Agents

[BigC5]

Hi everyone

As a novice to Medieval Total War I was wondering how to use agents such as inquisitors to their full potential?

[Chimpyang]

First of all welcome to the .Org !

Anyways answering your question, agents can help swing campaigns in you favour, from the non too subtle inquisitors to the more subtle spies. There is a use for each.

For VI 2.01

Inquisitor/Grand Inquisitor - Catholic only - These guys can really help if your main enemy is catholic and has some really godd generals, just drag and drop the inquisiotr over the general you dont really like and you see a report on how likely the inquisitor is going to get his man, then click end turn and the next turn there will be a message telling you the results of the inquisition. The more stars a inquistor has, the more likely he is gonig to get his man, the sucess rate depnds on the general on trial's piety. Inquistors gain stars by burning men. (Visible to enemy)

Bishops(Orthodox + Catholic), Cardinals (Cath only), Alim, Imams (Muslim) - These are religeous agents which convert the population of the province they're in to your faction's religion. I'm not sure about the Muslim agents but the catholic ones can also be used in offering peace etc.......By using these agents you can stop religeous rebellions and the such, also by having the population as your religion you vcan tax them more as thir happiness is partially dpendant on religion. Catholic Bishops and Cardinals also help against inquistors, having bishops in the same province as a general who is being tried by a inquisitor lowers the chances of the general being burnt as a heretic. (Visible to enemy)

Assasins - The obvious one, you train them up you send them off to kill people, the chance of sucess comes from the valour/command star rating of the person involved and the star rating of the assasin, the assasin gains these by killing. Each time you drag and drop over a target you will be informed of the chnce of sucess, sometimes large amounts of high valour assasinns need to be used so thta the chance of a takeout is very good. By builing upgrades to the tavern you can increase the starting valour of trained assasins from 0 (for tavern) and 3 for (????). Syria also has a +2 bonus for any assasins trained there so with top upgrades you could be pumping out 5* assasins! Assasins are not seen by the enemy, also watch out for border forts and watch towers as these can often catch and kill many of your agents before they make it to the target. They also share an abilite with spies (see "spies" section) . Assasins are best used to get rid of pesky enemy agents (inquisitors/bishops).(Invisible to enemy)


Spies - These guys are the hardest to use, the basically do nothing on the surface, but hwen they are used properply they can be very useful. Spies when put into a enemy povince slighly lowers that province's loyalty and the amount is determined by the valour of the spy. Sometimes it is neccesarry to spam them in large amounts to cause a rebellion. The also warn of troop movements made by the enemy such as preperations of attack etc......When dragged and dropped onto a general they will attempt to find hidden vices and bring them out into the public, making the general less useful.

However, when put into your own provinmces they act as counter intelligence, along with assasins they can catch and kill enemy hidden agents (spies + assasins). They also boost the province's loyalty so they can be helkpful in helping you reduce your inland garrisons. like assasins they can be upgraded by builnig the right buildings but unlinke assasins they can only be upgraded to +2.


I may add princess and emmisary later...........................

[BigC5]

Thanks for that

I heard that you can use an inquisitor to kill the pope, is this true? and is it a good tactic?

[Chimpyang]

i usually paly as Turks so i dont usually use inquisitors but pparently they can do away with the pope. Not sure about strategic value as a new one will be elected but if you're excommed or sumamt and cant wait for someoine to die first. It also seems like good humour value with the pope being burnt at the stake.

[Procrustes]

Good summary - couple small things I can add....

Spies can be used to "open the gates" of a castle that you are besieging. Drop the spy on the castle to see what your chances are. Your chances increase the longer the castle is under siege. Best to use multiple spies. This is really handy in my book - when the siege ends this way there is very little in the province that is destroyed - you end up with an already teched up province instead of having to start over.

An inquisitor will try the general of a stack. So if you have a stack of generic units, put the one with the highest piety "on top". (I mean, when you right-click on the stack, it will tell you who the general is - that is the one that is going to be tried if an inquisitor comes your way.)

Keeping several bishops in a province will help protect that province and any units in it from inquisitors. Inquisitors seem to be drawn to ports, so if you think you are going to have trouble with them make sure you have several assassins and two or three bishops waiting their before you build your port.

When you assign an agent (spy or assassin) to a target, that agent will follow that target around as he moves. So if I assign an assassin to a pesky inquisitor, and the inquisitor jumps to another province on the next turn, your man may not have time to get him and instead follows him to where he wants to go. You can loose a lot of assassins this way, as they get dragged through border forts and are discovered. A better way to kill pesky inquisitors is to keep emissaries in adjacent and port provinces. When you spot the dude, right click on him to see if he is about to target someone in your territory. If he is, sic all your assassins on him. If he is after someone else, let him be. (Border forts are murder on your agents - you are lucky to sneak agents past them, and once you do they run the risk of being discovered every turn.)

I used to think that bishops/cardinals had little chance of being assassinated, but now I think "it depends...." Some catholic factions seem to rarely assassinate my bishops, but in Viking Invasion that isn't true - everyone murders everyone. Also, the non-catholic factions in MTW seem to go after my religious agents. I've never had a princess murdered, though - but I do have a lot less of them floating around.

HTH,

[BigC5]

So when I first start out, as well as building up my army I should build a decent squad of various agents to help conquer new provinces and protect existing ones? One thing I have noticed is that low level assasains stand no chance against royalty. What level do they have to stand a good chance of killing a king and whats the best way to up their rank?

[The Grand Inquisitor]

One thing I have noticed is that low level assasains stand no chance against royalty. What level do they have to stand a good chance of killing a king and whats the best way to up their rank?

Assassins are caught and executed should they fail in their task. However inquisitors get to demand a retrial the next turn. So you can just keep going after the same target.

I've sometimes noticed a steady 1% improvement when going after royalty with the inquisition on a turn by turn basis.

Those put to the inquisition will develop traits, sometimes it's 'devout' or 'god-fearing' but often it's 'heretic' and then they will burn easily.

It is worth mobbing a target, as you only need to get lucky once.

Yesterday my 5* grand inquisitor put Edward IV of England to the torch. So yes, no-one is beyond the reach of the inquisition.

What's the best way to up their rank? Practice. Don't just go for strategically important targets, practice on anyone with a low piety. Success breeds success. Remember that removing a high acumen governer hurts the enemy too.

[MerlinusCDXX]

I have a question about inquisitors.

What effect does an "inquisition spiralling out of control" in a province have on that province's income, loyalty, etc. (if any)? Is the inquisition a way to actually inconvenience your enemy or are the "2100 people burned" just comic relief when your inquisitor is loafing in an enemy province?

thanx all

[The Grand Inquisitor]

I have a question about inquisitors.

What effect does an "inquisition spiralling out of control" in a province have on that province's income, loyalty, etc. (if any)?

It certainly reduces the zeal of the province, I haven't noticed a reduction in happiness/loyalty though there may be one.

[Ludens]

Here is a hopefully complete list of all the actions that MTW agents are capable off. Any additions, oversights, corrections or ingenious tactics are heartily welcomed.

Thanks to Blodrast, CherryDanish, Dough-Tompson, EatYerGreens, Katank, Maestro and Motorhead for offering additions and strategies.

Emissaries
Emissaries are diplomats. Like diplomats in real life, they are officially there to maintain relations with the other factions, but unofficially, they spy on your enemies.

• Proposes ceasefires and alliances by targeting faction leader or emissary of that faction (your emissary will then proceed to the faction leader)
• Proposes marriages to princesses of other factions
• Bribes enemy armies
• Strips titles of own generals
• Functions as a spy in enemy provinces

A successful diplomat gains stars, which will increase his chance on success when proposing alliances, ceasefires and marriages, but not for bribes. Stars also protect him from assassination attempts. Emissaries are attractive targets for AI assassins.
I always try to have half a dozen around to hunt skirts for my busy princes and to replace governors who develop nasty vices. They cost little and are easy to replace. Unfortunately, MTW diplomacy does not work as it ought so alliances are seldom the result of your actions. But there are a number of tactics you can use. You can get stars for your emissaries by sending them to the enemy king if you spot one of his emissaries coming for you. Success is guaranteed, if you get there fast enough. Or you can refuse the offer and send your diplomat to one of their princesses. Again, success is very likely.
Requirements: Palace (MTW campaign) or Royal Palace (VI campaign). Cost: 100.

Princesses
Princesses are a form of specialised emissaries. They have a greater chance at success as diplomat and are less vulnerable, but their uses are more limited and quite often you can use them only once.

• Proposes ceasefires and alliances. She is more likely to succeed in this than a normal emissary, but if she is successful and the recipient has unmarried sons or brothers or is unmarried himself, she will be married off and you lose her. Marrying a princess gives a faction a claim to the land of the princess' faction, should this faction disappear. However, if there isn't unmarried royalty then the princess will work as an ordinary diplomat, gain a star and remain available.
• Improves loyalty of own general, again by marrying him (be aware of marrying her to generals with royal blood, this will gain them a 'secret incest' vice)
• It is possible to marry her to your own king or princes, but this will result in a 'secret incest' vice. It does give you heirs faster.
• Functions as a spy in enemy provinces

Princesses are less vulnerable than emissaries and seem to get targeted by assassins less often. A princess becomes available for foreign duty at her fifteenth year of age. Around the age of 33 she will disappear to a nunnery, except when she is on a mission, then she will stay available until the mission ends (whatever the outcome).
Requirements: none

Spies
Spies gather information like other agents, but spies are invisible, can warn you of imminent attacks and cause discontent in enemy provinces as well. And they have even more functions:

• Secret police in own provinces: they improve loyalty by {40% + 20 * spy_valour}, but only the highest-valour spy is taking into calculation (except in vanilla MTW).
• Intercepts enemy spies and assassins in own provinces. A spy gains valour through this, even if he is aided by a border fort. Valour helps catching even more spies.
• Gather information in enemy provinces
• Causes unrest in enemy provinces: as spy decreases loyalty by {40% + 20 * spy_valour}. Before VI you could wolf pack enemy provinces with spies but after VI this doesn't work anymore. Only the most experienced spy now lowers loyalty. A spy gains valour for every rebellion he causes.
• Warns you of planned attacks by the AI factions. The information will include the attacker, the target and the number of years before the attack can be expected. This gains him stars. Keep in mind however, that the AI can also make opportunistic attacks, and that planned attacks can be cancelled, for example if the target strengthens his garrison.
• Reveals hidden vices of enemy (VI/MTW) and friendly (MTW-only) generals. The general also gains a spy-defence vice (even if nothing was revealed). If several repeated attempts at revelation occur, the general will get severe anti-spy vices that will lower loyalty of his province. This is a rather cheesy tactic to cause revolts.
• Frames friendly generals for treason. The success of this action depends on the loyalty of the general, the skill of the spy and perhaps the command rating of the general. If successful, the accused general will die and your other generals will gain a loyalty boost. If unsuccessful, the general loses loyalty, gains a spy-protection vice and perhaps there is a loyalty-penalty for your other generals as well.
• Can open the gates of besieged castles. Success depends on the skill of the spy and the number of defenders.

Spies are invisible, but can be caught by other spies and border forts. High valour protects them from detection. EatYerGreens suggested a training strategy for spies that involved an assassin trap. Place a spy and a zero-star emissary in a border province without border forts. This will lure in enemy assassins that will be captured by the spy, thus gaining him valour. A port in the province will also draw in agents that try to take an oversea shortcut.
Have at least one spy in every province and when you go conquering, take a number with you. They are cheaper then garrisons. Also keep a cordon of spies around your important generals (the king, his sons, etc.) to protect him from assassins, but don't have those spies follow him into enemy territory if there are border forts present! Framing generals for treason is useful early in the game when your influence is low and you don't have many options, but it tends to go awry even on low loyalty generals and with disastrous results, so do not undertake this lightly.
Requirements: brothel. If you have VI, the brothel can be upgraded to bawdy house (+2 valour) in MTW campaign and to cunny warren (+3 valour) in VI campaign. Cost: 100.

Assassins
An assassin kills enemy agents and generals

• Kills friendly and enemy agents. This gains him valour and valour increases his chances on success. The chance of success also depends on the nature of the target and it's valour.
• Kills friendly and enemy generals and faction leaders. The same rules apply as for killing of agents, but the command rating of the target is also taken into account. If the attempt fails, the target is likely to develop anti-assassination vices.
• Functions as a spy in enemy provinces
• Catches enemy spies and assassins

Assassins are invisible, but can be caught by spies and border forts. High valour protects them from detection.
Keep an assassin in every province that can be reached from your enemies territories (ports, borders), and keep more of them near important generals to protect them from inquisitors. High valour really helps them so treasure your good assassins and do not send them away on simple missions. The chances of success are often low and they have a habit of failing and thus dying when you can least use it, so the best way to use them is to mob a target with assassins. Doug-Tompson has a rather inventive way of training his assassins: he has them target each other. By way of survival of the fittest, he thus gains better assassins. Maestro proposed devoting a province to the production of emissaries that serve as practice targets for assassins. EatYerGreen's assassin trap also works for trainee assassins.
The AI knows when you target one of his agent and will quite often make them run back to a province with a border fort so keep your eyes open. The assassin will follow its target until it is dead or the assassin is dead, and going into a province with border forts will quite likely result in the second option.
Requirements: tavern. If you have VI, you can upgrade the tavern to a rookery (+3 valour). Also, in VI Syria gives assassins a +2 valour boost. Cost: 200.

Religious agents
Every religion in the game has a standard priest and an advanced one who is more powerful, but also more expensive.

• Convert the populace of a province. More agents increase the conversion rate, up to a maximum of three agents (?). They also gain stars for causing religious revolts.
• Imams increase the zeal of a province (I thought Catholic bishops and cardinals did this as well, but it appears they do not)
• Catholic bishops and cardinals make it less likely for an inquisitor to convict someone of heresy
• Can propose ceasefires and alliances to enemy leaders (independent of faith). This gains them stars, just like an emissary.
• Functions as a spy in enemy provinces

Religious agents are less likely to get targeted by enemy assassins and therefore make good spies. Send them forward as a scouting force for your crusades, to make a start with converting the populace. Keep at least one standard priest in every province to maximize faith and happiness. Catholics are advised to take extra precaution when inquisitors are abroad. An extra bishop or a cardinal can work wonders when protecting your generals.

Type / requirement / cost
Catholic bishop / church / 100
Catholic cardinal / cathedral / 150
Orthodox priest / church / 100
Orthodox bishop / cathedral / 150
Alim / mosque / 100
Imam / grand mosque / 150

Inquisitors and Grand Inquisitors
Catholic assassins that will not die when they fail. They only work on catholic generals (and faction leaders, even the Pope!) but they can kill every one, given enough patience. If the attempt fails, the accused will gain 'god fearing' vices, which gain him piety, but they also tend to become atheist, which dramatically lowers it.

• Puts enemy and friendly generals on trial for heresy. Success depends on the skill of the inquisitor, the piety and command ratings of the general and the zeal of the province. Low zeal, non-Catholic provinces are unlikely to condemn your target. The presence of Catholic bishops and cardinals also slows inquisitors down. Successful heresy trails gain them stars, which improves their chance of convicting someone.
• Inquisitors reduce heresy, but do not convert Orthodox Christians or Muslims
• Inquisitors increase zeal in Catholic provinces.
• Inquisitors have a tendency to start an 'inquisition of individual' in high zeal provinces. This lowers zeal, loyalty and farm income. You can prevent this by keeping them busy or moving them away. You can stop it in the same way, or by just picking them up and placing them down again in the same province.
• Functions as a spy in enemy provinces

Inquisitors require patience and determination. Sooner or later you target will develop an atheist-vice and you can get him. You do need to reassign target every turn. Inquisitors are also useful to get zeal high for crusades: keep them in your provinces for a few turns and zeal will rise. If you want to keep zeal low (enemy crusades), keep the inquisitor there somewhat longer and he will start burning the population, dramatically reducing zeal. Protection against inquisitors is easy, but it will prove ineffective quite often: have assassins stand ready and bishops and cardinals to guard your generals. The only thing that really works is low zeal, but you need zeal for your crusades.
Inquisitors require a monastery and cost 200. Grand inquisitors require a reliquary and cost 300. Grand inquisitors are not available in early. Both types gain a valour bonus in Castile.

[Phatose]

I seem to remember the base loyalty affect for a spy in VI is 20% + 40% per star. Though, it's been a long, long time since I've played, so someone will have to double check. I do know that it follows that formula though, base + fixed bonus per star.

[maestro]

What I do to get high valour Assassins is to have a province produce emissaries on a continuous production line and then have assassins take out the emissaries one by one (Ems are really easy to kill) until they are 3 stars and then move them to where you want them. In theory, you can have 10 3* assassins in 30 years - very useful for taking out high valour generals!


BTW - Is it really true that only a maximum of 3 mishops in a province will affect conversion? If so, I'll be moving some bishops around. I usualy go for 5 - a nice round number. If it's only 3 then I can get even more of those Byzantine scum to join our friendly Catholic church :)

[Emren]

Funny, maestro, I always thought that '5' was an uneven, non-round number...

[maestro]

Funny, maestro, I always thought that '5' was an uneven, non-round number...

bah, humbug.

You can't, surely, expect someone cold-hearted enough to train emissaries for the sole purpose of being assassinated to care for such anomalies?

[Ludens]

BTW - Is it really true that only a maximum of 3 mishops in a province will affect conversion?

I don't know for sure (that's why I put a questionmark behind it), I just read it in recent discussion. Perhaps you could do an experiment?
Quicksave, place 5 bishops in province, end turn and note faith,
Quickload, place 4 bishops in same province, end turn and note faith,
Quickload, place 3 bishops in same province, end turn and note faith,
and so on.

Thank you for your tactic, it has been added .

[Ludens]

Added spy-formula. Thanks Blodrast, .

[Blodrast]

you're most welcome. Great idea about doing a full complete post about Agents, too.
I really like things-put-together such as Froggy's guide, Economics MTW 101, this Agents post, some of the guides (not all are very well structured, although I did notice efforts are ongoing to organize them better - a thumbs up for Froggy who's leading it and for the kind people that volunteered), etc.

Nice job

[katank]

inquisitions out of control tend to lower agricultural income also.

therefore, treat em like hot potatoes and stick em into rival territories very fast and start frying general or burning the population.

[Goofball]

Hi everyone

As a novice to Medieval Total War I was wondering how to use agents such as inquisitors to their full potential?

Welcome to the Org, BigC5. One thing I find inquisitors very useful for is weeding out my useless heirs to make sure the best one gets the throne. Bye-bye "chinless wonder," make way for "hard sums."

[Ludens]

inquisitions out of control tend to lower agricultural income also.

therefore, treat em like hot potatoes and stick em into rival territories very fast and start frying general or burning the population.

Thanks Katank, it has been added. I find inquisitors usefull for keeping zeal high and thus creating high piety governors, so I tend to shuffle them between my territories. I think your allies get angry if your inquisitors are going rampage through their countries (though with MTW diplomacy this is hard to tell).