Peasants as forced settlers: Loyalty and Squalor effects

[Doug-Thompson]

Just queing peasants units can improve loyalty and decrease squalor. Those peasants can then be moved to cities you depopulated, where they join the general population once you disband them.

This works very well on large unit size, and I presume on huge. One large-unit peasant has 120 men.

The mathematics still need figuring out. There is a threshold. Some turns, you can que one or two peasants and see immediate effects. Others, you can que five or six before seeing a measurable change.

If you click on the full settlment display while you have the recruitment screen up, you can see the effects on loyalty and squalor while you que up.

This is an extremely powerful tool if you conquer Greece and occupy the cities, then take over Asia Minor, wiping out populations all the way. These settlers also allowed me to transform Crete from a barbarian backwater into a prosperous city with 2,000 citizens quickly, just with peasants and nothing but peasants from Greece.

As the Brutii, even the peasants get the faction's Temple of Mars bonuses. It was certainly enough to make the conquest of Crete effortless.

I need to whip up on Thrace and get Byzantium. Then a steady flow of "settlers" can cross Asia Minor with very little ship movement.

Also, the combination of Colesseums with frequent games to offset high taxes can really keep the population under control while settlers can reduce squalor. A city of 12,000 with a population growth of 1 percent produces 120 new citizens, after all.

[JR-]

i thought this was a suggested change to R:TW via a later patch, i wasn't aware that it existed already..........?

[Basileus]

Ive used that aswell on conquering citys where i exterminated the pop, works preety good though it needs a bit of micromanaging aswell.

[Doug-Thompson]

i thought this was a suggested change to R:TW via a later patch, i wasn't aware that it existed already..........?

If you can manage the city, you can do this. I click the option that allows me to manage everything, whether there's a governor or not.

OK. I'm obsessive. Still, it works like a charm for me.

[Dorkus]

Nice find.

Though for those of us playing on normal unit size or smaller (60 men per peasant unit), it's only effective in the early game.

Don't quote me on this, but I don't think the peasants are reducing squalor. Rather, the drain on the population (every unit you queue drops the pop of the city) reduces the squalor. if you drop down below a thousand mark (or actually a 500 mark, since the game rounds up), you'll see squalor drop by 1 (5% order).

So it's not queing peasants but queuing ANY unit that is creating that effect.

Also worth noting that you don't actually have to disband a unit IN the city to get the pop boost. Non-merc disbands are added to the pop of the nearest city.

[Doug-Thompson]

Nice find.

Thanks. I was pretty pleased.

Though for those of us playing on normal unit size or smaller (60 men per peasant unit), it's only effective in the early game.

Come to the Dark Side.

Don't quote me on this, ...

Too late

... but I don't think the peasants are reducing squalor. Rather, the drain on the population (every unit you queue drops the pop of the city) reduces the squalor. if you drop down below a thousand mark (or actually a 500 mark, since the game rounds up), you'll see squalor drop by 1 (5% order).

A-HA! That has the two best features of any hypothysis -- it's probably right and it' can easily be tested.

So it's not queing peasants but queuing ANY unit that is creating that effect.

That's something I knew and should have mentioned. However, no other type of unit is remotely as effective. You get 120 (large size) men in a unit of peasants for 100 dinarii -- less than $1d per man. Also, upkeep is the same $100d.

Also worth noting that you don't actually have to disband a unit IN the city to get the pop boost. Non-merc disbands are added to the pop of the nearest city.

That I did not know.

[PFJ_bejazuz]

nice pointers chaps

i'm off on a few slave raids tonight

'to the mines with that lot ... appart from those cuties ... scrub em down & send em to my tent'

lol

it gets better & better