What does a Protectorate do?

[The Scourge]

Isn't a protectorate a bit of a glorified protection racket?
Ie ,you all be good , throw us a little cash now and then,don't give us any grief ,and we'll not sell you all into slavery ,and sow salt where your crops used to grow.

[andrewt]

They're not giving me any cash, though I'd appreciate it if they did. They become my ally though I don't really see much advantage in that.

[The Scourge]

They're not giving me any cash, though I'd appreciate it if they did. They become my ally though I don't really see much advantage in that.

Woudn't the advantage be ,that they're not attacking you?
In case you've already got a war going on in another direction.

[Thoros of Myr]

Or he could have simply wiped them out and netted himself 2 more towns instead of a crippled ally.

The only advantage seems to be that he was able to complete the mission.

Have you looked at your detailed income stats to see if any new money is coming in at all? Do they build anything or just sit there?

[andrewt]

I looked. I don't gain anything. The only thing I get is a useless ally. Carthage is really, really weak at that point in my game. I experimented with a more powerful Spain, since they still have around 4 provinces, and I managed to make them agree. The advantage of having a protectorate, I suppose is gaining an ally to everything that I do while not worrying about that faction allying with the other side. It's actually not much of a bonus since the Senate made me grab Carthage before that and the Scipii already had 2 of their provinces. They're just cannon fodder now.