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Builders' Hall
TownBuilding BuildersHall
Races All
Construction Cost Icon Production 60
Upkeep Cost Icon Gold 1
Sells for Icon Gold 20
Building Progression
TownBuilding BuildersHall
Flowchart Up Split DownRight TownBuilding CityWalls
Flowchart Up Split DownRight TownBuilding Shrine
Flowchart Up Split DownRight TownBuilding MinersGuild
Flowchart Up Split DownRight TownBuilding Library
Flowchart Up To Right TownBuilding Granary
Units Unlocked
TownBuilding BuildersHall
Standard Unit Icon HighMenEngineers TransparentUnit Icon KlackonEngineers TransparentUnit Icon OrcEngineers TransparentUnit Icon BeastmenEngineers TransparentUnit Icon DraconianEngineers TransparentUnit Icon DwarfEngineers Transparent

A Builders' Hall is a type of Town Building. It can be constructed by any race, in any town, and has no prerequisites. Its base construction cost is Icon Production 60.

The Builders' Hall itself is a stepping-stone towards development of a town - allowing advancement in five different and important fields: Defensibility (via the City Walls), reduction of Unrest (via the Shrine), improvement of Icon Production Production (via the Miners' Guild), Research and magic (via the Library), or improved Icon FoodFood production (via the Granary). So many more buildings are unlocked further down the line that every city will need a Builders' Hall at some point, for whatever reason.

Furthermore, a few races gain an extra benefit from the Builders' Hall, as it allows them to create Engineers. These also work towards improving the city - by connecting it to the imperial Road network.

The Builders' Hall requires an Upkeep Cost of only Icon Gold 1 per turn for its maintenance. If you are pressed for Gold, a Builders' Hall can be sold back for Icon Gold 20.

Description[]

A Builders' Hall is a large structure comprised primarily of a great chamber - a hall - where the town's architects and construction foremen can congregate, make plans, exchange ideas, and coordinate their efforts. This allows the town to make the well-concerted effort required to build grand, elaborate structures.

A Builders' Hall looks almost like a large barn: a long rectangular building with reddish walls and a sloped roof. The metal support beams on the front of the structure are visibly shaped like a drawing compass - the symbol of the builders' guild. Inside, the structure is probably hollow, comprised of a single hall as described above.

Races and Construction[]

All Races in the game have access to the Builders' Hall. The ability to create great structures is, after all, what distinguishes a civilized city from a lowly village, and thus each of the races has the incentive to construct one - in each city they have.

A town requires no other Town Buildings in order to create a Builders' Hall - it is available for construction as soon as a town becomes capable of producing anything. Occasionally, it is also the first building built in a new town.

Construction of a Builders' Hall costs Icon Production 60 - making it relatively cheap compared to other starting structures like the Sawmill.

The Builders' Hall requires an Upkeep Cost of Icon Gold 1 per turn. Failure to pay these costs does not cause the Builders' Hall to be abandoned - Town Buildings only drain your treasury, so that you have less Icon Gold Gold with which to pay for other things.

Continuous Effects[]

This structure is primarily meant for unlocking further construction of Town Buildings and/or Normal Units.

Nevertheless, the Builders' Hall has a single, hidden integral effect: it adds 15 percentage points of growth when the town is engaged in Housing. This project takes the town's finalized Population Growth rate, and increases it by between 0 and 125 percent. The formula for determining this percentage is as follows:

Bonus = (Workers / Total Population) • 100%
        + 15%  if a Builders' Hall is present
        + 10%  if a Sawmill is present

Note that the Bonus is irrespective of the raw number of Icon Production Hammers being generated, and is instead based on the proportion of the population currently designated as Workers, and whether a Builders' Hall and Sawmill are in operation. Therefore, without a Builders' Hall for example, the maximum growth bonus obtainable with Housing is 110 percent - the case where all citizens are assigned as Workers and a Sawmill is in operation.


Unlocked Town Buildings[]

Upon its construction, the Builders' Hall immediately unlocks the construction of no less than 5 other Town Buildings. Each of these buildings focuses on providing a different benefit to the town, and therefore the order in which they will be constructed (and which of them will be constructed at all) depends greatly on the town's designated purpose.

The City Walls are the simplest of the options. These provide the town with a strong defensive position during any sieges taking place here. Units can hide behind the walls to receive defensive bonuses, and most ground-based enemies will have a hard time getting through the wall altogether. This structure does not unlock any further development.

The Shrine allows a city to proceed towards religious development. It boosts magical energy, and also has the benefit of reducing Unrest - as do many of the structures unlocked by its presence. Proceeding with religious development is also important for towns hoping to build their unique racial units, since many require the Animists' Guild and/or Fantastic Stable - both of which are religious buildings.

The Miners' Guild is essential in any town hoping to benefit from high Icon Production Production, whether for creating units faster or for producing masses of mined Icon Gold Gold. Towns near the Mountains will proceed down this path early on.

The Library initiates advancement in the Research field, initially giving bonus Icon Research Research Points and, with further buildings, unlocking various magical units and powers. Most importantly - the University lies down this path for many races, and unlocks superior buildings that can help a town become a true metropolis - excelling in several different fields.

Finally, but perhaps most importantly, the Builders' Hall also unlocks the Granary. This building increases Icon FoodFood production in a town and also increases Population Growth. As a result it is one of the most important buildings for any developing town. It is also a component in unlocking the Farmers' Market which gives similar - but better - bonuses.

Unlocked Normal Units[]

For several races, the construction of a Builders' Hall immediately unlocks production of Engineers. These are generally non-combat units, but provide a crucial service to your empire: building Road networks between Towns. These Roads will then allow units to travel faster between towns, and will provide a Icon Gold Gold bonus for trade income when two or more towns are connected directly to each other. Engineers may also be used (albeit with considerable risk) to topple enemy City Walls during siege battles.

Engineers are only available to the High Men, Klackons, Orcs, Beastmen, Draconians and Dwarves. The Draconian Engineers are not available in the latest versions. Other races do not get any new units from the Builders' Hall whatsoever.

Strategy[]

Farmers, Workers, and Population Growth are the makings of a Town. To these ends, all settlements (no matter what role is envisioned for them) benefit from a uniform initial schedule that beelines two structures: the Farmers' Market and Sawmill. The former requires completion of a Builders' Hall, Granary, Smithy, and Marketplace, making for a total of 6 basic buildings that every town should have. And among them, the Builders' Hall is usually the first building to start on; it unlocks the Granary, a cheap and powerful piece of this development path.

  1. Builders' Hall
  2. Granary
  3. Smithy
  4. Marketplace
  5. Farmers' Market
  6. Sawmill

Timing when to begin building things in new settlements, and therefore beginning work on a Builders' Hall, is mostly a question of Icon Gold Gold. It takes a very long time for a lone Farmer to build a building; meanwhile, the default construction order of Housing at the new site always increases growth by 50 percent when the town has exactly 1 unit of population, without needing to invest any money or even assign the citizen to be a Worker. On the other hand, if the empire can afford to rush this entire line of basic buildings right after the town puts in just Icon Production 1 or so on each project, then by all means do so. Creating big cities in fewer turns is an effective use of the treasury.

Aside from its position at the front of the population development queue, the Builders' Hall is required for almost every other advanced building, so just be aware that if it is randomly destroyed while capturing a city, it will mean a lot of extra work.

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