Municipality Classifications in the EHD

As with all things in the EHD, human dwellings and communities from an area of special interest to the record-keepers and bureaucrats of the EHD. Not the least of which because the classifications come with them prestige and privileges for the municipality - and to the bureaucrats who administrate it. As such, a classification system exists that ranks every gathering of sentient beings from single-dwelling cottages to the sprawling, world-class metropolises. Ranked below are all of these classifications, along with derivative colloquial terms, a brief description, how its resource distribution is handled, and what amenities and institutions exist at each level. These divisions are split between two larger classifications: Rural and Urban.

Rat
A 'Rat' is the term for a single-person dwelling, usually inhabited by a hermit or religious ascetic but occasionally by someone who simply wants to live by their lonesome. However, a special license is required to be fully unattached from a larger community, resulting in 'Rat' settlements being mostly from religious orders.

Resource Distribution System: Sole Proprietorship

Amenities: Divination, ritual ceremonies, and religio-magical services of varying ability

Other terms:
 * Golden Rat - A state recognized hermit who is permitted to dispense religious teachings and perform ritual ceremonies and divination.
 * Straw Rat - A golden Rat considered by the lay folk around them to be foolish and unworthy of the designation, typically one who earned it through bribery or family connection.
 * Platinum Rat - A rat who considered by the lay folk to be deserving of the title Golden Rat, and whose opinions and wisdom are highly valued, but whose ideas are heretical and preclude them from Imperial designation

Rabbit
A single family homestead or household, often encompassing several generations under one roof. The are usually treated with a deal of suspicion by nearby communities because of their insular nature. Not least of which because the license to be an independent household is extremely costly, and only the wealthy can afford to live as one. The population of 'Rabbit' can vary, with some being as small as two and some being larger than a hamlet all on their own. The latter variety being the source of a joke about why they're called "Rabbit" settlements.

Resource Distribution System: Family Patriarch

Amenities: Fresh food, lodging, various supplies

Other Terms:
 * Swollen Rabbit - A Rabbit dwelling with more than 30 inhabitants under one roof.
 * Ancient Rabbit - A Rabbit dwelling which has existed under the same imperial designation for more than two centuries.

Rooster
A small agrarian community largely composed of peasant farmers, roughly equivalent to a hamlet with a population between 30-150. This can be entirely isolated communities out on the steppes, or sub-communities within a larger designation, such as farming communes that crop up in the countryside surrounding a large city.

Resource Distribution System: Collective communal storage

Amenities: Fresh food, lodging, various supplies, postal service, small school house

Other Terms:
 * Plucked Rooster - A Rooster unattached from or nowhere nearby a major settlement.
 * Small Rooster - A Rooster primarily or entirely composed of the same clan.

Snake
A farming village built along a major river or floodplain. These are the most common designation in the EHD by a far margin, as every point along a given river is settled and cultivated. Because of the fertility of the major rivers, Snake communities tend to be stable and prosperous, at least on a modest scale. Their populations number between 100-400 people.

Resource Distribution System: Collective Communal Storage and some trade

Amenities: General store, lodging, postal service, small school house, local civil service, some trade goods.