We need to reform looting to make it more of an even game. Right now, no looting option beyond looting for tax gold is usable because of peasant mobs, and looting for tax gold is overpowered.
I propose these looting options:
Loot for tax gold: loot minor nobility, wealthy merchants, and tax offices for their gold. The productivity is related to the wealth of the region, region type, and how much tax gold is collected. The downside is that these targets have substantial guards and if your unit lacks enough CS are likely to sustain casualties or even be totally driven away. Obviously cities and townslands are the most profitable with badlands the least. This option also targets the same people who are administrators, morale, loyalty, and productivity are not directly affected but realm control will drop swiftly. This will also not tend to cause peasant mobs to form. Only a few people will die.
Pillage and maraud: attack the populace, stealing what you can and burning what you can't steal. This is less profitable than stealing taxes, but peasants generally don't fight back until they organize into mobs. This option decreases the soft cap on productivity, morale, and loyalty to both the home and attacking realms. Realm control won't suffer too badly. More people will die. This is most profitable in cities, mountains, and townslands in that order. Emigration will increase.
Steal grain: attack granaries and farms, trying to steal as much as you can. There is a CS check based on population, falling below the check causes them to repel the looters and cause casualties, meeting the first check but not the second causes some casualties and proportional amounts of grain stolen or burned so the looters can't have it, and meeting the second check causes complete theft without loss via burning, some peasants will die.
Kill rape burn: attack populace directly without stealing much. Nets little gold but is effective at killing off the population. Population, morale, and loyalty will directly suffer, productivity will have a lowered hard cap due to lowered population. This will increase emigration. The peasants are not likely to fight back appreciably, because by the time they form mobs there are too few.
Damage military infrastructure: same as before.
Loot an isolated village or caravan: same as before but there is a delay in how long the looting message goes out based on region type. A caravan lost in badlands may not be reported for a week.
Thoughts?