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Archives of Nethys

Archives of Nethys

Pathfinder RPG (1st Edition) Pathfinder RPG (2nd Edition) Starfinder RPG

Rules Index | GM Screen | Player's Guide
Appendix 2: Kingdoms / Settlements

The Urban Grid

Source Kingmaker Adventure Path pg. 540
The Urban Grid presents a simple graphical representation of a settlement (see page 633 for an example). The grid divides a settlement into 9 large districts (blocks) arranged in a 3-by-3 square. Each district itself comprises 4 individual neighborhoods (lots) arranged in a 2-by-2 square. It is these neighborhood lots in which you'll build structures to improve your settlement.

While the Urban Grid diagrams your settlement as a square, this is simply an organizational abstraction—it doesn't mean that your settlements are literally square. If it helps your sense of verisimilitude, feel free to cut up the Urban Grid and arrange blocks of four lots in any shape you wish. For a city hugging the shores of a great bay, you could draw out the bay and simply paste the blocks in a long row lining the coastline, or in any other arrangement that suits your taste.

Though the Urban Grid depicts 9 blocks for each settlement, the number of blocks in which you can build is limited by the settlement's category: a village consists of only a single block (and can thus host a maximum of only 4 lots of structures), while a city can expand to all 9 blocks (and can host up to 36 lots of structures). It's even possible for your settlement to become a metropolis, expanding to more than one Urban Grid! (See Settlement Types for complete details of settlement categories.)

Urban Grid Borders

Source Kingmaker Adventure Path pg. 540
The four sides of the Urban Grid are where you record the types of borders your settlement has. Land Borders: By default, all of your settlement's borders are unremarkable transitions from urban to hinterland—these are known as Land Borders. You take a cumulative –1 item penalty on Trade checks for each settlement in your kingdom that has no Land Borders, unless it has at least one Water Border with a Bridge.

Water Borders: When you place a settlement in a hex that has lake, river, or swamp terrain, you can locate it so that it has Water Borders. Water Borders provide natural defenses to your settlement during Warfare, and some structures can only be constructed in lots adjacent to Water Borders. However, crossing Water Borders that lack Bridges takes a long time (see Navigating an Urban Grid).

If a settlement has only Water Borders, it is on an island; until you build at least one Bridge, that settlement's influence is 0.

Walled Borders: Building Walls on your borders boosts your settlement's defense in certain events and in Warfare.

Navigating an Urban Grid

Source Kingmaker Adventure Path pg. 541
You can simulate travel in a settlement using the Urban Grid to approximate distances. Since moving through a settlement requires a character to follow twisting roads, navigate crowds, or endure minor distractions along the way, it takes 15 minutes to move from one lot to an adjacent lot, or to cross a border (including exiting the settlement). If the settlement has Paved Streets, this travel time is reduced to 5 minutes. Crossing a Water Border that doesn't have a Bridge takes an hour.