Towns & Nations

~12 min read Core Mechanic

EarthStonks uses the Towny plugin as its foundation for land ownership, territory management, and geopolitical structure. Towns are how you claim land and access resource zones. Nations are how towns unite to pool power, share resources, and project military force.

Creating a Town

To found your own town, you need $2,500 in-game cash and a good location. Choose carefully — your starting position determines which resource zones you can reach.

/t create [Town Name]Found a new town at your current location
/t join [Town Name]Join an existing town (requires invite or open status)
/t invite [username]Invite a player to your town (mayors only)
One Town, One Outpost New players are limited to one town and one outpost. Choose your location wisely — moving a town is expensive and outposts are how you reach distant resource zones. A second outpost can be unlocked through nation membership.

Claiming Land

Once your town is founded, you claim chunks of land using /t claim. The first chunk costs $250, but each subsequent chunk costs 5% more than the last — compounding. There is no cap, and unclaiming a chunk gives no refund.

/t claimClaim the chunk you're standing in
/t unclaimUnclaim the chunk you're standing in (no refund)
/t unclaim allUnclaim all chunks except your home block

Cost Scaling

The formula is: chunk N costs $250 × 1.05(N−1). Each chunk is 5% pricier than the one before it. Early chunks are cheap; later chunks get expensive fast.

Chunk #Cost of that chunkCumulative total spent
1$250$250
5~$304~$1,381
10~$388~$3,145
25~$806~$11,932
50~$2,730~$52,337
100~$29,818~$652,502
No Refunds — Ever Unclaiming a chunk returns nothing. Don't claim land you can't afford to hold long-term. The purchase cost compounds hard at high chunk counts, so every claim is a permanent investment.

Town Upkeep

Every town pays a daily resource upkeep based on chunks claimed. Costs are stacking — as your town grows, new resource costs are added on top. Run /upkeep to see your exact bill.

RuleFormula
Iron1 Iron per chunk — always, for every chunk
Gold (51+ chunks)0.5 Gold per chunk above 50 — e.g. 89 chunks = 20 Gold
Oil (101+ chunks)0.2 Oil per chunk above 100 — e.g. 150 chunks = 10 Oil
The Wall (201+ chunks)All resource costs double
/upkeepCheck your daily upkeep cost
/depositDeposit resources into your town's stockpile
/t deposit [amount]Deposit cash into your town bank
/t withdraw [amount]Withdraw cash from your town bank

Outposts

An outpost is a secondary claimed area separate from your main town. They are essential for reaching resource zones that aren't near your town's home location. An outpost costs $5,000 to place.

Multiple Outposts

By default, every town gets one outpost. A second outpost slot is unlocked through nation membership — once your nation reaches 10 total residents (nation level 1), all towns in that nation gain +1 bonus outpost slot, giving them 2 outposts total. Town level alone never grants extra outposts.

Use Outposts Strategically Early on you only get one. Place it inside the resource zone you need most — your claimed chunks must cover the green zone tiles or you won't get any drops. Typically an Iron zone early game, then Gold or Oil as you grow.

Town Settings

/t toggle [setting] on/offToggle town settings (PvP, explosions, public, etc.)
/t set [setting] [value]Set town values like board message or tax rate

Nations

Nations unite multiple towns under a single political entity. As a nation leader, you can coordinate wars, distribute resources through grants, and project power across the map. Nations are the primary actors in EarthStonks's geopolitical simulation.

Creating a Nation

Founding a nation costs $50,000. You must be a town mayor to create one.

/n create [Nation Name]Found a new nation (must be a town mayor)

Nation Upkeep

Nations pay $150 per member town per day from the national bank. The more towns you absorb, the higher the daily drain — keep your national bank funded or member towns will be cut loose.

Nation Finance

Nations have their own bank separate from town banks. Leaders can move money between nation and member towns using grants and tributes.

/n deposit [$amount]Deposit money to the national bank
/n withdraw [$amount]Withdraw from the national bank
/n grant [Town Name] [$amount]Send money from national bank to a member town
/t tribute [$amount]Send money from your town bank to your nation's bank

Nation Settings

/n set [setting] [value]Set national values and policies

Strategic Advice

  • Secure Iron first — no Iron means your town shrinks. This is the #1 priority.
  • Don't over-expand — chunk claim costs compound at 5% per chunk with no refund, and every new chunk adds daily upkeep. Only claim land you can afford to buy and hold.
  • Join a nation early — larger nations offer protection, resource sharing, and military backup against sieges.
  • Watch your bank — both your town bank (cash) and resource stockpile must be maintained. Check /upkeep daily.
  • Plan your outpost — your one outpost should unlock a resource zone you cannot reach from your town's main territory.
✓ Copied!