Setting
Zoë, the Burgeoning World, is a realm overflowing with life and magic. The scouring of old ended an age age, and from divine headwaters poured lush energies to reclaim the dust. The New Kin, called "humans" by the eldkin, were sown upon Zoë to root her dust to soil. They have since spread like grass, owing to their tenacity and natural resistance to the magics of death that still linger.
Currency
The basic unit of value is the argent (written ⱥ), worth about one loaf of bread or pint of ale. Originally based on a silver coin, it is more commonly used as a unit of account or measure of commercial value.
Calendar
The people of Zoë split the year into 12 months of 28 days each, mapping perfectly to the 336 day year. Each month is associated with a Sunsign that it derives its name from. The year begins on the first day of Spring, with each season having 3 months. The game begins in the Spring of year 600.
Time
Time on the homestead is divided into 7-day weeks, each acting as a "turn" when played out. Some Homestead Actions take one or more entire weeks to perform. At the beginning of each week, resolve all weekly effects. At the end of each week, record what transpired in your journal and choose whether to begin the next week or take a break.
Tracks
Tasks and progress is recorded using tracks, made by drawing empty circles and then filling them in as the track progresses (or erased if regressing).
Homestead Actions
To develop or work around your homestead, you can take these Homestead Actions. These actions are intensive and you cannot take other actions during the time spent on these. You can still perform minor tasks and housekeeping, but nothing that requires leaving the homestead or really exerting yourself. Most Homestead Actions require spending your Stamina to perform.
Stamina
Your capacity to do hard work is called Stamina (abbreviated STA) and is depleted when performing certain actions or from some conditions. At the beginning of each week, recover 1 Stamina. Ways to recover more Stamina include certain improvements and feasts.
Fields
A group of contiguous tiles used to grow the same crop is called a field. Keep track of each field's size (# of tiles), contents, and growth progress (according to its crop type). Many crops require the tiles be furrowed using a hoe or plow. You can designate a field for a crop even when none is planted to help keep track of it.
Growing Crops
Each kind of crop has its own requirements and yields when grown. To grow a crop, you must plant enough seed to fill its field (shrink the field's size if you don't have enough seed). Then, create a growth track equal to the crop's Growth Track stat. At the beginning of each week, mark 1 progress on the growth track as long as the crop's bare requirements are met. More progress may be marked depending on improvements and the crop's needs. Once the growth track is full, it is ready to harvest! If it is not harvested after 4 weeks of being ready, it becomes overgrown and does not yield its normal items (check to see if it yields something else when overgrown).