Hello! This is a guide for the problems that most beginners experience (usually only once while learning about the game). My definition of most is from what I've noticed on the Discord. For more in depth information, you can go to the half finished wiki (https://wiki.lordsandvilleins.com/subdom/wiki/index.php?title=Main_Page).

A better option is to come and ask a few questions on the Discord. People on the Discord respond super fast and we're mostly friendly ( I can't speak for all, of course). So don't feel shy about asking questions there.

But while you're here, here's a short list of common problems. :)
If you guys have any feedback on what I should edit/add to this, let me know.

By "Starting Out" I mean issues people experience within the first day of a save.

You're in luck! I wrote a starting out guide[wiki.lordsandvilleins.com] on the wiki not too long ago. If you'd like, go and check it out. If there's anything I missed, feel free to let me know. It has just the basics, but I think it should be enough to help you set up. The guide includes everything I do when I pause the game at the very beginning (except for my zoning mayhem, but that's my own preference).

So maybe you don't want to click another link. No worries. I understand. Sometimes I don't have the time to jump down rabbit holes either. There's also a tutorial book in game. It's quite a bit of information, but it's definitely enough to help you start out if you're willing to sift through it all.

Ok. Maybe you're one of those people who don't even want to read. I can't help you there. Maybe ask questions on the discord if you're lazy and willing to ask questions about every single thing you come across.

Villagers need materials to build. Make sure you sell or grant building materials to your villagers. Villagers can salvage materials, so they're more likely to need planks than wood. Here's a list of everything you might need to provide to your settlement when you get started.
Common Building Materials Needed:

• Planks
  
• Wood
  
• Straw
  
• Stone
  
• Yarn (For fishermen only)

If you've just read through the above paragraph and though "Yeah, I already know all that!", then maybe you've forgotten to build a storefront at your warehouse. Happens to me all the time.

Quite a frustrating predicament. There are a couple possible things you're doing wrong.

• You haven't set priorities. Most common with farmers since most other professions already have some default priorities set.
  
• You don't have the right buildings in the right zones. All work structures need to be in the work zone to be used for work. Giving masons a wooden block only in their home will not allow them to use it for work. You can check what you need for each zone by opening the zone overlay (hotkey: ~/`) and selecting the zone. There will be a window with a list of suggested buildings. It may take you a bit to realize which ones are mandatory and which ones are optional, but when in doubt, just build them all XD
  
• You didn't assign the zone to the right profession. Only families with the corresponding profession can work specific zones (with the exception of the inn and the tavern).
  
• You don't have the input needed for this profession. For example, taking in bakers without millers to make flour means you won't get bread. You can find what you need for each zone by hovering over the zone in the zone selection window. Alternatively, if you hover over the structures in the Build Production window, you can see the requirements for specific recipes.

There are a few possibilities for this problem too. Most are easily solvable.

• You just don't have enough food. Don't lie to yourself and think one measly farming family can feed 50 other families. Get more farmers. There can never be too much food. Some other sources of food are butchers (just need to allow foragers to tame pigs), fishermen (requires some yarn to start and they struggle if the family is too small), and even miller/baker combo (be cautious with this. You probably want nobles, a rich tavern owner, or just a really rich settlement).
  
• You didn't build the right structures. In order to cook, your villagers need a cooking table, a cauldron, a wooden block, and a well (the well can be placed in a public area zone instead of giving each family their own well). This means that villagers need both cooking ingredients and firewood (can be made from wood, so make sure that's on the market too).
  

So I see you've made it to your first winter. Congrats! Now remember to provide your villagers with a heat source. Campfires are the cheapest method. To really maximize the effect of campfires, you might want to consider surrounding it with walls and/or covering it with a roof.

Maybe you've already done all the fire stuffs and they're still freezing. Well, then. You've probably made it to your second winter. Look closely. Are your villagers nude? That means you don't have enough clothes in your village. Caravan will come with clothes every once in a while, but if you allow your farmers to raise sheep and then take in a tailor family, you can produce clothes by yourself.

Here are some warnings I would give beginners

• Watch your building materials before selecting wall types Don't build with a material that your settlement doesn't have enough of.
  
• Be cautious building houses right next to eachother. Villagers have been known to wall themselves in ONI style.
  
• Try not to take in families if you don't have the preceding family in the production chain. Some safe families to get in the beginning would be foragers, farmers, fishermen, miners, butchers.
  
• Be mindful of what materials you need. (Example: glassmakers, bakers, and smelters need stone blocks, so good idea to grab them from the caravan or get masons first)
  
• Be careful where you place your zones. Glassmakers should be on sand tiles, miners might be more efficient near mountains, clergy and fishermen should be fairly close to the water (papermill has a structure that needs to be placed partially in water)