Tax Burden
Tax Burden is a Commerce Age Church technology for the Knights of St. John in Act I: Blood. After the Royal Decree to Claim the New World Home City Card is sent, it delivers one 100-Coin Chest for each minute of game time elapsed when researched, up to 30 chests, while reducing Villager hit points by 40%.
Research profile
- Age and campaign
- Commerce Age · Act I: Blood
- Research site
- Church
- Prerequisite
- Royal Decree to Claim the New World Home City Card
- Research time
- 15 seconds
- Villager effect
- Hit points −40%
- Resource cost
- Not listed in the campaign entry
Effect & research conditions
Tax Burden takes 15 seconds to research and has no resource cost listed in the campaign entry. At completion, it provides one 100-Coin Chest per elapsed minute, up to 30 minutes for a maximum of 3,000 Coin. The technology reduces Villager hit points by 40%. It is campaign-specific and is not a standard multiplayer Church technology. The source notes that Great Coat and the Pioneers Home City Card can offset the Villager health penalty.
Research condition
Knights of St. John · Act I: Blood · Commerce Age · Church · requires the Royal Decree to Claim the New World Home City Card.
When to research
The Coin reward is based on time already elapsed when the research completes, so a later timing can deliver more at once, up to 3,000 Coin. Use it when that immediate resource injection can fund a meaningful army or mission objective and when the Villager penalty can be managed. The 40% health loss makes exposed workers easier to kill; protect gathering routes and consider the listed Great Coat or Pioneers mitigation before committing.
A delayed payout with a worker-health tradeoff
This is a catch-up Coin shipment rather than a permanent gathering bonus: the number of 100-Coin chests depends on how many minutes have passed when research completes, capped at 30. Waiting can raise the immediate payout, but also postpones the moment the army can spend it. Compare the expected Coin with the mission’s timing and the research window instead of treating it as an automatic early purchase.
Protect workers after the research
The 40% Villager hit-point reduction is a substantial penalty in a mission where enemy attacks can reach the economy. The source notes Great Coat and the Pioneers Home City Card as ways to offset the penalty. If those options are not available or workers must gather near enemy Outposts, the Coin gain may be less valuable than the risk of losing the labor force that supplies other resources.