it seems strange that there wouldnt at least be some little known trick, cheat or technical glitch one could exploit to kind of "fix" diplomacy.
I'd like to try giving the soul eaters millions of coins and many cities, maybe theyll accept then.
as for expanding north, well again, i have no real choice...the bad AI/diplomacy of the Total War games ensures that no treaty ever lasts and that ill be at war with everyone soon enough.
at war with lycans, talamasca, soul eaters who are allied with severin...which means theryll send some armies down to attack me soon too.
edit: i went ingame and did it, it worked. I gave them a million coins along with 3 cities, and it worked. See, i knew CA didn't completely bork diplomacy, they'll accept protectorate once in awhile, you just have to cheat and give yourself ungodly amounts of gold before they'll accept.