Taxes and Rebels

[Verrucosus]

Does high taxation increase the risk of rebel armies appearing like it did in STW and MTW? (I am not talking about city riots, but rebel armies appearing in the same province and blocking trade.)

[Omanes Alexandrapolites]

This research topic (https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showthread.php?t=50327) which went into the ins and outs of brigands may interest you. According to some research in that thread, taxes may have an effect, but it was neither confirmed nor denied by other researchers.

My personal opinion somehow seems to dictate that taxes are relevant though. Rebels have seemed to appear more frequently when higher taxes are imposed than when not. It could be coincidence though, so it probably would be best to wait for confirmation from others before considering yourself sure.

~:)

[Verrucosus]

I also think that taxes are a factor, but I do not have anything but anecdotal evidence either. Meanwhile, I will check out that brigand research thread. Thank you for the link.

[RLucid]

I've an impression that road development stimulates brigands.
Forts suppress them even if only maintained by a cheap unit like Town Watch, or Peasants.

[Verrucosus]

That makes sense. More roads -> more trade -> more brigands.
I have been reluctant to use a lot of forts, but if they allow me to squeeze more taxes out of a province without increasing the risk of rebellion (outside the city itself), they will very quickly pay for themselves.

[RLucid]

They pay for themselves, as you can avoid having a standing anti-brigand force in peaceful area.

[CountMRVHS]

I had never heard that about Forts, but now I'm trying it in my Romano-British campaign in BI. No bandits so far, but it hasn't been very long yet.

I'm curious, how did you come up with the idea to use Forts in this manner? Is it just based on your own personal experience, or has there been some testing or research to "prove" that Forts reduce the presence of brigands?

[professorspatula]

There's been lots of discussion about forts and brigands. I'm a supporter of the theory they reduce their occurrence. I'm sure during the release of v1.5, a semi-official source on the official forums mentioned something about forts reducing brigand spawn rates. There was certainly quite a bit of mention about it. Though many still think they have no effect.

From personal experience, I find forts are a very useful way of controlling rebels. Even if they don't reduce them, a carefully placed network of forts on the roads between each settlement creates a safe way for you to move troops from the various settlements to cope with any immediate rebel threat without each settlement needing it's own dedicated anti-rebel force. I'm sure it helps control/reduce the rebels, whereas messing around with taxes seems to have no obvious effect. Additionally, there are more important factors that govern the tax rate you set than rebels, such as maximizing income to stop a negative cashflow; and controlling population growth.

[RLucid]

Firstly I just happened to use some in my early campaigns, noticed more Rebel's spawning without them, if I abandoned them.

Secondly, in the research areas (maybe mods area to) of forum, I've come across info on the effect of forts. As military bases were indeed used to pacify areas, it has a logic to it. So...

Thirdly, I tried deliberately creating a Fort + Town Watch, then not having a standing army in N. Italy as Julii, and indeed found it sufficed to suppress brigands.

[Verrucosus]

The effects of forts on rebel appearance is mentioned by the advisor. This is from the export_advice.txt file:

{Characters_Agent_Army_Early_Advice_Text_04_Title} Forts

{Characters_Agent_Army_Early_Advice_Text_04_Text1}
Forts enable the defence of strategic positions where there are no settlements and suppress the likelihood that bands of brigands will appear in the vicinity. Your army can build a fort in any region when led by a member of your faction's family. To build a fort left click on the construction queue button when outside a settlement.