Every village/town/city in Overthrow has a current level of "Stability". It represents how the citizens feel about the faction who currently owns it.
= percentage of happiness with the currently owned faction (the OF, or RF)
Raising stability
+ Deliver medical supplies (small, but stacks up to 10 deliveries)
+ OF patrols reaching the town while resistance support is below 75%
+ A strong local economy: any purchase or sale over $50 at an ordinary shop in the town, but not at a gun dealer. It stacks up to five times
Lowering stability
- Corruption, organised crime and drug problems. These turn up on their own, twice as often in a town that is already below 50% stability, and they are seeded heavily when a campaign first starts. Each one passes after a while
- OF patrols reaching the town once resistance support is 75% or higher
- Large sales at a gun dealer in town ("Black Market Activity", stacks)
-- People dying in town (occupying faction soldiers)
-- Killing civilians (stacks, and it hits support far harder than it hits stability)
--- Gunfire and explosions in town
--- A battle fought over the town. This is the single biggest hit in the game and it wears off over about an hour
Tax is paid to the owning faction according to stability. 0% stability = no tax. This is separate to Support donations, which are paid regardless of the faction owning the town. Big towns/cities will pay the most money, much more than donations, making the bigger towns much more important targets.
Stability also feeds several other systems: