Type-7 Hex
Type-7 hexes are 6-mile hexes that describe sparsely populated areas with a minimum of infrastructure, possessing but 1 point of development. With a total area of 38.53 square miles and a diameter of 6.67 miles, hexes of this type represent the most isolated and self-reliant communities, where few amenities, comforts or external support systems exist. The inhabitants of these hexes live at a subsistence level, relying almost entirely on their own agricultural efforts to survive. Their ability to endure is dependent on their capacity to cultivate the land, raise livestock and manage resources efficiently, as access to outside goods or services is minimal.
Contents
Despite their isolation, these remote communities play a crucial role in the larger economic system. Even with their limited productivity, they contribute small surpluses of food and raw materials to the world market, supporting the more developed and urbanized regions where food is constantly in demand. These contributions, while individually modest, collectively form the backbone of agricultural supply chains that sustain the populations of large cities, where the reliance on external food sources is absolute.
Travel to and from a type-7 hex is often difficult due to the absence of maintained roads, bridges or waystations, though in some cases important roads may pass through. For travellers on these roads, however, the scenery is apt to appear as a hinterland or wilderness rather than an inhabited area. In most cases, only footpaths or cart paths are likely to to be found.
Classification
The precise nature of a given type-7 hex is not determined solely by its classification but also by the specific symbols representing its levels of food production, wealth and facilities. These symbols — bread and hammers — define the degree of development within the hex, indicating the extent to which the land is capable of supporting its inhabitants beyond mere subsistence.
The lowest form of type-7 hex, Borderland Farms, is one represented by 2 bread and nothing else. This signifies a settlement where the population is engaged entirely in self-sufficient food production, with no surplus available for trade or investment in infrastructure. Inhabitants produce just enough to sustain themselves, living at the edge of viability. There are no external sources of wealth, no formal economy and no capacity to construct permanent facilities beyond what is essential for survival. This is the absolute baseline of habitation — any less, and the land would be classified as a wilderness rather than a settled area.
The existence of a hammer indicates a Single Thorpe, which signifies that some basic infrastructure has been established, at the lowest possible level. These facilities are not indicative of wealth or economic growth but rather of self-sufficiency, allowing the residents to maintain essential tools, process their limited food supply or construct basic shelters.
Type-7 hexes only have a coin symbol if a settlement exists.
Borderland Farms
Borderland farms are composed of scattered, isolated homesteads and cultivated fields set within a hinterland landscape. These habitations exist without services, governance or any form of structured development. Each type-7 hex designated as borderland farms contains roughly 250 to 400 acres of plowed farmland, subdivided into 15- to 30-acre plots known as bovates or virgates. The farmers who work this land have staked their claims not through legal right but by their willingness to endure the hardships of farming in wild, unclaimed territory. To outsiders, these lands may seem indistinguishable from wilderness, but to those who live here, they are the hinterland — a frontier space where survival depends entirely on self-sufficiency.
The families dwelling in these hexes do not possess legal ownership over the land they cultivate. However, as no authority actively claims the territory, they exist in a precarious but real form of independence. The total population within a borderland farm hex ranges from 50 to 80 people, spread across homesteads that are separated by considerable distances.
Farms are typically spaced ¾ mile apart, allowing each household to supplement its crops with resources gathered from the surrounding hinterland. Game, mushrooms and other foraged foods provide an essential supplement to cultivated grains and vegetables. The families here reside in hovels, crude dwellings of their own construction, with few or no comforts beyond the bare necessities. The only shared sanitation consists of exposed gong pits, and there is no centralized storage, water access or communal structure beyond what families may create for themselves.
Whenever possible, farmers establish their homesteads near a river or along a route, taking advantage of whatever infrastructure exists. If a prominent river or road runs through the hex, it is common to find farms strung along its path, forming a loose, linear settlement. Where such access is unavailable, farms make use of smaller brooks, minor paths or even game trails as their only connection to the outside world.
The most experienced and vigilant farmers may manage up to 30 acres of crops in a year. Any excess yield beyond what is required for survival is transported to garners in thorps, hamlets or occasionally even larger centers. However, most borderland farmers operate without formal trade arrangements, relying instead on chance opportunities to exchange surplus food.
Encounters with tax officials are rare, but not unheard of. A tax farmer may, on occasion, attempt to collect a portion of the harvest in the name of the ruling power. However, such efforts must be handled with caution, as the independent and often desperate nature of borderland farmers makes them unpredictable when pressed. A careless official demanding too much may find themselves in mortal danger. Other visitors to these lands include bandits and outlaws, though such encounters are often less violent than expected. With little to steal, and occasionally something to offer — such as shelter or local knowledge — borderland farmers sometimes strike informal arrangements with those who prey on more prosperous regions. Adventurers who stumble upon one of these isolated farms should assume that the farmer will be willing to barter food in exchange for tools, hard-to-find materials or even minor luxuries such as trinkets and ornaments. Given their distance from any market, even simple goods that would be of little value elsewhere may be considered rare and desirable here.
Examples
These hexes may contain natural features such as hills, streams or roads, as shown in the third example with a dirt road running through it. While type-7 hexes are often found in remote areas, they can also appear along important trade routes, major roads or even on the banks of large rivers. Their classification as type-7 indicates that, despite their location, the soil quality is poor or otherwise unsuitable for large-scale agriculture. However, it remains capable of supporting a limited population — typically around a dozen families.
In some cases, the specific geography of a type-7 hex dictates how its inhabitants survive. The fourth example from the left illustrates a type-7 hex where a sandbar separates the sea from a freshwater lagoon. In such a location, the residents would rely primarily on catch fishing for sustenance rather than traditional farming. The terrain itself shapes how people interact with the land, with different type-7 hexes providing distinct challenges and opportunities based on their environmental conditions.
Single Thorpe
Single thorpes occur in type-7 hexes that contain 1 hammer, signifying the presence of minimal infrastructure. These hexes only occur along navigable or semi-navigable rivers, with the latter referring to rivers that can be traveled by rowboat but are impractical for large-scale commercial transport. For a river to qualify, it must be at least 2 points wide on the game map. The presence of this river has enabled the formation of a tiny group habitation, known as a thorp, which serves as a hub for collecting raw materials and transshipping them to more significant locations. The hammer symbol is added to the type-7 hex to reflect the crucial role of the river in supporting this small but structured habitation.
A thorp provides a handful of essential services to support the local population and facilitate the movement of goods. These include a boat dock, allowing for basic water transport; a garner, where food is collected and stored; a gristmill, enabling local grain processing; an ox tether, providing a designated area for securing and rotating draft animals; and a saw pit, where timber is cut for transport or local use. The constant presence of a river ensures a modest level of water traffic and provides a source of mechanical power, allowing the community to sustain a slightly larger agricultural footprint. As a result, the amount of cultivated land increases by 10%, raising the total acreage under plow in the hex to 275-440 acres.
Despite the presence of a central habitation, farmsteads remain spread out, with families maintaining an average distance of half a mile between one another. Farmland naturally clusters closer to the thorp, though the same sparse layout persists, reflecting the continued reliance on subsistence farming and resource collection. The total population of the hex, including those residing in the thorp and those working the land around it, falls between 60 and 118 individuals.
While a minimal flow of traffic passes through the area, it is largely seasonal. Outsiders arrive primarily during harvest periods, collecting stored food for transport to more developed settlements. Timber and lumber, when available, are gathered and sent downstream in any season except winter, when river conditions become too hazardous or impractical for travel. No ores or building stone are produced in these hexes, as the economic activity revolves entirely around agriculture and woodcutting.
For a party of adventurers, a common thorp presents a number of useful opportunities. It serves as a safe place to camp, a potential site for forging relationships with local inhabitants, and even a location to claim a plot of land for building a permanent residence or storage facility. Given the lack of a centralized authority, there is little reason for anyone to challenge a new arrival who establishes themselves peacefully. In this remote backcountry, every new farmer or tradesman is, at first, a stranger — but as long as they contribute to the quiet rhythm of daily life, their presence is unlikely to be questioned.
Examples
Though thorps are not explicitly marked on game maps, their presence can be reliably predicted by recognizing key geographical features. Thorps naturally emerge in locations where access to both land and water travel is advantageous, making their placement highly consistent across type-7 hexes with 1 hammer. The most common locations for a thorp include river forks, where two waterways converge, allowing for efficient movement of goods in multiple directions. Another frequent placement is where a road meets a river, creating a natural point of exchange for travelers moving between land and water routes. Similarly, thorps often appear at river bends that provide defensive advantages, such as higher ground, reduced exposure to flooding or natural barriers against harsh weather. The white circles below indicate potential thorp locations, showing that they may form on either side of a river, depending on the availability of dry land and ease of access.
In cases where a swamp dominates the hex, such as the fourth example from the left, the thorp is guaranteed to be positioned at the only patch of dry land along the riverbank. The presence of a stable foundation is essential for the construction of the mill, boat dock and garner, ensuring that essential infrastructure remains functional even in difficult terrain. Some type-7 hexes offer multiple viable locations for a thorp, particularly where a road follows the course of a river. In such cases, the community's essential structures may be distributed, with the mill and boat dock built a mile or more from the rest of the habitation. This dispersion reflects the practical necessities of river-based trade, where settlements grow around the most accessible landing points rather than adhering to a rigid central layout.
Given this variability, it is important to remain flexible in interpreting the game map when determining the exact placement of a thorp. While general rules apply, individual hexes may present unique circumstances, requiring adjustments based on the lay of the land, water depth, soil stability and historical patterns of use. By recognizing these factors, it becomes easy to predict and define the presence of a thorp even when it is not explicitly shown on a map.
Backwater Village
Backwater villages are isolated habitations that, while unusually large for a type-7 hex, suffer from a level of development that lags far behind their population size. A type-7 hex can only contain two hammers if a settlement exists within it, as the presence of an established habitation provides a +1 increase to coin, food and hammer for that hex. However, due to the limitations of infrastructure, these villages can never be found along a river wider than 1 point, as a larger river would provide enough economic activity to elevate the hex to a higher classification.
Despite these constraints, backwater villages contain an actual village center, with a population of at least 100 people, often many more. Unlike smaller thorps or scattered farmsteads, these settlements maintain a collective government, led by a recognized authority who serves as the head of the community. In nearly all cases, the population belongs to a single tribe, and in the case of settlements with fewer than 150 inhabitants, they may even be a single extended clan — their blood ties forming the backbone of social organization. Because such settlements have often existed for at least a century, if not several, permanent structures are common. Half-timbered houses stand in place of hovels, giving the village a more established appearance. However, the lack of an organized economy ensures that maintenance is sporadic and crude, leading to a decayed, neglected aesthetic. Many homes are in disrepair, with roofs patched by whatever materials are available and streets that have turned to mud with no one to care for them. There is little excess wealth to support anything beyond subsistence.
With few opportunities at home, self-sufficiency is paramount, and the younger members of the village often seek out fortunes elsewhere. Many leave to join armies, board ships as sailors or take up work as laborers in distant towns. Others venture off on their own, hoping to escape the monotony and hardship of their birthplace. Despite these departures, the population remains stable, as new generations replace those who leave, maintaining the same precarious existence as their ancestors before them.
Farmland
Nearly all the villagers are farmers, with cultivated fields spreading outward from the village itself, following roads or small rivers where they exist. The arrangement of farmland is shaped by both natural geography and community tradition, with fields sometimes divided by easements or low stone walls, though these barriers are not always present. Farming is often treated as a communal effort, with multiple families cooperating in the maintenance, planting and harvesting of crops.
Though land is privately held, ownership is shared among immediate families, which in these settlements can be remarkably large. A single extended family may include up to 50 adult members, spanning multiple generations, including parents, siblings, uncles, aunts and cousins. These family groups function as economic and social units, with land inheritance and cultivation duties passing down through kinship ties.
Each day, villagers walk from the settlement to their fields at dawn and return together at night, reinforcing the communal aspect of their lifestyle. Some members remain behind at night to stand guard, protecting the crops from wildlife that might attempt to raid them. This nightly vigilance is necessary, as these villages lack large-scale fortifications and natural predators, foraging animals or even opportunistic bandits pose an ongoing threat.
The total amount of cultivated land is determined by a simple calculation based on the settlement's population. The formula for calculating cultivated acreage is:
- Population ÷ 65 = Base Acreage Factor
- This result is then applied to the formula:
- (3d4 + (Base Acreage Factor × 4)) × 50 acres
- For example: If a village has 195 residents, the calculation would be as follows:
- 195 ÷ 65 = 3 (rounded up, if needed)
- (3d4 + (3 × 4)) × 50 acres
- The final number determines the total cultivated land within the hex.
By this system, the size of a village's farmland expands proportionally with its population, ensuring enough land is being worked to sustain its residents. However, as land is limited within a type-7 hex, any significant population growth beyond what the land can support would require individuals to migrate outward or seek new opportunities beyond farming.
Facilities
A settlement village of this type includes the same basic facilities as a thorp, though it lacks both a boat dock and a gristmill, as there is no usable watercourse to support such structures. If no trees are present, there is no saw pit, as there is no timber available to justify its construction. Although technically a village, a place like this remains distinctly backward, lacking any meaningful improvements beyond what is necessary for survival.
Fiscal Matters
A measure of standardised taxation exists in the form of socage, requiring villagers to surrender a portion of their farm produce or fall into debt. In difficult years, survival can become precarious, as families struggle to retain enough food after taxes are collected. While the villagers are free landowners, not bound by serfdom or rent, most lack formal recognition as free persons. Their legal claim to their land is what binds them to socage obligations, forcing them to make payments in kind.
Debt remains relatively uncommon, as there is little risk of a facility closing due to unpaid taxes. Should an individual fail to maintain a workshop or service, another family member or villager would simply take over operations. Tax collection occurs once per year, typically within two months after the harvest begins, ensuring that dues are collected at the time when food is most abundant.
Examples
There are only a few settlements with these characteristics, as they are exceedingly rare. Among the known examples are the villages of Bar and Zhmerinka, both located in the County of Bratslaw, within the Kingdom of Poland. These villages exist on the fringes of settled land, surrounded by vast forests and wilderness that separate them from the centres of civilisation. Their isolation limits access to trade and governance, reinforcing their status as backwater villages where self-sufficiency is the only means of survival.
See also,
Hex Group
Infrastructure
Sheet Maps
Type-6 Hex