King surrounded, how'd he escape?

[DrinksAreOnMe]

Greetings, I'm the latest new guy. Thank you for allowing me to be a part of this great site.

Question: I have worked through the game, now playing the English on expert, after playing through expert with the Egyptians - I have to thank these forums for my success

Anyway, long story short, I had the French king surrounded in central Europe on all sides by my troops (I controlled the countries around his). I figured by conquering his province and taking his castle (along with king and his remaining troops) I would eliminate the French faction, as I had eliminated all heirs. After assaulting castle and winning easily I found the king had jumped over one of my countries and was comfortably sipping wine with reserves in another province I had yet to conquer.

How did this happen? Should I have made sure to kill him off in the battle so he couldn't weasel his way through one of my countries and escape?

Thanks for your help, I really appreciate these forums.

[Degtyarev14.5]

MEAD FOR ME

Hey Drinks, did you capture the king during the battle? Actually, first things first, was the king present at the battle?

If you answered yes to both of the above, then it appears that you captured him and ransomed him back. The computer tends to do this without asking for your permission do to so. The only way to get around it is to slaughter your prisoners while still on the battlefield, potentially earning your general some nasty vices in the process.

If you answered no to either or both of the above, then okay, this is a little strange...

A.

[Gregoshi]

Welcome Drinks My oh my, we've got to get you over to the Tavern - you'll have lots of friends over there.

As to your problem, are you sure it is the same king? If so, did you kill or capture the king in the castle assault? If captured, did you release/ransom the prisoners? I don't think all royals have special strat map pieces, just those in direct line, i.e. princes. There may have been a general married to a princess (or a brother to the king) that took up the crown. If you have a save game from right before the castle assault, maybe you can go looking for other heirs. They would show a crown to the right of their portrait when you right click on their unit.

Edit: Doh ArseClown beat me to it

[DrinksAreOnMe]

Thanks guys, happy to buy you a few for your worthy responses

That must be what I did (insert Homer Simpson doh here&#33 ransomed him back. I must remember to be more careful when playing at midnight, eyes bloodshot, and ignoring the obvious. I appreciate the help.

So, head on over to Houston, Texas this weekend and pony up to the bar at a place called Slick Willie's - I owe you several

[motorhead]

I've seen this too. Invaded several territories at once, cutting off an enemy king, only to see he's somehow slipped past and ends up several territories away. Perhaps the order in which the game resolves the invasions allows the king to slip out of being trapped.

[The_Emperor]

Quote[/b] (motorhead @ Aug. 22 2003,13:16)]I've seen this too. Invaded several territories at once, cutting off an enemy king, only to see he's somehow slipped past and ends up several territories away. Perhaps the order in which the game resolves the invasions allows the king to slip out of being trapped.

Auto-resolve from what I have seen always captures and ransoms back the enemy King... This is can be a good thing as Kings can fetch a large ransom (Sometimes it will be enough to pay for a very large army)

Such large ransoms are Historically accurate, during the Hundred Years war the capture of the French King by Henery V resulted in a massive ransom being paid, and that enabled the war to continue for many years despite the Royal Debts left over from King Edward III's reign...

I think if you want to wipe out a cornered King, you have to give the order yourself, and make sure all the prisoners are wiped out at the end of the battle.

[Red Harvest]

The saying about something fetching a king's ransom has a historical basis. In the game you get over 10,000 florins for a king and a few thousand for heirs. So don't kill 'em off unless you really want to get rid of the faction. Remember, if you kill off the faction, it will likely reappear stronger from a rebel province if there are several around. You can end up facing some really nasty stacks of decent troups when they reappear.