Rebel armies - some questions

[ShellShock]

I haven't seen rebel armies discussed much (perhaps I haven't been looking hard enough

1. Do the rebel armies that pop up in your provinces have any effect on trade, income, public unrest etc?
2. If not, is it therefore OK to ignore them?
3. If they do have an effect, is there some way of telling what the effect is?

[Gith]

1. I believe they can cause economic loss through "destruction" or something like that. Look at it on the trade screen for cities nearby the rebel army.

2. See above.

3. See above. It is usually anywhere from 75 denarii to 200 denarii per turn. I'm not positive on this though. Just from my experience.

[Spino]

I haven't seen rebel armies discussed much (perhaps I haven't been looking hard enough

1. Do the rebel armies that pop up in your provinces have any effect on trade, income, public unrest etc?
2. If not, is it therefore OK to ignore them?
3. If they do have an effect, is there some way of telling what the effect is?

Rebel/Brigand armies can affect trade caravans in the province, usually depending on their proximity to a road. The effect is especially pronounced if the rebel/brigand army is actually straddling one of your roads. If this happens a virtual train of caravans traveling along a certain road could decrease to a mere trickle. Check your province's trade page to see the effect at work.

[Ldvs]

Try building forts at crossroads, that way rebels won't block 3 or more roads.

[Nelson]

Rebels will soon turn the countryside black. This is devastation and it is Not Good.

Find some young captain anxious to be mentioned in dispatches to sally forth and crush the rebels as soon as possible. If you have more cash than troops, bribe them away.

[Oaty]

With nothing selected right click on the land. If it says farmland that is your most valuable devastated resource. The good thing is that almost all farmland is right next to the cities.The next thing that takes a big hit is roads. To counter this build watchtowers on roads you can't see. This way you'll see the rebels right away. Wilderness is'nt too much of a problem.

On average devastated farmland can reduce your income by 600. Roads will devastate it by about 200-300. And if they devastate the wilderness it is almost always less than 100 devastation.

You really do'nt need a intense network of watchtowers for the wilderness as rebels will just walk to a road or farmland where they can cause a higher amount of devastation. After they do the max amount of damage to 1 tile square they will move on to another tile to devastate.

[Doug-Thompson]

Rebels will soon turn the countryside black. This is devastation and it is Not Good.

Devastation is a factor in unhappiness. Your happiness levels will start going down in the nearby province capital if you don't do something.

Bribe them, if they consist of units you can build -- eastern peasants as opposed to barbarian peasants, for example. Those units won't disband when you bribe them. Bribed brigands sometimes cost half what the same unit would cost if you built it. Sure, they're almost all lousy units, but peasants are perfectly fine for peace-keeping garrisons. If nothing else, you can disband them in cities where you need more population.

Giving new generals experience is another excellent use of rebels. Give your rookie family member some good missile units so he can kill the whole gang without taking any casualties, and he'll sprout stars in no time.

Another option is to drive the brigands back every turn instead of attacking them, having them retreat and then attacking them again to force a battle. Drive them onto somebody else's land. The downside of this is that they will still block the road you need to trade with that neighbor.

[ShellShock]

Thanks every one, you've really given me a much better understanding of this part of the game - not really explained in the manual.

Generally I've been bribing or fighting rebel armies, but it is a bit of a chore, and I'd been wondering whether the effort was worth it. Clearly it is.

Is there any way of stopping rebels appearing in the first place? What is the trigger for their appearance? Perhaps the level of happiness in my cities?

Would forts or my own armies at my borders stop the rebels from entering my provinces, or do they spontaneously generate within my borders?

Most of my battles at the moment are against piffling rebel armies.

[Kraxis]

Wasn't it so that you wouldn't see brigands pop up in land you could see, much like in the CIV games? Thus if you make certain that all your land is visible then there shouldn't come any brigands.

[Doug-Thompson]

Is there any way of stopping rebels appearing in the first place? What is the trigger for their appearance? Perhaps the level of happiness in my cities?

This is a mystery. I think the province not only has to be happy, but the higher the "law" level of that happiness is, the better. That's just a guess, though. You can see how much local "law" contributes to happiness by checking the full city display.

I think bandits pop up like mushrooms whatever you do, whether you can see them or not. Also, armies left standing when a faction is eliminated go rebet.