Newbie questions

Hello all...
With plenty of time on my hands I thought I would give this game a go.
Having read through the basic rules and seen my 1st player turn I have lots of questions but here are just a few.

How to introduce taxation into an untaxed population...

Is it worth establishing trade missions with your immediate neighbors or are these really for long distance trade routes?

What effects do building Cathedrals, Monestaries, Bell Towers actually have?

And if I establish trade routes say up and down a waterway, what should I be doing to maximize revenue?

Cheers guys, stay safe.

Welcome to the game, Vauban. I will try to answer your questions from an economic perspective since that seems to be the common theme:

1. Not quite sure what you mean by 'untaxed population' - if it is a part of the population which is taxed at 0% then simply order an increase in the tax rates. Most nations tend to consult Parliaments before doing so, but this isn't normally a problem. If the 'untaxed population' is in the colonies then you are likely to have more trouble - you could pass a law (which is likely to upset them) and even if you do then it is likely to be hard to enforce since many colonial economies were run on barter or smuggling. If this is the case then best advice is to 'ask advisors' since the best way to make it work will differ so much between countries.
2. Trade missions are always helpful, but to get the benefit you really need to have trade established with that area since they work to boost trade, not create it. They are even useful within your own country if you pick big towns.
3. Cathedrals and monasteries built in your own territory tend to boost church income (if it is of the same religion as your country), but the primary benefit is to honour/religion. Bell towers are probably one of the oddities players in the past have requested to add a bit of period detail in a particular town. Never built bell towers so try one and see if it helps.
4. Waterways - depends if it is within your own country or elsewhere. If it is within your own country then it tends to be covered by investment in canals for which it is best to be prepared and have some dredgers on hand otherwise the canals silt up. Building canals is a long term project, but someone will normally have the technology to help you out. The economic model in LGDR is not that sophisticated that you can do xyz to maximize revenue - there are lots of hidden factors. However, canals were most profitable in transporting bulky cargo, so if you want the best use out of canals then invest in coal, iron, grain, etc - the kinds of cargo that would be carried by canal. If you point this out to advisors when you are making the investment then you should get extra benefits from it.
If the waterway is simply a river then best check that the river is navigable by ship between the points you are seeking to trade - not all are. If the river is going through foreign territory then you won't be able to do much to avoid their taxes unless you sign a free trade deal with them, but that hits both ways in that it reduces your tax revenue from them. Depends on specifics so in the first instance it is probably best to 'ask advisors'.

Hope this helps.

Hi,

As Papa Clementi said ever position is its own traits. Some have absolute rulers who can change the tax rate with ease, others need to consult Parliaments, Estates Generals and other such bodies before taxes are changed.

Normally your turn sheet should say if you need to get a vote in Parliament etc to change the tax rate.

However, if you have no Cortez, Parliament etc needing to be consulted about tax changes but have 0% tax on Nobles or the Church/Temples this is probably historic. And if you suddenly decide to go scrap traditional rights and privilages and hit the most importants parts of society with a unexpected tax bill you should probably expect to become very unpopular! (ie your honour score will start to drop).

Before you start making people who have never paid tax before.....pay tax it normally helps to a) Have a crisis......and the Govt is a bit short of cash is not going to work or b) Do some research into your position and either find a old tax people used to pay and should still be paying or when the concession was given and why it has now expired. You will still be unpopular just less so than if you do a William Pitt and invent income tax! Pitt at least had the Napoleonic wars to blame but his "Temporary emergency tax" was still not very popular. Think he got his windows smashed over it.......or as that his window tax?

An on top advice regarding investments.

Since some are important, usually in your country there are wealthy NPC who could be interested in joining government companies adding cash in exchange of benefits (i.e. monopoly or parts of the revenues)

Welcome to the game

I think your questions have already been answered but as a new player I would like to offer the following general advice;

It is a simple game at its core but has ALOT of depth. If you can afford it, buy the game supplements too. They are the insights to experienced players actions.

So do not be too daunted by a position or world. Start simple, get used to the game mechanics and then build

You will not always get it right first go. Be prepared to see an idea take some backwards steps before it moves forward. Richard DOES reward good ideas so perseverance is going to be your best friend.

The community of players is a great bunch - to a man (or woman...possibly!). They all come with differing styles of play that you will soon get to see. Use in game correspondence to link up with other players

Your best possible ally is me and everyone else is in joint last

Thank you very much for your advice and ideas.
I have a lot to do first turn, especially as the previous player seriously underinvested in the economy.
Be safe out there.
V

Welcome Vauban,

Joining LGDR is something you will not regret.

My main advice is, write lots of letters and feel free to ask questions in game. Let people know you are new, and you may well be the recipient of in game freebies (grain, technology, ships etc.) as well as plenty of advice.

& second advice is feel free to find your own characters and voice. I have thoroughly enjoyed bringing to life dashing Doge’s, supple Cardinal’s and arrogant Corsairs.

No Worries,

Kerensky

Firstly Vauban, welcome to the games Hope you find your position a fun one.

On the trade missions, I have not found distance makes much of a difference but as Papa said, you need to be already trading in that part of the world for them to have a benefit. It's hard to provide hard evidence but personal experience suggests they can be more effective in major ports and capitals or a town that has a heritage of being a centre of trade.

Monasteries, cathedrals, etc-benefit does seem to be around honour. They are also useful to have in existence if you want to start holding church services to mark your victories, hold memorials for drowned sailors (essential for Russia)-it's not been unknown for a player to give an order for such a church service and then it to be reported that there wasn't a suitable venue in existence. You will find that different players have different experiences of how effective different institutions are-for example some will think a hospital is a priority while others feel their experiences mean they will go for a church or a covered market instead.

As Kerensky said, do write and let others in the game know you're active-and while there are forum rules about in-game diplomacy on the forum, it's ok to reveal which position you're playing on here. Also completely agree with Kerensky on adding a personality to your position. In G9 My Lord Fong of Kwantung Province (China) makes his views on Barbarians and their actions well know, in G10 Lord Melville of Scotland likes to have a whisky or two when giving a speech during a banquet...

Welcome to the game Vauban from G10 Moscow, you're in for a treat. The advice above is all good except from the Count as he meant the Tsar is your best ally, just don't accept any invites to go sailing with him.

Definitely write to other nations, you'll get an idea of who is active from the paper as not every player is on here.

Consider building roads and especially milestones for helping boost Economic Health. EH increases can help with increasing income but also reduces the number of annual recruits you get - there are other posts on the forum about EH and the use or not of recruits when investing in trade. Also look at using liners and barges to help the state support its own trade (income).

Always ask your advisers if you're not sure of something, takes longer but can save costly mistakes. Remember NPC's have their own in game motivations like us players do, which is one of the good things about the game as you never know whether the advice is in your best interests or theirs. Ask on here too but mostly enjoy the game, Richard will also give you hints via in game characters/actions if you go too off track.

Keep safe, Mark

Marshal Bombast wrote:Welcome to the game Vauban from G10 Moscow, you're in for a treat. The advice above is all good except from the Count as he meant the Tsar is your best ally, just don't accept any invites to go sailing with him.

Definitely write to other nations, you'll get an idea of who is active from the paper as not every player is on here.  

Consider building roads and especially milestones for helping boost Economic Health. EH increases can help with increasing income but also reduces the number of annual recruits you get - there are other posts on the forum about EH and the use or not of recruits when investing in trade.  Also look at using liners and barges to help the state support its own trade (income).

Always ask your advisers if you're not sure of something, takes longer but can save costly mistakes. Remember NPC's have their own in game motivations like us players do, which is one of the good things about the game as you never know whether the advice is in your best interests or theirs. Ask on here too but mostly enjoy the game, Richard will also give you hints via in game characters/actions if you go too off track.

Keep safe, Mark

Hi Mark,

I’ve never considered milestones as helping economy, did they work for you? May I ask how did you use them?

Nexus06 wrote:

Marshal Bombast wrote:Welcome to the game Vauban from G10 Moscow, you're in for a treat. The advice above is all good except from the Count as he meant the Tsar is your best ally, just don't accept any invites to go sailing with him.

Definitely write to other nations, you'll get an idea of who is active from the paper as not every player is on here.  

Consider building roads and especially milestones for helping boost Economic Health. EH increases can help with increasing income but also reduces the number of annual recruits you get - there are other posts on the forum about EH and the use or not of recruits when investing in trade.  Also look at using liners and barges to help the state support its own trade (income).

Always ask your advisers if you're not sure of something, takes longer but can save costly mistakes. Remember NPC's have their own in game motivations like us players do, which is one of the good things about the game as you never know whether the advice is in your best interests or theirs. Ask on here too but mostly enjoy the game, Richard will also give you hints via in game characters/actions if you go too off track.

Keep safe, Mark

Hi Mark,

I’ve never considered milestones as helping economy, did they work for you? May I ask how did you use them?

Everytime I've used them I've gone up an EH level so might be coincidence. Russia has them and I'll look to put into Siberia to see what that does. Think it's because it gives traders an idea of travel time etc

Marshal Bombast wrote:

Nexus06 wrote:

Marshal Bombast wrote:Welcome to the game Vauban from G10 Moscow, you're in for a treat. The advice above is all good except from the Count as he meant the Tsar is your best ally, just don't accept any invites to go sailing with him.

Definitely write to other nations, you'll get an idea of who is active from the paper as not every player is on here.  

Consider building roads and especially milestones for helping boost Economic Health. EH increases can help with increasing income but also reduces the number of annual recruits you get - there are other posts on the forum about EH and the use or not of recruits when investing in trade.  Also look at using liners and barges to help the state support its own trade (income).

Always ask your advisers if you're not sure of something, takes longer but can save costly mistakes. Remember NPC's have their own in game motivations like us players do, which is one of the good things about the game as you never know whether the advice is in your best interests or theirs. Ask on here too but mostly enjoy the game, Richard will also give you hints via in game characters/actions if you go too off track.

Keep safe, Mark

Hi Mark,

I’ve never considered milestones as helping economy, did they work for you? May I ask how did you use them?

Everytime I've used them I've gone up an EH level so might be coincidence.  Russia has them and I'll look to put into Siberia to see what that does.  Think it's because it gives traders an idea of travel time etc

That is great! Is there any math to see how many are needed or just ask ministers to work out?

Found, distance marking stones 10% of upgrading roads level

Nexus06 wrote:

Marshal Bombast wrote:

Nexus06 wrote:

Marshal Bombast wrote:Welcome to the game Vauban from G10 Moscow, you're in for a treat. The advice above is all good except from the Count as he meant the Tsar is your best ally, just don't accept any invites to go sailing with him.

Definitely write to other nations, you'll get an idea of who is active from the paper as not every player is on here.  

Consider building roads and especially milestones for helping boost Economic Health. EH increases can help with increasing income but also reduces the number of annual recruits you get - there are other posts on the forum about EH and the use or not of recruits when investing in trade.  Also look at using liners and barges to help the state support its own trade (income).

Always ask your advisers if you're not sure of something, takes longer but can save costly mistakes. Remember NPC's have their own in game motivations like us players do, which is one of the good things about the game as you never know whether the advice is in your best interests or theirs. Ask on here too but mostly enjoy the game, Richard will also give you hints via in game characters/actions if you go too off track.

Keep safe, Mark

Hi Mark,

I’ve never considered milestones as helping economy, did they work for you? May I ask how did you use them?

Everytime I've used them I've gone up an EH level so might be coincidence.  Russia has them and I'll look to put into Siberia to see what that does.  Think it's because it gives traders an idea of travel time etc

That is great! Is there any math to see how many are needed or just ask ministers to work out?

Defoe's Illuminations supplement page 17 order them to be put into place takes six months then when in place EH went up and I've not had any other indication of other causes for it. Also I've usually had roads at C when doing that as never had the cash before for that and prefer the recruits for other things like trade investing and armed forces.

I like the milestones idea.

But what to put on them?

Perhaps I should add distances to the nearest gallows for Williamite sympathisers to remind them of their fate should they rebel again?

Or in the Papacy, miles to the nearest cathedral?