Ruins

The failed settlements of civilized beings, from the recently abandoned to the ancient and crumbling. Some ruins may yet stand silent and still, untouched but desolate in the lonely valleys and meadows they once thrived in. Others, ravaged by the elements, may only partially remain, or be sunken into the earth by forgotten calamity. All the Settlements of the world, as described previously under Civilization, can be found as Ruins.

The dangers of exploring a ruin generally lie in direct proportion to the unplundered resources still to be found within them, though there are some sites that remain dangerous well after the last lost treasure has been carted off. Recently abandoned settlements often attract scavengers, or house the bandits (or, given ruined cities, armies) that caused their destruction in the first place. Older ruins, on the other hand may serve as shelter for bandits, rebels, dark cults, or wild animals.

BACKSTORY

Ruins exist from the Age of Kings on, though one or two may predate those technically as the first Tribes to settle are still occupying the Age of Dreams.

BUILDING

You’ll build Ruins using the same process as you do when building living civilization types (villages, cities, etc), but all structures begin as dilapidated (at best), razed or ruined, the settlement is given a state of plunder, and all container contents are considered at or around that state.