Vassals

[sapi]

QFT. If your global reputation isn't reliable or trustworthy, you can forget about ever making another state a vassal (This makes sense, why would they trust you to honor your agreement if you have an untrustworthy reputation?)

Considering that your reputation will drop regardless over the course of the game (i'm playing on M campaign map atm to stop the 'all out war' syndrome of VH, and when the spanish, with whom i had two marriage alliances, betrayed me, I lost reputation for smashing their field armies and destroying their empire).

One thing that is worth trying, considering that the AI seems to base demands around your treasury, is asking another faction to become your vassal when you're broke. Since you don't have much to pay them, they won't expect as much, or at least that's the theory.

Why france refuses to bow to me atm (when i offered them bordeaux, 30k in one turn and 10k/turn for 3) after i smashed their 3rd invading army in a decade is beyond me.

Then again, why england would randomly attack me with a full stack after i just got a bordering province with them is beyond me too (and i'm too lasy to invade the british isles )

[Musashi]

Sapi: I always manage to have my reputation going up steadily over the course of the game. You must be doing something to bring it down.

[dopp]

Apart from the one-shot hits to rep from extermination, etc you increase rep by being allied with someone, and lose it by being at war. Since being at war is the default state in Total War, and alliances last all of three long seconds, rep tends to drop more than it rises.

[Horatius]

Having a permanent ambassador to the Holy See giving away 1000 Florins every turn and only ever expanding when you get Crusade triumphs is a pretty good source of reputation for you.

[Musashi]

Apart from the one-shot hits to rep from extermination, etc you increase rep by being allied with someone, and lose it by being at war. Since being at war is the default state in Total War, and alliances last all of three long seconds, rep tends to drop more than it rises.

Funny, I never seem to have trouble maintaining alliances. Your faction leader's chivalry seems to affect your reputation as well.

If you play the diplomacy game right you can easily be allied to more than half of the factions in the game at any given time.

In fact, I love the fact that I usually play up the chivalrous bit and gain high reputation, because then when someone attacks me my whole chain of allies declare war on them.

[Moah]

Funny, I never seem to have trouble maintaining alliances. Your faction leader's chivalry seems to affect your reputation as well.

If you play the diplomacy game right you can easily be allied to more than half of the factions in the game at any given time.

In fact, I love the fact that I usually play up the chivalrous bit and gain high reputation, because then when someone attacks me my whole chain of allies declare war on them.

Ah. That explains why I'm permanently at war with everyone. King Malcolm's 9 Command, 8 dread and 8 authority is great for slaughtering the enemy, but makes them too nervous to ally. Makes a lot of sense. (vh/vh)


I still resent the fact that reminding them you exist makes them attack. I had an alliance with france for 40 turns, then decided to improve relations by giving them money. Teh next turn they attacked. Exactly the same thing with HRE. The Russians sat quite happily miles away, with a few navies floating around. The turn after I formed trade alliance and diplomatic relations they declared war.

I've come to the conclusion that if you make an alliance with someone you shoudl then NEVER EVER talk to them again.

Except the Pope. You can trust the pope with a mere 200fl/turn tribute. And I don't even have a cardinal! We love the pope.

[sapi]

@moah - i've noticed the same thing.

Even a simple trade of map information (at 'generous' balance) has resulted in them saying 'we must break off the alliance' to me in the past

[TevashSzat]

Like musashi said, if you do it quick enough, you can quickly ally almost all of the european nations. At one point in a milan migration campaign, i was allied to venice, papal states, hre, sicily, spain, portugal, france, england, hungary, and the danes. Only the polish werent allied with me and that was because they were at war with the hungarians and i was their ally

[sapi]

Like musashi said, if you do it quick enough, you can quickly ally almost all of the european nations. At one point in a milan migration campaign, i was allied to venice, papal states, hre, sicily, spain, portugal, france, england, hungary, and the danes. Only the polish werent allied with me and that was because they were at war with the hungarians and i was their ally

Migration games are the best way to keep european alliances, as you're so far away it takes half the game for their diplomats to tell you they hate you