Fief Management Guide

Congratulations, you have conquered your first town or castle! But capturing it is only half the battle. Keeping it requires strategy, patience, and careful management. This guide provides a step-by-step approach to turning a conquered ruin into a thriving metropolis.

Immediate Actions: Stabilizing Loyalty

The moment you take a town, it will likely have low loyalty due to the siege and culture differences.

1. Check Loyalty: If it is trending down, you are in the danger zone.

2. Assign a Governor: Ideally one of the same culture as the town.

3. Stop Construction: If loyalty is critical, select the "Festival and Games" daily default project immediately. This gives +3 Loyalty per day.

The First Year: Building Infrastructure

Once loyalty is stable (not decreasing), you can start building.

• Repair Walls: If you smashed them during the siege, repair them to deter counter-attacks.

• Food Production: Build Orchards to ensure the garrison doesn't starve.

• Tax Office: Eventually, you want to make money, but only after the people are happy and fed.

Defending Your Investment

Don't bankrupt yourself on garrisons.

• Wage Caps: Go to the clan menu and limit the garrison wage. A castle might only need 500 denars/day, while a frontline town might need 2000.

• Militia: Rely on militia for bulk defense. Increase prosperity to grow your militia numbers naturally.

Making it Profitable

Profit comes from Prosperity and Tariffs.

• Caravans: Ensure caravans can reach your town safely. Clear out bandit hideouts nearby.

• Workshops: Buy workshops in your own town to profit from the local raw materials (e.g., Olive Press in Vlandia/Empire areas with olive villages).

Troubleshooting Common Issues

• "My food is 0!": Check if your villages are raided. Buy Grain and sell it to the market.

• "Loyalty is decreasing!": Check for a "Culture" penalty. Remove a wrong-culture governor. Check security.

• "I'm losing money!": Your garrison is too big. Donate high-tier troops to another lord or disband them.

For a deep dive into the stats, see Fief Management and Prosperity.