Question on Papal States.

**NoQuarter** · February 21, 2008, 07:14 PM

Ok so the Papal states went at war with me a couple turns ago, and I managed to take Rome and sack it. They have one more city left and I was wondering if I destroy all of their citys will they be destroyed or will they just wander around, and keep attacking me?

**gambit** · February 21, 2008, 07:28 PM

Unless you have a mod that allows for destroyable papal states, yes they will continue to exist. I've never conquered them personally so I don't know exactly what happens but I believe they 'borrow' a settlement from one of their fellow catholic factions. I wonder what happens if everyone is at war with them.

**Stuntdawg5** · February 21, 2008, 07:30 PM

Nope, can't destroy the Papal States. If you take all of there cities, the Pope, once elected, will appear somewhere on the map and usually, call a Crusade on Rome.

The only way to really "knock out" the Papal States is to take out all the Cardinals. After that's accomplished no Pope can be elected in until a priest is promoted to a Cardinal.

**NoQuarter** · February 21, 2008, 08:49 PM

Thanks. I guess i'll just take their last city, then give them Rome and get on their good side again.

**gambit** · February 21, 2008, 08:59 PM

Screw that, give them some crappy city in the middle of nowhere (Somewhere islamic would be ironic) and make em live with it. Ol popey might be pissed for a while but keep sending gifts of map info and 200 florins and he'll warm up to ya.

**Zadith** · February 21, 2008, 10:04 PM

screw that as well once you kill the current pope all is forgiven when the new pope takes control. Hold Rome for a few decades and they will forgive and forget. Then do your best to make one of your cardinals pope and then you have basically taken away the popes power but still have him around for calling crusades....

**malcolm mcdowell** · February 22, 2008, 02:16 AM

Originally Posted by Zadith

screw that as well once you kill the current pope all is forgiven when the new pope takes control. Hold Rome for a few decades and they will forgive and forget. Then do your best to make one of your cardinals pope and then you have basically taken away the popes power but still have him around for calling crusades....

no, if you actually attack the pope and are at war with him, you remain at war and excommunicated when the next one comes along as well, i think

**Pyrebound** · February 22, 2008, 03:20 AM

Originally Posted by malcolm mcdowell

no, if you actually attack the pope and are at war with him, you remain at war and excommunicated when the next one comes along as well, i think

In vanilla, i did attack rome where pope currently was and so, killed him. Instant reconcilation and exellent relations with pope, as i was dominating the cardinal college. After that the new pope just wandered around Italy, until he died of old age and spawned into the new papal capital.. in Libya.

**gambit** · February 21, 2008, 10:05 PM

On that thought, if the pope and all the cardinals (hence the college of cardinals) is dead..who chooses the cardinals??

**Zadith** · February 21, 2008, 10:07 PM

I would assume the game just randomly chooses cardinals....but I have never attempted it because the cardinals are never close enough to get the job done. The IA does a good job of scattering them across the map...

**N3rull** · February 22, 2008, 02:23 AM

So the only option is to train ~15 10-star assassins or place 15 full stacks near every cardinal on the map, and either assassinate them all in one turn or kill each pope that pops up until they're all gone, killing new cardinals in the same time.
... uhh... daunting task.

Puppet Popes were fine solution in MTW, dunno why they threw it out.

**malcolm mcdowell** · February 22, 2008, 05:39 AM

oh. fair enough. i think i may have still been besieging another city of thiers which probably didnt help

**gambit** · February 22, 2008, 09:15 AM

Either way it's fun to conquer the pope.

**King Yngvar** · February 22, 2008, 12:35 PM

you remain at war and excommunicated when the next one comes along as well, i think

Killing off every foreign cardinals with assassins is good for this purpose, if you have a cardinal of your own at this moment, he will become cardinal and you will suddenly be reconciled and have perfect relations with the pope.