One of the main attributes of a good site for a tribe is relatively easy access to water. I know if getting to water will be a chore or require building ramps etc then I disregard the site. I have seen quite a few sites that I thought would be nice or interesting to build but access to water was a big enough issue to have me move on.

My thought/suggestion is to give players the ability to dig/construct a well. I wouldn't necessarily expect to have access to a well from day 1 but would see it as something relatively easy to achieve. As to where it would sit I am not sure.

Terraforming? Perhaps but I can see people dropping a totem making a mess of the land until they get the well and then picking up the totem and moving on. I personally think it fits well (pardon the pun) here but terraforming isn't really a skill that lends itself to grinding or that is used by a lot of people.

Farming? It seems to fit but farming isn't necessarily an early activity. However it is one that levels relatively quickly and could provide early access to the well. (I'm thinking making fertilizer here)

Architecture? Also seems like a relatively good fit for a well (you gotta build it right?) and arch is something everyone does very early on.

Resources? Well (pardon the pun again) it sort of fits as you can call it gathering and water is a resource. Also everyone basically collects resources from day one for all sorts of things.

What level are we looking at?

My view is around 20-25 same as for your first stable. This means if you start with the skill that has the well then lucky you and if not and it sits in something like farming or arch that level relatively fast then you can get it fairly early.

Any thoughts or ideas please comment.