This is something that has been in my mind for a while, and even after reading your guide (it's great by the way), i still dont get it.
Where does it say that a farm hex doesnt cost the normal 1 BP per hex?
What he is basically saying here is that the farm generates 2 BP worth of food, but one will be consumed by the hex the farm is in, since all hexes consume 1 BP of food per turn.
Farm hexes are not exempt from consumption; they merely produce a surplus of 1 BP.
One thing I do not understand about discounts - will you only get one discount from a building.
Each building only provides a discount once. You can choose which building type from the list to give the discount to. It's usually the best idea to choose the most expensive building on the list because then you get the biggest discount.
On magic items: Personally, I don't use (or intend to use) the magic item shops... or even the magic item slots at all. They fill by themselves during upkeep, but they are of no use for the kingdom (and the buildings like magic shop are now overpriced for their nerfed advantages).
Those slots are filled at random. There's a chance that you'll find something of interest to buy, but most often than not, it's not. And once filled, they block the slot until someone buys them (or you force a sell, but at the cost of BP). Also, the items there are of no use to the kingdom.
Since kingdom rules involve downtime, it's better to have a crafter in the party anyways. Use Aid Another and/or Cooperative Crafting from the party and/or followers (one of you does have Leadership, no? Followers are a great way to fill the remaining leadership roles without having to doubt their motivations).
On Farms: where does it say that hexes have a maintenance cost in BP? Just curious, since I haven't found such. Hexes cost 1 BP to claim, but it is only done once, while the Farm brings food each turn.
On magic items: Personally, I don't use (or intend to use) the magic item shops... Since kingdom rules involve downtime, it's better to have a crafter in the party anyways.
I completely agree. I completely ignore this element since the party will likely have crafters who will be cheaper than the stores. Unless the GM has abolished item crafting.
On Farms: where does it say that hexes have a maintenance cost in BP?
Look under "consumption" (in the upkeep phase).
In the upkeep phase you have to pay for consumption to support your kingdom. The amount you have to pay is equal to the kingdom's size (which is the number of hexes in your kingdom) plus the number of districts. It is also modified by things like maintaining a standing army and policy edicts.
A farm reduces your consumption by 2 BP. But having the hex to put the farm in increases consumption by 1 BP, since that increases the kingdom's size by 1. So the farm supports its own hex and provides another BP of support after that.
On Consumption: Guess what? You're right. I had forgotten that part. Them's fault for hiding an important formula in a "terminology" section. I knew that at one point, though, and made it so my Excel file knew as well, but I forgot afterwards...
As a side note, let's mention that an efficient kingdom would have to have farms in each of its hexes (to support its size as well as its armies). Not very realistic. And completely impossible to make a dwarven kingdom.
I'd rather house-rule things a bit, so that farms on plains give more, and farms in suboptimal places (mountains) could be built but with decreased output (perhaps with fluff text like "you grow mushrooms there"). Perhaps have different kinds of farms too? Like ones that grows grain/fruits/vegetables and others for cattle/meat (note that cattle like goats can be produced in mountainous areas). New buildings would increase the related production output: Butcher for meat, Bakery for grain, and another one (Restaurant?) for fruits & vegetables. Stockyard would act as larger Granary for things that are not grain (and you would be able to use its stores to pay Consumption).
And I'll also create an Army Resource, called "supply line" to decrease an active army's weekly consumption.
...but that's just me. Chemlak, there's no need to remind me that these rules are a massive abstraction. I think I know that, by now :-)
As a side note, let's mention that an efficient kingdom would have to have farms in each of its hexes (to support its size as well as its armies). Not very realistic. And completely impossible to make a dwarven kingdom.
Actually it is pretty realistic... pre-industrial nations were defined by their agricultural territory. The unrealistic part is where an uninhabited hex that you control still draws consumption.
But the rural population of just about any nation up until around 1850 made up 90% or more of the total population; very few people lived in large cities. The USA didn't get to more than 10% urban until after 1900.
Note though that having only 1/2 your kingdom as farms will support all the hexes you have.
However as far as the rules go, don't forget Stockyards. They increase the output of farms in the same hex or within one hex by 1. So that 2 food they produce becomes 3. The best way to handle it is to have local towns in agricultural zones built with the intent to get as many farm hexes covered by a stockyard as possible.
The rules aren't meant to handle underground kingdoms. This was actually one of the first things I noticed; I had been talking to a DM about doing a kingmaker-type game only with me playing a Kobold :). If you have an underground kingdom you need to be able to build farms underground. This is an easy fix to make.
I'd rather house-rule things a bit, so that farms on plains give more, and farms in suboptimal places (mountains) could be built but with decreased output (perhaps with fluff text like "you grow mushrooms there").
The Chinese used to build farms in mountains. They used a system called Terracing. Here's a picture.
The problem is that it is terribly expensive to build (the Chinese are gradually abandoning this system) and also requires you to be in a warm climate. In an area like the River Kingdoms the climate would be too cold for this to work well.
The system already rewards you for building farms in plains by having the farms cost less to build than elsewhere.
Perhaps have different kinds of farms too? Like ones that grows grain/fruits/vegetables and others for cattle/meat (note that cattle like goats can be produced in mountainous areas).
I don't think you need to specialize further as a hex is 95 square miles and a farm hex consists of dozens or even hundreds of individual farms. Most farms will grow a variety of things.
New buildings would increase the related production output: Butcher for meat, Bakery for grain, and another one (Restaurant?) for fruits & vegetables. Stockyard would act as larger Granary for things that are not grain (and you would be able to use its stores to pay Consumption).
It's clear to me from your post that you're not a farmer. :)
Things like bakeries, butcher shops, and restaurants are things that in the kind of society we are talking about, only cater to the wealthy. The average person gets his meat from a market, bakes his own bread, and cooks his own food.
The main thing is the issue of getting your goods to a town in an effective way. The Stockyard more or less works in its current role because it provides a place for farmers to send livestock that they have raised for meat. This actually made up only a very small part of agriculture up until recently, as raising animals for meat is expensive and inefficient compared to grains.
I had instituted a houserule in my game that a marketplace would increase the production of a farm in the *same* hex as it by 1; likewise for fisheries. A market provides farmers with an incentive for growing more. Likewise, produce farms need to be close to their markets as fresh produce spoils quickly.
In hindsight I probably do this differently, and break markets up into separate types; the Farmer's Market and the Fish Market both taking 1 lot and doing what I described above. They would also provide +1 Stability, but nothing else, and would be relatively cheap to build.
You don't want to go too far with items that boost production. You can end up with a situation where it is way too easy to support your kingdom. Remember that when you give +1 production to a single farm that is roughly equivalent to a building that has +3 Economy.
And I'll also create an Army Resource, called "supply line" to decrease an active army's weekly consumption.
One way to do that would be to say that armies stationed at forts count the consumption of the fort as contributing to their consumption. This is kind of what forts are for. You could add a larger fort called a "stronghold" that basically provides double the benefit.
You could also have a hex improvement called a "Supply Depot" that would support armies within a certain distance. This should be something that is expensive to maintain in peacetime though.
A farm reduces your consumption by 2 BP. But having the hex to put the farm in increases consumption by 1 BP, since that increases the kingdom's size by 1. So the farm supports its own hex and provides another BP of support after that.
Only if you have only one farm per hex. Nowhere (in Ultimate Campaign at least, as far as I can tell) does it say each hex has a limit of only one farm. In fact, the farm is listed as explicitly being able to share its hex with other improvements. That could be an error, of course; farming is one of the most space-intensive industries there is, so if a sawmill can't share its hex, a farm probably shouldn't be able to either, but according to the rules, it can. (Compare with the Watchtower, which can also share its hex, but explicitly says it can't share its hex with another Watchtower. The farm doesn't say anything like that.)
Obviously there should be a limit to the number of farms per hex, and 1 might be a very reasonable limit, but as far as I can tell from the rules, there's no limit.
As for magic item slots, I don't see the point of them at all (in UC at least, in original Kingmaker, they seem clearly broken if I see how strategies revolve around exploiting them). Yeah, there might be a magic item for sale, but can't that item be for sale anyway? If there's a shop that sells magic items, then surely I can also find other items there? A single minor potion? Really?
Besides, there's got to be someone in the group, or a cohort, or even a citizen in the realm (like the owner of the magic item building) who can create them for you? Just ask. Commission an item, if they don't have it at hand. The magic item slot is the least interesting aspect of such a building. Having a place where you can commission items is far more interesting.
An interesting and potentially useful document. :) Will this be updated to be in line with Ultimate Campaign?