A New Way to Start in Thornfeld

Brand new player tutorial — meet Greta Holloway, the widow on the north farm. She walks you through the first week of life as a settler with a five-mission arc that teaches every core ranching skill, hands you 10 platinum in starter capital, and ends with a personal recommendation to Bailiff Roderic so you can buy your first plot.

New characters now spawn directly in Greta's spare room. Talk to her about help to begin.

The Five Missions

• The Loose Chicken — Find Henrietta in the woods and walk her home. Teaches the halter system.
• Breaking Ground — Till, plant, water and harvest your first wheat. Teaches farming and the well.
• Feed the Animals — Mill the wheat into flour, distill it into a feed bag, fill the trough. Teaches machinery and animal care.
• Mending Fences — Mine ore at the rocks, smelt nails at the forge, chop a tree, saw planks, then use the Building Book to rebuild a rotten fence. Teaches the full construction loop.
• The Bailiff's Errand — Mount Brick the horse, halter Bramble the cargo bull, load Greta's sealed letter, and ride south to the castle stables. Teaches mounts and bull cargo.

Tutorial Cards

Key mechanics now show a one-time tutorial card the first time you encounter them. Halter, farming, animal care, machinery, construction, mounts and cargo — each one explains the system in two sentences. Read it once, never see it again on that character.

Achievement

Finish the whole arc to earn Earned Your Keep (5 points). Roderic accepts the letter, the county registry opens to you, and you walk out a citizen of Thornfeld.

Other Notes

• The old Settling Down tutorial (Captain Aldwin) is retired. Existing characters who already finished it keep their access to the registry.
• Polish on the M2 and M3 tutorial arrows — the well now pulses when your watering can or bucket is empty, and the feed and water pipelines guide you in parallel.
• New tutorial popup framework — future systems will plug into it the same way.

If you spawn into the world for the first time today, Greta is right there. If you're an existing settler, your old quest line is preserved — the Greta arc is for fresh characters. Feedback welcome on Discord!