is 10 the limit?

[King Henry V]

I assume 10 is the limit in RTW, although for Barbarian Invasion, plans were afoot to make your general gain special powers for every star above level 10, with fiery glowing armour and staffs that launch fireballs at the enemy being yours to unlease on the unsuspecting enemy. Additional special powers were to be obtained by collecting the rings that enemies drop when killed, with 100 giving your general an extra life should he perish on some dastardly spike trap. Allegedly anyway.

I think that is definitely straying into fantasy.

[Oaty]

10's the max for all. Where it can be benificial to be above 10 is when he has a negative trait. 13 plus command vs minus 3 command still allows the general to be a 10 star. But if he has 12 positive command points and -3 command points he will be a 9 star. As far as influence 8 is the max allowed bonus for happiness and 9 and 10 only become a factor for senatorial offices/faction heir selection or the rare case a diplomat walks up to him and negotiates.

[rs2k2]

i've always wondered how influence affects diplomacy? will a 10 laurel diplomat get me protectorates easier and be able to ask for more money for map info? likewise, does enemy influence lower the price i could get from selling map info?

[Deus ret.]

AFAIK influence of diplomats is a skill good for two things:

(1) it decreases the diplomat's chance of falling victim to assassination.

(2) as for negotiations, it only comes into effect when negotiating amounts of denarii to be paid/received. The higher the diplomat's influence, the more likely it is for the trade partner to accept a money-based offer like map-selling (thus it counts as a kind of "bargain" skill).