Annoying \'feature\' of the Emissary bribing.

[Talenn]

From what I've seen, when an Emissary goes out to bribe an army, he is only bribing the exact piece that you select. If there are other armies in the province, a battle ensues etc.

This is all fine in many situations. But it doesnt take a rocket scientist to figure out that the easiest way to defend against this is simply to split your armies into separate pieces everywhere you go. This effectively removes the Emissary function from the game IMO (except to maybe remove a few units here and there) and makes managing the armies a kind of logistical nightmare.

For now, with the campaign only being SP, its not too bad, but I'd like to see this modified somehow IF the game were patched to included MP campaigns.

Note that there are a few downsides to splitting your armies like that...

1) Your best generals can be 'bribed' out of the army far cheaper than if he is with a large stack.

2) The enemy can pick and choose which units to remove.

But, IMO, this is outweighed by the sheer number of Emissaries that would be required to actually have any meaningful effect.

I'm sure this is not a concern for most people at this point, but just something to be considered before a jump to MP format.

Thanx
Talenn

[Hosakawa Tito]

The cost of bribing any general worth having is prohibitive.I haven't had any of my generals bribed away from me yet.I deploy ninja with all my armies,so any emissary that attempts a bribe gets to try his luck in his next life http://www.totalwar.org/ubb/biggrin.gifIt comes in handy very early in the game when you want to bribe ronin instead of wasting men fighting them.Bribing is also useful in the end game,when you have a clan on the ropes and want to end it quicker.

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Diplomacy is the art of telling someone to go to hell so that they look forward to making the trip.

[Shoko]

So how much Koku this take 2 bribe?

[Lord Aeon]

FotD,

Did you know that two emissaries can bribe two armies in the same province at the same time? It works with three armies (3 ems), 4 armies (4 ems,) and so on and so forth! http://www.totalwar.org/ubb/wink.gif

Seriously, though, here's a few more tidbits to un-discourage you:

1. Many times an enemies army will only be split into two smaller armies, and this usually occurs only when the whole army is rather large.

2. One of the armies is generally larger than the other, such that bribing the larger army is more beneficial.

3. If you have territory adjacent to the enmy's army, you can bribe that army and simply move them out to your land.

4. Many times an enemy will have an army garrisoned in the castle and an army out in the field. If the army outside the castle is more advanced (which it is likely to be since they are the most recently peoduced units in the province), or has larger numbers, he enemy will never even move out of the castle to defend and take losses from the seige.

5. In a situation where the army is broken into two, and is roughly half-n-half, the army will destroy itself without you having to so much as set down a hoof in the province. When the smoke clears, the territory is easy pickins, not to mention that if you win the battle, you get the territory and/or destroy buildings.

6. Best to use prior to a port invasion, in bridge territories (e.g. Echigo), or in general on the eve of an attack.

7. In a situation where you have lots of guys on your borders and a minimal number behind your lines (where you are presumably producing troops), you are at risk of having one of those small armies bribed. Especially dangerous in empty territories through which small units are movig to get to the front lines.

8. If you work up that emissary in honor through making and breaking lots of alliances, he's practially impossible to kill and tends to be more successful in hid bribes (none of that "too loyal to his master" crap).

I know you folks knew all this already, but it's always good to remind people. This board is in desperate need of a morale (no pun intended) officer. http://www.totalwar.org/ubb/wink.gif

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"You have offended my family, and you have offended a Shaolin temple."

[Vanya]

Quote Originally posted by Shoko:
So how much Koku this take 2 bribe?[/QUOTE]

Well... I've bribed armies with just 1 SA and 1 YS for 1500 koku! I have bribed some armies that are about half-full (~8-10 units) with lots of Ashigaru for about 6-7000 Koku. So it is expensive. But, if the enemy has 2 armies on a bridge province, you can steal one away from him like this to even your chances. Plus, if a battle ensues, you can always abandon the province to withdraw your new army instead of fighting the battle. This way, you can use it elsewhere. You just can't move it the turn in turns coat!

Oh, and you cannot bribe an army lead by an heir! So that is a good way to protect your armies! Stick your kids in it! Makes heirs more useful, if ya ask me...

[Vanya]

Quote Originally posted by Lord Aeon:
the "too loyal to his master" crap...[/QUOTE]

This happens more often if your religion does not match that of the enemy army you are bribing too. So if you are Christian and the army you're trying to bribe is lead by a Buddhist Daimyo, he is more likely to come up with this excuse...

[MSAMiniKiller]

why can rite off the hope they can kill ur emisarys (Daimyos) and u cant...grrr

[KumaRatta Yamamoto]

Good post Lord Aeon!!!! http://www.totalwar.org/ubb/smile.gif

I am having a ball with emissary bribes, the strategicall impact and possibilities are varied like you have shown.

Yes you can bribe both armies in a province at the same time, i do it sometimes. I also like bribing just one army and battle the next turn. Even if i loose (bribe went to the smallest army), i can just come in and mop up the next turn with my real army.

I will repeat myself the new Sengoku period SP campaign, strategy wise, allows us much more actions in relation to the writings of Sun Tzu. The game developpers should be commended for this part of the game.

[solypsist]

that was an incredibly useful post LA, good work!