The Great Unwashed?

I don't think it's anything hinted-at in the rules, or mentioned elsewhere on this Forum, but I began to wonder if un-deployed recruits count as Unemployed, and - perhaps - act as a drag on the Economy? (Obviously you get a benefit from deploying them, so not deploying them deprives you of that potential benefit; but I'm wondering if there's a more positive negative effect {so to speak}?)

I've wondered that too. It seems my economy went down when I got a lot of recruits I didn't use immediately.

On the same subject, if you sell recruits, does that have a detrimental effect?

I assume that selling your recruits must do, if you disregard using recruits for military purposes and look at it from an economic point of view selling your spare recruits must limit the eventual peak that your economy can grow too. It says in the rules that as your economy improves you will get less recruits than if it was performing badly. So if we think of the economy as a triangle with the base being your starting economy and the top point the height level at which point your economy tops out with all recruits used and the economy absorbs all future recruits you would receive then selling your spare recruits must limit the height that your economic triangle can grow too. When this point is reached the only way to grow the economy further would be to source more recruits outside your nations borders which means immigration or as in the 1700's the slave trade.

Well that's my take on it anyway I may be wrong.

One Grain.

Having been Russia in the past, my recruit base was always well sought after, and I never experienced such an issue. You may find that its better to sign a treaty detailing the sale as part of negotiations.

one grain of grain wrote:I assume that selling your recruits must do, if you disregard using recruits for military purposes and look at it from an economic point of view selling your spare recruits must limit the eventual peak that your economy can grow too. It says in the rules that as your economy improves you will get less recruits than if it was performing badly. So if we think of the economy as a triangle with the base being your starting economy and the top point the height level at which point your economy tops out with all recruits used and the economy absorbs all future recruits you would receive then selling your spare recruits must limit the height that your economic triangle can grow too. When this point is reached the only way to grow the economy further would be to source more recruits outside your nations borders which means immigration or as in the 1700's the slave trade.

Well that's my take on it anyway I may be wrong.

One Grain.

While this is in the rules, I've never really seen my recruit numbers change much as my economy went up and down (mostly down!).

You're lucky Deacon, in one game recently my economy went up by a point...and my recruits down bh about 20%...in another up two points and down a third...

Selling Recruits can effect your honour if the Nobles get a bit upset with there potential workforce being removed from there land, many serfs were "sold" with the land they worked.