Great info guys thanks.

Pizzaguy I didn't jump on a merc Galley because there is only one for hire usually and didn't want to risk my finest army at the time. Don't know about others campaigns but eastern fleets in my campaigns are massive. Maybe I should have just recalled that nearby fleet and not have lost my entire army, but I really needed it to transport troops to where I was being besieged by Milan at Caligari, whatever it's called. :( Quick saving all the way now.

Yep very true Lord Godfrey, when they attacked me the next turn I managed to take Leon and sack it luckily before the Papacy declared cease hostilities again. But what annoys me is the fact I couldn't jump them first. I was quite happy to be excommunicated in order to have attacked the Spanish right there and then, (hey I had a good strat to eliminate the Moors with just one army! I was miffed they attacked me) but the game wouldn't accept the green tick in the excommunication option window. I was 'nearly' besieging a Spanish fortress at the time and I did have the movement to besiege it and build siege engines so...

Yeah I read that post before imnothere, I suppose I am having a bit of a whinge overall but it seems really odd to me that I was moving as directly as possible toward target (and slowly and carefully, due to Venice held Tripoli and any blocking army) and army was on the same continent as Antioch.

Guyus due to horrible economy I have two assassins and didn't start using them until recently, Training them up to get inquisitors etc and the odd annoying vassal proposing HRE princesses hehe. You know, the ones that ask EVERY turn.

I stuffed my early game economy and couldn't even raise the troops to defend some of my few settlements. Caligari changed hands so many times it was hilarious. Due to being besieged so much I couldn't further my economy properly in settlements that where towns and not castles etc. If I converted some of the other castles to towns I am sure the ai would have went for them too.

Also, on reflection being rewarded mailed knights for completing missions early in campaign sort of put me in a bad state economically. It was nice not spending the 700 florins and time to make them but their upkeep drained my early economy. I didn't disband them because they looked soo preeeetty, so I chucked them into the Crusade army, which subsequently melted away... as above.


Anyway thanks for the insights, I suppose in order to join a crusade from now on I will have to have a basic army AND a fleet dedicated to it initially, as per playing Sicily ( and if the army is near Tunis, not sitting pretty in eastern Italia ). Not very easy to do early in game though. I just hope that even with recently conquered Leon I can recover my economy to a point where I can make a massive fleet before the next crusade. The egyptians have a couple of massive fleets, I know that for sure. They keep circling Palermo like a shark.


As for the 'yes please, I want to be excommunicated', well... dunno about that. Is it a bug or was it to do with the faction standing with the papacy? Both Spain and I had high rating from memory.

After work tonight I am going to play on an assassination spree muhahaha... don't have the economy to raise 10 trebuchets and spear milita to frighten the papacy and some of the threads here suggest not doing it anyway. :(