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SmokWawelski
12-02-2002, 22:08
I was thinking if anybody has a fool-proof way to sneak in a spy/assasin into a province that has watchtowers and enemy spies/assasins, or is it a gamble in later periods?

solypsist
12-03-2002, 00:01
no foolproof way to have spies and assassins enter enemy territory. one method, however, to help the odds in your favor is to move several agents through at once. for example, send three new assassins and you level 5 assassin to Constantinople (unknown security) at the same time; security will probably catch one or two of the no-valor assassins, but your more valuable agent should still be alive (at least until next turn)

Alrowan
12-03-2002, 14:43
i tend to dump about 5 spys at first to fin out what thier security is like, and then move my others in after... another way is just to flood them with spys and assasins, and then chaces go your way

SmokWawelski
12-03-2002, 17:48
I tried that and it looks like there is something to it. Maybe the defending spies/assassins/watchtowers can only catch one agent in a turn then?

The_Dude
12-03-2002, 18:31
I think the same, when I try to kill the pope because he excomunate me, I remember have seen an advice on the screen that combinated plot is most likely to succeed, maybe if you launch your spy/assasin attack from different provinces. It work perfectly, I send 5 assasin from three different province, two were catch but one succeed and finally it cost me 3 assasin (one more died next turn, when trying to escape)

Alrowan
12-04-2002, 01:33
i think its a little costly whenever you want to kill off leaders, but it is definitly worth the effort at times

SmokWawelski
12-04-2002, 02:32
Killing the Pope too costly???
I find it more bearable to loose 5 spies 100 coins each that have revolts in several provinces worth several thousands...

Alrowan
12-04-2002, 05:02
i didnt say it was too costly but a little costly, im not saying its not worth it either, but generally i accept my excommunicatoin with humility anf fight one, and end the war when my king of pope dies.. take advantage of the fact you have been excommunicated, its not that bad

SmokWawelski
12-04-2002, 17:46
You brought a very important point out that I overlooked: sometimes the excommunication might help you.
With a strong King and low taxes, you might be able to dispose of that neighbor that was a thorn in your side. To do that though you need to be prepared and have military power to handle revolts and “defenders of Christianity”/crusades. And that means that you are probably winning anyway…

FoundationII
11-16-2003, 19:13
I always swarm in at a ruler, pope and try to assasinate him with at least 10 assasins (it give me a good chance to kill him) The same way I can get provinces easily, move in with 30 spies (if muslim or orthodox bishops too) and some their morale will decrease significantly if it doesn't drop enough I send more strategic units, but it pays off because as soon as it revolts the enemy suffers losses and I don't have to declare war on that faction to take the province, you can even do it with your allies.

Gregoshi
11-17-2003, 17:35
Greets and welcome, FoundationII. http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/wave.gif Thanks for joining us.

I'm glad to see so many new patron going back into the archives here - there is some very good stuff buried in the past.

BDC
11-17-2003, 21:08
I just send in the Inquisition, yes even against the Pope. http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif

Doug-Thompson
11-18-2003, 00:45
The only fool-proof way? Conquer the province and then move them in. http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/tongue.gif

But seriously, folks. The best way is to just swarm a province. Yeah, agents cost 100 gold apiece, but they don't cost any upkeep. Even a unit of 100 peasants costs 37 florins a year just in upkeep. That means they're really one of the cheapest units around.

Etym
11-19-2003, 06:29
Good points by Solypsyst and Alrowen. I've tried the mass attack method FoundationII suggests, too. After losing a lot of assasins to border forts and failure, I've developed a system that works reasonably well with my campaign style. I make a lot of assasins early, then set up a province (later, 2 provinces) to make nothing but assasins. This replaces my losses from training. New assasins are sent after soft targets like bishops, inquisitors, or emissaries. With a star, they can go after a no-star general. With 2 or more stars, they can be put in packs of 3 or 4 to go after higher value targets.

With a pack of two 4-star and two 3-star assasins, there aren't many targets you can't take out. You lose some along the way, of course. I just try to hold down losses to equal my new unit output. I also use safe haven provinces to group assasin packs -- one of your own provinces or another one without border forts. Rebel territories are great for parking assasins.

Like Alrowan suggests, I send in spies (or at least an emissary) before or with the assasins whenever possible. I also think it shifts the odds more in your favor, and it's vital to know the security arrangements if you're sending in covert agents. I don't remember ever having more than one spy or assasin killed in a single province in the same turn (not counting assasins who died in the attempt), so Smok Wawelski may be right. I also believe I've never seen an assasin killed by internal security if there was a spy there to take the fall. I tend to think of spies as a screen for the assasins, in addition to using them to cause revolts.