Imperator: Rome – Populations

Pop Types and Their Roles

Each pop has three defining characteristics: type, culture, and religion.

Base Happiness

• Citizens: 20% base happiness

• Freemen: 25% base happiness

• Tribesmen and Slaves: 100% base happiness

Happiness is then modified by type, culture, and religion-specific modifiers that determine the final happiness for each pop.

Pop Type Output

The base output of a pop type in a city is decided by the average happiness of that pop type, such as citizens or slaves. To explain this, if you have 2 citizens with 100% happiness and 1 with 40%, their total output is 240/3 = 80 for that pop type.

Bonus System

Bonuses to pop output are multiplicative, not additive. For example, a +10% bonus to citizens with 50% average happiness would only give 55% output, not reaching its full potential until happiness reaches 100%.

Anything above 100% is ignored, and happiness cannot exceed 100%. Bonuses to happiness are much more worthwhile when happiness is low but become all but worthless once it reaches the maximum. Any pop below 50% happiness will experience unrest in the city.

Cultural Impact

Culture has the most significant impact on happiness.

Pops from the main culture are affected only by the country’s Tyranny score and the ruler’s popularity.

Pops from the wrong culture within the same culture group lose 10% happiness, plus 0.5% for every point of Aggressive Expansion score.

Pops from a completely different culture group take a 30% happiness hit, plus 1% for each point of Aggressive Expansion.

Assimilating pops into your culture is important to maximize productivity and stability. The best way to do this is to enact the “Cultural Assimilation” policy in a province, though it’s possible to assimilate pops manually in the interface for 20 oratory power per pop — this can get prohibitively expensive quickly.

Religious Impact

Pops with the wrong religion take a 15% happiness hit, broken down as:

• 5% for wrong state religion

• 10% for wrong local governor’s religion

Wrong religion among pops also lowers your religious unity, impacting omen power, but that’s the extent of its consequences.

The best way to convert pops is through a “Religious Conversion” policy, though manual conversion costs 20 religious power per pop.

Pop Promotions and Movement

Pops can be promoted from tribesmen and slaves to freemen, or from freemen to citizens, for 10 oratory power.

You can move pops within and between provinces using 5 civic power for slaves and 20 for other pop types.

Pop Types and Their Purposes

• Citizens are the only source of research points and generate a bit of commerce income. Their happiness will be affected by the level of civilization in their city, and they will be easier or harder to please depending on the country.

• Freemen are your primary source of manpower but don’t generate much else. Happiness is affected by half of the city’s civilization level.

• Tribesmen supply manpower and tax, but less than freemen or slaves. They start at 100% happiness and decline with the rise of the civilization level.

• Slaves pay tax and help create trade surpluses. They start at 100% happiness and have no inherent modifiers, but may revolt if unhappy and will multiply if this is not addressed quickly.

Pops and City Management

The Nation Screen (F1) shows how many of each pop type are in your provinces and cities.

The Religion Screen (F6) details the pops that have the wrong religion in your country.

Using Culture Mapmode (T) and Religion Mapmode (Y) shows you which culture and religion each pop type is in every city.

The Macro Builder lets you easily target cities with wrong culture or religion pops or track down those elusive tribesmen later in the game.

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