How to end a Crusade called on me?

[Flavius Gonzo]

OK... I have a complicated question.

Many turns ago in my H/VH Turkish campaign, the Pope called a crusade on Antioch, which is my best financial producing city, raking in over 7000 florins a turn. No way I was going to even let the crusader hordes get close...

Anyway, My strategy is was simple. I put two strong naval stacks in the western med to patrol for sea-faring crusaders, and two smaller ones each blocking the land bridges outside Constantinople.

Many turns later, I'm stuck in this situation: There are 4 crusader armies milling around, but not crossing the land bridge southeast of Constantinople, Milan, Poland, Venice, and Denmark. They're all stuck on that tiny peninsula, and most haven't moved in like 4-5 turns.

I just noticed a Venetian NAvy pass by Corinth, presumably they will attempt to destroy my navy blocking the land bridge, or help the Venetian stack cross. I've got a much bigger stack that will get to the Venetians first, so they won't succeed there. I have a strong enough army in Constantinople that I can probably take out the crusaders, especially if I can fight 1-2 at a time.

My question is this: what conditions need to get met for the Crusade to end? The mission says "make ammends with the Pope or prepare to defend Antioch". I've been bribing the pope for a while now, and he's already up to "amiable" but I still can't offer an alliance and the crusade goes on. I want to avoid attacking hte crusader stacks because of the drop in reputation, but the stacks won't attack Constantinople on their own, so it's kind of a stalemate right now.

What are things I can do to get this over with? The AI is beat, but this thing is just dragging on!

Also, I think, though have no way of telling for sure, that having a crusade active on the player stalls the Mongol invasion. I heard from other people that it comes between turn 52 and 55... I'm on turn 62 and no dice yet. This is actually the biggest reason for me to get the Crusade over with -- I have 3 stacks on my western front that are a huge drag on my economy. I need to crush the mongols so I can disband or redploy most of those units.

[Basileus]

Should be a specific amount of turns which i dont know of, btw the Mongols might have got lost in the Asian steppes heh..i play with dates and the horde arrives around 1208 if im not mistaken.

[gardibolt]

If it were the player doing this, the crusader forces would have melted away by now since they're not getting any closer to the target. But the AI's crusades apparently don't work by the same rules.

[Bob the Insane]

Kill the Pope!!!

Good luck with that...

[phred]

If you defeat all the crusading armies, eventually there will be a popup saying that the crusade failed.
At least that's what happened in my Turk campaign. It took a while for the popup to show up.

I remember dealing with the crusades and the Mongols at the same time.
After the Mongols crushed my two best armies and took Antioch, the Venetians waltzed right in with a crusade and took Antioch from the Mongols.

[Flavius Gonzo]

Interesting... so my theory about not getting the Mongols and a crusade simultaneously is BS, I guess. WTF is taking the Mongols so long then? Seriously, I need those Western armies to go to war, they are sucking the life out of my economy.

Bob, will killing the pope really call off the crusade? My 2 best assasins are operating out of Venice right now, this could totally be feasible.

[Dearmad]

When a pope dies naturally the crusade he called ends.

Don't know if assassinating would work, however. Try it!

[magnum]

When a Crusade is called (or a Jihad for that matter) the player and AI have 9 turns in which generals with at least 8 units (including themselves) to join. Those crusading generals are what keeps the crusade/jihad alive. Until the crusade is successful, generals are killed in battle, or die of old age, the crusade will continue. These generals, as long as they are alive, can continue to add new troops to their crusade; hire new mercenaries; and hire new crusaders. If you want to end the crusade/jihad, build and army and go out and destroy them or build up an assassin(s) and assissinate the generals. But as long as they are alive and the objective hasn't been completed, the crusade will continue.

Not sure if pope dieing ends all crusades, or only crusades vs catholic factions/cities.

Note: Playing currently as the turks, I've had 5 crusader armies throwing themselves at Constanople for the last 27 turns. I've succeeded in killing on one of the generals and the other four are still throwing themselves at me, rebuilding their armies, and throwing themselves at me again. The good news is that my troops in the city are now all silver with a few gold chevrons appearing. Great way to chew up enemy troops for experience. Since its free upkeep of their troops through, it lousy at bankrupting them.

[Flavius Gonzo]

F yeah! I'm going to try it then, that seems like a great way out, and I think I have a lvl 9 and lvl 10 assassin right nearby the ole pope-o-matic. Too bad I can't have a had in installing one of my christian allies as the Pope.

Thanks for the tips (and anymore on this conundrum are welcome) I always get such good advice from the ORG.

One more question: any thoughts on what will become of the 4 crusader stacks once the crusade ends? If they all make a beeline for Constantinople, I could be in trouble.

[Flavius Gonzo]

Magnum, just saw your post. I wonder what the deal is with my campaign vs. yours -- the crusader stacks are not attacking Constantipole in mine, whereas they seem to be in yours. What gives? Do you have a full stack in Constantinople? Maybe my problem is it's too strongly garrisonned?

[magnum]

Full stack. No problem sallying forth and destroying the crusading army. They just tend to run for it before I can catch the general. So far no luck with passive AI or I could simply walk out the side gate, sneak up behind them, and nail their general with a few well placed arrows into the back. Oh well, they'll die someday and until then they're good exp.

[Merciless_Doge]

I'm reading a great book called the "History of Venice" and what you all are describing seems to be fairly accurately gauged against the Fourth Crusade. The Venetian navy was paid (though not in full) to provide naval transport and troops for a sack of Constantinople. Upon success, Venice planted pedosa around the outskirts of the city and also held something around 1/3 of the city's quarters for their own. The sack of Constantinople sents ripples throughout the empire but would eventually cause more problems for western powers then they had hoped.

And, yes, I am playing as Venice in my campaign. :)

[Merciless_Doge]

I should mention that Constantinople was not the original destination for this Crusade; rather the Venetian doge at the time rallied the Crusading troops against Byzantium for profit in a rather interesting series of political moves and sequence of events.

[Blackboots]

Flavius: I'm not being sarcastic, honest; but I just have to ask: why don't you just fight the crusade stacks and end the situation on the battlefield? If you have three stacks on your western front, I presume you are saying they are near the straits. Let the crusaders cross into Asia Minor and massacre them one at a time. It should be fairly easy with that many troops at hand.

[katank]

Whacking the crusader generals is probably the easiest way to end the crusade. Taking out the Pope makes the Catholic faction no longer excommunicated and hence no longer a valid crusade target but likely wouldn't do much for a Muslim faction.

[knoddy]

as katank says killing the pope will not end the crusade, the only way this would work would be if u were a catholic faction that had been excomuted and u get reconciled by the new pope and hence there is no reason for the crusade to continue.

SO how do u end a crusade. easy, killl all the generals that joined it, facitons have 10 turns after a crusade is called to join it, after that no more armies can join the crusade, so if u kill off the generals in charge of the crusading armies then the armies will disban and the crusade will fail. u can do this in either battles or with assasins. u must kill every crusading armies general. thats all

Cheers Knoddy

[Flavius Gonzo]

Blackboots -- I had mistyped when I said I had 3 Western stacks. I meant EASTERN. My situation is problematic because I have large armies near bagdhad and mosul in expectation of the Mongols, and it's killing my economy. In the West, I have mid-size stacks in Venice & Zagreb, good enough to hold off an enemy advancement there but not big enough to expand, plus a full stack in Constantinople. Really, in the West -- all the coastal cities from Venice through Const., I'm garrisonned heavily enough to defend but not attack. Beefing up the armies there is one option, but I am already over-leveraged on troops as it is because of these damn Eastern anit-Mongol stacks I've had sitting around for the last 10 turns.

I'm calculating that my Constantinople stack can hold off plenty of armies if they try to besiege it. But they aren't doing that, they're just hanging out in the region, apparantly waiting for the landbridge to open. If I leave the city walls & engage fully there, things could go wrong -- I could get forced into an open field battle with 2-3 crusading armies simultaneously, decimating my only stack in the region and leaving constantinople defenseless. Plus, someone mentioned earlier that I'd take a huge hit to my international rep if I attack a crusading army.

I need either:
1) The crusade to end
- or -
2) The damn crusaders to attack me rather than just freaking sitting there.

So, looks like a job for the assassins! I'll try the pope-o-matic first, and if that doesn't fix things, there are 4 generals near constantinople that need to look out for fall rocks and snakes.

If not, maybe another option is to let 'em across into Asia Minor, and move a stack from Mosul into Antioch to defend it when they crusaders get there.

Thanks again for everyone's help!