I have a nagging suspicion that this has already been asked and answered, but I haven’t been able to find it in the forums, so here goes…
What happens if a ruler, faced with a domain with expenses that exceed revenue, decides to forego stronghold upkeep or urban upkeep?
The stronghold's effective value is reduced by the unpaid upkeep. The stronghold's upkeep cost is not reduced, however. (Like a big house, it doesn't get cheaper to maintain by not maintaining it!)
A stronghold's value has implications for the size of the domain that can be controlled as well as the defensibility of the stronghold during sieges.
That said, "there is a lot of ruin in a nation," as Burke once said. Likewise, a stronghold can last a long time with little upkeep.
I assume that skipped upkeep has to be paid before you can get the benefits back?
I.E. if I have 1000gp of upkeep costs and only pay 500gp for Jan-March, do I need to pay 2500 in April to restore everything to full working order?
Yes, that's correct.
Lol. I had initially titled this post “How Much Ruin in an ACKS Nation?”, but decided to go with something that would show up in a search for “upkeep” instead.
Thanks for the answer. Does the same apply to urban infrastructure? There’s certainly a lot of ruin in Cynidicea, and a lot more fortification and infrastructure than it can hope to support.