Norland: Best Buildings To Build First

Highlights

A Lumbermill is crucial in Norland as it produces wood, necessary for building all other structures.
A Rutabaga Field should be built early to produce basic food and moonshine for sustenance.
An Altar replenishes 10% of Piety and does not require workers.

Norland is a medieval colony sim that is often referred to as a combination of Rimworld and Crusader Kings 3. As a colony sim, the first steps are building up a small starting village into a thriving city that can eventually serve as the center of a vast realm. With this in mind, players need to know what to build first in Norland so that they can get off to the best start.

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There are some necessary buildings that cannot be skipped, and while some of these, such as a Lumbermill, may appear obvious, other buildings, such as a Library, don’t stand out as vital to beginners in Norland. It should also be noted that every village will start out with a Hall, three Lord’s Houses, one Dormitory, and a Market. Apart from the Hall, players will need to build more of these eventually, but there are more pressing matters to deal with first.

6 Lumbermill

Produces Wood

Building Type: Resource
Cost: 15 Wood

Seeing as Wood is required to construct all other buildings, and it also serves as a resource for many other things, the Lumbermill should be built first in Norland. In fact, Lumbermills are so important that players may want to consider building a second early on.

Lumbermills should be placed near the forest but not too far away from the rest of the settlement, so that workers don’t have to travel far. Eventually, players will want to build roads to speed up travel and increase production, but roads cost gold.

5 Rutabaga Field

Produces Rutabaga, Which Is Eaten & Turned Into Moonshine

Building Type: Resource
Cost: 40 Wood

Rutabaga is the most basic food in Norland, and it is also used to produce the most rudimentary alcohol, Moonshine. While players will start their playthrough off with a healthy amount of food and alcohol, it’s best to get agriculture rolling early, so a Rutabaga Field should be one of the first things built.

Players will want to place a Rutabaga Field on a patch of land with high fertility, and they should try to position it in a way that will allow additional fields to also be placed on fertile ground down the line. It can be a good idea to save the 100% fertility spots for Rye and Hops Fields, which are ultimately more important once unlocked.

4 Altar

Praying At An Altar Replenishes 10% Of Piety

Building Type: Service
Cost: 30 Wood

Religion is an important mechanic in Norland, and as with Hunger, Rest, and other requirements, characters must keep up their Piety levels. This is why it’s important to build an Altar early in Norland, as characters who pray at one will replenish 10% of their Piety.

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Later on, players will discover the knowledge of Temples, which are far superior in many ways, but the Altar still performs many functions, such as hosting Norland weddings and funerals. No workers are required for the Altar and nor does a lord need to be assigned to one to oversee it; it simply functions by itself.

3 Library

Lords Can Study & Rewrite Books To Gain Knowledge

Building Type: Service
Cost: 40 Wood

The Library is one of the most important buildings in Norland as it is here that lords study and rewrite books in order to gain knowledge, which essentially unlocks new technology such as the production of superior goods.

As every settlement starts with a few books, it’s best to build the Library as early as possible, as each book can take quite a few days to study. The study time depends on the Intelligence stat of the assigned lord and how much free time they have. The Library should be placed near to the Lord’s Houses since only they will use it. Players will also want to make sure that they buy a few new books every time the Holy Caravan arrives.

2 Tavern

Sells Alcohol To Peasants

Building Type: Service
Cost: 25 Wood

While players won’t be able to produce alcohol in Norland right from the off, they should start the game with a decent supply of beer. However, without a Tavern, there will be no way for the peasants to purchase alcohol, and thus, they will become unhappy due to a lack of Rest.

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After building a Tavern, players will want to set the price of Beer and Moonshine, and they may also want to toy around with the wages they pay their workers. One should consider setting Beer slightly higher than its base price so that the settlement doesn’t run out of it before Moonshine can be made.

1 Dormitory

Houses 10 Peasants

Building Type: Housing
Cost: 30 Wood

If players want to expand their village, they will need to build more houses for their growing population who will then go on to work. Peasants arrive as migrants depending on the overall mood and other factors, but without living quarters, they will become homeless and unhappy for obvious reasons.

Although players will start with one Dormitory, this only houses 10 peasants, meaning that another should be built fairly early, and in the top left, players can see how many migrants are expected on the following day. Players will need to keep building Dormitories when required until they unlock Peasant’s Houses, which are more comfortable and make the occupants happier.