Those pledge packages give you access to the game at launch, as well as any additional perks they list.

In short, Bloodline+ gives you access to exposition which is a time period where you can customize the family you have chosen based on how much EP (exposition points) you have, Anything lower than bloodline will not be able to enter during exposition and while you can still join any available family you will not have a chance to customize it prior to launch.

Does any of those titles give me ownership of land in a settlement? Founder and merchant sounds like it should allow me to settle somewhere building a house or run a business.

Technically none of them give you ownership of land outright.

Bloodline, Settler, and Proprietor all give you some EP and access to exposition, and you can use EP during exposition to purchase land, but if you spend your EP elsewheres then you get no land unless you join a family that has some already.

Elyrian, Pioneer, and Founder will simply allow you to join a family, and that family may or may not own land depending on which one you pick (you should be able to tell during character creation, or at the very least by asking people already in game during expo) and then you would only have to work to inherit the land from your family.

Edit: To clarify. Any of the pledge packages will give you the opportunity to own land, with bloodline+ giving you more control over what land and how much, but none of them outright guarantee land if you pick everything else instead.

Thanks Labbe! The description under GENTRY as being a 'sanctioned landowner' confused me.

Only bloodline+ have easy access to owning ancestral land. After launch, it is much more difficult to own ancestral land. Ancestral lands are parcels that are not governed by a count or duke, just the King. I believe that only the king or his delegate can confer ancestral land after launch.

Another form of owning land is buying the ownership rights to a parcel from the count or settlement; the land and buildings are owned by the character. When bought from the count, it is unincorporated owned land. When bought from a settlement, it is incorporated owned land.

However, most incorporated land will likely not be sold. It is more likely that it will be leased to renters that use the land and the building. When the land is leased the building is not owned. The reason for leasing instead of selling incorporated land, is so that the settlement can ensure that it has a beneficial ratio of building types; food, crafting, etc etc

Hey Andromil, for your case as a new player, I suggest going with the "Pioneer" package. It gives you access to the Second Beta (with the features you likely will be looking for), and launch, as well as kits and supplies (including likely materials to purchase a plot) to get land.

Thank you all for your advice! I went with the Proprietor package which seems to be a solid foundation. After reading most of the developer journals I am looking forward for this game to start! Thousands of 15 year old kids ruling the world...can't wait, lol!

if you have $95 available. I recommend buying a premium advent calendar. it will give you many items that will help you customize your corner of the world and you can even trade the items you don't want with others for items you do want, including past exclusive items. The minimum value that you'll get from it is $275, I believe that it is possible to get over $350 from it. You can see what is has given already at the following link. And don't worry, all the items that you missed will be caught up at the end. You will end up with 18+1 items.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1cierWBTYCKcxvQvQiAL-MjUl6bXrkmDase0Ufgk5lRE/edit#gid=308508774

Not to dispute some well intentioned advice, but I usually advise against Telling people to spend money no matter how much of a perceived deal it may be to you.

Far better to explain what something is and the listed benefits, and in cases like pledge packages explain what each offers someone who may want it instead of which you think is best for them.

Glad Andromil is clearly thinking things through before buying stuff, but convincing others to spend money if they dont know what they are getting is just going to add another unhappy community member when they find out they got something they didnt want afterall.

My current idea for my character/family(?) is to run a merchant/trade business supplying materials and goods! Eventually I would like to move materials and goods between settlements possibly far away which means that I need to set up a main hub in a town or city and eventually small 'trading posts' in other settlements which could even be in another kingdom. For that I will need people to work for me.... Question: besides the obvious choices to join a guild or have other PCs fill positions, can I hire NPCs to work for me? Is this something that players do in the game or does the AI do supply functions automatically?

The advent calendars are great from a value standpoint but terrible from a customization standpoint. This is because you have no idea what you are getting for the money.

If you have a very specific idea of what it is that you want to do, I think it's better to selectively purchase things that further your goals.

If you love to wheel and deal and orchestrate trades, the advent calendar can be absolutely great for you. You can get what you want for less than it's worth, and in so doing stretch your dollars.

With respect to hiring NPCs, I think it's unlikely we'll have such options and if we do, they'll only be capable of accepting work contracts for the most basic, repeatable things. Complex AI seems way too ambitious an undertaking for a small studio. But we'll see.

Posted By Hieronymus at 12:22 PM - Sun Dec 15 2019

Complex AI seems way too ambitious an undertaking for a small studio. But we'll see.

I'm hoping that NPC employees can be told what to do. Sounds realistic right? I think it'd be easy to use an OPC-like programming feature to program NPC employees when they are working, that is superseded by their own AI as required.

Posted By Andromil at 10:48 AM - Sun Dec 15 2019

My current idea for my character/family(?) is to run a merchant/trade business supplying materials and goods! Eventually I would like to move materials and goods between settlements possibly far away which means that I need to set up a main hub in a town or city and eventually small 'trading posts' in other settlements which could even be in another kingdom. For that I will need people to work for me.... Question: besides the obvious choices to join a guild or have other PCs fill positions, can I hire NPCs to work for me? Is this something that players do in the game or does the AI do supply functions automatically?

Hey there! First of all welcome to CoE! It's always nice to see new people getting interested in the game.

As for your question: The current intention is for NPCs to accept contracts for jobs. They of course would expect some form if compensation for this work.

Much like hieronymus, I also believe these contracts and tasks will likely need to be relatively basic. But we do know SbS is shooting for the stars on this one.

Anyways, I look forward to seeing you around in the future.

Posted By Andromil at 12:10 AM - Sun Dec 15 2019

Thank you all for your advice! I went with the Proprietor package which seems to be a solid foundation. After reading most of the developer journals I am looking forward for this game to start! Thousands of 15 year old kids ruling the world...can't wait, lol!

Hey dude. Good choice, as it gives you Alpha II access. However, there will not be any Alpha content for a while, as we are in pre-alpha with likely a year to come for consumer alphas.

Posted By Andromil at 8:25 PM - Sat Dec 14 2019

Thanks Labbe! The description under GENTRY as being a 'sanctioned landowner' confused me.

The idea is that gentry has access to exposition, in where they can make a start for themselves, for example buying (with EP) a piece of land and be a landowner, or a house or shop.

They aren't governing anything, but most gentry will own something, which in a feudal society is already a big deal.