Vassalage & "Free Units"

[BigWilly1974]

I think it's the civic Vassalage that says that you get +2 exp to newly built units, and +12 (number seems to vary) "free units".

What does this mean? I've switched to it a couple of times, and after a few turns, I've never noticed an influx to my army. Or is it what just came to me now...that you pay no military support costs until your army exceeds 12 units?

Or does it mean something else?

[ixnay]

It has to do with the military support costs.

You have a certain number of 'free units' that you don't pay for, but if your army grows too big you begin paying 1 gold/turn or so for each additional unit.

Vassalage increases that limit.

At least, that's what I think it is offhand while I sit here at work.

[Nikolai]

I think it means you can have 12 more units on free support.

[The diplomat]

I think it just means that the first 12 units costs no military support.

[Nikolai]

Wow, lots of us at one time offering the same advice.

[BigWilly1974]

Don't know why I didn't think of that until I actually had almost finished reading the post. Thanks ;-)

[BgT]

Yes, but what about the increasing of the number. What influences the number of "free support" units? Number of cities?

[Quillan]

The Vassalge civic gives you 1 free unit for each city you have. I haven't seen that number quoted in the manual or the civilopedia; I take that from counting my cities during actual play. I had 21 cities in the late game on a huge/Terra world, and got 21 free units. Earlier when I had 14, I only got 14 free units. When I had 21, a barbarian city appeared in an unsettled corner of the new world, and I captured it as soon as it grew to size 2, so I could keep it. That gave me 22 cities, and immediately Vassalage gave me 22 free units. Size of those cities doesn't seem to matter.