Survival: Food, Water, Temperature, Health

The persistent survival layer underneath the village sim. Hunger, thirst, body temperature, health, and stamina, plus the threats out in the wilds and how to ride out winter.

Underneath the building and management sits a real survival game. Hunger, thirst, body temperature, and health are all tracked and must be managed, for you first and for every villager you recruit. There are no bosses and nothing raids your village, so the persistent threat is not combat. It is the slow pressure of needs, the swing of the seasons, and the wildlife and bandits out in the wilds. Manage the survival layer and the rest of the game opens up.

The four tracked needs

You continuously consume food and water, and both temperature and health sit alongside them as things you actively manage:

Hunger drains as you act. Eat foraged berries and mushrooms, hunted and cooked meat, or prepared dishes to refill it.
Thirst drains the same way. Drink from clean water sources and build a Well so the supply is reliable.
Body temperature must stay in a safe band. Cold (especially winter) and heat both matter, and proper clothing plus staying warm carry you through the cold season.
Health is the overall bar that suffers when the other needs go unmet, and it must be kept up to stay alive.

Stamina and exhaustion are managed too, draining as you work and recovering with rest and food.

Temperature and the seasons

Temperature is the survival axis most tied to the calendar. Winter is harsh, so the right clothing and a heated house matter, and houses need firewood supplied to stay warm. Some foods get scarce in winter, and certain foods can be unsafe at certain times of year, so the seasonal cycle shapes what is safe to eat as well as how cold you are.

Stockpile food and firewood before winter. This is the single most repeated survival rule in the game, because winter combines scarce food, hard cold, and the firewood demand of every villager all at once.

Threats out in the wilds

Nothing attacks your village, but the world beyond it is dangerous.

Wildlife splits into passive and aggressive:

Animal	Behavior
Rabbits, deer, similar	Passive. They flee, so the challenge is catching them.
Wild boar, bison/wisent	Aggressive. Attack on sight or when provoked.
Wolves	Very aggressive, alone or in packs, common in mountain areas, tend to avoid villages.
Bears	Rare, aggressive, often in pairs near cave entrances and mountains.
Lynxes	Skittish, found in pairs in forest areas.

Chapter VIII confirms moose, wisent, and bear as the dangerous big-game targets. Bandits also roam the world, not your village, and per community reports the most dangerous enemy is a bandit with an iron crossbow and iron bolts, which deals very heavy damage at range. There is no village raid mechanic, so bandit camps are the main human threat and you choose when to approach them.

Managing it day to day

The survival layer rewards routine more than reaction:

Keep food and water topped up before they get low, rather than scrambling when a bar runs out.
Build a Well and keep a food supply running (a Hunter or Fisherman plus a Cook) so the village feeds itself.
Dress for the season and keep houses heated with a steady firewood supply.
Push your Hunting skill early. A wildlife-highlight perk around Tier 2 makes feeding yourself through winter much easier.
Stockpile ahead of winter every year, because the cold season is when an unprepared village starts losing health and Mood.