Crusades

[Spider From Mars]

I have set up a Crusade, and have the little cross on my province.

However, they just sit there and don't go anywhere... they have been sitting there all game and don't advance towards their objective and I can't move them

How do I get them going?

Thanks
Peter

[katank]

if it's a little cross, it's a mere marker and not an active crusade.

drop it on a target province and the pope asks for cash in which case you pay him and ten it becomes a big cross which you can then move through all the provinces, all the way to your target.

it will ask for permission to pass any provinces and if denied, you can go another way or fight your way through.

the fun part is that fellow catholic factions almost never deny even at war with you so you can suck up all their troops.

fun to do so as da spanish when you send a crusade through all of christendom to take constantinople or something.

[Spider From Mars]

When you say that I'll 'suck up all their troops', does that happen automatically or do I have to do something to make that happen?

What's a good number of troops (e.g. units) to start the Crusade with?

Thanks for the help

Peter

[katank]

it is automatic. it happens in a province with high zeal. low zeal, your troops automatically desert.

you should start a crusade with however many you please and depends upon land or sea route.

if sea route, don't worry, starting crusade is enough as it hits target in 1 turn usually. I only need those great knights anyhow.

if land, bulk up the crusade to 2k+ and run them through high zeal provinces. Be careful though in that high zeal orthodox and muslim provinces actually are worse. So high zeal catholic provinces.
else, your crusade would never really be too much use and the units would be a couple of men each.

units in a crusade don't have support costs as the holy church foots the bill so pack it with high level units like knight and mercs to boost combat strength if you really want it to get there and take the key province like const or antioch.

else, you can run them through a fellow catholic's territory just to suck up their troops and soften them up for your strike.

I normally use sea route and only use land route for sponge effect on unfortunate AI.

no problem and enjoy your crusading http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/bigthumb.gif

[RZST]

also, be sure when you make a crusade that you already have a crusadre army as i like to call it. that way you can directly send by sea your crusade anywhere with a coastline. i NEVER crusade on land...unless i really have to.

[Knight of Ni]

Be careful about crusading through your Catholic neighbor's lands, though, if you're not ready to take him on. AI factions will let your crusade pass through, but it will seriously tick them off and they'll have a go at you if they think they can.

Building up your sea route before crusading is the best way to go. If you decide you really want to go by land, all you have to do is break the chain of ships before you move the crusade that year, then move the ship back into place before the end of the turn; you don't even lose trade income this way.

[Cazbol]

In my current Almohad campaign the crusaders never ask permission to cross my land, even if they're not heading for my province. It just automatically starts a war. Is this normal for muslim factions? At least they asked me when I was playing the Byzantines.

[Nowake]

Byzantine: Orthodox

Almohad: Muslim


All muslim factions have to fight crusades.

[son of spam]

@ Nowake

Actually, I think that muslims have to fight crusades only if the crusade is targeting the province you own. make sense doesn't it http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif? I find the best way to get troops for your crusade is run it through those 100% zeal papal states or rome, if you get the chance http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/gc-yes.gif.

[katank]

running them through rome or papal states is certainly great for any faction but almost a must for ones like italians or sicilians who want to dominate the peninsula as this weakens the pontiff enough that he can't have enough troops to stab you in the back with while you are off campaigning some where.

so i often send a crusade to sweden as the sicilians. http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/gc-yes.gif

[Sociopsychoactive]

Ok, I know crusades have no upkeep costs (makes using mercs great, even if they are partials by the time they get there) and several timesa I have heard people say 'The holy man foots the bill'.

Doe the pope actually have to pay the upkeep costs of every crusade? Every time? Or are the upkeep costs waived completely?

If the church really does foot the bill then loading a crusade with mercenaries and sitting it in a high zeal province would be a serious drain on the popes coffers, and if say as the sicillians you sat it in rome you would weaken his armies aswell. Great tactic for softening him up for conquest...

Does it work?

[Vlad Tzepes]

I used to hate Crusades at first, then found them just useless. Then I started using them just for fun, beefing them up at the start province and sending them directly to the target by sea. I then noticed that lots of crusades mean a nice and happy relation with the Pope, which is good as I hate rebellions prompted by excommunications. Now I use Crusades just to tick off the other Catholics, always sending them through their territories and sucking up their units. I usually control the seas, and when the Crusades reach their target, if needed I reinforce them at the destination. Increases my king's piety, makes the Pope happy, drains other's resources, gives me new and juicy Muslim or Orthodox provinces. Why not? http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/gc-yes.gif

[o_loompah_the_delayer]

Quote[/b] (son of spam @ Mar. 02 2004,08:19)]@ Nowake

Actually, I think that muslims have to fight crusades only if the crusade is targeting the province you own. make sense doesn't it http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif? I find the best way to get troops for your crusade is run it through those 100% zeal papal states or rome, if you get the chance http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/gc-yes.gif.
Are you sure about this? I have played as Turks many times and several times as Almos, Evry time some idiot catholic king decides to crusade to antioch or Palestine (Egyptian), thye try to come through my lands, I have to fight them off

Also as regards beefing up crusades, I would leave it to the last minute, for example whenthe crusade is about to leave your territory to minimize attrition. Best is of course to send the crusade of by land to hoover up enemy troops (and pillage a bit) and then send in the real army by sea when the crusaders finally arrive.

AFAIK the Pope doesntpick up the tab for the crusaders. Poor chap would go broke Also existing crusades continue even after the Pope has been eliminated.

[katank]

o_loompah, are you sure about this? You can easily let crusaders through if you are byz and though I never let crusades through as the Turks since I own all of the holy land, I think you should be able to do so unless at war with them.

well, the popester is always broke anyhow with them random donations. Once, I had the pope give me money just as I invaded the english while being french during the first turn and then a turn later, another 1k florins came along with excomm threat. LMAO, that pope dude is hilarious and seriously doesn't know how to manage his finances. After the generosity spree, he is usually quite broke.

I think he should foot the bill. we are paying him to have the crusade right? Or maybe the game engine foots the bill. Maybe the army sustains themselves on hopes for holy salvation and don't need florins. right...
http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/rolleyes.gif
have you ever wondered about the historical accuracy or lack thereof of sticking a ton of muslim and orthodox mercs into a crusade and telling them to fight their brethren under the banner of a different religion? funny anyhow. http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/gc-jester.gif