All 9 Origins and Their Bonuses in Manor Lords

Manor Lords is a medieval city-builder where you grow a small village into a busy town. Origins describe the people who settle your land, where they came from and what they are good at, and each one brings a few benefits along with a drawback. Once you know how Origins work, it is much easier to pick one that suits your land instead of guessing.

Bamberg Smallholders

Adds Smallholdings, stronger food variety approval and reliable tree planting, but slows mining and stonecutting.

Focus

Food and housing

Best For

Villages that rely on varied food and backyard plots

Bonuses

Unlocks the Smallholding upgrade for burgage plots; food variety grants +10% Approval; tree planting no longer has the base 50% failure chance.

Drawback

Mining and stonecutting labor speed are 10% lower.

Of the Vogtland

Adds a Hunting Hound and boosts minor trade and foraged stocks, while reducing farm and garden efficiency.

Focus

Foraging, hunting and trade

Best For

Woodland regions with berries, mushrooms and game

Bonuses

Unlocks the Hunting Hound, which brings 1 Small Game to the Hunting Camp every 7 days; minor trade base export value is +50%; berry and mushroom deposit capacity doubles.

Drawback

Field and vegetable garden efficiency is 25% lower.

Woodwright Journeymen

Improves bowyers, joiners, fuel use and militia, but lowers mining speed.

Focus

Woodworking and militia

Best For

Towns making bows, shields and wooden goods

Bonuses

Bowyers' and joiners' efficiency +20%; warbow, crossbow, small shield and large shield export value +30%; fuel consumption -50%; militia combat effectiveness +10%.

Drawback

Mining gathering speed is 10% lower.

Regensburg Guildsmen

Generates Regional Wealth from occupied plots and makes plot upgrades cheaper, while making Land Tax approval losses harsher.

Focus

Wealth and plot upgrades

Best For

Growing towns with many occupied burgage plots

Bonuses

Each occupied burgage plot produces +1 Regional Wealth per month; plot upgrades need half the construction materials and no Regional Wealth; Salt and Iron Ore import values -30%.

Drawback

Land Tax approval penalties are 20% more severe.

Smiths of Passau

Improves blacksmithing, weapon exports and the Local Handymen affinity, at the cost of livestock efficiency.

Focus

Blacksmithing and weapons

Best For

Towns producing and selling weapons

Bonuses

Blacksmith efficiency +20%; Spears, Sidearms and Polearms export values +30%; Local Handymen affinity strength +300%.

Drawback

Animal pens, chicken coops and pastures have 20% lower efficiency.

Born of the Alps

Cuts clothing consumption and helps high-elevation sheep and hunting, but raises trade route setup costs.

Focus

Clothing, sheep and hunting

Best For

High-elevation regions with sheep pastures

Bonuses

Clothing consumption -50%; sheep at high elevation no longer die in winter; Hunting Camp efficiency +50%.

Drawback

Establishing Trade Routes costs 20% more.

Strasburg Masons

Speeds stone gathering and masonry and lowers Castle Planner costs, but slows hunting and fishing labor.

Focus

Stone and castles

Best For

Regions with stone deposits and castle plans

Bonuses

Stone Gatherer Camp labor speed +30%; Stonemason's Station efficiency +30%; Castle Planner cost -30%.

Drawback

Hunting and Fishing labor speed are 20% lower.

Nuremburg Prospectors

Improves armor production and mine reliability and cuts ore and salt import costs, but doubles the Treasury cost of Retinue.

Focus

Mining and armor

Best For

Regions with iron or salt to mine

Bonuses

Armorer efficiency +20%; Helmet, Mail Armor and Plate Armor export values +20%; mine proximity no longer affects collapse chance and mine maintenance duration increases by 30%; Iron Ore and Salt trade routes are free to establish and their import values are 30% lower.

Drawback

The Treasury cost of Retinue is doubled.

Weiden Hinterlanders

Boosts elevated farming, animal imports and mining, but slows Artisan Workshops.

Focus

Elevation farming and mining

Best For

Hilly regions with fields and mines

Bonuses

Farming efficiency on elevation +20%; animal import prices -20%; mining labor speed +20%.

Drawback

All Artisan Workshops have 20% lower efficiency.

What Origins Are in Manor Lords

Origins are the first development choice your village gets as it grows. Each one is named after a town, region or trade, such as Smiths of Passau, Strasburg Masons or Born of the Alps. Every Origin has three benefits and one drawback, and most benefits target one particular building, resource or trade. That means a bonus only pays off if your village actually runs that part of the economy, while the drawback comes with the package no matter what.

How to Unlock Origins in Manor Lords

You can't choose an Origin right away. The choice opens once your village reaches Small Village, which is a settlement level rather than a single building. That level depends on how many burgage plots you have and how developed they are. Burgage plots are the house lots in your town, so the early game is mostly about building them up and growing the settlement until the choice appears.

Which Origin Is Best in Manor Lords

There isn't one Origin that wins everywhere, so match the pick to what your land has. Regensburg Guildsmen is the safest choice for most towns, because its wealth builds up from every occupied plot, even in a town with little trade. Of the Vogtland has a strong trade bonus and a boost to hunting. Its drawback is a clear hit to fields and gardens, so it suits a woodland or hunting town that doesn't depend on farms.

Nuremburg Prospectors is the pick for a town built around mines. Armour sells for more, and mines are far less likely to collapse, so a rich iron deposit is worth working hard. The catch is that retinue costs twice as much from the Treasury, so it's a weaker fit for a town that plans a large army early. Strasburg Masons suits a region with a rich stone deposit, especially if you want a castle. It speeds up stonemason work and makes castle planning cheaper, and its penalty to hunting and fishing matters less when you aren't relying on those.

For farmland, Weiden Hinterlanders helps fields do better at elevation, but artisans work a fifth slower. It fits a region that sends raw food and wood to other towns rather than crafting goods at home. Born of the Alps is the pick for high pastures, since it makes sheep hardier and clothing wears out half as fast, though trade routes cost more. Bamberg Smallholders is a fallback when the land doesn't favor the others.

No Origin is built around soldiers, but two help the trades that arm your troops. Smiths of Passau boosts blacksmithing and weapon sales, though it cuts livestock output by a fifth. Woodwright Journeymen improves bowyers and joiners and adds to militia strength, but its mining slows.

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