Population, Food and Needs
People are the realm. Every settlement counts five classes of pop (1 pop = 100 people). The settlement's population is always the sum of the five, never a separate number.
The five classes
| Class | Who | Tax per pop per season | Food they grow | Raises | Unrest weight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Elite | nobles, great officers | 500 gp | — | knights, lancers, commanders | ×3 |
| Burghers | merchants, guildmasters, bankers | 400 gp | — | outriders, engineers | ×2 |
| Yeomen | free farmers and freeholders | 250 gp | 1.5 Food | men-at-arms, archers, longbows | ×1 |
| Laborers | tenants, miners, hands, servants | 120 gp | 1 Food (villages only) | levy, spearmen | ×1 |
| Clergy | priests, monks, scholars | 100 gp + Temple tithe | — | field priests, surgeons | ×2 |
Unrest weight applies whenever an effect targets one class: the change to the settlement's unrest is base × weight × that class's share of the population, minimum 1. Example: +10 unrest aimed at the burghers of a town where they are 20% of the population is 10 × 2 × 0.2 = +4.
Manpower: your realm can field companies up to one quarter of its yeomen plus laborers. Each company raised takes 1 pop out of the tax rolls (it still eats) until it is disbanded. Knights and lancers come from the elite at 0.2 pop per company. Mercenaries cost no manpower.
Food
At Feed, every pop eats 1 Food and every company eats 1 (mounted 2; dragons and drakes eat per their module). A settlement's food is what its yeomen and village laborers grow plus its farms, fisheries, ranches and orchards, plus its stores.
- Spoilage: Food beyond Granary capacity loses a quarter at each Feed.
- Moving food between your settlements is free within 100 miles; beyond that, transit loss applies (Debt and Distance).
- Starvation: for each settlement left short, lose 10% of its laborers (then yeomen), −2 local Stability and +15 unrest.
- Food's value is 50 gp per Food at face value.
Growth and promotion
At Growth, a settlement with a food surplus and local Stability 5+ gains 1% pop (2% when its food is Abundant). Villages grow yeomen; towns and larger grow laborers.
Promotion: laborer → yeoman, or yeoman → burgher, costs 500 gp per pop and one free promotion charter (Market, Guildhall). Elite grow only by grant: knighthood, office or marriage.
The needs tracker
Each Empire file keeps one row per category: food, timber, stone, iron, mounts, luxuries. Each row has required, produced (inside the realm), imported, and fulfillment % = (produced + imported) ÷ required × 100.
What each category requires per season:
| Category | Required |
|---|---|
| Food | total pop + companies (mounted ×2) |
| Timber | pop ÷ 10 + 2 for each holding under construction |
| Stone | pop ÷ 20 + 4 for each fortification under construction |
| Iron | companies ÷ 5 (round up) + 1 per Arsenal tier |
| Mounts | 1 per cavalry company |
| Luxuries | elite pop + clergy pop ÷ 2 |
Fulfillment bands (per category):
- 0–49% Shortage: −1 realm Stability per category (max −3), imports cost ×1.5. For food, starvation strikes.
- 50–99% Strained: imports cost ×1.25.
- 100% Fulfilled: nothing changes.
- 101–150% Surplus: sell the surplus at face value; trade income +10% (max +20% across categories).
- 151%+ Abundant: upkeep in that category −10%; food growth doubles.
Internal versus imported: if 90% or more of a category is produced inside the realm, it is immune to import prices and gives +1 realm Stability (max +2 in total). Below 50% internal, the category is blockade-vulnerable: cut the route and it drops to Shortage at once. Your empire's self-sufficiency bonus is the number of categories at 90%+ internal.
Goods: standard, luxury, prestige
Every resource has a quality (what the good is) and a grade (how rich its source is).
- Standard (grain, timber, stone, iron, salt): sells at face value and is consumed every season.
- Luxury (wine, cloth, spices, furs): sells at ×2 to any market linked by a trade route. Each luxury stock gifted in a deal is +2 to the deal. Each luxury variety stocked in the capital is +1 realm Stability per season (max +3).
- Prestige (relics, regalia, masterwork arms, claims): never sold. While held, each gives one permanent bonus, such as +1 Authority, +1 commander rating or +1 to a rank deal. Losing one costs −1 realm Stability until it is replaced. Prestige goods are kept as Asset files.
Conversions (1 Authority each, needs a Guildhall or Market): 3 standard → 1 luxury; 3 luxury → 1 prestige (a one-season commission needing an Academy or War-college). Conversions never run in reverse.