Hamlet
Village Schoolhouse
Basic literacy, arithmetic, local customs, and religion
The Golden Encyclopedia
Education
A player-driven investment in knowledge, settlement life, economic opportunity, and the generations who will inherit the world.Knowledge across generations
Education is a long-term investment
Players may educate both their current Character and their future children. Children remain NPCs while growing, yet the education purchased throughout childhood becomes part of the Character they may one day inherit.
A well-educated child can eventually surpass their parent. Progress therefore comes not from opening a skill tree, but from choosing where, when, and how a family invests in knowledge.
Education does not merely strengthen the present. It prepares the person who will inherit the future.
A civic ladder of learning
Every Settlement tier supports one school
Educational institutions are public municipal buildings constructed by the Mayor. Higher Settlement tiers make deeper studies, more advanced courses, and greater attainable mastery possible.
Village
Parish Academy
Bookkeeping, agriculture, craftsmanship, and administration
Town
Civic College
Commerce, law, engineering, navigation, military theory, and governance
City
Royal Academy
Advanced instruction from renowned scholars and masters
Metropolis
Grand University
The realm's deepest studies, research, and highest attainable mastery
Municipal responsibility
A school belongs to its Settlement
Construction
Only the Mayor may construct the educational institution unlocked by the Settlement's current tier. The building is public infrastructure rather than private property.
Dormancy
If the Settlement later falls below the required tier, the building is not destroyed. It becomes Dormant and cannot enroll students or operate until the Settlement regains the required tier.
Decline suspends an institution; it does not erase the work, expense, or history invested in constructing it.
A municipal office
The Rector leads the institution
Every school is administered by a Rector appointed by the Mayor and removable by the Mayor at any time. The Rector manages enrollments, organizes education, offers courses, sets tuition, and administers the institution.
Appointment
The Mayor entrusts a player with the office and may replace them.
Administration
The Rector decides how the institution's available learning is offered.
Civic standing
The office joins Mayor, Judge, and Marshal among important municipal roles.
A player-driven economy
Tuition has no fixed price
The Rector freely determines tuition for every available course. Payment uses physical Gold, Silver, and Copper Coins: inventory items that can be carried, traded, stored, and transferred between players.
Affordable
A Settlement may attract families by making foundational education cheaper.
Prestigious
A renowned Rector or institution may command a higher price for its reputation.
Advanced
Higher institutions may compete through studies unavailable elsewhere.
Education becomes one of the first major economic activities inside Settlements, connecting public office, physical currency, family ambition, and regional competition.
Practical learning
One week of study at a time
Current Characters and children may enroll through the institution without physically attending a classroom. Every course lasts one week and improves a practical gameplay skill.
Village Schoolhouse · 0–20Parish Academy · 0–40Civic College · 0–60Royal Academy · 0–80Grand University · 0–100
Inheritance of knowledge
Childhood shapes the next playable Character
A parent chooses an institution and course for their child.
The family pays the Rector's player-defined tuition.
The child remains an NPC while growing and studying.
Completed education accumulates throughout childhood.
When inherited, the new Character already possesses that education.
Long preparation may allow the child to surpass the previous generation.
The purpose of education
Build the next generation
Education is not chiefly about making the current Character stronger. Parents invest in their children, and years later may inherit a Character carrying the knowledge accumulated throughout childhood. The next generation can become more capable than the one before it.
Build more than a city. Build a legacy.
Education joins settlement growth, economy, Character development, and inheritance in one long-term system shaped by player choices.