Freakin' Pope

[DDogwood]

Loaded a saved game today, and forgot that I had been given a warning about attacking the English by the Pope. Darn excommunication. Is there any way to check the status of any outstanding warnings?

Later on in the same game, I got excommunicated when the English attacked me. I wasn't sallying out, I wasn't invading any of his provinces - he attacked me unprovoked and _I_ got excommunicated. Naturally I had to go and kill the Pope, but that's the first time anything like that has happened to me.

[Foreign Devil]

Don't think there is a way to check status. As for being excommunicated when you are attacked, I believe that the larger, more powerful faction is the one to get excommunicated, regardless of who attacked first. An attempt by the pope to balance things, I suppose.

[Longasc]

Did you attack an English ally or a ship?

Otherwise it makes no sense at all.

[Nowake]

It isn't logic sometimes ... The sicilians waged war against me once, they took two provinces from me and I sunked the ship that "pearlharboured" me through sheer luck. Still, the pope gave me a warning

[Mithrandir]

Yea, Excommunication is a nasty thing...
However Crusades passing through your lands sucking up units isnt great either http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/mecry.gif

[Nowake]

Why? You can always move your armies from that province, and the crusaders will defend it if anyone attacks. There is a small chance for an enemy attack ...

[Portuguese Rebel]

Dam pope, today i was playing my mod as the portuguese and the spanish decided to backstab me, i reacted and the pope excummunicated me, then i finished the spanish, rolled over the french, got the HRE out of the way and had to take the entire italian peninsula to kill that moron.

It made me fell all better and fuzzy insede though http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif

[Dukezer0]

I hardly ever get excommed http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/dizzy.gif, and i don't know why this is.

I attack catholic land as normal and only occasionally get a warning, and i withdraw for 10 years.

Going by what foriegn devil says, i do usually have the smaller force, but also i plaster my lands (and the enemies) with catholic bishops.

I wonder if this has any thing to do with it? http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/confused.gif

[DDogwood]

Maybe it was all those Pagan Shrines I build in my Viking games. No matter what I do, no matter what faction I play, the Pope seems to hate me. In my current Sicily game, where I built lots of churches, avoided war with my fellow Catholics, and even successfully crusaded to Tripoli, the Pope invaded me without provocation. The wanker.

[Foreign Devil]

There's no Pope in the viking campaign...

[Nowake]

Good point, but I think he was refering to him making such sins for which he would get punished ... 400 years later http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/joker.gif

[Foreign Devil]

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

[Doug-Thompson]

Quote[/b] (Dukezer0 @ June 10 2003,18:06)]Going by what foriegn devil says, i do usually have the smaller force, but also i plaster my lands (and the enemies) with catholic bishops.

I wonder if this has any thing to do with it? http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/confused.gif
It might, but I doubt it.

A succession of Apostles could not have done more for the Catholic Church than my line of Hungarian kings.

The Hungarians saved a Pope from siege at the expense of provoking a major war with the Italians when they really couldn't afford it. They destroyed the rival Orthedox faction, never made war on Catholics who weren't rebelious, excommunicated or invaders about to be exommunicated, built churches from Novogarod to Tripoli, Provence to Kashzar and built a ****ing Cathedrel in Constantinople. I didn't make that many bishops -- but was producing Cardinals.

The French revive as a two-province faction and the pipsqueaks invade one of my hard-won provinces. I fight back and get a warning. Then the barely-surviving Germans attack. I defend myself again -- minimally -- and boom, I'm condemned to have damnation seize my soul.

The last traces of doubt that I'm a Muslim player disappeared. I understand that the Pope can be beat. I invaded his states and set up a puppet, etc. But what a turncoat. Treachery is one thing. Sanctimonious treachery just pushes my buttons.

[cugel]

What's so terrible about being excomm'd? Just gives you a good excuse to bitch-slap that little monkey-spanker of a Pope Take him out, then you won't have to worry about his excommuniation b.s.

(Needless to say I'm not fond of his holiness, the Vicar of Christ).

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

[DDogwood]

What's wrong with being excommunicated? Because then all thos pious gits who made it into heaven will be laughing at my vice-ridden monarch It takes a lot of blood to wash out those sins, you know...

[benF86]

Is it just me, or does Mr. Pope(ye) Rebel a WHOLE DAMN LOT
I mean, I take both his provinces (MTW not VI) and post there three 5k man armies. After a few turns, that "#$#&$%&/%&&#$ character rebels in both provinces with about 20k people I DON'T BELIEVE IT And the loyality in province is above 150%
That popeye just won't die I have killed about 5 popes by now, lost sumtin like 30k troops there and I'm starting to freak out since they just keep coming at me And I need atleast twice the number of soldier the pope has. Now I know I'm not the best, but I'm also not that damn BAD I can kick the hell out of any other nation XCEPT the tiny popesland He just seems to be invincible. Had to throw about 3 100men royal knights to his 100 so I could beat him. full upgrades, valour 5,6,6

[Magraev]

He doesn't stop coming. It's hardcoded into the game that the pope reappears about every 20-30 years. The best advice is to beat him but let him live and keep a small army in the papal states (only works for non-catholics or you'll be permanently excommed).

I've never ever seen the pope return with anything like 20k troops. In my last pope-bashing game he returned with 2-3 stacks in the 2 states, something like 5k troops. Maybe difficulty plays a part or maybe hyperbole http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/tongue.gif

A good think with the puppet pope is, that you don't get all the crusades against you, but I'm not sure it's worth the hassle.

[Brutal DLX]

By the way, you're not permanently excommunicated if you let the Pope reside in the papal states or any such small unimportant province.
If he dies or you assassinate/burn him, his successor will lift all excommunications as usual. He'll try to attack you, from time to time, but that won't result in you getting excommunicated as long as you don't retaliate.