Quote Originally Posted by the_foz_4
This is again based on your play style, but also partly an oversight in design. Basically, you get BadTaxman (it's the trait where "Sloppy taxman" is a level) from doing the following things:

- Having a building complete when you have taxes set < high, and your people are > disillusioned. 15% chance here.
- Randomly at birth. 2% chance.

Mostly it's from that first one. It's been speculated that it should not apply in castles where you cannot control the tax rate... but either way, that's mostly where it does in fact happen since they typically have happy people and obviously have < high taxes. For the time being you can either change your file to also check that the settlement doesn't have any buildings >= motte_and_bailey (this makes BadTaxman not applicable to governors of castles), or avoid putting governors in castles. Either way you should also set at least high tax rate in your cities unless you must lower it to keep your people from rioting, as this avoids the tax-based portion of the conditions, and thus the bad trait.

If you want more info on making it not apply to castles like I mentioned, just let me know.
Thanks for the info Foz. Not arguing that those things won't get the trait but, I think there must be more factors to getting it than that.

I avoid ratcheting taxes above normal like the plague. I do seem to get some disillusionment in my settlements from squalor, or from pulling out a bunch of troops all at once but, not for long periods. Certainly not from 'High' taxes.


I wonder if, when morale in a settlement slips to a given level the trait can be given for completeing a building while people are disillusioned regardless of tax rate.

'Bad Taxman' seems to just show up if I leave them in a settlement for a lengthy period.