> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://thrones-reforged.gitbook.io/thrones-reforged-docs/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://thrones-reforged.gitbook.io/thrones-reforged-docs/the-population-system.md).
# The Population System
## Overview
Every faction tracks four population classes simultaneously. Each class is independent and has its own growth mechanics, its own buildings that support it, and its own pool of units that draws from it.
| Class | Represents | Units Unlocked |
| ---------- | ----------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------- |
| Peasants | Commoners, farmers, labourers | Levy, Militia, and light infantry |
| Nobles | Warriors, lords, landed gentry | Household troops and heavy infantry |
| Clergy | Monks, priests, and religious communities | No units unlocked |
| Foreigners | Settlers, mercenaries, and outsiders | Mercenary and Vikingar units |
Recruiting units consumes population from the relevant class. A depleted population means you cannot recruit, and recovery takes time. Managing all four classes in parallel is the foundation of sustained military power and your kingdom's economy.
***
## Peasant Population
Peasants are the backbone of your kingdom. They are the most numerous class, grow the fastest, and provide your levy armies. They are also the most exposed to the consequences of bad governance.
### How Peasants Grow
Every turn, a portion of your existing peasant population is added as natural growth. The base growth rate is **0.3%** of your current population per turn (with a minimum base of 200 for calculation purposes). Your food balance directly modifies this rate.
| Food Balance | Growth Modifier |
| ------------ | -------------------------------------- |
| Above 250 | +1.0% |
| 100 to 250 | +0.5% |
| 0 to 100 | +0.25% |
| -50 to 0 | -0.1% |
| -150 to -50 | -0.3% |
| Below -150 | No growth; famine losses apply instead |
When your food balance is zero or positive, growth is always at least +1 per turn even if the percentage calculation would produce less.
### Famine
When your food balance drops below -50, your population stops growing and starts dying. The loss rate is **6% of your population per turn**, with a minimum of -1 per turn. Famine is the single most destructive force for your peasant class and can unravel decades of population growth within a handful of turns.
### Buildings That Expand Peasant Capacity
Your peasant population has a soft and hard cap based on your regions. These buildings raise that cap directly.
| Building | Peasant Capacity |
| ---------------- | ---------------- |
| Grain Exchange | +125 |
| Market | +250 |
| Market Hall | +375 |
| Great Market | +500 |
| Gild-hall | +125 |
| Liverymen's Hall | +250 |
| Royal Guildhall | +375 |
### How Peasants Are Lost
Beyond famine, several events reduce your peasant count each turn or immediately.
Recruiting levy, militia, and other peasant-caste units draws directly from your peasant pool. The more you recruit, the fewer remain to grow and replace losses. Being raided by enemy forces inflicts direct population losses. Settlement sieges and occupations also cause immediate peasant losses. Riots, if they occur and are handled violently, reduce population further.
### Overcrowding
Your peasant population has a hard ceiling equal to twice your regional base capacity. As you approach 75% of that ceiling, growth starts to be penalised. Exceed the ceiling entirely and the game forces your population back down to it. Expanding your territory is the only way to raise this ceiling permanently.
***
## Noble Population
Nobles grow more slowly than peasants, but their presence determines what kind of army you can field. Heavy infantry, household troops, and elite thegns all require noble population to recruit.
### How Nobles Grow
The base growth rate for nobles is **0.4%** per turn. The same food modifiers apply as for peasants, but nobles are more resilient to food pressure and less affected by shortages.
| Food Balance | Growth Modifier |
| ------------ | -------------------------------------- |
| Above 250 | +0.7% |
| 100 to 250 | +0.4% |
| 0 to 100 | +0.2% |
| -50 to 0 | -0.05% |
| -150 to -50 | -0.1% |
| Below -150 | No growth; famine losses apply instead |
Famine loss for nobles is **3% per turn**, half the rate for peasants. Nobles are harder to starve out, but they also grow more slowly in the first place.
### Allegiance
Every region contributes to or subtracts from your noble population based on political alignment. Regions where the majority allegiance matches your state allegiance add to your noble base, scaled by how dominant that allegiance is. Regions where it does not match actively reduce your noble count each turn.
Keeping your state allegiance consistent across your territory is not just a public order concern. It is a direct population mechanic.
### Buildings That Expand Noble Capacity
Noble capacity is raised by estate buildings and prestige structures rather than markets and granaries. These buildings increase how many nobles your regions can support.
**Estate and Agricultural Buildings**
| Building | Noble Capacity |
| -------------------- | -------------- |
| Apple Ash Tree | +40 |
| Apple Ash Orchard | +80 |
| Apple Ash Plantation | +120 |
| Villa Estate | +40 |
| Manor Estate | +80 |
| Grand Estate | +120 |
| Lord's Fields | +40 |
| Grand Manor Farm | +60 |
| Lodge | +20 |
| Woodland Estate | +40 |
| Lord's Garden | +20 |
| Garden Estate | +40 |
| Cattle Rustler | +20 |
| Cattle Barony | +40 |
**Great Halls and Prestige Structures**
| Building | Noble Capacity |
| ----------------- | -------------- |
| Royal Court | +80 |
| Royal Palace | +120 |
| Offa's Hall | +40 |
| Offa's Great Hall | +80 |
| Offa's Royal Hall | +120 |
| Offa's Court | +160 |
| Offa's Palace | +200 |
| Rock of Caisil | +40 |
| Hall of Caisil | +80 |
| Court of Caisil | +120 |
| Palace of Caisil | +160 |
| Caisil of Kings | +200 |
### Overcrowding
The noble hard cap is four times your regional base capacity, and the soft cap penalty begins at 80% of that ceiling. Nobles are much less prone to overcrowding than peasants, but a kingdom that has been expanding rapidly through conquest without building estate infrastructure may still hit it.
### How Noble Tiers Are Calculated
Noble tiers are not based on how many nobles you have in absolute terms. They are based on how your noble count compares to your peasant count, with nobles weighted heavily in your favour.
The game multiplies your noble count by 10 before comparing it to your peasant count. This means that even a small number of nobles represents meaningful military strength relative to a large peasant population. In practice, having just **1 noble for every 10 peasants** already puts you at a ratio of 1.0, which sits in the upper-middle tiers. You do not need anywhere near equal numbers.
| Ratio | Tier |
| ------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| 2.00 or above | 16 |
| 1.80 or above | 15 |
| 1.60 or above | 14 |
| 1.40 or above | 13 |
| 1.20 or above | 12 |
| Below 1.20 | Roughly one tier gained per additional 0.1 ratio, starting at tier 2 |
To reach tier 16 at a ratio of 2.0, you would need roughly 2 nobles for every 10 peasants. That is an ambitious target for a large kingdom, since peasants grow faster and in greater numbers by nature.
However, at the highest tiers, the ratio alone is not enough. There are minimum headcount thresholds that must also be met:
| Noble Tier | Minimum Nobles Required |
| ---------- | ----------------------- |
| Tier 12 | 150 |
| Tier 13 | 300 |
| Tier 14 | 500 |
| Tier 15 | 800 |
| Tier 16 | 1200 |
A small kingdom with a favourable ratio cannot simply punch above its weight forever. At some point the absolute noble headcount has to be there too, which means sustained investment in noble growth over many turns.
***
## Clergy Population
Clergy represents your kingdom's religious and scholarly communities: monks, priests, church officials, and the institutions they inhabit. In keeping with historical practice, clergy are not simply recruited but trained within their institutions over time.
Christian factions benefit most from a large clergy, as their religious institutions actively support governance, loyalty, and military recruitment. Pagan factions have a more limited relationship with the clergy class and see negative returns from high clergy populations, reflecting the smaller role of organised religious hierarchy in pagan society.
### How Clergy Grow
Unlike peasants and nobles, clergy do not have a natural per-turn growth rate. Their population is determined entirely by the monastery and religious buildings you construct. Each qualifying building sets a cap for how many clergy that region can support, and clergy are trained up to that cap at a rate of one batch per **9 turns**.
Building more religious infrastructure raises the cap. Losing regions with religious buildings reduces it.
### Buildings That Produce Clergy
The following buildings contribute to your clergy capacity. Larger and more advanced buildings produce significantly more.
**Churches and Schools**
| Building | Clergy Capacity |
| ---------------------- | --------------- |
| Church | +5 |
| Large Church / Minster | +10 |
| Cathedral | +15 |
| Court School | +10 |
| Nobles' Academy | +15 |
| Royal Academy | +20 |
**Generic Abbeys (three separate chains)**
| Building | Clergy Capacity |
| ------------------------------------------------------------ | --------------- |
| Small Priory / Céli Dé Small Priory / Priory (tier 1) | +10 each |
| Priory / Benedictine Priory / Céli Dé Priory (tier 2) | +20 each |
| Priory Stores / Priory Market / Priory Store (branch tier 2) | +10 each |
**Scoan Abbey**
| Building | Clergy Capacity |
| -------------------- | --------------- |
| Scoan Priory | +10 |
| Scoan Abbey | +20 |
| Royal Abbey of Scoan | +30 |
**Dedicated Saint Shrines**
| Building | Clergy Capacity |
| -------------------------- | --------------- |
| Church of the Oak | +20 |
| Abbey of St Brigit | +30 |
| Double House of St. Brigit | +40 |
| Church of St Swithun | +20 |
| Minster of St Swithun | +30 |
| Cathedral of St Swithun | +40 |
| Nunnaminster | +40 |
**Island Monasteries**
| Building | Clergy Capacity |
| ---------------- | --------------- |
| Island Community | +25 |
| Island Monastery | +40 |
| Grand Monastery | +60 |
**Multi-Tier Saint Chains (Achadh Bó, St Ciaran, St Columbe, St Patraic, Monastery, Rock of Caisil)**
| Tier | Clergy Capacity per Chain |
| ------ | ------------------------- |
| Tier 1 | +20 |
| Tier 2 | +20 |
| Tier 3 | +40 |
| Tier 4 | +40 |
| Tier 5 | +40 |
**Extended Saint Chains (St Ringan, St Cuthbert, St Edmund, School of Ros, St Dewi)**
| Tier | Clergy Capacity per Chain |
| ------ | ------------------------- |
| Tier 1 | +20 (St Dewi: +10) |
| Tier 2 | +20 |
| Tier 3 | +30 |
| Tier 4 | +40 |
| Tier 5 | +50 |
> **Viking factions have separate clergy tiers.** Dyflin, Gall-Goídil, Hlymrekr, Myrrborg, Orkneyjar, Suðreyjar, Veðrafjörðr, and Veisafjörðr use a different set of clergy effects: having large a large and influential clergy will bring a lot of negative effects to a pagan kingdom.
***
## Foreigner Population
Foreigners are settlers, traders, and wanderers drawn to your kingdom by wealth, reputation, and the promise of opportunity. For Viking and hybrid factions they represent the warrior-immigrants who swell mercenary ranks. For all factions they represent an important pool for recruiting specialist and mercenary units.
### How Foreigners Work
Foreigner population does not grow at a fixed rate. Instead, your buildings, characters, and faction mechanics define a **target population** that your actual foreigner count drifts toward each turn. If your actual count is below the target, foreigners migrate in. If your target drops (because you lost buildings or your faction mechanics changed), excess foreigners gradually leave.
Christian factions suffer penalties as their foreigner population grows, reflecting the social and religious tension that comes with large numbers of outsiders settling among a Christian people. Pagan factions are the opposite: a large foreigner population brings bonuses, as incoming warriors and settlers are absorbed more naturally into a society that does not draw a hard line between believer and outsider.
The drift rate is 10% of the gap per turn, with a minimum adjustment of 5 per turn in either direction. Growth is capped at +20 per turn. Decline is capped at -40 per turn, so foreigners leave faster than they arrive.
### Buildings That Attract Foreigners
| Building | Foreigner Target |
| ----------------------- | ------------------------------- |
| Danelaw Trading Village | +160 |
| Danelaw Settlement | +200 |
| Danelaw Town | +240 |
| Danelaw City | +300 |
| Danelaw Fortress | +450 |
| Foreigner Toft | +80 |
| Foreigner Torp | +120 |
| Foreigner Haugr | +160 |
| Tavern | +30 |
| Ship Camp | +80 |
| Ship Fort | +100 |
| Shore Fortress | +120 |
| Longphort | +160 |
| Great Longphort | +200 |
| Hallowed Grounds / Hof | +60 (Viking-Gael factions only) |
### Character Traits
Characters with the **Viking Ways** trait each contribute +30 to your foreigner target. Multiple characters with this trait stack.
### Anglo-Viking Factions
Anglo-Viking factions have an additional source of foreigner population tied to their Here King (English) mechanic. The bonus scales with the Here King's level.
| Here King Level | Foreigner Target |
| --------------- | ---------------- |
| 1 | +0 |
| 2 | +0 |
| 3 | +80 |
| 4 | +120 |
| 5 | +240 |
| 6 | +600 |
***
## Summary
1. **All classes matter simultaneously.** Neglecting any one of them narrows your recruitment options. A kingdom with many peasants but few nobles cannot field a heavy army. A kingdom without any foreigners cannot recruit mercenary units at all.
2. **Food is the most powerful lever in the system.** It affects both peasant and noble growth directly, and famine can devastate populations that took many turns to build. Keep your food balance positive whenever possible.
3. **Nobles depend on peasants.** The noble tier is a ratio, not an absolute count. Growing your nobles in isolation without also growing your peasant base will not raise your tier. Both classes need to expand together.
4. **Clergy requires long-term religious investment.** Each clergy batch takes 9 turns to train. Expect the payoff to arrive slowly, and plan your religious building construction well ahead of when you need the units.
5. **Foreigners drift toward a target.** Losing the buildings that attract them will cause your foreigner population to bleed away over several turns. Stability and investment in the right buildings is what keeps them present.
6. **Recruitment costs population permanently.** Every unit you recruit is subtracted from the relevant class. Recovery takes time. Do not spend population faster than it regenerates unless the military situation demands it.
---
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