Rebels and civil wars in Total War Saga Thrones of Britannia Total War Saga: Thrones of Britannia Guide & Tips
Last update: 19 June 2018
Each region can be attacked by rebels but only when public order in a province goes below zero. A greater negative value means a bigger chance to spawn rebels in a region. Luckily, rebel armies don't appear every turn but in intervals. After defeating one group you get a few turns to replenish your units and to improve the situation in a province.
Usually, rebel armies consist of 4 units with full ranks. Their goal is to capture the nearest settlement. Once they are inside of a settlement, they will start increasing their army (these new units also have full ranks). They will do that until they reach 12-20 units. After that these rebels will either stay in that settlement or move towards a province's capital. Once that town is theirs, they will try to keep it and conquer nearby settlements.
If these rebels control several regions, then after several to a dozen turns, they will create a new kingdom (the one that has previously existed on these lands). Each province has a default starting nation, even if they belonged to a different kingdom at the beginning of the game.
Defeat rebel army as fast as you can - they are too much of a threat and they can cause you a lot of problems later in the game. Keep an army consisting of 10 or more units in regions that are in danger. Even if you don't manage to defeat them before they conquer a settlement, you still have a chance to defeat them (even when they increase their size). Otherwise, you will have to do a lot to bring peace and order in these lands.
How to use rebels to your advantage?
In theory, rebels mean only problems. However, you can use them easily to your advantage. A hostile province captured by them belongs to no one. Everyone can conquer this region and add it to their kingdom without any diplomatic consequences. Check out the situation in kingdoms from your neighborhood from time to time and wait with your army to capture a rebelled province. You can add the right traits and assistants to your general that will increase a chance for rebellion to break out by lowering public order.
Helping your allies by chasing rebels or defending them during sieges isn't always the best idea (unless this army is marching towards your lands). Sometimes, it is better to leave a rebel army alone and move your own army to the nearest settlement. See where the rebels will go. Maybe they will march on lands that belong to your ally?
An even more sophisticated way of using rebels to your cause is to declare war on an enemy who already fights with large rebel armies. Try to stay away from both the rebels and your new enemy. Let them bleed out each other. In the meantime, you will capture the lands of your new enemy and then those that belong to the rebels. You not only face a weakened enemy but also smaller armies. This is a great way of fighting with bigger kingdoms.
Civil war
Rebels and civil war are two different things. A civil war takes place when one of your characters has low loyalty towards you. A general who betrayed you can appear in one of the provinces with his own army. A governor automatically conquers the capital of the province that he governs, including the capital's garrison. He also receives a small army.
What is more, this rebelled character gets his own banner and becomes a separate faction that starts a war with your kingdom. Because of that other factions can't automatically attack or participate in a civil war unless they ask for your permission to interfere or you ask them for help yourself. Relations between a rebel kingdom and yours are really bad - you need to wait a dozen of turns to be able to sign a peace agreement with them. Try to defeat the rebels before other kingdoms start helping them. Rebels are only your kingdom's problem, that is until another kingdom interferes.
After achieving victory - every settlement was conquered and all rebel armies were defeated - you sentence the traitor to death. All characters in your court receive a small loyalty bonus which lasts a certain period of time.
Civil wars are a great way of weakening other kingdoms, especially the bigger ones. This works similarly to the regular rebellions. However, you can't lower loyalty of characters from another kingdom. Instead, you should pay close attention to messages. Check out how far away a kingdom at civil war is from you and what are their armies. Think about participating in this war - you can reduce territories of a large and powerful kingdom or you can join the rightful ruler to increase your relations with that king (or to profit from joining the war).