Hooded Horse Wikis
Hearths
Overview
Hearths are the heart of the settlement. Every settlement starts with an Ancient Hearth and can construct other Small Hearths from the City Buildings menu. Hearths are buildings with 
Warmth Specialization that employ a single Firekeeper to keep the Hearth lit by burning Fuel. Every villager takes their breaks at the nearest Hearth to warm themselves, eat, and fulfill their needs. By upgrading the Hearth with decorations, housing, and Service buildings, you can unlock up to 3 tiers of stackable benefits. The Ancient Hearth can get corrupted at Veteran Difficulty and higher.
Corruption
- See also: Blightrot
Blightrot infects Hearths. The more Blightrot Cysts a Viceroy generates from Rain Engine use or Glade Events, the faster their Hearths get corrupted during Storm Season, when Blightrot Cysts open up. Once the Ancient Hearth reaches the Corruption limit, it triggers Voice of the Sealed Ones. Voice of the Sealed Ones sends out 3 ghosts from the Ancient Hearth that seek out and kill 3 random villagers. As soon as the Hearth discharges, Corruption is reset to 0 and starts rising again.
The only way to lower Corruption during Storm is to employ the help of Blightfighers in a Blight Post. Blightfighters search for Cysts and burn them with 
Purging Fire. Every Cyst burned lowers Corruption by 50. Once all Cysts have been burned, any new ones will not open up till next Storm Season. Any Cysts left close and Corruption resets to 0 as soon as the year ticks over and Drizzle Season starts.
Corruption Resistance is a measure of how high the Corruption limit is. The higher the Corruption Resistance, the more time it will take for Voice of the Sealed Ones to activate. An Ancient Hearth that hasn't been upgraded has 1000 Corruption Resistance. Every Ancient and Small Hearth level raises Corruption Resistance by 150. It can also be raised with different Effects.
The Corruption rate per Cyst is 60 Corruption/minute up to Prestige 10, and 90 Corruption/minute from Prestige 11 onwards. Assuming a Hearth upgraded to level 2, you will reach the Corruption limit of 1300 at least once without burning any Cysts:
- At 60 Corruption/minute in a 2-minute Storm with 11 Cysts.
- At 60 Corruption/minute in a 4-minute Storm with 6 Cysts.
- At 90 Corruption/minute in a 4-minute Storm with 4 Cysts.
Fuel
You can decide which type of fuel will be burned in each Hearth by selecting it and using the checkboxes next to the fuel types in the selection UI. If you have multiple fuels selected, the leftmost one will always burn first.
| Fuel | Base burn time | With Beaver Firekeeper | With all Upgrades | With Beaver Firekeeper and all Upgrades |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Coal
|
40 seconds | 50 seconds | 52 seconds | 71 seconds |
 Sea Marrow
|
40 seconds | 50 seconds | 52 seconds | 71 seconds |
 Oil
|
25 seconds | 31 seconds | 32 seconds | 44 seconds |
 Wood
|
12 seconds | 15 seconds | 15 seconds | 21 seconds |
Villager Breaks
- Main article: Breaks
Every few minutes villagers have to return to a nearby Hearth for a break, to eat, rest, and satisfy needs. All consumption happens during breaks. Villagers of different species take breaks at different Intervals.
| Species |  Beavers
|
 Foxes
|
 Harpies
|
 Humans
|
 Lizards
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Break Interval | 02:00 | 02:00 | 01:40 | 02:00 | 01:40 |
Hearth Upgrades
Upgrading to level 2 and 3 requires you to unlock levels of the Brass Forge. Click on the Hearth to see what is required to Upgrade. As seen on the image on the right, we still need 4 Comfort Decorations (Green) and 4 Aesthetic Decorations (Blue) before the Hearth Upgrades.
- Houses and Decorations need to be placed within the Hearth Radius for it to count towards the Upgrade.
- The Hearth Upgrades itself automatically once all the requirements are fulfilled.
| Upgrades | Name | Requirements | Bonus | Description | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Base Level |
- | - | -30 to Hostility | - | |
 Level I |
Encampment | 8 Housed Villagers 4 Comfort Decorations |
+2 to Global Resolve +150 Corruption Resistance |
Gathered around the blazing fire, folks keep each other's spirits high. | |
 Level II |
Neighborhood | (Unlocked with Brass Forge 1) 14 Housed Villagers 8 Comfort Decorations 4 Aesthetics Decorations |
+10% to global production +150 Corruption Resistance |
Some viceroys say aesthetics don't matter out in the wilds, but you know better than that. | |
 Level III |
District | (Unlocked with Brass Forge 3) 20 Housed Villagers 1 Service Building 16 Comfort Decorations 8 Aesthetic Decorations 4 Harmony Decorations |
+10% to global double production chance +150 Corruption Resistance |
The town is booming with activity and industry thrives. | |
Every Settlement starts with an Ancient Hearth which must always remain lit. If the fire goes out, all Villagers will lose 20 Resolve. To keep the flame burning, a Firekeeper and a steady supply of Fuel is needed. Your choice of Firekeeper in the Ancient Hearth will grant your Settlement a specific bonus.
Firekeeper Bonus
| Species | Bonus | Effect | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Beavers
|
File:Firekeeper Bonus Beaver.png Pragmatic Frugality |
Fuel burns 20% longer | Beaver firekeepers know a lot about burning techniques. |
| Foxes
|
 Forest Affinity |
-2/3/4/6 Hostility from opened Glades. Scales with Difficulty. |
Fox firekeepers have an unusual ability to calm the forest. |
| Harpies
|
 Light as a Feather |
+5 to global carrying capacity | Harpy firekeepers can teach villagers how to be more nimble and agile. |
| Humans
|
 Beacon |
Queen's Impatience grows 25% slower | Human firekeepers create a special link with the Citadel. |
| Lizards
|
 Sacred Pyre |
+1 to global Resolve | Lizard firekeepers are very adept at ancient rites. |
Sacrificing
During especially hard times, you can sacrifice additional goods in the Ancient Hearth to temporarily gain positive effects.
Each Fuel type grants different boons:
- Wood → 53 units per minute can be sacrificed to give -50 Hostility
- Coal → 27 units per minute can be sacrificed to give -80 Hostility
- Sea Marrow → 27 units Sea Marrow per minute can be sacrificed to give +25% Glade Event working speed
- Oil → 20 units per minute can be sacrificed to give +25% global production speed
You can have up to 3 stacks of each Fuel being sacrificed at a time.
Hearth Types
Ancient Hearths
The heart of the colony is protected by the Holy Flame. Villagers gather here to rest, eat, and receive clothing. If the fire goes out, people will lose hope.
Small Hearths
Small Hearths cannot be built too close to the Ancient Hearth or to each other - the ranges of your Hearths (approx. radius of 9 squares) may never overlap.
Small Hearths are identical to Ancient Hearths, except you do not receive a Firekeeper bonus and you cannot sacrifice Fuel. It is OK if Small Hearths go out, but Villagers will be unable to rest or fulfill their needs at an unlit Hearth and will instead travel to the nearest available lit Hearth.
Hearth Tips
- Use
Beavers as Hearthkeepers when you are running low on Fuel and Wood, especially on Marshlands and the Sealed Forest. 
Harpies are nifty as Hearthkeepers before and after Glade Events to carry goods to and from these Events.
Foxes are excellent during the Storm Season as Hearthkeepers to keep Hostility down and stop Forest Mysteries from triggering.
Humans are invaluable when playing World Modifiers like "Land of Greed" to slow down the Queen's Impatience.
Lizards as Hearthkeepers will help you in achieving Resolve - based Orders.
Since Firekeepers in Small Hearths don't offer a species-specific bonus like they do in the Ancient Hearth, you can take advantage of its Warmth specialization synergy with Lizards.
