Please help me understand province "supplies"

[japinard]

I guess I just don't get how the supplies listed in each province factor into the game. Can someone help me?

[Arryn]

Most units in the game eat. (Some don't, and they have the "Need not eat" icon to show that.) Those units which eat comsume supplies equal to their Size -1. So a Jotun giant of size 4 eats 3 units per month, while a human of size 2 eats 1 unit. Avoid piling too many troops in one spot unless you have means to feed them all. Nature mages create surplus food at a rate of 5 units per level of Nature magic path that they have. Various magic items also provide for extra food.

Rather than repeat for the Nth time all this info, I recommend that you do a forum SEARCH on the topics "supply" or "supplies", in the message body. There have been several excellent threads that have covered this in the past few months.

[archaeolept]

basically, if the size of your army exceeds the supply value of a province, the excess will be sprinkled w/ "hunger" which lowers morale and affects combat ability (as I recall). If an already hungry unit gets hit w/ hunger it will become diseased and gain an affliction.

human size troops use one supply. Giants 3. (generally, size of unit minus one, not counting commanders).

Magic items like bag of wine and cauldron of broth lower your supply demands, as do points of nature magic in commanders accompanying the force.

As well, supply is better near your castles

[japinard]

How do I get those magic items?

[archaeolept]

ehh, research construction and have a mage w/ the appropriate magic abilities and sufficient gems make them.\

ie. a bag of neverending wine is Construction level two and needs a mage w/ Nature 1 and 5 nature gems in order to manufacture. It'll reduce supply needs by 25.

Or, you could start w/ higher growth scales, as that will improve your supply levels.

[Arryn]

Originally posted by japinard:
How do I get those magic items?

Download Zen's Magic Item Quick Reference from my website. Read it. Then be sure to thank Zen.

[PhilD]

Originally posted by archaeolept:

human size troops use one supply. Giants 3. (generally, size of unit minus one, not counting commanders).

More precisely: commanders do eat, but they don't starve.

And units with size 1 eat 1 supply, not 0. Hoburgs, notably, eat as much as men