	Wind-exposed species; some unique varieties
Timber (scrub)	Low (10–20%)	Sparse hillside trees; lower quality
Small game	Medium (25–40%)	Rabbits, pheasant on hillside
Larger game (mountain goat, hill stag)	Low-medium (20–30%)	Good trophy hunting

Creature presence: Mountain goats and hill deer in territorial grazing groups; wolves following herds; goblin camps common (highly territorial, defend ore deposits); cave-dwelling creatures near rocky outcrops (event-driven).

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Rocky Hills (hills_rocky)

Rough, outcrop-heavy terrain. Harder to traverse than standard hills; richer in ore and stone.

Traversal (wilderness)	Exploration Time
0.28× speed — ~43 min/hex	60 min

Resource distribution:

Resource	Density	Notes
Stone (high quality)	Very high (75–90%)	Dense outcrop; premium construction stone
Ore — base metals	Medium-high (40–60%)	Better seam quality than standard hills
Rare minerals	Low (10–15%)	Uncommon crafting inputs
Wild herbs (cliff face)	Low (8–12%)	Specialized rock-face plants
Timber	Trace (3–5%)	Almost none

Creature presence: Goblin camps very common (treat outcrops as home territory and guard ore; territorial); large territorial predators at moderate density; flying creatures nesting on high outcrops.

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Mountain (mountain)

High elevation, harsh exposure. Very slow to traverse. Best ore yield in the launch region.

Traversal (wilderness)	Exploration Time
0.20× speed — ~60 min/hex	90 min

Resource distribution:

Resource	Density	Notes
Stone (high quality)	Very high (75–90%)
Ore — base metals	Medium-high (40–60%)
Ore — rare metals (silver, deep iron)	Medium (25–40%)	Better rare ore than hills
Gems / crystals	Trace (3–6%)	Very rare; high value
Mountain herbs	Low (8–15%)	Altitude-specific; unique alchemy uses
Timber	Low (10–20%)	Stunted growth; poor quality

Creature presence: Mountain predators (large cats, bears) at low density but very high danger; flying creatures (rocs, wyvern-class) extremely rare but lethal; general encounter danger rating is the highest in the launch region.

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Mountain Peak (mountain_peak)

Extreme altitude. Near-impassable without specific skills and cold-weather gear.

Traversal (wilderness)	Exploration Time
0.10× speed — ~120 min/hex	120+ min

Resource distribution:

Resource	Density	Notes
Rare ore	Low (8–12%)	Extreme rarity, extreme value
Gems / crystals	Trace (2–4%)
Everything else	None

Creature presence: Encounter danger at maximum. Extremely rare spawns; combat is near-certain death without elite gear and party composition.

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Water Tile Types

Water tiles carry a water_coverage value of 1.0 (the hex is entirely water). Land tiles that a river or lake partially crosses carry a fractional water_coverage based on the water body's width at that point.

Ocean (ocean)

Open salt water. Impassable without a vessel.

water_coverage	Movement	Resources
1.0	Vessel-only	None at launch (future maritime content)

No creature spawning, no resource nodes, no fog states apply (ocean tiles are always visible from shore).

Lake — Deep (lake_deep)

Interior of a freshwater lake. Open water, significant depth, no crossing on foot.

water_coverage	Movement	Resources
1.0	Vessel or swimming (0.05× — effectively impassable)	Fish: high (50–75%); rare deep-water fauna

Visible as a blue hex on an explored map. Resource nodes are skill-gated under Fishing (see Skill-Gated Resource Information).

Lake — Shore (lake_shore)

The transition hex where a lake's edge meets land. Shallow water, reeds, muddy banks.

water_coverage	Movement	Resources
0.40–0.70	Wilderness, mud-slowed (0.25×)	Fish: medium; Reeds/herbs: medium-high; Clay: medium

River Channel (river_channel)

A hex where the river is wide enough to be the dominant terrain feature. Crossing without a bridge costs the full ford penalty.

water_coverage	Movement	Resources
0.50–0.80	Bank travel: wilderness of surrounding terrain; Ford crossing: 0.15×	Fish: medium-high; Alluvial ore: trace; River clay: low

River Crossing (partial — land tile)

A standard land tile that a river passes through but does not dominate. The tile retains its base terrain type; the river is a terrain feature within it.

water_coverage	Movement	Resources added by river
0.10–0.45 (narrow stream to wide arm)	Base wilderness terrain speed; ford adds time if crossing is needed	Fish: low-medium; Alluvial ore: trace

River width and water_coverage — River Maren: The River Maren is a substantial mainland-fed river descending out of the Northwall Range and crossing the Frontier Marches on a broken east-to-west course. water_coverage on hexes it crosses ranges from 0.20–0.35 in its narrow upland reach to 0.45–0.60 through Arujoki's lower reed-bend and the broader city reach, then falls back toward 0.20–0.30 where the western shelf spreads shallow before the karst sink. The city of Trevalkaan is bisected by the river; the city hexes it runs through have water_coverage ~0.35–0.45. Key landmarks along its surface course include Arujoki village (12 km east-southeast of the city, on the lower bend) and Polheen village (13 km west-northwest, at the last reliable ford before the river disappears underground).

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Movement Speed Reference

Base speed for a healthy unencumbered adult on flat road terrain is 5 km/h. All modifiers multiply against this base.

Speed Modifiers (multiplicative)

Factor	Modifier	Resulting Speed	Notes
Base — unencumbered, flat road	1.00×	5.0 km/h	Reference
Expedition pack (loaded)	0.70×	3.5 km/h	Standard loaded travel
Light armor only	0.92×	4.6 km/h	Minor restriction
Medium armor	0.82×	4.1 km/h	Significant restriction
Heavy armor	0.70×	3.5 km/h	Stacks with pack penalty
Expedition pack + heavy armor	0.70 × 0.70 = 0.49×	2.45 km/h	Heavily burdened
Encumbrance — overloaded (>10% over cap)	−0.10× per 10%	—	Additional penalty on top of pack/armor
Athletics / Speed skill	+0.05× per rank	—	Partially offsets load penalties
Route familiarity (cartographer map)	+0.08× on mapped hexes	—	Road and trail hexes only

When multiple modifiers apply, multiply them together:

effective_speed_kmh = 5 × pack_mod × armor_mod × skill_mod × familiarity_mod
traversal_minutes = 60 ÷ effective_speed_kmh

Traversal Time Per Hex at Base Speed (unencumbered, no armor)

Terrain / Movement Class	Speed Modifier	Effective Speed	Traversal Time
Road hex	1.00×	5.0 km/h	~12 min
Trail hex	0.70×	3.5 km/h	~17 min
Plains wilderness	0.50×	2.5 km/h	~24 min
Farmland (paths)	0.55×	2.75 km/h	~22 min
Light forest wilderness	0.40×	2.0 km/h	~30 min
Hills wilderness	0.35×	1.75 km/h	~34 min
Dense forest wilderness	0.30×	1.5 km/h	~40 min
Rocky hills wilderness	0.28×	1.4 km/h	~43 min
Marsh wilderness	0.25×	1.25 km/h	~48 min
Mountain wilderness	0.20×	1.0 km/h	~60 min
River crossing (no bridge)	0.15×	0.75 km/h	~80 min
Mountain peak wilderness	0.10×	0.5 km/h	~120 min

Road and trail movement class override the wilderness modifier for that hex — a road through a dense forest hex travels at road speed (5.0 km/h), not forest wilderness speed, because the road clears a maintained path.

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Resource Depletion System

Every resource node in a hex has a stock pool (0–100%). Harvesting draws from the stock. Stock regenerates at a natural rate between settlement ticks.

Stock Thresholds

How much depletion detail a player sees depends on their relevant skill level — see Skill-Gated Resource Information below.

Stock Level	State	Visible at Apprentice+
76–100%	Abundant	Normal resource icon
41–75%	Normal	Normal resource icon
21–40%	Sparse	Icon dimmed; "sparse" label
1–20%	Depleted	Warning indicator; reduced yield
0%	Exhausted	Grayed icon; no yield

Base Regeneration Rates per Settlement Tick

Resource Type	Regen Rate	Notes
Wild herbs / forageables	15–25%	Regrows quickly
Berries / seasonal fruits	20–30%	Fast seasonal regrowth
Small game	10–20%	Depends on territory health
Fish	15–25%	Freshwater population rebounds
Timber (cut trees)	5–10%	Slow; trees take time to grow
Stone (surface outcrop)	1–3%	Very slow natural weathering and fracture exposure
Ore (metal seams)	0.5–1.5%	Extremely slow; geological pressure re-exposes seams over many ticks

Stone and ore regenerate, but at geological pace — meaningfully slower than any biological resource. A fully exhausted ore seam at the lowest regen rate (0.5%/tick) takes 200 ticks to fully recover. Players should expect a working deposit to last the lifetime of a settlement phase unless heavily pressured by multiple groups.

Pressure Rating

If a node is harvested 5 or more times within 3 ticks, it gains a pressure flag:

• Regeneration rate halved
• Yield per harvest reduced by 25%
• Warning flag shown on the player's explored hex marker — only visible at Apprentice rank or higher in the relevant skill

Pressure recovers after 3 ticks without harvesting.

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Skill-Gated Resource Information

How much detail a player sees about a resource node or creature territory scales with their relevant skill (Foraging, Mining, Hunting, Fishing, etc.). The resource itself is visible as soon as the hex reaches explored state — but the depth of information about its health is gated on skill.

Skill Rank	What You See
Untrained	Node icon and type only. You know the resource is present; you cannot tell if it has been worked or depleted at all.
Novice	Broad health signal: an unlabeled "low" indicator appears when stock is at 40% or below. No finer detail.
Apprentice	Full 5-tier state label (Abundant / Normal / Sparse / Depleted / Exhausted). Pressure warning flag visible.
Journeyman	Approximate stock percentage (±15% accuracy). Pressure severity (mild / heavy). Dead zone warnings on creature territory hexes.
Expert	Precise stock % and estimated ticks to recovery at current regen rate. Creature migration window timing.
Master	Everything above, plus yield-per-harvest projection, multi-hex pressure spread warnings, and a flag if a cartography record's resource data has gone stale.

Two players at different skill ranks see different amounts of information about the same hex. An untrained laborer sees "stone deposit here"; a Master Miner sees the node at 34% stock, under light pressure, recovering to Abundant in approximately 18 ticks at current regen rate.

Skill rank used is the most relevant single skill for the resource type:

Resource Category	Governing Skill
Wild herbs, mushrooms, forageables	Foraging
Timber	Lumbering
Stone, ore, gemstones	Mining
Small game, large game, fur	Hunting
Fish, shellfish, river resources	Fishing

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Creature Territories and Migration

Territorial Creatures

Territory health information is skill-gated under Hunting (see Skill-Gated Resource Information). An untrained player who has explored a hex will see creature icons but will not see vacant territory markers, dead zone warnings, or group health estimates — those require Journeyman Hunting or higher.

Each territorial creature group (pack, family, nest) claims a home territory of 1–3 hexes.

• Only one group of a given species can claim a territory in the same hex
• Killing a group clears the territory and marks those hexes as vacant
• Neighboring groups may expand into a vacant territory after 2–4 ticks
• If no neighbors are close enough, the territory stays vacant — creating genuine dead zones from sustained overhunting
• Vacant territory hexes show a depleted icon on an up-to-date explored map

Dead Zones

Sustained overhunting that clears territories faster than migration can refill them creates a dead zone — a cluster of hexes with zero creature presence for multiple ticks. Dead zones:

• Are visible on a fresh explored map (empty creature icon, explicit warning marker)
• Suppress combat board orders in that area (no valid targets for hunting contracts)
• Recover in 5–10 ticks before a new group settles

Migratory Creatures

Some species follow seasonal or event-driven migration paths rather than holding fixed territories:

• Migration routes are fixed hex sequences that repeat on a game calendar schedule
• During migration windows, these creatures appear along their route in large numbers
• Outside migration windows, the route hexes have no presence of that species
• Migration timing is discoverable through high-quality Cartography records or NPC lore

Selling accurate, timestamped migration route maps is one of the higher-value cartography trade goods.

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Cartographer Speed Bonus

When a Cartography professional records a route into a tradable map item, they embed survey waypoints from their own exploration data — rest spots, safe crossings, confirmed ford locations, and hidden shortcuts.

A player who purchases and carries that map item gains a route familiarity bonus on the hexes covered:

Hex Class	Familiarity Speed Bonus
Road hex (included in map)	+8% effective speed
Trail hex (included in map)	+8% effective speed
Wilderness hex (included in map)	+5% effective speed

Conditions:

• Applies only while the player carries the map item
• Applies only to hexes the map covers
• Lapses if the map item reaches stale status (freshness expires)
• Re-buying a freshly verified map restores the bonus

This makes accurate, fresh maps a durable trade good: buyers pay for both the fog-clearing knowledge (one-time) and the ongoing travel efficiency (recurring value while held).