John Hughes was trying to put together an exhaustive list, I think, not suggest that every stead would have every building. You are quite right that most buildings will have more than one use, and a lot of "specialized" buildings will be little more than a storage shed.
>I realise that all these different buildings don't exist together,
>but it sounds a bit odd to have weaving houses and such as most of
>these crafts would be made in housing structures or in open air.
>Smithing and pottery would require sheds but that's about it.
In the case of weaving, we know that there is the idealized "Loom House" where women's work and rituals are done. I think most steads build a separate loom house if they can afford it, just like the Storm Tribe shrine is probably a separate building for all but the poorest steads.
> > Also:
>>
>> Brewery/Distillery -- there should be one in every clan, at least,
>despite
>> what ST says. One in every stead is probably too many.
>
>Why on earth would they need breweries? I can make my ale in a
>primitive citchen or sauna (all you need is a big cauldron and few
>wooden things) and that's the way it's been done for many thousand
>years. Brewing ale is very simple, it wouldn't need a house but in
>very specialized situation. Every stead definitely makes it's own
>ale, they wouldn't need a "clan's brewery".
See Ian Cooper's post on things brewable; I think it makes a lot of sense. There seems like a difference between "home brew" and what the Minlister cult produces -- which is higher quality in almost every respect. So "brewery," in this context, means a shed near the Chief's hall where the Minlister initiate/devotee can do his work, not an industrial brewery.
> > Mill -- likely at the Chief's stead, but maybe not.
>
>Simple grain mills might be more common IMHO.
For my part, I think most Heortling grain is processed in hand mills or small cattle-driven operations. Wind or water mills seem kind of rare (a clan of the Lismelder has one (TotRM #18?), and it's the focus of suspicion from the other clans in the tribe). If someone eally wanted a windmill, though, I wouldn't grouse too much (Maximum Fun and all that).
> > I doubt cloth production would be done at such a level that a dying
>house
>> would be necessary, but I could be wrong.
>
>I obviously doubt that too. A very specialized building in my opinion.
In general, I think we agree here; these "work houses" are likely sheds (or maybe covered spaces) that store materials, especially for seasonal work. (I doubt much craft work goes on outside in the Dragon Pass winters, so if the work is done year-round, it needs some sort of building.) In most clans, if this work is done, it is done on a "cottage level" in people's "spare time" in the main hall. The "work house," if any, should be the focus of a steads "economic specialty" (if any). This will affect what kind of structure exists. If the clan weaves for export (intra- or inter-clan), for example, they possibly have a lot of sheep and the Loom House is bigger than usual. There is no "work house." If the economic specialty is food related, the "work house" is mostly storage (I can imagine sheds or a cave for cheese making, but not too much else). Whether there is a dedicated structure or not depends on what the speciality is -- if the stead did dying, I'm not sure you'd want to do anything else in the dye house (or dye-yard); it's a stinky and messy operation. Not that I think there is commercial dying in Sartar....
Peter Larsen
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