Snooty foreign princesses

[King John II]

In my first game or two foreign princesses began routinely to refuse my proposals once I had become the dominant power. But now they turn their noses up at my princes from the off.

I have tried training up a couple of three star ambassadors (by successfully bribing rebels) but with no more luck than before.

I managed a series of marriages in one game by reason of being allied to the french (who seem to be the faction the AI loves to hate) and each time the french had to choose between remaining allied to me or to a faction declaring war upon me they would choose the other faction and, in the same turn, after cancelling the alliance with me they would re-forge it by accepting a proposal of marriage.

In neither my current game nor the one just finished have I achieved a single marriage.

I play an aggressive style atacking from the off which, I suspect, contributes to this. But I wonder if there are diplomatic measures I am overlooking. Are co-religionists more amenable and should I therefor make seeking out co-religionist princesses my ambassador's first task? Or are there quicker ways to train up my ambassadors? I have made various attempts at that - the ground rule seems to be that proposing an alliance or cease fire has almost as little chance of success as proposing marriage - even turning down an offer of an alliance so as to make the proposal to the same faction myself does not seem to work.

I use assasins to kill off special units coming into my own territory but I usually manage to prevent them going into the territory of others. And I don't break alliances. So, as far as I know it is just rapid expansion which is getting up the AI factions' noses.

Unless its some personal hygene problem, of course. http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif

Suggestions from anyone else playing on hard who also plays an expansionist game straight in would be welcome. My games so far have been begun in the early period but I'm guessing it will be much the same when I get around to trying high or late.

Oh, and my kings have not produced a daughter for three games either. But in the first game or two it was much the same story with my own princesses - they pursued foreign prines shamelessly but were destined to die spinsters (I don't marry them to my own nobles).

[Jxrc]

There is the little I know on the topic :

- initially there are some faction who see their request for marriage turned down at the beginning of the game, namely the French and the Sicilian. After a while it becomes more normal.

- you have a better chance of seeing your offer accepted if you try your luck with a country to wich you are not already allied.

- marrying one of your heir with a foreign princess does not conclude an alliance whereas marrying your princess into a foreign faction does (do not ask me the logic of that ...)

- I do not think that usuing your strategic agent has an impact on your chance to get a positive answer. I burn entire families but I keep having my heirs married to their daughters ...

Once you become to dominant, all factions start hating you and will turn down all your request for marriage even if you are not their ally already. Nevertheless I often manage to find a suitable princess after a while, usually from a small faction (yesterday I was playing as the Danes and having conquered half the map, the resurected Italians, reduced to Corsica and Sardignia, huge army, no money, no boat, have accepted all my offers of marriage for something like 150 years &#33http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/wink.gif

Hope it helps.

http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/wave.gif http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/wave.gif http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/wave.gif

[King John II]

Maybe I should put more ambassadors on the job? The factions I have played so far have an ambassador to start (I expect they all do) and I build a second after about three or four years. Then I make do with those two throughout.

How many do other people employ?

[Jxrc]

Four emmissaries. Never more. Replace assassinated ones.

[Orda Khan]

Don't give them an option http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/wink.gif

....Orda

[Quokka]

Quote[/b] (Jxrc @ Oct. 20 2003,23:13)]Four emmissaries. Never more. Replace assassinated ones.
Hmmm, I stick one in every province so I can see the whole map and know what everyone is doing. They come in handy during rebellions, I can grab a province or two before anyone else. I get them on the islands first because if they are taken or rebel, the port is usually destroyed and there is no way to get an Emmisary there.
Otherwise I just have them on hand to propose to Princesses when I want to without having to scour the map for one.

To increase the chances of marriage proposals being accepted, reject offers of alliance that don't include a Princess then go back and offer marriage. You'll get much better results. You need that foreign blood, my Turkish Sultan has 4 Inbred heirs... Nobody has married into the family the whole game and I try every turn.

[kataphraktoi]

If I don't get any foreign princesses I assasinate them...for some reason that same faction later agrees to marry its own princesses to my princes.

[King John II]

I've tried refusing alliance offers and following up with a marriage proposal without success so far. But will keep trying.

Four early ambassadors seems a good idea, they come in useful for bribing and later on for stripping titles plus, as you rightly point out Quokka, for spying. Border forts don't affect them and the AI does not seem very adroit in its use of assassins. But I don't think I'll go as far as one in each province. By the sound of it you have much the same problem as I do even with such a large diplomatic corps.

I'm not sure what sort of princess would get turned on by a suitor whose idea of foreplay is to arrange the assassination of a sister Worth a try though, I suppose.

Has anyone worked out what is being shown in the picture you get after successfully killing off a princess? I can't make out the poor woman has been stabbed or had her throat cut or been strangled or what?

[Ironside]

Not sure how its works but the Danes and Sicilians often accepts marriages between your prince and their princess. The Italians refuses almost always.
It's funny how the computer acts sometimes. They sometimes keep giving away princesses despite being at war with me, and are doing this for generations.