Quote Originally Posted by Simetrical
Probably a lot of you have seen this, but it certainly constitutes evidence that there's a problem: Protectorate: Total Peace.

-Simetrical
I see that Simetrical has already posted the link, but I wanted to elaborate on the exact procedure I followed to gain the protectorates documented in the screenshots.

I started a medium/medium game as the Julii. I split my armies into individual units and built nothing but diplomats, ships and calvary. Each diplomat would travel with one of the army units. When the diplomat encountered a faction that we were not at war with, I would use the army unit to besiege the town and immediately lift the siege (or attack the faction's army) just to get the protectorate option on the negotiation screen. The diplomat would then ask the faction to be a protectorate, offering nothing in exchange. The faction would refuse. I would then use control-s to save and then control-l to load. I would have the same diplomat talk to the same unit or town and make the same offer of a protectorate for nothing. In every case, the other faction accepted.

Occasionally, I would already be on a turn that I had just loaded. When I encountered another faction, I could simply besiege, lift siege and then offer protectorate status and they would accept.