Giving away a region

[Tarkus]

Howdy all,

I've seen a bit about this in the archives, but I'm still not quite sure about the details...

In my Romani campaign, I'm mopping up the Qarthadastim in Iberia, while my Lusotannan allies are hanging on for dear life. I'd like to occupy Sucum-Murgi and Oxtraca and then hand one of these regions over to the Lusotannan as a gesture of good faith -- I want to keep them off my back while I turn my attentions farther west, i.e., Greece.

What do I need to do in order to increase my chances for a successful negotiation? Do I abandon the settlement immediatly before negotiating? If I leave my army in the town and I successfully negotiate the transfer, what happens to my army?

I guess I could just experiment and quit without saving if I fail -- but tapping your collective wisdom is much more rewarding...
Thanks!

[sanitarium]

I believe all you need to do is move your army away from the city and then approach the faction with a diplomat. I'm not 100% sure, but I don't think they'll accept the city if your army is near it.

I've had some problems when trying to give cities away. It seems that no faction will accept more than 2 cities as gifts from me; after that they stop accepting them. They always reply "We have nothing suitable to offer in return" - even though I'm trying to give it to them as a gift. I've tried everything, even asking for a small amount of mnai in exchange, but they still refuse to accept.

I tend to go a little mad with power and want to force these factions to develop how I see fit - but they make things difficult sometimes. That's when I roll out the legions and crush them, then give the city to another faction who is willing to take it.

[Tarkus]

Thanks, sanitarium...good stuff. My primary concern in all this is that, especially with a province so far away from Rome, if I fail in my negotiations for a turn or two then the abandoned settlement will revolt and ultimately revert back to the Qarthadastim and I'll be right back where I started...!

[LorDBulA]

Start giving them money now, so they will like you more later.
Give them low tribute like 100-300 per turn.
After some time they should accept the settlements.

[Tarkus]

Start giving them money now, so they will like you more later.
Give them low tribute like 100-300 per turn.
After some time they should accept the settlements.

Good...I've given them a couple of larger single-payment chunks (e.g., 1000 mnai) over the past decade or so...I'll keep greasing the wheel with an annual donation...thanks!

I just really don't want the settlement to revolt before I can give it to the Lusotannan...

[anubis88]

you can have your army in the conquered settlement. Just offer them the city as a gift, and your army will be evicted, and they will get at least 5 units of freed slaves spawned in their new city, so it wouldn't revolt.

If they don't accept your gift, offer them a 1000mnai with the city next turn and they will surely accept.

[fenix3279]

You could also use the force diplomacy mod. It basically makes the AI agreeable to anything you would propose. Just be careful not to overdo it when you are going for realism. I only use it when I know for sure that I would accept the deal, myself. Say one faction is a single settlement away from annihilation. Becoming a protectorate seems more the rational choice than refusing everything outright (except for Sparta, maybe?). I use it for a better role-playing experience in EB. Being able to shape the world to how I see fit whilst keeping the realistic feel to it alive, as well. The mod is a godsend.

[Tarkus]

anubis88, defiant3279 --

Many thanks! Great advice from both of you...just what I needed.

I have been drawn ever closer to installing the "force diplomacy" mod and this may now take me over the edge.

[fenix3279]

Awesome, hope everything works out well for you

[Jaywalker-Jack]

Throw in a money gift with the province. The AI usually won't accept a province on its own unless they previously owned it, or had been trying to take it. 3000 should do it, though they may settle for a lot less so start small and see how far they haggle you up.

[Skandaz.Imperator]

If your allies is barely hanging on, why not send them to "EB Heaven" and CRUUUUSH them? :D

[Gaius Valerius]

i mostly pay between 2k or 6k gold for them to accept a city. with an army in it or not. i ofc completely sack the and destroy the thing also the number of cities doesn't seem to matter. 1, 2 or 5, the price they want stays the same.

if i'm having overpopulace i sometimes give the city back to the faction i took it from first, siege it and sack it the next turn. cruel but effective.

i also have a habit of sending expeditionary forces to the enemy heartland (for example a naval assault on carthage and surroundings or the levant) and look for weak cities, siege them, storm them 1-2 turns later (depends if enemy is close), sack'm, destroy each buildings, give them away - preferably to an ally of the faction i just took it from. its a great way to play out allies against each other (in my greek campaign i relocated eiperos to the lands between tarsos and alexandria, creating a weak buffer against their allies the ptolies).

anyone else uses this tactic? its my favorite since i dont intend to go down on them right away, but it severely weakens them several years and gives me the proper time to do things on my pace.

i have known it to lead to crashes though

[anubis88]

i mostly pay between 2k or 6k gold for them to accept a city. with an army in it or not. i ofc completely sack the and destroy the thing also the number of cities doesn't seem to matter. 1, 2 or 5, the price they want stays the same.

if i'm having overpopulace i sometimes give the city back to the faction i took it from first, siege it and sack it the next turn. cruel but effective.

i also have a habit of sending expeditionary forces to the enemy heartland (for example a naval assault on carthage and surroundings or the levant) and look for weak cities, siege them, storm them 1-2 turns later (depends if enemy is close), sack'm, destroy each buildings, give them away - preferably to an ally of the faction i just took it from. its a great way to play out allies against each other (in my greek campaign i relocated eiperos to the lands between tarsos and alexandria, creating a weak buffer against their allies the ptolies).

anyone else uses this tactic? its my favorite since i dont intend to go down on them right away, but it severely weakens them several years and gives me the proper time to do things on my pace.

i have known it to lead to crashes though

Well that's not much for roleplaying is it?
I played like this for a while but then i realised that no faction would act like this
at the time, so i started a much more realistic aproach... House rules and all...
But then again, it was very effective to destroy the MICs in my enemys main settlements

[Gaius Valerius]

well i think its an exellent tactic and it fits in the mind of a player looking up the legacy of the ancient near east: deportation and dislocation so i'm historically not in the wrong.