Merchant Exploits

[lgoodin101]

I"ve been reading up on merchant exploits and I'm not sure what you do
all I know is that you get a good resource e.g silk, gold, ivory and you get a F.M to build a fort on it you then place a full stack of merchants in it and they trade the resoursce? do you need to put a garrison in the fort?? does it work in neutral territory? thanks is there anything I've missed

[PapaRosario]

You can only build forts in your own territory. You can do the same thing except with a cheap militia unit instead. You can move those to neutral territory. Keep in mind that neutral factions probably won't like you moving armies on their land though.

[tudor93]

You can only build forts in your own territory.

Uhm ... you can build forts everywhere, whether it is enemy, neutral or your own territory. Watch towers are the ones that can be built only in your own territory.

[PapaRosario]

Oops my bad. Sorry for the misinformation OP.

[lgoodin101]

ok so I just build a fort in my territory, put the merchants in it along with the cheapest unit possible

[Consulo]

You can build a fort on a resource and then stack merchants in said fort to gain absurd amounts of gold from said resource? How have I gone this long without knowing this? Not that I'll likely use it, but wow. Does it really stack for each merchant? Like will more merchants in a gold fort create more revenue from that resource?

[PapaRosario]

You can build a fort on a resource and then stack merchants in said fort to gain absurd amounts of gold from said resource? How have I gone this long without knowing this? Not that I'll likely use it, but wow. Does it really stack for each merchant? Like will more merchants in a gold fort create more revenue from that resource?

Yup. It kind of ruins the campaign though. I remember in Stainless Steel making about 40k florins per turn just off a single silk deposit, and then I realized I should probably stop doing that.

[flyingcat]

Some mods have already banned that.It's lucrative,but I think,not beneficial for the game.

[Sitalkes]

Some mods have already banned that.It's lucrative,but I think,not beneficial for the game.

Well the game will penalise you for having too much money, anyway - if you have more than 10,000 florins in your treasury at the end of the turn, your generals can acquire the "extravagent' or "aesthetic" trait -, so everything becomes more expensive and you get less income.

[lgoodin101]

Well the game will penalise you for having too much money, anyway - if you have more than 10,000 florins in your treasury at the end of the turn, your generals can acquire the "extravagent' or "aesthetic" trait -, so everything becomes more expensive and you get less income.

well that sucks its come back to bite you in the ass

[tudor93]

Well the game will penalise you for having too much money, anyway - if you have more than 10,000 florins in your treasury at the end of the turn, your generals can acquire the "extravagent' or "aesthetic" trait -, so everything becomes more expensive and you get less income.

I thought it was 50 000 ? I'm really interested who is right because whenever I play a campaign I try not to get above 50 000 so my generals won't get those nasty traits.

[PapaRosario]

I thought it was 50 000 ? I'm really interested who is right because whenever I play a campaign I try not to get above 50 000 so my generals won't get those nasty traits.

Triggers affected by treasury size:

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

;------------------------------------------
Trigger harsh_lifestyle1
WhenToTest CharacterTurnEnd

Condition Treasury < 0

Affects Cheapskate 1 Chance 4
Affects Miserly 1 Chance 4
Affects Stoic 1 Chance 3
;------------------------------------------
Trigger agent61
WhenToTest CharacterTurnEnd

Condition AgentType = princess
and Treasury < 0

Affects HumbleWoman 1 Chance 20
;------------------------------------------
Trigger agent62
WhenToTest CharacterTurnEnd

Condition AgentType = princess
and Treasury > 75000

Affects PretentiousWoman 1 Chance 20
;------------------------------------------
Trigger princess_random_birth_3
WhenToTest CharacterComesOfAge

Condition AgentType = princess
and Treasury < 10000

Affects HumbleWoman 1 Chance 50
;------------------------------------------
Trigger princess_random_birth_4
WhenToTest CharacterComesOfAge

Condition AgentType = princess
and Treasury > 30000

Affects PretentiousWoman 1 Chance 50
;------------------------------------------
Trigger governing1
WhenToTest GovernorBuildingDestroyed

Condition Treasury > 10000

Affects Despoiler 1 Chance 10
;------------------------------------------
Trigger governing7
WhenToTest CharacterTurnEnd

Condition IsGeneral
and GovernorTaxLevel = tax_low
and GovernorLoyaltyLevel > loyalty_disillusioned
and Treasury < 0
and TimeInRegion > 3

Affects StrategyChivalry 1 Chance 33
Affects KindRuler 1 Chance 8
;------------------------------------------
Trigger governing8
WhenToTest CharacterTurnEnd

Condition IsGeneral
and GovernorTaxLevel = tax_extortionate
and GovernorLoyaltyLevel < loyalty_happy
and Treasury > 10000
and TimeInRegion > 3

Affects StrategyDread 1 Chance 33
Affects HarshRuler 1 Chance 8

;------------------------------------------
Trigger governing9
WhenToTest CharacterTurnEnd

Condition IsGeneral
and Treasury > 50000
and Trait StrategyChivalry > 0

Affects StrategyDread 1 Chance 33
;------------------------------------------
Trigger governing21
WhenToTest GovernorBuildingDestroyed

Condition Treasury > 10000
and Trait StrategyChivalry < 1

Affects Unjust 1 Chance 20
;------------------------------------------
Trigger selfperpetuating59
WhenToTest CharacterTurnEnd

Condition Trait PretentiousWoman >= 1
and Treasury > 20000

Affects PretentiousWoman 1 Chance 4
;------------------------------------------
Trigger corruption1
WhenToTest CharacterTurnEnd

Condition EndedInSettlement
and Treasury > 50000

Affects Corrupt 1 Chance 3
Affects Aesthetic 1 Chance 3
Affects ExpensiveTastes 1 Chance 3
Affects Epicurean 1 Chance 3
Affects Embezzler 1 Chance 3

;------------------------------------------
Trigger corruption2
WhenToTest CharacterTurnEnd

Condition EndedInSettlement
and Treasury > 100000

Affects Corrupt 1 Chance 3
Affects Aesthetic 1 Chance 3
Affects ExpensiveTastes 1 Chance 3
Affects Epicurean 1 Chance 3
Affects Embezzler 1 Chance 5

;------------------------------------------
Trigger corruption4
WhenToTest CharacterTurnEnd

Condition EndedInSettlement
and Treasury > 150000

Affects Corrupt 1 Chance 5
Affects Aesthetic 1 Chance 3
Affects ExpensiveTastes 1 Chance 7
Affects Epicurean 1 Chance 3
Affects Embezzler 1 Chance 8

The last three that I bolded are the big ones to look out for. They happen at 50k, 100k, and 150k.

[lgoodin101]

yeah its absolutely ridiculous but.. hey I spend insane amounts of money just building things let alone upkeep so I'll try it

[shikaka]

How do you build a fort on a resource? Or is right next to it or what?

[PapaRosario]

How do you build a fort on a resource? Or is right next to it or what?

Top right corner. Same place you'd put a merchant.

[Vissewalde rex de Gerzika]

Those traits arent too common and you most likely already have over 10,000 anyway, and too little money gets you even worse traits.

[tudor93]

Yep, those were the ones I was talking about . Thanks for clearing that up, Rosario.

[Maxattack76]

I think you should worry about other things. Exploits are fun, and interesting, yet I think it takes away from the creative vision... If you really need the benefit of the extra money, why not just create a simple mod that gives your faction's capital (for an easy example) an extra 100,000 florins a turn?

[Sitalkes]

But running out of money isn't as bad as having too much of it. The cheapskate trait improves tax income and reduces construction costs (though it increases squalor).


If you don't see these traits happening very often it's because you don't have that kind of money left over often and because your general has to end his turn in a settlement with 100% movement points - so moving him out and back each turn will avoid it.

"If a general ends his turn in a settlement with the treasury greater than 50000, he gains a point of Expensive Tastes wit 3% probability. If the treasury is greater than 100000, with 5% probability. If greater than 150000, with 7% probability.... At the end of any turn, a general with one or more levels of Expensive Tastes gains a point with 4% probability." (Page 160 of the Medievalopedia)

[Vipman]

an extra 100,000 florins a turn

And how would you do that more exactly???