ECONOMIC HEALTH

Fellow Leaders,

I thought it may be useful for us to have a topic on EH, to share tales and ideas on things we have done. For example, in one of my games I recently came up with a fiendishly clever way of raising several tens of thousands of recruits.....the result being a 4 point drop in EH.

be very careful how you do things with EH the results are very harsh...

I am guessing that you raised the tens of thousands of recruits by tapping into your working population. Thus the reduction in trade and money.

I made a deal with the nobility to release labour in exchange for a tax reduction. Foolish in hindsite, but it had worked in a previous game....

I guess, that the labour the Nobles released were farm laboures ect. Farmers and various other skilled estate workers. This would reduce the working population, thus tax reciepts. Strange that it worked in a previous game? Perhaps the nation you played in the previous game had a bearing on matters? Thus their Nobilitys labour were more unskilled than skilled workers? This would certainly make sense.

Hmm, I play a trade company and assumed that EH would rise with my expansion and influence. It hasn't and remains at 6 after 3 years. Now from the rules this should allow me to have some surplus recruits... but owning no land it doesn't!

My question is: Other than a nice to know figure. Why would I want to have a higher EH score? Because if the "levers and dials" to adjust it are so complex - as given above why worry - your goals may be entirely political and you can therefore stand the odd drop in EH to achieve your other goal. Well, until the peasants riot! But then you could end up with a famine and that will do for your EH just as effectively.

the lower the taxes the more money ppl hae to spend and EH goes up, BUT recruits go down making some builds darn near impossible to do or wars to fight.

It has to be a balance.... Higest EH I have ever had is 8

I may be in danger of breaking a confidence but one of my correspondents had an EH of 12 (or so he claimed) but that has fallen to 4 during his time of famine. I wonder if my free trade policy that and not being a sovereign state will mean my EH cannot change?

famine = less population = less taxes= low EH simple

it will change but you need to figure the maths of why...

Introducing Customs & Excise = 1 point drop

My most recent lesson.

When introducing a new crop, don't forget you HAVE to have 1,000 recruits....

Ooops

Introducing standardised weights and measures legislation will see EH drop by 1 for a while but will help to provide a more stable economic base. I hope so anyway!

Can anyone point me towards the rule on standardised weights and measures?

Havn't come across any reference to weights and measures in the rules but introduced it on the advice of my viziers for the reason already mentioned.