Starting with an empty plot of land and only your closest family, you will learn to survive as you establish your hearth and home, watch over your livestock, harvest your fields, and fight the bitter winter. Whether you grow your fledgling settlement into a bustling inn or a central trade hub, or you instead content yourself with building a prosperous and self-sufficient homestead or livestock ranch, everything rests in your hands - including the very lives of your clanfolk.
Craft your family's story from start to finish across multiple generations, building a home from nothing, and leaving behind a legacy for generations to come.
Create your precise lineage or choose from an existing clan, then take charge of a multi-generational family seeking to survive in the harsh Scottish Highlands. Your family members will get married, have children, grow old, and eventually pass away, leaving their contributions and struggles to be carried on by the next generation.
Manage schedules to make sure everyone is well rested, well fed, and reasonably happy without risking your family's preparedness for when the harsh winter inevitably settles in. Morning rituals, socializing, and rest punctuate a day of chores: sowing seeds, tilling soil, fishing, hunting, crafting, and cooking.
Every member of the family has their own traits, aspirations, dreams, and skills that help determine what they do best. They will care for themselves and for each other, and they will seek to better themselves over time. Your youngest family members are full of potential and learn from working alongside their elders - teach them to hunt, cook, clean, build, or farm, ensuring all the core survival skills are carried forward to the next generation.
The warm summers give way to crisp fall nights and brutal winters before life and spring return to the highlands - your survival depends on your ability to plan ahead and adapt to the flow of the seasons.
Each season presents its own challenges and opportunities - whether picking berries, trapping eels, hunting rabbit, or seeking out mushroom patches, you'll need to make the most of the opportunities of medieval life.
Soil conditions change and a host of factors impact how well your crops grow. Till the soil, employ techniques like slash-and-burn farming, and train the right farmers to keep your clan fed.
The environment presents constant challenges - your livestock, your wares, and your clanfolk themselves must be kept safe from heavy rain and sub-zero temperatures. Water left in the cold turns to ice that must be melted over a fire. Food soaked in the rain spoils quickly, though wet objects don't catch fire as easily. Farm animals without shelter can die of poor health, and unless your people are properly clothed in furs, they can freeze when not standing next to the warmth of a fire.
Establish your homestead starting with nothing but the land around you. Build the knowledge of survival across generations - every collected branch, tree, stone, and reed unlocks new ideas and methods your clanfolk can use to improve their living conditions.
From sleeping in the dirt under the night sky to constructing properly ventilated houses and barns made of brick and stone, you'll be unlocking new materials to use and items to craft every step of the way.
Technological advances happen naturally over time as you work the raw materials the land gives you, spurring your clanfolk to the creation of new ideas and methods. Pottery, bricks, and tiles are only available after you first dig up clay. Manufacture of iron tools are the product of chipping away at the right mountains. Working with furs is the result of hunting and skinning animals at the butcher's block.
Maintain complex and realistic production chains across the seasons, prioritizing tasks and setting crafting quotas and requirements. Balance the need for essentials and luxuries alike.
Prepare yourself for inevitable disasters – poor health, harsh weather, and raging fires can turn a thriving homestead into a graveyard or a funeral pyre.
Your clan is not the only family in the highlands - traders, travelers, and neighbors seeking work will visit, giving you an opportunity to make new friends, earn coin, or grow your settlement.
Trading posts attract members of other clans peddling useful goods and seeking to purchase your wares for themselves. Your reputation with another clan determines the types of goods their traders bring, and with each clan specializing in their own products, the right friends can ensure your survival.
Travelers seek lodging as they pass by your homestead, and if you so choose you can provide them shelter. Particularly happy guests might extend their stay or pay good coin, and building a bustling inn can be an attractive possibility.
Workers from other clans will arrive at job boards from time to time seeking an opportunity to earn money in exchange for their labor. A few extra skilled hands can go a long way towards finishing the harvest, bolstering your hunting parties, or staffing your newly built inn.
Clanfolk is a game about life and family. Lead the generations of your clan to experience full lives in the Scottish Highlands.
