What to do with enemy factions

I have had the Pontus on the ropes for a few years now. They've had two cities left to them since the last war and I've gone on to battle other factions. I've been tempted to wipe them out, except that they're all that remains between me and the faction beyond.

I've got trade rights and alliance with the distant faction, so they're providing income and that border is practically secure. However, every few months I see the Pontus add a new unit or so to the stacks there and presume the money bonus they get from Hard difficulty will eventually see them to proper armies all over again.

What seems the best course here? I neither want the Pontus to grow again, nor a war with the faction beyond them. I'm caught between two annoying parts of R:TW, one being that even the smallest faction earns enough to eventually build huge armies again and the other being that any faction I abutt will eventually go to war unless I park powerful stacks everywhere to scare them off..

I would suggest Force Diplomacy Minimod! Then they can't break the peacetreaty you'll seal with them. (at least for a longer time than with out FD)
Helped alot in lots of places, f.e. aedui in gallia cisalpina as block against the romans while I'd won the civil war against them.

If you're RPing Pontos as a weak buffer state, then you could simply teleport any large army they build to an island or other unreachable location. Gotland off the coast of Sweden usually works well for this, as does Krete (if its still in rebel hands, that is).

or you better to beat most of their army in the field, and after that, FD them to take the protectorate offers... it will made them flat broke, as their money actually goes to your pocket.

If I remember correctly, the player gets much of his protectorate's scripted extra money, so you might notice your economy picking up at an unrealistic rate if you follow that route. (Please correct me if I'm wrong about this!)

Thanks for the advice

Regarding Force Diplomacy, does it stick? If I were simply to offer them a cease fire, would it last more than a round or two?

For the moment, I've simply left them to their business as most of my armies are tied up pacifying places or recycling around the lines I hold with the Ptolemaics, who are now also casually wandering THROUGH the Pontus lands to make my life that much more difficult by not being able to fortify just one place.

Speaking of which, does the AI cheat by adding extra FMs? I kill at least two a turn, and yet I see a stack coming up that now has three FMs in it. If I lost FMs at this rate, I'd be out of leadership before the year was out!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Teucer

If I remember correctly, the player gets much of his protectorate's scripted extra money, so you might notice your economy picking up at an unrealistic rate if you follow that route. (Please correct me if I'm wrong about this!)

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pretty much true, you'll get extra 20000 or 30000 minai per turns, so I suggest to build soo many navies to hold the sea

Really? I had 2 or 3 Protectorates now in different campaigns but i dont remember that i got a lot of money. Since, as long as they give out nearly all their money before they end their turn you get nothing. I did it this way when i was romes client kingdom as sweboz and for me i seems the A.I. knows that too.