Heya, got the game and loving it and I'm prospering! But I have a few nagging questions being the paranoid person I am.
I've sided with the Polish and, with Sweeden being at peace and the Russians virtually extinct from the Crimeans and Swedes, I'm focusing all of my resources on the Cossacks. However I haven't advanced the story that much since after taking Warsaw and becoming a Polish Noble.
Assuming the story did not take precautions, is there any township, city, or castle I need to be aware of that is plot relevant? Currently I have two quests from King Jan, one being to bring him a Swede soldier prisoner and the other to bring him a Swede noble. I plan on ending or nullifying the Cossack threat first as they are constantly attacking and retaking Kiev and other surrounding settlements and I'd rather not have to worry about southern invasions while also fighting up north. So is there any quest vital townships that belongs to the Cossacks I should NOT invade and capture? Or am I free to do as I wish? Same as the Russians, is there any settlement I should not take before advancing the story? No need to specify story details, just some city names thank you...
Lastly is something search and the manual were pretty vague on me. I have a fully developed village but its prosperity is Very Poor. I've read that a way to give it prosperity is to keep bandits away and to generally protect villagers if they move. But I don't see any villagers going in or out. Granted the bandit threat was high but I dealt with that. So aside from protecting the village and fully developing it (they won't give me quests) what are other ways to improve village prosperity? Also the villagers love me, so relations aren't that big of a matter... least I think.