I have a few questions. Been playing Medieval 2 Total War for a while now (off and on) and it reminds me a lot of the old Lords of the Realm game (if anyone remembers that), but a more complex version. I also play Civilization and Galactic Civilization as well. I have a few questions though.

First, how does diplomatic reputation work? No matter what I do, by turn 20 or so, my reputation is dubious (and in one game, it dropped to despicable). Is there any point, and how do you prevent that? In the game where my rep is currently despicable, I have declared no wars (although I have conquered most of the world- assassins and diplomats rule. Kill faction leaders and heirs after bribing all the generals and family members). In the game where I have a dubious reputation, I only declared 1 war (and I have trade rights with Spain -allies by marriage- and Portugal, who are at war with each other). I also had trade rights with France when they attacked me.

Second, what does a priests piety do? Does it speed up conversion of heathen lands? Or is it JUST for Papal Elections? Likewise, does having greater than 10+ Influence help diplomats (or 10+ Charm help Princesses)? Does having 10+ Subterfuge help Spies and Assassins? I do know that having having greater than 10 Financing helps Merchants a lot. Speaking of which, there's a bug with Merchants in that there's no MerchantsGuildMember level 2 (trait name, Merchant's Guild Journeyman for what the character sheet shows). Is that deliberate or an oversight?