Controlling the papacy: How do you do it?

**AU4Brent** · February 17, 2009, 09:40 AM

I usually form an alliance with them early on, and then send a buttload of priests to an area with a low catholic percentage. When those first cardinals start dying off, you can literally pack the COC with those priests. If you're lucky, this will get you the Theologians' Guild HQ. After that, you never have to worry about the pope giving you trouble again. How do you guys manipulate the papacy? Oh, by the way, I just assassinated my first pope EVER. It felt way better than it should have.

**Sith_Lord** · February 17, 2009, 10:04 AM

I just gift them 100 right from the start for about 100 turns. And then after that ill be loaded and ill gift them more... Bribery and Corruption work pretty well with the papacy

**Silent Assassin** · February 17, 2009, 10:12 AM

You can't control them but you can keep them on your good side

**Old Geezer** · February 17, 2009, 10:12 AM

It is my S.O.P. I usually help other faction's cardinals and priests shuffle off this vale of tears to their reward. Giving the Papacy a settlement helps a lot and can create a very nice buffer. Voting for the winner brings an increase in Pope pips too. It is much more difficult to become allied with the Pope if you start out far away as with Portugal and England. If I am an Italian faction it seems that the Pope will agree to an alliance right away. What is with that?

**Rexcoder** · February 17, 2009, 10:14 AM

In the beginning I trie to alliance the papacy. But now on my Sicily-campiagn, I conquered Rome and killed the pope. Then a Sicily-pope was chosen en now it's back peace. The pope just stands at the edge of Rome now.

**Pink Beard** · February 17, 2009, 10:26 AM

Ah I remember my 180 turns Scottish campaign... Edinburgh made 8-10 piety bishops instantly

(lowest was 8 piety lol)

**AU4Brent** · February 17, 2009, 10:39 AM

Originally Posted by Pink Beard

Ah I remember my 180 turns Scottish campaign... Edinburgh made 8-10 piety bishops instantly

(lowest was 8 piety lol)

Edinburgh must be one really holy city. Every time I play with the English or Scots, the Theologians' Guild is the first one offered there. After you get the HQ and a huge cathedral, it's bishop city. In my last English campaign, I once had all 13 Cardinals in Edinburgh. Some were promoted to cardinal after their first turn.

**AU4Brent** · February 17, 2009, 10:42 AM

Originally Posted by Old Geezer

It is my S.O.P. I usually help other faction's cardinals and priests shuffle off this vale of tears to their reward. Giving the Papacy a settlement helps a lot and can create a very nice buffer. Voting for the winner brings an increase in Pope pips too. It is much more difficult to become allied with the Pope if you start out far away as with Portugal and England. If I am an Italian faction it seems that the Pope will agree to an alliance right away. What is with that?

In the games that I've played, it seems the Papacy will always accept the first or second alliance offer it receives (from a Catholic faction). I usually make it priority one. It only makes sense that the Italian factions would get there first.

**Last of the Mohawks** · February 17, 2009, 02:20 PM

Hmmm... how to get control the pope... play them!

**claudius2007** · February 17, 2009, 06:35 PM

In my Spain campaign I have taken over Iberia,France and Northern Italy and Pope has Sardinia,Corsica,Rome and Southern Italy. My reputation is deceitful so I decided to offer the pope a ton of money each turn (my gdp is like 60000/turn) and every time I do it his reputation becomes more untrustworthy because he is accepting my bribes lol. Now everyone hates the pope and have declared war on them and I used this as an excuse to purchase their soon to be falling settlements and have them only keep Rome. It was basically a peacefull Anschluss.