Population Centres

In the Merebian Empire the gathering of taxes is an important function of the government and, as such, records of population centres and their inhabitants are kept.

A census is taken once every 20 years and everyone who is a permanent resident within the Empire is expected to record their name, occupation and location.

The Empire taxes each population according to their population and designation. The designation given to a population centre is important because it directly affects how much protection is afforded by the Imperial Army. The more 'higher' the designation, the more men are station at nearby forts. Hence all population centres seek to 'game' the system as much as possible; keeping the number of people low enough to achieve a higher designation but not too high so as to attract excessive taxes.

Population centres are as follows:

• Hamlet - any collection of dwellings with a combined population of freemen and slaves less than 70
• Village - any collection of dwellings with a total population of humanoids in excess of 70 but less than 750. A village pays less in tax if it erects defences and has a town watch.