What the Hearth Does
The Great Hearth is your settlement's monument — a fuel-burning structure that radiates warmth and happiness outward to all citizens within its aura. Every citizen inside the radius receives a permanent near_hearth happiness moodlet as long as the fire is lit. The Hearth also reduces how fast the warmth need decays for citizens nearby, which matters most in winter.
There can only be one Hearth per settlement. Choose its location carefully — the village will grow around it, and the footprint never changes tier to tier.
The Four Tiers
The Hearth starts as a modest Fire Pit and can be upgraded across four tiers, all sharing the same 3×3 footprint. Each tier requires research and costs more materials, but the aura grows dramatically and the happiness and warmth benefits strengthen.
| Tier | Name | Aura radius | Mood bonus | Warmth decay | Fuel / day |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Fire Pit | 6 units | +1 happiness | 15% slower | 1 firewood |
| 2 | Communal Hearth | 9 units | +2 happiness | 25% slower | 2 firewood |
| 3 | Great Hearth | 14 units | +3 happiness | 35% slower | 3 firewood or charcoal |
| 4 | Eternal Hearth | 20 units | +4 happiness | 45% slower | 4 fuel value / day (prefers coal) |
Research requirements
- Tier 1 (Fire Pit): Available from the start — 8 stone + 4 wood to build.
- Tier 2 (Communal Hearth): Requires 70 Knowledge and the Stone Mason.
- Tier 3 (Great Hearth): Requires 140 Knowledge, Communal Hearth already built, and the Smelter.
- Tier 4 (Eternal Hearth): Requires 220 Knowledge, Great Hearth, and the Glassworks.
Fuel and Going Cold
The Hearth consumes fuel each day. Citizens automatically deliver firewood (or better fuels for higher tiers) from the barn. The Hearth has its own fuel storage — you can adjust the reserve target in the building panel to have citizens keep a larger buffer on hand.
If the Hearth runs out of fuel and goes cold, a settlement-wide penalty moodlet fires. Every citizen feels it. When the fire is relit, a positive moodlet fires in response — the settlement exhales together.
- Going cold: −5 happiness for 2 days, settlement-wide
- Relit: +3 happiness for 1 day, settlement-wide
The Hearth Anniversary
Every five years from the day the Hearth was first lit, the settlement marks a Hearth Anniversary. Everyone in the settlement gets a bonus moodlet (+4 happiness for 3 days) as the community celebrates another year with the fire burning. The anniversary carries forward through upgrades — the fire remembers how long it has burned.
Tornadoes and the Hearth
The Hearth cannot be destroyed by fire — it is a managed flame, and an uncontrolled fire putting it out makes no sense. If a tornado strikes the Hearth, it doesn't demolish it: instead, it downgrades the structure by one tier. An Eternal Hearth becomes a Great Hearth. The fire keeps burning through the downgrade. The loss is real — you'll need to research and rebuild to the previous tier — but the Hearth's history is preserved.
The Hearth as a Gathering Place
From Tier 3 onward, the Great Hearth becomes a social building. Citizens who are unhappy and searching for relief will walk to the Hearth as they would a tavern or chapel. The Hearth and a nearby chapel or tavern in the same quiet district compounds all three effects — near_hearth moodlet, peaceful_surroundings (from a Quiet Zone), and the visit moodlet from the chapel or tavern.