Biomes give special benefits and penalties to any settlement that resides inside of them. If a settlement spreads across two differing biomes, it is the placement of the throne that determines exactly which biome the settlement gains the benefits and penalties for.

Desert - (War)

Used for training units quickly and building its settlements with sandstone. Quarries are the primary means of desert settlements to produce goods for trade and materials for construction. They suffer a penalty on all farms and herding grounds, so they will generally need to trade or import food from elsewhere - or possibly use its large army for pillaging or contracting.

Forest - (Land Trade)

Used for producing a massive amount of wood from its woodshops and for a sort of land-based trading hub. Visitors will make forest settlements richer. They also consume a lot of food, so they will most likely need to trade for food. They could also chop down their trees and create farms for food, but that would only hurt their wood production and trade value in the long run. Warning: Enemies passing through will be more able to sustain themselves off of the land in forests, thus actually healing within forest territory! Foresters should remain leery about making foes nearby for this reason.

Jungle - (Self-reliance)

This terrain has the special ability to hide units from enemy vision, making junglers a scary prospect for attack. These areas are best for players that want to stay away from the rest of society and work on its own. Its people won't have trouble feeding itself, so trade will not be necessary. They do, however, suffer issues when attempting to create a vast army - no one wants to be stationed in a jungle.

Mountains - (Production)

The power house of materials, mountaineers can extract the earth's resources while sitting behind their strong fortifications. These settlements are best used for the core of creation within their own kingdom. Trade itself is not profitable due to the difficult terrain for traders to navigate. Also due to the landscape, wheat is extremely difficult to grow, but it makes no difference as other foods can be grown.

Mushroom - (Heavy Spell Casting)

Spell casters rejoice! Shroomers can pack the biggest punch with their spells. Their mana remains the same as anyone else's and isn't quite as strong as in swamps, but when it comes time to cast a big, damaging spell, mushroom settlements have it covered. They suffer an issue with the ground fungus strangling and destroying their crops, so they rely entirely on growing mushrooms.

Ocean - (Sea Trade)

Platforms of dirt and other materials can create a small island in the middle of an ocean to create the best naval trade city in the game. Growing crops is already difficult due to the necessity to build the farm land itself, but food can also be obtained via fishing. Due to being so far from the land where magic flows freely, mana regenerates slowly. This means ocean settlements cannot protect themselves too well by using storms to destroy ships - they will need to form their own navy for their defense. Mining is also extremely difficult as the only area to mine is under water!

Plains - (War)(Food)

Food and animals is the primary focus for the people of the plains. They don't understand spells very well and the terrain proves for absolutely no tactical advantage, so they must protect themselves with the vast armies that only a plains settlement could feed.

Snow - (Stronghold)

These pumpkin eaters will last longer than anyone in the event of a siege - food doesn't decay and the snow wears down the enemy on its own. These are best for fortresses that must absolutely never fall.

Swamp - (Support Spell Casting)

Need a settlement buffed? Need an entire kingdom buffed? The swamp people can handle that! Swamps gain extra bonuses to mana capacity and mana regeneration which is perfect for a spell caster that wants to keep their entire kingdom running at maximum efficiency.