Neighbours in winter

Winter is when the neighbourly side of Thole matters most. None of this is required, and you can get through a winter on your own if you'd rather. But a little help goes a long way when it's cold, and the game remembers it.

Sharing a woodpile#

Tap a woodpile you built and choose Share this woodpile with everyone. Then anybody can stack firewood on it and take from it, the same way an honour-box stall works. A settlement's warming hall is just that: a cabin with a stove and a shared woodpile beside it, where anyone can come in out of the cold.

Looking in on someone's place#

If you top up someone else's woodpile, fill their trough or shovel the snow at their place, it counts on your record as helping a neighbour through the cold. The owner hears about it, and if they're away they're told when they next come in. It counts once a day for each neighbour, so it's about turning up, not piling up numbers. To fill a trough or stack a woodpile that isn't shared, the owner has to trust you first.

Nothing at your own place is lost while you're away: an empty house burns no wood, food keeps the way it always has, and animals get thin but never die. A neighbour looking in just means your place is in better shape when you get back.

Taking someone in#

If you trust a newcomer, they can sleep under your roof over their first winter and make it their home until they've got their own. It's about the best thing you can do for someone just starting out, and the game counts it.

Midwinter#

In the deepest part of winter the camp fire is built up big for the midwinter gathering, and the Lantern lets everyone know. Come in within 10 m of the fire and you'll get a welcome and your breath back. Any frozen pond nearby makes a fine place to skate, and it's a good night to see who else is out.