BGR IV & BGRIV-Enhanced Byg's Grim Reality Enhanced Difficulty, Depth & Realism Mod Featuring Supply System, Field Morale, Command System Feudal to Centralised Army System Progression Nobles' Personal Wealth & Property, 3 Way Economic Management, Crime & Punishment Systems Dynamic Religious Area of Recruitment, Recruitment by Rank, Factionwide Zeal Effects Dynamic Difficulty Level & All mod (Kingdoms) Compatibility Go Here for BGRIV/E Modders Pack for integration with mods other than stainless steel, or SS mods that introduce new settlement names and units. Fixes Unaddressed Bug Status for BGRIV Enhanced Version = 0 Addressed Bug Status for ALL BGRIV_E code = 2 (you should apply these fixes to all mods containing BGRIV_E except where you have applied SS6.3 fixes or used Stainless Steel or other mod versions dated later than SS6.3) 1} (on and after 2nd crusade you may find the BGR crusade feature prevents recruitment too soon if you don't join immediately. Manual Fix here. New campaign may be required. 2} Rarely a general may become locked "In Defiance of Orders" (Trait) despite obeying his punishment, pardons or new Kings. Manual fix (save compatible) Here.
Unaddressed bug status for standard BGRIV (old standard version) = 1 (there is a moneyfix file available for this in the twcenter BGR thread, which is currently only for RRRC Compilation 23rd April edition users, later versions with RRRC are fixed) . I have not made this fix for ss6.1 version as I consider it has been superceded. NEWS:
You can now get the latest BGRIV Enhanced version included optionally in a compilation of various Stainless Steel (6.2) based mini mods here BGRIV Enhanced is also provided optionally in Stainess Steel 6.3 & 6.4 here There are some recommended and some optional files at the end of this post for users of SS6.4.
About BGRIV & IV E BGRIV & IV_E are recommended for: A) Players who consider themselves experienced at BGRIII and wish to upgrade. B) Expert players who find non-BGR games too easy C) And / or players who enjoy depth of game-play and have a love for detail.
The instructions here will only deal with new additions. If you want to skip BGRIII then please take the time to read all the instructions in the BGR twcenter thread as it contains details of previous version features which are still in BGRIV & IV_E. Then read the details here as some of those features have improved and changed. Please provide feedback on this thread or here : http://www.nerazzurri.net/bgrforum/viewtopic.php?p=450#450 Or TWCenter BGR Thread. Some features in the instructions are illustrated in orange colour to indicate a BGRIV Enhanced version feature.
BGRIV Enhanced features: BGRIV E contains all previous version features, albeit improved and introduces the following:* Increased Difficulty & challenge * Option to mod some difficulty adjustments for some features mid campaign (for forage damage costs and estate prices). * Recruitment Authority now granted faster so you can now give a governors WC ancillary to another general, put the new one in charge and get the benefits that same turn. * Armies without generals may desert or revolt frequently due to the disorderly conduct associated with only being able to forage, rather than have logistical supply abilities (existing feature).
* Small armies or single units without generals are less likely to desert or revolt en route to their destinations, so individual reinforcement units should be fine. Large armies however should be led by generals, whether to war or travelling in home territory. * Variable army size dependent damage to region costs for foraging armies in home regions, for general led armies. There are two cost levels available to players when using the optional included files: Costs vary with army size: from 100 to 400/turn (200 to 800/turn with inflation). Unlead troops 200/400 fixed. Moddable mid campaign Costs vary with army size: from 200 to 800/turn (400 to 1600/turn with inflation) Unlead troops 400/800 fixed. Default level, Moddable mid campaign * Fixed damage to region rate for non general armies (i.e a small captain army will probably have enough forage, but a large one will almost certainly lose discipline and desert or rebel). * Existing variable supply & forage usage with army size feature now tweaked * Resupply in homeland forts and when encamped feature tweaked * Supply costs quadrupled* Intelligent supply purchase system prevents generals spending all their money on supplies, typically leaving about 2000 float for taxes etc. * Supply & forage consumption rate set to 1/4 when in forts, but forts now cost 15,000 if you choose to have forts enabled * Minimum supply quantity required for quality troop production reduced to 50% from 100% * Supplies can now be purchased in much smaller quantities benefitting poorer generals. Now 3% instead of 25%.* Good Logisticians lose extra healing ability * Banished Generals take estates for themselves upon conquest/ Non banished Generals are awarded them. * Un-banished Generals can buy estates 2000/4000 with Inflation (default) or 3000/6000 with inflation depending on modded difficulty level * Out of supply effects now split between "out of supplies" & "starvation" traits. Starvation is a combination of no supplies and no forage. * Old BGRIV corruption feature expanded to increase in line with expansion. ..."I wonder how that Noble was able to afford another estate on his income?" * Extra crusade feature representing an exodus of some troops from religious regions to independently join a crusade when the faction leader fails to join a crusade in time. The effect is no quality troops available in regions of 80% or more own religion until the crusade (or Jihad) ends. * New Leader's Orders based on his character. Disobedience will be punished. Also the following minor changes: Added one more feature to prevent the 'snowball' effect further. Nobles' corruption feature added to enhance difficulty when necessary (desperately poor generals may turn corrupt depending on loyalty, but the very rich are worse, like real life) Minor text changes Removed potential for ai to get 'despondent'
** Game-play Instructions** Overview
Addendum to above chart for BGRIV_E. Generals only need a minimum of 50% supplies. New Junior War Councillors can "hold" recruitment pools even in castles while WCs are away fighting as long as they have the PTS ancillary.
Playing as a virtual novice to BGRIV myself, I would describe the difficulty of my first campaign
as extreme. My faction was virtually destroyed by turn 20. My second campaign attempted an all out, no mercy blitz to see if the game was hard enough to stop me. It did, so hopefully you too will find that your wars in this game require advance planning. Please feedback on how your own campaigns progress. You are now going to be playing a new game unlike any you have played before and to some extent you will need to relearn how to play. The mod is now immensely complex, almost everything is connected to everything else as it should be, however you will find that the logic behind all the new systems should help to make a lot of the new functionality intuitive once you are used to it. Initially it may be a good idea to monitor the traits of your main characters to see how they alter as things happen. Anything important that happens is also announced in faction announcements. Having used BGRIV for a while I found that I can generally get by by only taking note of announcements and occasionally looking up a character's traits. I have rearranged traits so that you can now find important BGRIV trait usually at the end of your characters' traits lists and usually in the same order. This should make it much easier for you to quickly check on your characters recruitment ability, supply status or wealth for example. The Treasury Generals now have their own money, but there are the usual treasury costs as well for recruiting units and hiring mercenaries. Recruitment now requires money in the treasury AND a general must be wealthy enough to cover his equipping/recruiting costs. Note that because generals now have their own money, the treasury will have less and treasury reports will not reflect the actual treasury amount in your projected treasury totals, but instead reflect the total coming in or going out of your faction. Example: a general gets a ransom for some captives, your treasury will at first show the money come in, but as a significant portion belongs to the general it will go out again to him. Your projected treasury total for the next turn will be out by that amount. It works this way for all your general's earnings so remember that if your general earns a lot, the treasury will lose a lot. So tax them to the hilt by charging scutage etc (more on that later). To quickly see how much total treasury is coming from or going to your generals as a whole compare the faction report treasury total with the treasury total in the bottom right of your screen. For a more detailed report click the faction button. This gives 2 information sheets: Nobles' Expenses Summary and Nobles' Contributions Summary. If you wish to access the faction information without these summaries popping up, use your letter "o" key. The Background Files These include the AI (not included in SS6.3/6.4)and Other settings affecting the overall game in BGRIV. AI In BGRIV I have made a return to the more aggressive and unpredictable ai from vanilla. These qualities are what really provide the challenge in an AI. I have repeatedly played the same scenarios with different AIs and this one proved the most damaging to a human player. It provides a good consistent level of high difficulty with more factions waging war on you as you expand and are more of a threat to them. If the situation changes with the release of a new ai then I'll recommend that instead.
The Rebel factions have been freed up a little so that they may on occasion come for you. Other AI factions have been prevented from tearing themselves apart through mass rebellions so they now remain a challenge for you. Generals, with their ability to lead and command logistics, i.e. supplies, are now virtually essential if you are going to war. Captained armies are far more likely to just disperse and go home or rebel. Try always to lead troops with a general and even use supporting generals to bring new troops to your frontline generals. Generals can come of age earlier now and live a little longer to benefit role-play. BGR versions III – IV_E introduce a number of new effects primarily affecting how, where and by whom your units can be recruited. It also contains a dynamic religion based AOR (area of recruitment) These versions attempt to represent the effects of the faction's status on the individual and the individual's (your Leader's) effects on the faction. The general effect you perceive will be an increased depth of decision making, whilst making formerly easy, large factions as difficult to play as small factions. The idea of my mods in general is that you know about causes of effects and then use your skill either to avoid those causes or seek them out depending on their benefits or penalties. My idea is not to dump some terrible or great effect upon a player for no good reason or at random. The factors I have introduced are based on factors that were present in medieval times (and throughout most of history) and had to be dealt with by Leaders of that period. Obviously these factors have had to be tailored to the Total War game environment and made as generic as possible to all factions. You will see the extremes of the new effects when playing as a small or a large faction. There are graded levels in between. Playing a small faction A small faction is a tight, unified, cohesive population and fighting force. There is great religious & military zeal affecting piety, command and loyalty amongst the nobles and the population. The nobles are great men themselves and may rival the faction leader in generalship and prestige. The population is easy to control in religious and military matters. Playing a large faction A large faction requires greater skill and determination to hold it together. Zeal, both military and religious are more desirable, yet less attainable. This lowers loyalty, command and piety for ordinary, non War Council generals. In a large empire the leader's grip on the reins of power must be firm. He increasingly dictates from the centre, drawing power away from the provinces & lesser nobles. He increasingly relies upon fewer, trustworthy, selected professionals in both matters of governance and war. Specific Gameplay (causes and effects)
On starting your campaign you will see that each general/noble owns an estate and some may have ancillaries denoting they are members of the War council. The following turn you will get a report on screen informing you of your faction's zeal level and how your king intends to rule, regarding his distribution of command within the armies. (This information is always viewable, after his first turn in power, in your faction leader's traits list.) Don't be put off by the apparent complexity. Much here is intuitive or will soon become so because everything is based on a logical system. Informative traits, ancillaries and messages keep you up to date as you progress. This core of this mod was based around my observations of Hannibal, Caesar and Napoleon. How do armies survive a long time in the field and remain an effective fighting force and when they don't, why don't they? Hannibal kept his army in hostile territory for 20 years. I believe he achieved this by continually winning battles thus keeping morale high. He also brought some cities round to his side to recuperate in or support his army. Napoleon had to retreat from Moscow because his enemy denied him battle and destroyed Moscow before him. Morale collapsed because there were no major victories, no supplies and no place to rest in such a harsh environment. In addition Napoleon suffered greatly from overconfidence and thus ignored all advice against the invasion. Caesar, rather like Hannibal, inspired great morale in his troops via many victories, but as he reached such heights his loyalty fell and he became a danger to his own people. Army Field Morale System aka Battle Readiness Traits I don't like awarding bonuses to human players because we don't need them (we learn), but we do like a reward to make things interesting. This set of traits indicates an army's condition. It runs through a series of levels increasing every 4 turns that an army is in action (i.e. away from any town or a castle with at least 50% compatible religious population) In essence, your troops become more weary the longer they are away from home. The levels are: Ready for Action (default when born, adopted, recuperated etc) Troops Weary (4 turns away) Troops Despondent (8 turns) Troops Undisciplined (12) Troops Desperate (16) Troops Mutinous (20) Each level attained initially brings penalties to Command, Troop Morale, then later unrest, Loyalty and Influence too. The traits lists warnings to you to get the troops home to recuperate. And there's more. From Ready for Action or any other level, the battle readiness levels can move in the other direction. So: Ready for Action (lasts for up to 3 turns in the field) Eager to Fight (adds a little morale & enables the army to remain 4 turns longer in the field) Bent On Glory (adds morale, reduces loyalty & enables the army to remain another 4 turns longer in the field) Movement of levels in this direction is attained by fighting and winning battles.
Any victory has the effect of reducing the effect of time away from a settlement i.e if your troops have just become Weary (4 turns away), but you fight and win a battle, you go back to Ready for Action (2 turns away) so in 2 more turns you will be weary again. So battles won temporarily regain morale before it starts to slip again. Heroic victories or Major victories and taking an enemy settlement will have 4 times the above effect so fighting and winning against large AI armies will do your men more good (morale wise) than fighting minor easy battles. Keep fighting and winning and you can stay in the field longer without having to recuperate in a settlement. Recuperation recovers morale at 4 times the rate at which you lose it. Major victories, Battle and Kills Counter Traits (aka Victory Monuments) 50% kills are required in a battle against greater odds to get a major victory. This trait counts and updates for every Major battle you fight up to about 150. It also takes an educated guess at your cumulative kills for each of your generals based on full stacks fighting each other. Obviously using 150 trait levels would be too much effort so I use a few traits a bit like an abacus. Major Victories are recorded on monuments erected in your generals’ honour. One two, three and four victories are announced and recorded as they come. The fifth victory entitles you to a Great Monument, then whilst keeping this monument it counts one to four again, then you get Two Great monuments. Five of these gives a Spectacular Monument and so on. In this way you can easily reckon the total battles and by adding up the kill totals on the three types of monument you get your generals total kills during his lifetime (rough estimate). Major victories are counted for AI generals too. I liked the idea of spying a hugely successful general heading for your territory, fearing him and knowing his history. Now you will. Cohesive Fighting Unit Sadly because AI generals' armies do not retrain (as far as I've ever seen) they don't last too long, therefore I awarded AI generals this trait. It gives a Healing Increase for AI Armies. The idea being that they work well together and take good care of their injured. This massively heals AI armies if they win. The idea is to keep good AI armies going rather than fading away. They don't have the advantage of retraining as we humans do. This levels the playing field very slightly. Over Confidence Trait System changed from v2.1 onwards. Old Method:If you like reading historical accounts of ancient battles it becomes clear that overconfidence is probably the greatest cause of major lost battles. I use this description to give a trait to the human player only, which in a complicated way will prevent your generals from getting too many stars. If you do get too many you wont have them for long, so make use of any high star general whilst he's at his peak. New Method:Repeatedly fighting armies less powerful than your own will falsely boost your confidence making your army overconfident. Your general and his troops may not be up to an equally matched enemy when eventually they meet one. Fighting mighty armies reverses any overconfidence gained. Recruitment Ability
This is an indicator of a generals ability to recruit certain levels of units. This does not tell you specifically why though and many factors may be responsible, directly or indirectly. This Trait shows either Full, Average or Minimal Recruiting ability: Full means all units, Average means no top tier units and Minimal represents militia level units only. Faction Zeal As your faction grows geographically your people are exposed to new ideas, beliefs, financial rewards and associated corruption. They become less insular, more cosmopolitan, more selfserving and less united. Zeal levels decrease as your faction grows at a maximum rate of one level per turn. It has a factionwide effect on loyalty and religious & military zeal. Usually your War Council Members are immune to the personal effects of Zeal because they are the system. The religious support % requirement for each region in order to recruit decent units will increase as zeal diminishes, meaning ever higher levels of religious support % are required to recruit the best troops. You can determine this % by clicking on a priest then hovering the mouse over the region you wish to check. High Zeal This is the default level at game start or when a new leader comes to power, the people being boosted by the inaugural pomp and ceremony. Expectations are high. Relatively good loyalty, command and piety are widespread. Religious support % requirement 70% Moderate Zeal Good loyalty, command and piety are fading. You would be wise to favour your most loyal generals and your War Council generals. Religious support % requirement 75% Low Zeal As with moderate zeal, but with more pronounced effects Religious support % requirement 80% Very Low Zeal As with low zeal, but with more pronounced effects Religious support % requirement 85% Abysmal Zeal You are now either the greatest existing faction or in close contest for that position. Your leader would be extremely unwise to entrust a large army to any general outside of his own, elite war council Religious support % requirement 90%
The War Council Your Leader is always in the War Council (denoted by a trait rather than an ancillary) and most of the time you will also have two other WCs. WC appointments are based upon a number of factors. Each factor has a chance of influencing membership. Your Heir is often, but not always favoured for selection. Rich nobles are highly favoured. Other offices also have some influence e.g. Junior WC, those commanding PTS
ancillaries, those in command of large armies and those with Major Victory monuments to their credit. War Council Membership (ancillary) may be passed on to any other general. Getting an ageing general to pass on his WC ancillary, nominating his own replacement, is a good idea. If a general dies holding a WC ancillary the King may take some time appointing a new one. War Council members receive advanced logistical support allowing them to resupply faster, carry emergency reserve stores and organise supplies in unfavourable settlements. A candidate for WC must not have the Negligent trait (acquired by generals who repeatedly allow their settlements to become besieged). Negligent shows in the traits list as either: Neglected Border Defences Negligent Completely Negligent To counter this trait the general must fight battles in the field, intercepting the enemy prior to becoming besieged.
Professional Training Staff These ancillaries are awarded to each War Councillor, but he may elect to pass these officers (ancillary) to whosoever he chooses (but if not a WC then these can only be used in cities not castles). Castles are such centres of power that the leadership is loathe to allow non war Councillors to hold them for fear of rebellion. In BGRIV Enhanced you also have Junior War Councillors (shown as a trait) who when issued with PTS ancillary can recruit a limited amount of units in castles (indicated by a trait like "Recruit Limit 4".Their main role is not to recruit therefore, but instead to keep the recruit pools in place whilst the War Councillor is absent).Generals may become Junior War councillors through victories or high status achieved via wealth. PTS are the key to recruitment of professional units (most good units) once the faction moves towards "Professional Recruitment & Command" and beyond. As you will see further on, nobles must now pay out of their own purse an additional charge for units they recruit. However, if a noble has been assigned PTS then he is working with and for the Leader in a professional capacity. He will therefore be able to reclaim from the faction treasury all his military expenses (which include recruitment costs) and his supply costs (shown separately) once the units have completed their training. The general's portion of recruitment cost is paid on completion of training. If a general possessing PTS leaves a city or castle before recruitment is completed then whilst those units will still be trained, their training will be less efficient. More importantly they will cost much more and the treasury will bear the whole cost. If a general without PTS completes the training (or even initiates it) then the general's portion of recruitment cost will not be reclaimable. Whilst the faction is operating in full feudalism with a universal right to knight, all generals can purchase all units. However, as feudalism withers in favour of professional recruitment the WCs and their PTS will come into their own.
Order: Recruitment Authorisation
Once a general has been given "professional training staff" he must wait a turn whilst his appointment is verified. If he is out of favour with the king then this authority will not be granted and the PTS will not work for the general who has them. So pass them to a favoured general, i.e. not an outlaw or criminal. The In game description: "This authority covers Castles and Cities for War Council Members, but only Cities for other ranks. This general has the authority to recruit and train units for the faction's armies when accompanied by Professional Training Staff. He may now claim back his Supply Costs & other Military Expenses from the treasury at the end of each financial period. Supplies: 200 per 1/4, Mercenary Hire: 300 each, Recruiting costs: 100 per Unit, then add + 100/Heavy unit, + 100/Mounted, + 200/Siege unit, + 300/Ship" So a heavy mounted unit for example will cost 300 (in addition to the usual game recruitment costs EDIT: which are paid by the treasury) NOTE Because settlements' units are recruited at the end of each turn you only see Military Expenses traits on the following turn. So they tell you what each general spent or claimed back on unit recruitment in the previous turn. Who Pays for Recruitment? Apart from the normal game costs (which are still paid for by the treasury), there are new recruiting/equipping charges for new recruits this section refers to those. The general in command of recruitment at the time of completion of training pays. If that general has "recruitment authority" he will initially pay and later reclaim from the treasury. If the general has no "recruitment authority" he has to pay from his own pocket. If there is no general present then the completion of training is considered to be less efficient and thus costs more. These charges are x2 and are paid by the treasury, so don't let your general abandon your upcoming recruits before completion of training unless you need to. Original Supply System (This section refers to the supply system in BGRII. Details of any subsequent changes and additions are described in the section “Variable Foraging & Supplies”) Supplies are carried with armies, which are consumed only when a region has been fully foraged. Supplies decrease in 1/4 chunks. Resupply via settlements and Supply Ships. Marching along the coast being supplied from ships is now a reality. Resupply is at a rate of 1/2 per turn. Conquered settlements will only provide supplies once their population is at least 50% supportive of your religion.
A newly conquered settlement only supplies an initial resupply of 25 to 50% which you pillage from the population. Send in your priests, ideally in advance and build churches fast. Meanwhile your army can sustain itself by remaining in the city, it just can't get enough supplies to replenish its stores. Foraging Before you need to consume a portion of your army’s supplies you may live off the land by foraging. On the 2nd turn of foraging in a foreign region or the 4th turn in one of your own regions, foraging runs out and your army must consume some of its own supplies instead whilst the region recovers from foraging. As each region has a limit to how much continuous pillaging (foraging being the polite word) it can sustain. You may for example forage for 1 turn in a foreign region then move to another indefinitely and thereby avoid consuming your own supplies. A region will replenish its foraging capability either by the general leaving it for 1 turn or by consuming his own supplies for 1 turn (automatic) Sieging and long marches in the same region will cost you the most in supply terms. Capture enemy armies' supplies to sustain yourself longer in the field. Simply win a battle against an army of at least half your army's size and steal their supplies to top your own up. Realistic penalties for running out of supplies No one likes to go hungry. Your generals will get the blame if they run out of supplies. Your troops will become weaker, less loyal and undisciplined as they desperately forage for scraps to survive on. The enemy can prevent you foraging, causing you to use up your supplies. The enemy can do this on first contact with you, i.e. when he holds up your movement for a turn. If the enemy or any army prevents your movement, foraging will be prevented for a turn. You lose supplies to the enemy when you lose a battle. This is designed so that if you quit the battle in time then you may retreat with supplies intact. Some random factor is used here for how much you lose. Plan your supplies in advance. An enemy region with a vast hinterland could become your toughest target as was so often the case in history. Will you or can you use supply ships? Will your supply train last the distance? Poor Logistician A general will gain this trait if he does not take care of his supplies. It adversely affects his ability with supplies. He will be retrained in logistics on his return to a settlement. Variable Foraging & Supplies In BGRIV Enhanced there are new costs to the economy caused by your own armies foraging your own lands. These costs vary with army size. There are optional files in your BGR Enhanced downloads to alter the rates of these costs to your liking or you can just use the defaults by doing nothing. Unlead Armies (no general) typically cause more damage).
All you really need to know here is that smaller armies consume less forage and supplies. Read on for more detail to help with testing. In all previous versions of BGR, an army entering the field or a new region would forage for a turn whilst the vicinity was unforaged. The following turn the army would then expand their foraging range as nearby forage is consumed. In home territory there were 3 stages of foraging: Fresh Foraging Wide Range Foraging Scarce Foraging No foraging, Consume 1/4 Supplies
In foreign territory where the peasants are more resistant to being pillaged there is only two stages to foraging: Fresh Foraging No foraging, Consume 1/4 Supplies When no foraging was reached the army would then have to consume a 1/4 of its own supplies and in doing so provide the region with a period for recovery of its resources. The cycle would then begin again with supplies reducing from full to none as follows: Fully Supplied 75% supplies 50% Supplies 25% Supplies Emergency Supplies (War Councillors only) Out of Supplies In BGRIV this system is still in place but with variable periods between all the foraging ranges and also between all the supply "1/4"s. A full size army will consume forage and supplies at the full rate as described above, however if you have half an army there will be 2 turns before either forage is consumed or supplies are reduced. A quarter size army obtains a similar benefit and is the smallest allowance for size. Example: Army consumption Rate = 1/2. Fully supplied. In the field. In new region. In home territory. Turn 1 - Fresh Foraging Turn 2 - Fresh Foraging, Foraging Range Resources: 4/8ths Turn 3 - Wide Range Foraging Turn 4 - Wide Range Foraging, Foraging Range Resources: 4/8ths Turn 5 - Scarce Foraging Turn 6 - Scarce Foraging, Foraging Range Resources: 4/8ths Turn 7 - No foraging, , Foraging Range Resources: 0/8ths, Fully Supplied, Supply Subdivision 4/8ths
Turn 8 - Fresh Foraging Turn 9 - Fresh Foraging, Foraging Range Resources: 4/8ths Turn 10 - Wide Range Foraging Turn 11 - Wide Range Foraging, Foraging Range Resources: 4/8ths Turn 12 - Scarce Foraging
Turn 13 - Scarce Foraging, Foraging Range Resources: 4/8ths Turn 14 - No foraging, Foraging Range Resources: 0/8ths, 75% Supplies Remaining NOTE For testing purposes you will see the Traits "supply subdivisions" & "Foraging Range Resources", but these will be hidden in the final game, unless they are wanted. Army Consumption Rate is a guide to how fast foraging and supplies will last. Note that when not in the field the army consumption rate only displays that of your general, not his army. Despite his rate showing, he will not be consuming these supplies in a settlement, but rather living off the settlement. Efficiency of foraging and supply consumption is increased with more generals present in an army, though each general unit present consumes a minimum of 1/4 of his own supplies. So: Full Army with One General = 1 Full army as far as the lead generals supplies are concerned, but the addition of another general means the main general will be responsible for only 1/2 the army's consumption so his rate will be 1/2. As the extra general takes charge of 1/4 of consumption you can see that the new consumption rate, adding the two is actually 3/4s. Of course, "Too many cooks spoils the broth" and you can probably see that too many generals can also add inefficiency, each with their own selfish demands. Though from the wrong period, a good example is when Napoleon ran away from Moscow leaving the rest of the army to starve en route. I think it is fair to say that he ensured that he had more than his own fair share of supplies and I doubt that situation has ever been different. Effect of Supplies on Movement A small army will have less carrying ability than a large one and will thus be slower when burdened with the same quantity of supplies. The Resupply Train will slow armies down even further depending on how much it contains. Resupply Train In addition to your usual army supplies there is also one supply train available to the faction. It takes the form of an ancillary and here is the ancillary description: Resupply Train The faction supports a single resupply train, intended to provide additional supplies for the Leader's main army. The Leader may delegate his resupply train to any other general. A support general may follow the main army with these extra supplies and transfer them when necessary to the main army general. The main army may also carry the resupply train, though it may slow it down. Restock the resupply train in settlements or supply ships. Resupply When Encamped in Forts or in the Open When an army is at rest for more than 1 turn in home territory it makes camp and camp followers and traders begin to establish themselves and a makeshift market in the vicinity. Provisions are then topped up as necessary whilst the camp is maintained with the general in unbroken occupation. If the general marches out the traders disappear and return when he again appears to be a long term resident in his camp. Supplies from traders are not cheap and will cost 50% more than regular supplies. In BGRIV Enhanced supplies from ships are also more expensive.
The Leader's Orders In BGRIV Enhanced there are further order based on extremes of the Faction Leader's character. I'll say no more, but do pay attention to them. Always read Faction Announcements. You will notice that when the Leader issues orders restricting which generals may recruit certain unit classes there are some new restrictions. As your faction expands the leader will issue progressively more restictive recruitment orders as he attempts to control his expanding empire and increasingly centralise the army system. The simplest way to explain his orders are to show the Leader's Order descriptions from the game, so here they are (also see Recruitment Section):{Universal Right to Knight} As this faction contracts and expands, the grip on the reins of power must be relaxed or tightened. All generals have equal ability to recruit all units, including Knights and Professionals, into their armies. {Right to Knight Restricted} As this faction contracts and expands, the grip on the reins of power must be relaxed or tightened. The right to knight is now concentrated into the hands of the War Council who may delegate their Professional Training Staff to another general to recruit in their stead. Generals without professional training staff are permitted to recruit some early professionals, untrained local special units, militias & peasants, {Professional Recruitment and Command} As this faction contracts and expands, the grip on the reins of power must be relaxed or tightened. Attacks in foreign lands may now only be led by members of the War Council. Lesser generals may lead reinforcements, but when on foreign soil they may only fight if attacked. Recruitment of professionally trained armies (Knights, Professionals & most specialised troops beyond militias & peasants) now resides with the members of the War Council, unless they delegate their Professional Training Staff to another general. {Centralised Recruitment and Command} As this faction contracts and expands, the grip on the reins of power must be relaxed or tightened. To retain power at the centre of the command structure, attacks in foreign lands may only be led by the Leader & the Heir (if in the war council). Lesser generals & other War Councillors may lead reinforcements, but when on foreign soil they may only fight if attacked. The right to knight and recruit anything other than militias and peasants is now the prerogative of the Leader and his War Council, unless they delegate their Professional Training Staff to another noble.
The Centralisation levels often, but not always run in tandem with faction zeal and size, reflecting the movement of power from the provinces and the nobles to the Leader, his senior generals and the capital. The greater the faction's size and the lower the faction's zeal, the greater the grip on power required by the Leader and the centre. This is due to: Fear of loss of control to the enemy within. Desire and need for a more efficient, centralised command structure.
Recruitment All generals and ungoverned settlements can recruit most militias,(rural & urban units) at all times, subject to standard game recruitment restrictions. Categories of units are closely based upon those defined by Point Blank's Real Recruitment mod. Both BGR and Real Recruitment mods are available for Stainless Steel Mod. Neither mod is essential to the other. It is your choice. I would personally install both. Categories & Examples A Late Professionals (Byzantine Spearmen) Feudal. (Knights) Religious Order (Knights Hospitaller) Urban Professionals (Hand Gunners) B Early Professionals (Armoured Sergeants) Local (Highlanders) C Rural (Peasant Archers) Urban (Militias) Unit category details here Other Effects on Command & Recruitment Supplies Only once 50% supplied can a general begin to recruit an army, subject to his rank and other factors. Religion All generals/governors must maintain a minimum level of religious support in their province in order to sustain recruitment to their cause. (See Zeal Section) Distance to Centre of Power This feature only affects non War Councillors. Whilst the Leader's recruitment restriction orders are in place, but non WC generals can still recruit category B & C units (during “Right to Knight: Restricted” period), when too far from the Capital these generals will find they are only empowered to recruit militias (category C) under their governorship, not category B. Of these non WC generals, those with a command ability of 4 stars or greater are unaffected. Recruitment Limit Reached Your empire cannot sustain a size of military force which is too great compared to the size of your empire. All recruitment for all generals, with the usual exception of militias (category C) is restricted. If you have only just been notified of this restriction and have only just exceeded your maximum recruitment level, yet you need a better army, disband as many weak units as you can spare. Next turn, if you disbanded enough and your recruiting generals are in position to recruit, then with all other factors being ok, recruit as many powerful units as you can muster before you again reach your limit. You have effectively promoted the old units. Mercenary units are your other option as they are always recruitable, subject to standard game conditions.
Crime & Punishment If generals defy the orders of the Leader they can now expect to be punished. There are a variety of punishments, which are as follows: Order: Warning This general has been warned and given a small fine for disobeying orders (-500). This spark of disobedience may ignite a fire of unrest and rebellion. Order: Fine This general has been fined heavily for disobeying orders (-2000). This spark of disobedience may ignite a fire of unrest and rebellion. Order: Summons This general has been summoned to the Capital at once for disobeying orders. He must go to and remain in the Capital at the Leader's pleasure, following if the Capital is moved, but must always remain under the watchful eye of a superior general. This spark of disobedience may ignite a fire of unrest and rebellion. Order: Banished This general has been banished for disobeying orders. He must remain on foreign soil until such time as he is recalled. This spark of disobedience may ignite a fire of unrest and rebellion. Pardoning Offenders Use the "?" buttons on your character information scrolls when they are in the field (not in a settlement) or right click any ordinary unit's card then click the "?" on that unit's scroll. There are pros and cons attached to issuing a general pardon. You can only issue a pardon whilst there is current unrest due to: Breaking orders and not having yet complied with the punishment order, i.e. your general is banished, but is currently on home territory for more than a turn or your general has been summoned to the capital , but is not there yet. This is because the pardon is an issue for the Leader's grip on power, so if a general has complied with his punishment the Leader has no need for a pardon. Pardoning generals has an effect on the strength of the leader's grip on power and he will subsequently find it hard to raise taxes from nobles. Not issuing a pardon leaves you at the mercy of the rebellions. The decision is yours. Individual Wealth System for nobles Individual generals now have their own money, please try to test that what they purchase or collect is correctly calculated. There are 2 systems to show their wealth, one is represented in descriptive levels as:
In Debt (by how much) Broke (0 money) Poor (100 to 2000) [Min wealth requirement for supply purchases] Adequate (2100 to 4000) [Ordinary generals (those without recruitment authority) must have at least this level to recruit top level units] Rich (4100 to 6000) Very Rich (6100 and over) [Over 10,000 will automatically purchase Great Estates, once only for 4000] In BGRIV Enhanced Estate prices vary depending on the optional files you can install either at the start or during a campaign. The options are 2000/4000 with inflation or 3000/6000 with inflation. The 2nd wealth system runs in parallel, detailing the exact amount of money each noble possesses using "Thousands" and "Hundreds" traits so if a general has 1,700 his traits should show: One Thousand Seven Hundred NOTE: The maximum shown for Hundreds & Thousands is 9,900, but the thousands may be much higher though these figures are hidden to save code and because there is no benefit in knowing . So "Nine Thousand" is "Nine Thousand at least" To show the total costs and receipts of the noble class to the faction treasury click the "faction" button and you will see two sheets of information with approximate totals. Sources of Income Tax Collection Example Trait:Tax Collected 100 This is the amount that this Noble collected in the last financial period through taxation of his own manorial estates and any settlement over which he has currently established Lordship. Governed Castles & Cities with basic Markets or Low taxes contribute 100, Established Governors of Cities with advanced markets give 100 extra per taxation Level, Manorial Estates provide 100 each, War Councillors collect another 100, The Leader collects as required from settlements.
Governing Provinces Each turn a governor of a castle or a city will reap some personal profit. Cities can be far more lucrative than castles. The problems and benefits of taxation are now visited upon each governor:
Tax Policy Acceptable The people are barely content with the tax rate they paid to their local Lord. He only collects a small amount in a Castle or in Cities with basic markets or low tax rates. Unrest 1, Local Popularity -1 The following apply only to cities: Tax Policy Unpopular The people are not content with the average tax rate they paid to their local Lord. Unrest 2, Local Popularity -2 Tax Policy Harsh The people are very unhappy with the high tax rate they paid to their local Lord. Unrest 3, Local Popularity -3 Tax Policy Extortionate The people are protesting against the extortionate tax rate they paid to their local Lord. Unrest 4, Local Popularity -4 Manorial estates All new members of the nobility will have their own estates from which they will draw wealth. Further estates will be bought automatically once a general is beyond very rich. Estates may also be awarded to nobles for performing great deeds. Estates may also be lost through debt.
Ransoming Captives After successful battles it will now be the noble commander of the army that reaps a large portion of the ransom money for any captives taken. If the captives are ordered to be killed through refusal of payment, generals are instead paid by the treasury. Non war council generals, who operate in a feudal manner will keep their ransom. War Council generals, who have the faction's interests at heart, will only keep ransoms if they need money or if the treasury is already buoyant. Marriage & Dowries Generals will gain a handsome dowry upon marrying. Marrying into royalty is particularly lucrative. Borrowing Money Once a noble cannot afford what he has puchased he will automatically borrow money from money lenders. Money is borrowed in chunks of 2000 to cover the current debt. Sometimes you may find that in this way a general can speculate to accumulate, but beware: Interest Rates on money borrowed from money lenders could be very high in medieval times and failure to pay will result in seizure of assets (estates) and banishment as the noble will no longer be considered noble and must leave his faction's territory. Generals are immune to such banishment if they are on a crusade/jihad when their estates are siezed or if they are War Councillors. Instead they remain in debt with no further loan possible
until they regain their fortune. Taxing Nobles Scutage Tax Ordered This Tax can only be levied as feudalism begins to wane i.e the "Universal Right to Knight" (shown in traits and announcements) must have ended. Scutage is a Tax which traditionally replaced the obligation of a noble to provide troops. It helped to provide a more professional, centralised army. Scutage should be levied from Nobles when finances are required to fund supplies and training expenses for the War Council's professional armies. ( Tax: 100 Per Governor & 100 per Estate holder each financial period) So Raising Scutage reduces Generals' personal wealth and increases the treasury as you would expect. You must be careful not to tax nobles into poverty, but at the same time you will need a large treasury. Decisions, decisions. A trait will apear saying ready for scutage in your Faction Leader's traits once you are allowed to do this. Use the "request recruitment advice button" on your recruitment panel when a general is in a settlement to implement this. Wealth Tax Wealth Tax Ordered This is another tax on nobles to boost the treasury. Your faction leader automatically calls for this tax when the treasury slips into the red. The trait description: Due to low Treasury funds at the end of the last tax period, the Leader has imposed a tax on all estate holdings. (Small Estates 100/tax period, Large Estates 200/tax period) {Ending Wealth Tax} The Leader has ordered that the Wealth Tax should be lifted due to the buoyant state of the faction's finances (Treasury funds are greater than 1000). Religious War Taxation This is shown in traits and covers Jihads and Crusades. Here is the description: A Religious War is in progress & the Leader is raising funds to support it. Tax is being levied on each noble's manorial estate. Even the Leader contributes. This Tax will continue for each noble that does not join this venture, until either it ends or the Faction Leader joins (Cost 400 each Noble per tax period). Clearly from the above description you can see that joining a crusade asap is advisable if your generals are poor. However if they are rich and the treasury is low then allow the nobles to be taxed for longer. When Generals Join you will see: Joins the Crusade This noble has borne some of the enormous costs of starting a crusade. Cost: 5000 Personal Wealth & 5000 from Treasury. So be careful not to financially ruin your generals by joining a Crusade or Jihad.
NOTES on Finances New family members are the biggest drain on the economy along with ransoms as each is apportioned some money from the economy (treasury). Finance Related Traits. Check the following traits and events. They all apparently reduce the treasury though in reality the generals are now getting the money or some of it instead of the treasury (or call it the economy if you like) : Tax Collected: very variable, see trait and settlement tax level, estates owned etc (usually 100 to 900max) Ransoms: 1000 or 2000 depending on amount (generals get this from the treasury regardless of whether the ransom is unpaid and prisoners executed.) Conquests: 1000 Conquests with Sacking: 2000 Coming of age: 3000 to 7000 depending on father's wealth Adoptions or any new general: 1000 to 3000 Marriage dowry for marrying rich princesses: 3000, up to 7000 depending on Kings Wealth and only if not already Very rich. Non Princess Marriage dowry: 2000, only if not very rich already. In BGRIV Enhanced the above amounts are more refined with generals taking the complete ransom for himself if necessary, not a simple fixed amount when the ransom is high enough.Also, adoptions, coming of age, marriage, dowries etc have new amounts. Military Expenses are costs generals pay from their own purse. A general with "recruitment authorisation" will claim back the amounts shown from the treasury. Supply Costs: 200/300 if encamped. Shows what a general has spent on supplies In BGR Enhanced supply costs are much higher and can also be purchased in amounts as small as 3% at a time (small purchases are shown in a separate trait to large ones of 25% or more) Mercenary Costs: New BGRIV additional costs are 300/mercenary. Military Expenses: See Instructions or Traits for detailed cost per unit type. Shows the expenses on units. New BGRIV extra unit costs are paid for on completion of training. Also includes and mercenary costs. Inflation: when high inflation is in effect, all BGRIV recruitment and supply costs are doubled. Inflation is highest when your faction is doing well in relation to other factions in any one of a number of areas. Most traits that show costs have two figures, the first is the low inflation figure and the second is for high. Tips
I learned from my campaigns to keep the faction treasury buoyant: Overall you can expect a rough time with finances so keep your armies at a minimum. Garrison troops where they have free upkeep. Above all as I found out in my current campaign covet peace for as long as you can (which is very hard indeed with BGR AI). If BGR AI is not an option then use the toughest available. Develop religious support from the population (which means you are less reliant on expensive mercenaries). Develop your economy with merchants on safe remote spots. Avoid expensive two front wars with good diplomacy or eat humble pie and give settlements away for any urgently needed peace. Gain a breathing space when in debt by becoming a vassal. Pick on a rich faction that actually pays its ransoms. A Ransoms gained by a WC will now all go to the treasury unless the WC needs it more, but if you are forced to execute due to non payment the treasury pays the general for the prisoners before slaughtering them. Don't let any nobles go broke and have to sell their estates to pay interest on their subsequent loans or the treasury has to buy them back from the moneylenders (@12000 per estate!)..and your affected general may start a rebellion with serious consequences. Though the King now has his personal money separate from the treasury, keep the king active in the field within reason or he will suck money from anywhere he visits. After all who is going to stop him? Once a crusade/Jihad is called, hold out from joining for as long as possible whilst nobles are being heavily taxed for this purpose and bear in mind it will cost the faction 5000 to join per general. (With 5 generals the treasury will reap a total of 2000 per turn from this tax). Any generals about to get their last estate confiscated due to debt should join a crusade/jihad to escape banishment, though the downside is that they will be 5000 further in debt from joining the crusade. Using all of the above I managed to claw my way back into the black from a 50,000 treasury debt and just about stay alive. (Though I'm in debt again now whilst I'm on active campaign & because I let two Nobles go broke and had to finance their estates).
Optional Extras for BGRIV_E Missing Optional Files for Stainless Steel 6.4 Here.
