Dev Journal - Building a Guild City
The folks at Age of Conan have provided us with this new developer journal on the guild cities system.
After battling your way off the beach, you’ve carved your own place in the world of Hyboria with grit, determination, and steel. Now you’re part of a hardy band of warriors and the time has come to claim your own chunk of the Hyborian Dream. After all, what is a guild without land and a mighty fortress standing atop it, telling all who come near of the power and glory they possess?
A guild city is a major commitment, requiring a massive investment of blood and treasure to create and maintain. With a great price comes a great reward, however, as the benefits for owning one extend beyond lording over your greatness to one and all. In addition to power and prestige, there are concrete benefits to land ownership in Age of Conan.
A player city provides a central gathering point, meeting hall, role-playing center, and socializing hub for your guild. Instead of trying to herd people across the world into the same place at the same time, simply tell everyone to get back to the city, and if someone insists on telling Chuck Norris jokes in the middle of tense role-play sessions, boot them out of the guild and leave them to the wolves.
Some buildings are there to support crafters and grant access to upper-level crafting recipes, as it’s impossible to build a siege engine without the mighty Engineer’s Workshop.
For more concrete benefits, several of the buildings grant benefits to all members of a class or archetype in your guild. Build a Temple and your priests will all grow tougher, while a Thieves’ Guild will help all your rogues get sneakier and stabbier. “But how?” you cry. We’ve consulted with the darker powers in Development—Jayde—and he gave us some detailed info on how some of these buildings will work.
The most common bonus available to players through the player cities will be the passive and/or feat based statistical bonuses for owning a Keep or other “archetype” buildings. These include: The University (Magic Rating), the Temple (Magic Resists), the Barracks (Defense Rating), and the Thieves’ Guild (Attack Rating). Additionally, the Keep building will have a generic bonus to Health Points, Mana Points, and/or stamina points.
Furthermore, these bonuses will increase based on the tier of each building, so a guild that puts in the effort to build a massive, powerful city will receive massive, powerful bonuses, the better to lord it over their friends and enemies.
Requirements and Locations
To book a city spot, you yourself need to be the Guild Leader, level 40+, and have 24+ members. If you meet those requirements, you can simply choose to reserve a piece of land in one of the so-called “resource and gathering areas”.
Laceish Plains — The bleak, snowy, and mountainous Laceish Plains are where Cimmerians may feel most at home.
Poitain —The “smiling sun-washed plains and blue lazy rivers” of Poitain will remind many Aquilonians of their homeland.
Purple Lotus Swamp — Dark and mysterious, but also green and full of life, the Purple Lotus Swamp is where Stygians may gather to do their devious deeds.
Buildings
Alchemist’s Workshop
The Alchemist’s Workshop is usually where potions and food are made. With cauldrons, alembics, and a scent of esoteric substances, this construction offers mystical surroundings. The alchemists in the guild will benefit from having this building in your village.
Armourer’s Workshop
The Armourer’s Workshop, like any forge, is a robust building. In its center is a large forge and many instruments to make the most enthralling armors. The armorsmiths in the guild benefit from having this building in your village.
Barracks
The Barracks, with its walls scarred by marks of swords and axes, is home to the mighty soldiers. Here, through studies of war, they have gained a certain invulnerability and higher capacity to protect themselves against physical attacks.
Blacksmith Workshop
The Blacksmith’s Workshop is a sturdy building, where the clanking of hammers and anvils and the smoldering heat from the forge belongs. The blacksmiths in the guild benefit from having this building in your village.
Engineer’s Workshop
The Engineer’s Workshop is rich with the smell of sawdust. With mallet, nails, and good designs, engineers all over Hyboria have created siege machines and plans in this kind of workshop. The engineers in the guild will benefit from having this building in your village.
Keep
The Keep is the heart and soul of the village. This building must be built to claim an area as yours, and, without it, no other buildings can be raised. It is vital to protect the keep during sieges. You may lose your entire village if your keep is destroyed in battle. The keep is upgradable, providing many more benefits as you put more resources into it.
Temple
The Temple is a sanctuary for all those who have devoted themselves to the gods. In here, among hushed voices, wise priests have learned how commitment to their deity protects them in battle and grants certain invulnerability to harmful magic.
Thieves’ Guild
The Thieves’ Guild is shrouded in mystery and it is never easy to tell how many eyes are studying you within its walls. Here, the rogues of the guild have honed their skills and found out how to achieve more physical damage in their attacks.
Trade post
The Tradepost serves as the village access point to the global trade market. A local merchant stands ready to help guild members and guests to buy and sell their goods.
University
The University is the home of clever mages far and wide. Among shelves of books and desks to study, mages of the guild learn the fine details of their craft, gaining a higher effect of destructive magic.
Wall Gate
The wall Gates protect your village from uninvited guests, human as well as animals. Constructed by sturdy logs of only the best timber, the gates are reinforced by surrounding stone walls and are built to endure siege battles (for battlekeeps, that is). Only guild members may open the wall gates.
Wall Section
Wall units are solid constructions of stone and wood, designed to protect your village from uninvited guests, human as well as animals. They offer good defense during sieges (if you’re building a battlekeep). Enough wall will enable you to upgrade your Keep. Standing on top of a wall during a siege allows for line of sight outside the village.
Watch Tower
Towers contribute to defense by offering shooting platforms for archers and spaces for ballista to shoot back at enemy siege weapons (if it’s a battlekeep).
Upgrading your city
Finally, and perhaps most importantly, if you want to crush your foes and drive them before you, you must have a Level 3 Player City before you can claim a Battlekeep for your own. It’s a long way to the top if you want to rock and roll, but the view is spectacular! And by then, you already know how to construct a settlement.
It is possible to upgrade all buildings and there are three levels in total. Upgrading a building will not only make it look better, it will also provide improved benefits!
So, what are you waiting for? Start the city planning!
