Prisoners! What do you do with them?

[YunDog]

So heres the thing when faced with an AI opponent with 10s of thousands of men - and he wont stop warring with you. Do you kill all the prisoners - cause you dont want to see their ugly little faces back on the battlefield?
Or do you ransom them back earning a little money - and handing your enemy back a whole lot of low valor long distance sprinters? That is the question

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

[chilliwilli]

It depends how easy the battle was. If it was a very close battle that I might not win again I execute everyone. If it was an easy battle that I'm sure I could win everytime. I ransom. Simple as that. My policy is similar to The Mongol's policy of if a city resists you kill everyone afte you take it, if it surrenders let them live. Well sometimes they didn't let them live, but hey its the thought that counts http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif.

[TenkiSoratoti]

Death If the enemy gives me a hard time i murder them all if they give me easy time then i spare them.

[hoom]

I only kill if the security of my empire is at stake ie getting overwhelmed by superior forces possibly in multiple provinces and going to lose this battle.

The rest of the time, making them give you ransom will make the enemy poor, give them demoralised troops, give you extra money for new troops, not piss off your own troops, decrease the likelyhood of your general getting bad vices, increase the likelyhood of your general getting good virtues, give you the oportunity to increase the valour of your troops by more battles...

[Coucy]

The money you get from ransoms, plus getting morale penalties for being a battlefield butcher means that most likely I'll ransom them.

Plus, if you happened to capture the enemy general while he was fleeing the field (unless he has 6+ stars), turning prisoners loose is extra beneficial because you are now saddling the enemy faction with a high-ranking Good Runner to lead his future armies. Better to let those Good Runners live to fight another day, IMO

My rare exceptions for executing prisoners instead are:
1) A mega-starred enemy general is amongst the captives (6+ stars); or
2) The last of the enemy royal line is a prisoner, and axing him dissolves the faction into rebels.

And these exceptions do not apply if I am REALLY hurting for cash, because they do tend to yield phenominal ransoms (especially 2).

[[RDH] Spetz Natz]

Pretty simple: If they're Turks, off with their heads http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/mad.gif

Everyone else: seeya next time m8 http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif

[TheViking]

after one year i had over 16000 prisoners and the ransom was almost 30000 fl. I really needed the money but i killed them all only so i didnt have to face them once more plus i like the sound when you execute them muahahahahaha http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif

it wouldnt have made any diff if i let them live cus my boarders was well protected anyway

[Musashi]

Keel zem Keel zem all

-Musashi

[Leet Eriksson]

Kill em all(except poles,i'm really sympathetic to them)they could be used against you if you did'nt http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/tongue.gif but make sure they are high quality units,of peasants spare them so you can kill them later(and get more command stars hehehe).

[TenkiSoratoti]

Its almost shows ur character, do you speare em' or lop em'

[Alrowan]

well i mainly choose this as a matter of empire security

if i am assaulting thier empire, then i tend to kill them, only because after each battle one must garrison some of thier own troops, depleteing your forces as well, so less enemies, means less troubles.

as for defending i usully kill them as well if it is a larger force, but if there is an enemy monarch amongst them, then it is different, sometimes i will spare them for a kings ransom, other times i will kill them if i have a blood claim on thier lands, just simple things like that sway me

[Sandy-San]

if they are a different religious faction, I kill them (I know that's not particularly PC, but well...)

if they are massed on my borders i'll kill em or I'm invading well defended territory i'll kill em, coz I don't wnat them back another day.

if they have been particularly treacherous, i'll kill em.

otherwise, i'll let them off and take the cash.

when it comes to rebels, i've tended just to kill the ringleaders. i've had a few instances where I've done this and had no more trouble from the province, and a few where they have rebelled again the next turn, so i'm not sure on what to do with rebels.

and i've never turned a battle by killing prisoners, even when it was 700+ at once.

[TheViking]

Citera[/b] (Tenkisoratoti @ Dec. 16 2002,09:05)]Its almost shows ur character, do you speare em' or lop em'
yes im a real blood thirsty killer in real life thats why i kill them http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif

do you really think it because of character if people kill or spare them in a game.

[Leet Eriksson]

also killing em increases the leaders dread,gves em more valour me thinks...

[Exile]

Usually I let them live, particularly if I could use the money. If they have a stronger overall army than me and the prisoners I have are quality troops, I kill them (unless I'm broke)

[Kraxis]

Quote[/b] (faisal @ Dec. 16 2002,09:24)]also killing em increases the leaders dread,gves em more valour me thinks...
No, Dread gives happiness in the province this general controls.

Killing prisoners in two battles will give you the Vice No Mercy which will give a -1 Morale and +2 Dread, a third battle will often give you the Vice Merciless -2 Morale and +2 Dread.

Execute more than 1000 enemies in one battle and the general becomes a Butcher +3 Dread. Not bad if it is the first battle you execute prisoners in, then you get Butcher and Scant Mercy as well, all in all +4 Dread.

[TenkiSoratoti]

I think ill refrain from mass slaughter now http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif

[Jacque Schtrapp]

I suppose there are two different ways of viewing this issue. I happen to follow along with most of you and only slaughter them when necessity (or irritation) dictates it. However, in a pre-patch game as the Spanish on expert, I chose to experiment with rampant mass executions. In 1230 the Egyptians were far and away the most powerful and numerous faction. They controlled everything east of Egypt, north to Lithuania, and west as far as Venice. I decided to pick a fight with the schoolyard bully and sent in a former heir with some virtue (natural leader I think) that gave him +2 to morale and +1 to valor. He took along a mix of feudal knights, Chiv Sarges, crossbow, and a healthy dose of CMAA. Using my massive navy I invaded Venice and proceeded to conquer it while capturing around 300 which I then had murdered. My Gen. gained the skilled attacker vice as he was outnumbered 2 to 1. Next battle took place the following year when the Egyptians counter attacked with 3 times as many as I had. I won and gained the skilled defender virtue while capturing and slaughtering over 800 enemy soldiers. Following year I attacked Croatia captured and killed 500 more of the enemy while gaining whatever vice the first level murdering vice is. Two more years saw the capture of Serbia and Greece accompanied by the slaughter of around 3k Egyptian troops. I am down to about 700 men and he has wrecked my navy so I cannot reinforce, at this point I choose to take Bulgaria and head north for a bit since each of those provinces have only a thousand or so defenders and Costantinople has well over 4k men guarding it. After rampaging through the former Hungarian and Polish provinces I have a nine star general with max dread, the excellent defender and second level attacker virtue in addition to his newly acquired blood lover vice. Heading south I now have to retake Bulgaria with my 600 highly decorated troops and their insane vampire general. We march onto the field to face the two thousand egyptians and watch as they summarily flee. I don't mean retreat, I mean flee I never even got the chance to move before they ran. Thinking this odd I move on into Constantinople which is now teeming with 6k defenders. Here we are in arguably the most valuable province on the map, outnumbered 10 to 1 and the 8 star Sultan with all of his heirs flees the moment I begin to advance. I chased his sorry keyster all the way to Antioch and he never joined battle once They always fled, which I suppose is not so irrational considering I had ordered the slaughter of around fifteen thousand of their men in cold blood. Ironically the French attacked the following year and out of curiosity I returned my blood loving general to Aragon in order to test my reputation. The following year the French attacked then fled immediately after the first arrow salvo. Following this battle I patched the game and couldn't finish the campaign so I was unable to determine whether my dread rating was really that effective or whether the French were being.... well you know....French. I suppose at some point it would be interesting to run another bloody campaign, however, I would warn all who dare try it that there is quite a megalomaniacal lure in the sound of sliced throats and visions of thousands of enemy fleeing the field before your glorious might as the world trembles in fear of..... er nevermind.

[youssof_Toda]

Whipe em out, all of them. more serious: with rebelions I like to let em all free to give my king the 'frequent mercy' virtue to boost the loyalty of my provinces. When encountering elite forces of the enemy factions I usually kill the prisoners after the battle has been won.

[SmokWawelski]

For me it depends on the General: some I develop as bloody deamons, some like angels of peace http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif

[Brother Derfel]

I'm an old softy I usually let them all live to fight another day..........

[71-hour Ahmed]

Kill them all, Bwhahhahha.

(hence the fact I'm morally deficient, such things apparently being "wrong nowadays". Wussie physchiatrists)

[FesterShinetop]

I usually wait untill I have a nice amount than kill them all... just because i like the sound of it http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/shock.gif . After that I smoke a sigarette http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/smokin.gif and I mercyfully spare the rest I capture. http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif

[LordKhaine]

If I attacked the faction... I usually let them live. However... if I was backstabbed by a nation, I would adopt a "kill everyone, no-one lives" policy. http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif

[Katasaki Hirojima]

Well, I let them live as a matter of princible. I try to apply my values to -all- aspects of life, even the way I play my games. "Blessed are the mercifull, for they shall be shown mercy." (yes, I'm a pacifist Christian *gasp*)
I really..just can't derive any pleasure from killing, even game sprites.
As I see it, I'm playing as Myself, not Haarald the Heartless or any other ruler. -I'm- king and as such the kingdom shall be ruled as -I- would rule it. I know that IRL I am a man of mercy, love and kindness, as such I shall be a king of those traits, and in Gods name my kingdom shall endure..Even against those less noble..

[Kraxis]

Quote[/b] (Katasaki Hirojima @ Dec. 16 2002,23:18)]I know that IRL I am a man of mercy, love and kindness, as such I shall be a king of those traits, and in Gods name my kingdom shall endure..Even against those less noble..
Then I can guess it would be horrible if the Murderous, Blackmailing, Blood Loving Butcher takes to the throne. http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/wink.gif

I must ad mit that in a rage caused by the Almohads killing my best general in a siege (he died to the siegelosses), I executed all Almohads from then on. I executed one Caliph, two princes and countless nobles.

[Terrax]

I'm dispatching a spy to uncover the hidden perverse vices the pacifist christian is hiding from his subjects... http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif

[YunDog]

Well there I was thinking that the throat cutting or the save the sprites would win - I picked the throat cutting bit - but in honesty sometimes I let them live cause I need the money - so I guess Im a mood dependent in reality so I guess its not surprising that the moody killing are winning.

So I guess we are all sunshine and flowers rulers until someone does something we dont like then we switch to ruthless blood thirsty murders

So close to reality its frietening - I wonder how many historical leaders were moody killers too. http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/smokin.gif

[Lord Romulous]

i on the other hand gain great pleasure from killing my prisnors. all of them. every single time. http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/joker.gif

i was very disapointed when i found out that the game wouldn't let me round up all the prisnors and impale them on the borders of my provences.

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

[All_the_Sultan's_horses]

haha. definitely depends. i tend to spare POWs 90% of the time, not due to monetary reasons, just out of principle. the only exceptions are when i'm fighting for my existence and i REALLY dun wanna face those guys again, or if a high command general or faction ruler was among the POWs.

Rebels, however, get no such mercy. I kill/enslave every single one of them. its only a pity u can't specify the mode of execution for them.

and also, why can't u just imprison enemies? http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/confused.gif

[petska]

Whem the king of my faction changes I release the first captured men so that my king gets that Occasional Mercy virtue and everyones happy. After that I pretty much kill em all.

[andy119]

Kill em kill em all. I kill them because they come back for more ass kicking and i cant be bothered lol. Giving your general extra fear is good because ur men get a bonus from it too http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif

[Shay]

If its a rebellion of my own lands I kill them all.
If its a rebellion of some one elses lands and I invade I release them,
If I make war on an allied or neutral country I release them
If a country makes war with me and im allied with them I kill them all, till I reload the game and forget who did what to whom and when or where.
Then I start again http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif

[Katasaki Hirojima]

Nah, I roleplay my kings pretty good, they are all good stewards, magnificient builders and mercifull. As for Terrax, your spy was caught by Border Fortresses.

;p *LOL*

[Teutonic Knight]

Quote[/b] (TheViking @ Dec. 16 2002,07:55)]
Quote[/b] (Tenkisoratoti @ Dec. 16 2002,09:05)]Its almost shows ur character, do you speare em' or lop em'
yes im a real thirsty killer in real life thats why i http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif

do you really think it because of character if people kill or spare them in a game.
you are really starting to scare me viking, you really are................ http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/eek.gif http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/eek.gif http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/eek.gif

[Teutonic Knight]

why does the admin/mod remove certain words from our posts, even when we're quoting someone else??? http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/argue.gif

[Ueriah]

For me, it totally depends on the situation.

Generally, I let those of the same faith live. Especially if we are Catholics. Even more especially if they are between me and Muslims.

I used to engage in wholesale slaughter, giving my generals vices like "Bloodthirsty" and "Butcher". But then I tamed the urge and realized that a) Florins are nice and b) Most of the time, killing them isn't nessessary.

Sure, there are exceptions. If I have a heap of prisoners and it's an enemy I'll be facing again shortly and numbers will be iffy as it is, sure.... send 'em to the boneyard. But if I have the advantage of numbers, let 'em go.

[Lord_Lenny]

Quote[/b] (LordKhaine @ Dec. 17 2002,13:57)]If I attacked the faction... I usually let them live. However... if I was backstabbed by a nation, I would adopt a "kill everyone, no-one lives" policy. http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif
yep yep yep that's what i do, oh and i tend to spare any rebels i encounter, so my king isn't all bad hehe, but recently as the Byzantines (Early) i expanded north into Russia/The Baltics with a smaller army than i would have liked and they kept revolting once i captured provinces, so i started executing the leaders, but then they made the mistake of killing my son. For 15 years after that (yep 15 years of rebellions in the northern provinces of the Empire of Constantinople) i showed no mercy. All must die to avenge the death of the Prince (and he was my best one to, despite being 3rd born)

[hoom]

Quote[/b] ]I try to apply my values to -all- aspects of life, even the way I play my games Me too http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif
On principle, I don't like to kill them.

Most of the time, even when you're up against a pretty big enemy, they will only fork out ransoms for the first two or three big battles (give or take).
After that they are bankrupt and can't pay, so the prisoners die and you don't suffer any morale penalties on your generals or have to fight them again.



Quote[/b] ]15 years of rebellions in the northern provinces of the Empire of Constantinople I don't think I've even ever had 2 years in a row... Mainly because I either dump enough troops there to make it green, or I lose the province outright.

[Cazbol]

I do what I believe I'd do in real life. Everybody lives, except ringleaders of rebellions in provinces that I've had for a long time. I've had hundreds of prisoners in a battle that I could see I was losing but I still didn't execute them.

This policy will give your king the virtue Frequent Mercy, which gives +20 happiness if memory serves.

Cazbol

[Theodoret]

I do what I believe I would do in real life if I was a Byzantine general. Take no prisoners (Unless they are rich). Merciless in war magnanimous in peace is how I play the game.
When the Geneva convention was being drafted the British Government asked one of its admirals to comment on the proposals. He replied "Tell them that if we care to take prisoners we will boil them in oil, then people will think twice before attacking us". I appreciate the sentiment. I'm particularly merciless towards the armies of treaty-breakers, although I usually only execute the ringleaders when pacifiying rebellious provinces (unless said provinces rebelled from my rule).

[LordKevinV]

I like to kill of them, but then leave 2 or 3 left. And i like to think of them all having their eyes cut out except for one who leads them to their camp. http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/joker.gif http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/joker.gif

[Theodoret]

Im a big Basil Bulgaroctonus fan too, Lord Kevin V. I also admire George Maniakes'pacification of Magna Graecia. The only reason the Byzantine Empire didn't decline earlier was because it happened upon a whole series of inhumanly cruel generals, who scared the hell out of Constantinople's enemies.

[Bob the Insane]

I voted Mood, but it is really situation dependent for me...

If I am being invaided by a faction with a larger army, then none of them get to go home (they will only send them back again...).

In border skirmishes and raids I let them live as the money is nice...

When defeating rebels I consider the impression I am trying to give... and the present vices and virtues of the general involved.. If he has a high Dread already I will aviod killing them but if he is a bit of a wimp, a couple of instances of slaughtering prisoners will enhance his reputation...

For heirs I like to give them one of each... to get both increases to dread (from slaughter) and happiness (from mercy)...

[Big King Sanctaphrax]

I kill prisoners half of the time, partly for the dread, and partly for the cool "SWISH...UURGHHH" noise. If I'm on a crusade I always kill prisoners, to try and stay in character: Kill them all;God will know his own. Now THATS medieval warfare
http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif

[JAG]

depends if the men i capture will turn any tide in the war.. ie if i capture 150 peasants let em live, if i capture 200 knights it different story ;x

[A Nerd]

I always spare prisoners for the good virtues, money or lack of bad virtues. Unless I don't want the enemy I am fighting to get them back. Example, Fighting a war of attrition on shared borders, currently too dangerous to invade. I've killed over 1000 at times and get a nice "butcher" vice that give no morale penalties if memory serves. http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/cool.gif

[Akka]

Depends on the situation.
I like to roleplay, so I usually slaughter any prisonner if they come from a hated nation (usually a nation that backstabbed me while being allied), or if they are rebels to my rules.

I also kill the prisonner if there is a starred general or a heir/king amongst them. Last time I did not killed them, I gave the Sicilians their heir back http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/frown.gif

I would really like to have the possibility to refuse to ransom prisonners, and to rather let them rot in cells. There is time where you just don't want to release these 1500 men, even if you don't necessarily wish to kill them http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif

[jas]

Quote[/b] (Katasaki Hirojima @ Dec. 16 2002,23:18)]I am a man of mercy, love and kindness, as such I shall be a king of those traits, and in Gods name my kingdom shall endure..
Medieval: Total Mercy. Hmm ... http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/tongue.gif

Having said that, I nearly always let them live, mainly because I want the ransom and want to avoid moral-penalizing vices, but also 'cos I don't get a buzz out of wasting sprites. The truly powerful _can_ afford to show mercy.

Although, when there's 1000+ prisoners then sometimes the urge to gain the 'Butcher' vice with +3 dread is just too much .. although I _always_ let rebels go. They're my people, after all.

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

[hoom]

Can nobody spell these days?

M O R A L E
A moral is something like "I will not kill needlessly"
Morale is the happiness/willingness-to-fight/likelyhood-of-them-running-away of your troops.

Agh so many barbaric bastards who kill for the sake of dread http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/frown.gif
Even at the expense of the morale of their own armies...

At least there are a few of us who have some civility http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif

Like I said earlier, in a war of attrition with a large enemy force, after only one or two cases of the enemy ransoming back 1500 or so troops at the cost of tens of thousands of florins, they will be broke and further captives will be killed with no bad impact on yourself.
Further, with their country broke, they have no money to build new troops and their captured generals will have morale penalties.

With no enemy reinforcements and a large boost to your coffers, you can afford to push into enemy territory with your reinforcements paid for by the opposition, often smashing the final resistance or at least driving them back from the province in retreat.
Suffering from a now smaller empire, the enemy is in less situation to even pay back its debts let alone mount a counter offensive.

[jas]

Whoa, sorry dude, that was actually a typo. Yes, I do know the difference between the morale of troops and the moral of a story.

And BTW its "likelihood", not "likelyhood"

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

[Longshanks]

Depends on the situation for me. With faction rebels(Scots,Irish ect.) I usually spare them all. With rebellions against my rule, I usually execute the ringleaders.

In battles against the other major factions, I'll usually spare the prisoners and ransom them. The only times I don't do this, is when I'm fighting against an enemy who has a sh*tload of troops in other provinces as well, and there is a good possibility he might crush me in a counterattack. In those situations I kill all of the prisoners. Better safe than sorry.

I'll also kill prisoners if the battle is turning against me, or I've captured an enemy king who has no heirs, and it would benefit me for his faction to splinter into rebel provinces.

BTW, speaking of sparing prisoners...I love it when you ransom a general, and when I check his stats out later he has the "tortured" vice. Hehehe...that will teach you to stand against my armies.

[Teutonic Knight]

Quote[/b] (faisal @ Dec. 16 2002,02:54)]Kill em all(except poles,i'm really sympathetic to them)they could be used against you if you did'nt http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/tongue.gif but make sure they are high quality units,of peasants spare them so you can later(and get more command stars hehehe).
what is that supposed to mean about the poles?

[TheViking]

Kill them

its only stupid to face the same soldiers twice, and the money you get doesnt do any diff in your warchest, either you have so much dept, (or how you say it) or you have so much money that it doesnt matter.

it have happend sometimes early in game that i gave the prisoners back if the ransom is higher then 10 000 koku

[Forward Observer]

Like many have said, I excute or don't execute based on the enemy and strategical situation. However, if early on in the game, I capture the General of an army, and he is also a prince; not executing him can be highly profitable.

In playing the Danes, my army captured a Russian Prince among 50 or so other prisoners. The ransom was 14,000 florins. I was barely scraping by at the time so that ransom was a life saver.

On revolts, I usually execute the ringleaders only.

Cheers

[Lechev]

Same here I would usually kill the ring leaders. However, it I knows there will be a second coming, I will left no quarters. Seems cruel but a necessary precaution. http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif

[Gazza the Lionheart]

In the words of Darth Sidious "Wipe them out, all of them". I've never been in a situation where I need the cash badly enough to ransom them so to save myself the bother of facing them later I kill them.