NPCs have three location settings that control where they spend their
time:
Home — where they live and sleep
Workplace — where they spend working hours. By default this is
the same as Home, but it doesn't mean they actually "work" there —
it's just the default value you can change
Places they visit — location categories (e.g., tavern, market
stall, bakery) the NPC frequents. During the simulation the NPC may
visit any building that matches one of these categories
How it works
During the simulation, NPCs move between these locations on their own.
Building owners always stay at their home location. Other NPCs drift
between home, workplace, and their social haunts depending on the time
of day.
You'll find NPCs in different buildings depending on when you visit.
Check the building tooltips on the settlement map to see who's where
right now.
Editing routines
You can edit any NPC's routine from the Atlas NPCs tab:
Change their Home and Workplace to any building in the
settlement
Add or remove Places they visit — these are location categories
(like "tavern" or "market stall"), not specific buildings. The NPC
will visit any building that matches the category