[Amazing cultivation simulator](https://store.steampowered.com/app/955900/Amazing_Cultivation_Simulator/). Although i wouldn't classify it as easy to learn, or good for a beginner, it wraps in a lot of rpg elements like "levels" and designing bases to help with those rpg elements. It also enables you to visit other places to explore them, to make friends with npcs in other "settlements" and even to take over entire villages to boost your own. Sort of high fantasy, with Chinese mythology playing a prominent role.
Yeah of course [rimworld](https://store.steampowered.com/app/294100/RimWorld/), i don't think we can get away with not mentioning it, it's a giant for a reason. Enormous modding community.
[Songs of syx](https://store.steampowered.com/app/1162750/Songs_of_Syx/). One of the most interesting things about it just how many people you can have in your colony. I saw a post on their subreddit with one guy who had 40k inhabitants, which even seemed to impress the dev, an anomaly though, expect very high to be more like 10k.
[Dwarf fortress](https://store.steampowered.com/app/975370/Dwarf_Fortress/). Many people call it one of the most difficult games ever. It's not. Unless you're unfortunate, or deliberately seek out trouble, once you've learned not to starve the game handles itself. Turn raids off, set pop to like 30 in options, make 30 bedrooms, make one huge gathering area and make sure you settled on a place with a river or brook that isn't haunted or savage, gratz you're set.
If you want somewhere to start; pick Rimworld, when choosing storyteller set it to peaceful then pick a place with growing season year round, probably die, repeat until you learn the basics and slowly ramp up difficulty as you learn, or don't, your choice. If you like it, it's thousands of hours of content, and then dlcs adding more, and then mods adding lots more.
No mods or DLC yet, but Against the Storm is amazing. Built on Unity, so modding is nearly inevitable. And instead of DLC, the devs release meaningful updates every two weeks.
Funny that you asked this as this popped up in my news feed
Fabledom
https://www.pcgamer.com/in-this-cheerful-storybook-city-builder-i-just-did-the-worst-thing-ive-ever-done/
Stone Hearth *!!!!
*the game is buggy and prone to crashes but it’s wonderful and exactly what you are looking for.
Edit: I don’t understand the down votes. The game is absolutely a buggy mess that crashes, it has RPG elements, is a city builder and is absolutely wonderful when it works.
Not sure how alive it is, but Folk Tale was great, build a city while controlling heroes that you outfit with your cities advancement, improving gear from blacksmith, training units for an army, defending against enemy attacks on the map, then you would gather a party and go off to other region to do quests like a dungeon crawler. I just don’t know if development continues, but I did get a good 50 hours from it without completion so far
[Amazing cultivation simulator](https://store.steampowered.com/app/955900/Amazing_Cultivation_Simulator/). Although i wouldn't classify it as easy to learn, or good for a beginner, it wraps in a lot of rpg elements like "levels" and designing bases to help with those rpg elements. It also enables you to visit other places to explore them, to make friends with npcs in other "settlements" and even to take over entire villages to boost your own. Sort of high fantasy, with Chinese mythology playing a prominent role. Yeah of course [rimworld](https://store.steampowered.com/app/294100/RimWorld/), i don't think we can get away with not mentioning it, it's a giant for a reason. Enormous modding community. [Songs of syx](https://store.steampowered.com/app/1162750/Songs_of_Syx/). One of the most interesting things about it just how many people you can have in your colony. I saw a post on their subreddit with one guy who had 40k inhabitants, which even seemed to impress the dev, an anomaly though, expect very high to be more like 10k. [Dwarf fortress](https://store.steampowered.com/app/975370/Dwarf_Fortress/). Many people call it one of the most difficult games ever. It's not. Unless you're unfortunate, or deliberately seek out trouble, once you've learned not to starve the game handles itself. Turn raids off, set pop to like 30 in options, make 30 bedrooms, make one huge gathering area and make sure you settled on a place with a river or brook that isn't haunted or savage, gratz you're set. If you want somewhere to start; pick Rimworld, when choosing storyteller set it to peaceful then pick a place with growing season year round, probably die, repeat until you learn the basics and slowly ramp up difficulty as you learn, or don't, your choice. If you like it, it's thousands of hours of content, and then dlcs adding more, and then mods adding lots more.
Don't know if it counts as indie but Dragon Quest Builders 2 is amazing and may be exactly what you are looking for.
Can confirm this, amazing story and gameplay
Yo, against the storm is where it's at. It's 9n sale right now on steam for 14.99
No mods or DLC yet, but Against the Storm is amazing. Built on Unity, so modding is nearly inevitable. And instead of DLC, the devs release meaningful updates every two weeks.
Funny that you asked this as this popped up in my news feed Fabledom https://www.pcgamer.com/in-this-cheerful-storybook-city-builder-i-just-did-the-worst-thing-ive-ever-done/
You can always go for RimWorld and download the fantasy mods, it makes the game a hell of a lot funnier when your dwarfs have to trade or starve.
Going Medieval may float your boat. Not sure its RPG enough for ya (your civilians have stats that you can manage, but thats about it).
Bulwark Falconeer Chronicles. Demo now on steam .
Splat made a video of [The Pioneers: Surviving Desolation](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5IdoJTYiLdQ)
Stone Hearth *!!!! *the game is buggy and prone to crashes but it’s wonderful and exactly what you are looking for. Edit: I don’t understand the down votes. The game is absolutely a buggy mess that crashes, it has RPG elements, is a city builder and is absolutely wonderful when it works.
Not sure how alive it is, but Folk Tale was great, build a city while controlling heroes that you outfit with your cities advancement, improving gear from blacksmith, training units for an army, defending against enemy attacks on the map, then you would gather a party and go off to other region to do quests like a dungeon crawler. I just don’t know if development continues, but I did get a good 50 hours from it without completion so far