Good retort. RTW never let you bribe them unless they were attached to an army though. And I really did use them to train up killers.

Actually, there were a couple of cities where, in the mid-game, you always seemed to end up with a gaggle of diplomats milling about with nobody to talk to. Pergamum was such a spot. You could usually find 5-6 relatively soft targets for training and still get back to your city to spy-hunt before the end of your move. Then you could give the cool retinue to a new assassin and send the base 6 or 7 eyeball guy out hunting. Lovely fun.