[Norfleet]

Originally posted by sergex:
Hey, that's a good idea to use the slave soldiers as cheap patrollers Do the conscripts cost gold upkeep? That would negate the slightly higher tax rates you would get if they do.

They do, but far, far less than regular mans: A slave has the gold upkeep of a $1 unit. Compared to patrolling with normal units, this cost is negligible and pays for itself by the fact that a single loaded Tribal King, equivalent in upkeep to a scout and 5 mans, can more or less entirely suppress the unrest caused by 2 priests hunting with SDRs.

Mictlan Priests are 80 gold and sacred, so very cheap. In my Mictlan game, I have almost never had to choose between hiring a priest, and hiring any troops. The troops are cheap.

Then you are not building enough towers. Towers enable to you hire more priests, hunt more blood, protect your blood hunters from raiding, and protect your provinces from raiding. You should put one in every major province as soon as possible. This costs money, money you won't have if you waste them on worthless troops that die nearly instantly.

A force of 5 FoDs can do more damage than an entire commander's worth of your regular troops, and costs no upkeep.