Difference between revisions of "MTW Religion"

Revision as of 23:19, 16 December 2008

Religion plays an important part in the Medieval: Total War grand campaign.

Each faction is associated to a culture, which is tied a major religion. There are four cultures, Catholic, Orthodox, Muslim, and Pagan. Cultures are used by the game to restrict buildings and unit types, denote graphical depictions of buildings, and mark the religious effects and game capabilities that faction will see. While each culture is associated with a religion, not every religion has a culture.

Religions

In the main campaign, there are 3 main religions, Catholicism, Islam, and Orthodox Christianity. Non-playable factions like the Golden Horde and rebels can also be Pagan. Jews and Heretics can also appear in provinces, but have a minor effect on the game. In the Viking Invasion campaign, all factions are Catholic, except for the Pagan Vikings, and they can be converted under the right circumstances.

Catholic

The majority of the factions in the main campaign are Catholic. Catholic factions are bound to some extent by the whim of the Pope.

Islamic

There are 3 Islamic factions in the main campaign, the Almohads, the Egyptians, and the Turks.

Orthodox

There are 2 Orthodox factions in the main campaign, the Byzantines, and the Novgorod/Russians. Orthodox factions are not bound by Papal interference, but they also are not protected by it with respect to the Catholic factions. Orthodox leaders and provinces are immune to the effects of Inquisitors.

Pagan

Still worshiping the old ways, Pagans are not common, but still play an important part in the campaign. In the main campaign, the Golden Horde are Pagan, while in the Viking Invasion campaign, the Vikings are Pagan.

Jewish

Heretic

Religious Conversion

A record is kept of the percentages of each religion in a province. This percentage changes from year to year based on several different conversion elements.

Buildings

Religious buildings will convert the populace to their religion. In the main campaign, Churches, Mosques, and Monasteries convert at a 10% rate to their respective religion, while Cathedrals and Grand Mosques convert at a 15% rate. In the Viking Invasion campaign, Abbeys, Catholic Shrines/Chapels/Churches, and Pagan Shrines/Sacrificial Shrines convert at a 10% rate, while the Cathedral converts at a 15% rate.

(need to verify what the "faith propogation" values actually are, and what affect they have on neighboring provinces).

Agents

Religious agents will preach their religion and work to convert the province.

• Bishops: 2% Catholic conversion
• Cardinals: 5% Catholic conversion
• Priests: 2% Orthodox conversion
• Orthodox Bishops: 5% Orthodox conversion
• Alims: 2% Muslim conversion
• Imams: 5% Muslim conversion

Conversion rates are set in the Faith column of the unit_prod.txt file for the campaign. (are the conversion factors affected by valour, and by how much?)

Faction culture

The culture of the faction that currently owns the province will seep into the population.

Neighboring provinces

The effects of religious buildings in bordering provinces will leak across the border. Religions present in a province can also seep into neighboring provinces.

Jews/Heretics

Need more info on how Jewish and Heretic percentages get in the mix, and how they are set at the start.

Zeal

Zeal is the measure of religious fervor in a province. The higher the zeal, the more enthusiasm for the majority religion (or is this religion of controlling faction?). Zeal affects the probability of successful Inquisitions, and also determines the magnetism of Crusades and Jihads on normal army stacks in the province.

Piety

Piety is the measure of the religious observance in a general/governor/King. A high piety general will be less vulnerable to Inquisitions. A high piety value in a governor can be detrimental to the happiness of his province, if the province is not converted yet.

Inquisitions

Inquisitors are not responsible for converting unbelievers, but instead to keep wayward Catholics in line. They do not have a conversion factor, but instead raise the zeal in a province by 2.

Inquisitors can perform Inquisitions on any Catholic general. This will either lead to his death by burning at the stake, or redemption and new vices or virtues. The chances of success depend on the number of stars the Inquisitor has, the number of stars the general has, the general's piety, and the zeal of the province. The presence of Bishops and Cardinals in a province decrease the chance of a successful Inquisition.

Grand Inquisitors are uber-Inquisitors. They raise zeal by 5, and have a much better chance of success when performing Inquisitions.

The Pope

Papal Warnings

2 turn cease fire, 1 warning at a time to a faction. larger catholic faction usually warned.

Excommunication/Recommunication

effect of excommunication. recommunication when either the excommed king or the pope dies (by natural or unnatural causes).

Papal Gifts

Papal Reemergences

If eliminated, the Papal faction will always come back in a few years, with an increasingly stronger and stronger force. The reemergence will be in any land that the Papal faction controlled. Remember, you can't stop him, you can only hope to contain him!

Instead of killing off the pope, the best way to contain him is to back him and his high upkeep army into a stripped down province with no income, and saddle him with bankruptcy for the rest of the game. If he can be forced onto one of the small Mediterrainian islands, even better, but usually the Papal States will do. Then at the end of the game, when all other factions are gone, he can be finally eliminated for the victory.

Crusades

Crusades are a special ability of the Catholic factions. Crusades are used to capture provinces of non-Catholic (or excommunicated) factions.

Who can crusade

Not all Catholic factions can crusade, this ability is limited to the English, French, Holy Roman Empire, Italian, Spanish, Aragonese, and Sicilian factions. Building a crusade marker requires a Chapter House, and only these factions are allowed to build one. It is fairly easy to mod in the other Catholic factions for this ability.

The Papal faction must still be alive, and the faction desiring to crusade cannot be excommunicated. A faction can only have one crusade active at any time.

Building a crusade

Once the faction has a province with a Chapter House, they can build a crusade marker.

Marching to the target

losing/gaining troops, province zeal, maintenance, path to target, ships, permission

Crusade success/failure

losing the chapterhouse, losing the marker, taking the target province. influence gain/loss.

Jihads

Jihads are the Muslim counterpart to the Catholic Crusade. The Jihad is a way to reclaim a province that was once (even for only a year) owned by a Muslim faction.

Who can Jihad

Any Muslim faction can build jihads. Since there is no central authority figure in the Islamic world, there are no restrictions on a faction's ability to build jihads. Unlike crusades, a faction can have more than one jihad active at a time, which can be exploited with jihad spam.

Jihad targets

any provinces previously owned by a Muslim faction, now owned by a non-Muslim faction.

Building Jihads

Once a faction builds a Ribat, they can build jihad markers.

Jihad success/failure

Loss of the Ribat.

Religion in the Viking Invasion Campaign

Religion does not have as important a role in the Viking Invasion campaign. There are only two religions, Catholic and Pagan, all of the factions except the Vikings are Catholic, and the lands of the British Isles are all Catholic. Bishops are the only religious agent available, and there are no crusades or jihads. The main factor of religion in the campaign is the conversion of the Vikings, which eliminates their raiding ability and tames them to some extent.

TBD - needs a lot more input

Are the conversion numbers from the unit_prod file just straight percentages?