Populists - Please tell me how to stop them taking over?

[unmerged(137506)]

Hey is there anyway to stop populists taking over the whole senate (other than the unofficial hotfix?)

If there isn't then could someone post a link to the hotfix. I'll have to resort to it then.

 

[Alfred Packer]

Only fulfill a Populist's ambitions when other parties are in power (it can cause them to jump parties)

Intentionally fail missions that penalize the Populist Party

Only promote the stupidest and most ineffective Populists to government positions

edit: oh, and do use the hotfixes, it makes the above options quite effective...it's just sitting there, all pretty and smiley, in the User Modification subfolder just above our heads.

 

[unmerged(137506)]

Why did they make the game impossible to win? I don't get it. You shouldn't need hotfixes.

 

[Die Nacht]

You could also kill them all. lol

 

[unmerged(137506)]

I did. I imprisoned and executed all the populists but there's still 70-something populist senators in the senate.

Also how do you become a dictator?

 

[vanin]

	proclaim_dictatorship = {
		potential = {
			government = republic
		}
		allow = {
			stability = 1
			ruler = {
				popularity = 80
				age = 16
				or = {
					traits = conqueror
					traits = ambitious
					traits = tactician
					traits = corrupt
					traits = selfish
				}
			}
			tyranny = 10
		}			
		effect = {
			stability = -3
			government = dictatorship
			tyranny = 10
		}
		
		ai_will_do = {
			factor = 1
		}
	}

So, you need a ruler with atleast 80 popularity, either of those traits, and the country must be at 10 tyranny and atleast +1 stability.

 

[Alfred Packer]

I did. I imprisoned and executed all the populists

Well there's your problem! Pick and choose who you execute...the more people see you as a tyrant, the more likely they are to go Populist.

If there is ever a 2.2 patch, it will probably correct what these unofficial hotfixes correct and (from what I've seen) it's as useful and non-problem causing as the Vicky hotfixes.

You can manage populists without the Hotfixes, it just makes them easier to manage.

 

[unmerged(137506)]

Ah two populists are up for election. Someone tell me how you find out when the election is on so I can imprison them the day before! Pleaseee help quickkk. I hate populist governments.

 

[Alfred Packer]

Ah two populists are up for election. Someone tell me how you find out when the election is on so I can imprison them the day before! Pleaseee help quickkk. I hate populist governments.

It depends on your government...in a Oligarcy it will be 2 years to the day from the last election (4 years with a Military Republic)

 

[Alfred Packer]

Oh! Another big way to counter the Populists: Don't call Omens ever - it gives a 30% boost to the Religious Party so they can act as a counter-weight to the Populists.

Also, if you leave trade-routes empty, the Merchant Party gets a boost, but I don't know how big it is.

 

[unmerged(137506)]

It depends on your government...in a Oligarcy it will be 2 years to the day from the last election (4 years with a Military Republic)

Hmm it seems to be 2 years to the day for Military Republics too.

Oh! Another big way to counter the Populists: Don't call Omens ever - it gives a 30% boost to the Religious Party so they can act as a counter-weight to the Populists.

Also, if you leave trade-routes empty, the Merchant Party gets a boost, but I don't know how big it is.

I seem to be doing pretty good at managing them at the moment. Dunno why people need hotfixes, once you get the hang of fulfilling the populist's ambitions it seems easy enough to control them.

 

[vertinox]

Hey is there anyway to stop populists taking over the whole senate (other than the unofficial hotfix?)

If there isn't then could someone post a link to the hotfix. I'll have to resort to it then.

I restarted my game after reading [Unofficial Strategy Guide] Republics
(which sadly fell off the front page so I bumped it) and I've been able to deal with the populists a bit better this time around.

The key is to give titles to everyone whether they like it or not and keep cycling everyone through the tech jobs to keep them fufilling ambitions (including Populists). I don't put populists as censors though and I will jail them at risk of civil war if they are up for election.

[edit] And i'm not using hotfixes so it is possible to get the populists at bay without modding the game.

 

[LAF1994]

Why are Populist governments a problem?
Incidentally, why do Populist rulers give +1 RR and increase stab costs? Shouldn't it be the reverse?

 

[Alfred Packer]

Incidentally, why do Populist rulers give +1 RR and increase stab costs? Shouldn't it be the reverse?

They're rabble-rousers...the rabble is hard to un-rouse.

 

[unmerged(142792)]

In this period populists, or demagogues were viewed as extremely dangerous to the power structure of Rome. It was a way to rouse the public to gain power, by-passing the traditional structure of the senate. Since the people could not directly vote, getting them on your side was primarily a threat of violence to those who opposed you.

And it wasn't uncommon to assassinate these guys when they started to look like they might get the people too relied up and before they stormed the senate.

Anyhow, that's why populists were probably modeled this way.

 

[Melichai]

I've found the best way to solve the issues of playing a Republic is to get a decent general elected consul, imprison a few of the leading populists and declare a dictatorship. You end up with a minimum of 20 Tyranny (its only when you hit 20 Tyranny that you realise just how bad it can get - even holding triumphs makes no impact on your rulers popularity) which means you rapidly become hated throughout the land, but at least your populist problems are solved. And the tyranny will die down when your heir inherits.

 

[Liu Bei]

Giving the populist senators a title helps as it reduces their populist sympathies!

 

[vertinox]

I've noticed something else that helps keeps Populists out of consul elections...

Check their family prestige and imprison any populist over 1000 (baring the faction leader unless you need to get rid of him).

Now this is annoying because in order to see family prominence you have to open each populist character screen and hover your mouse over their family name to get this info.

(Unless you can find that anywhere else that I don't know of?)

It turns out people with higher than 1000 family prestige are more likley to end up in the next election. Keeping them culled helps with this.

 

[Cheexsta]

That makes incredible sense, never thought to look for prominent populist families. Nice work

 

[Die Nacht]

I've noticed something else that helps keeps Populists out of consul elections...

Check their family prestige and imprison any populist over 1000 (baring the faction leader unless you need to get rid of him).

Now this is annoying because in order to see family prominence you have to open each populist character screen and hover your mouse over their family name to get this info.

(Unless you can find that anywhere else that I don't know of?)

It turns out people with higher than 1000 family prestige are more likley to end up in the next election. Keeping them culled helps with this.

You can go to the Ledger (left of the mini map) and go to Country overview. Then next, next, next, until you reach families. Then arrange them in order of Prestige and loom at the ones above 1000.

Then go to character menu and arrange them by family. Then pick all the popularists that are in those families.

Thanks for the idea.