Problems with excommunication

**henyo10** · February 22, 2009, 08:41 PM

How come even though the pope threatens me with excommunication if I attack a faction, that faction still continues to attack me without consequences. Is there any explanation for this?

**IsolatedPurity** · February 22, 2009, 09:40 PM

I've always wondered this too.

**Kiljaden** · February 23, 2009, 01:23 AM

Hmmm... My situation: A few turns of war with a catholic faction. Pope told me to cease fire, I did. Two or three turns later, my enemy attacked me and was excommunicated, but they had low standing with the pope as it is. The general rule is three or four pope standing thingies are lost per violation of "cease fire" mission.

**cang087** · February 23, 2009, 01:50 AM

Originally Posted by Kiljaden

Hmmm... My situation: A few turns of war with a catholic faction. Pope told me to cease fire, I did. Two or three turns later, my enemy attacked me and was excommunicated, but they had low standing with the pope as it is. The general rule is three or four pope standing thingies are lost per violation of "cease fire" mission.

Playing 6.2 + RC4, I had 9 crosses, violated cease fire mission, and still got excommunicated, even though I had like 3 crosses left.

**PerXX** · February 23, 2009, 04:41 AM

Try not to attack them first. Lure them to attack you instead. Offer them redicious deals, that'll anger them, and makes them like you less. stomp around their lands, with single units of peasants, and leave your bordertowns un-defended (but keep a backup army nearby, for when they attack)

If you annoy them enough, they should attack you soon. First, just keep defending yourself, and eventually they'll get excommunicated. Then, launch your counter attack, and destroy them!
Try to leave their king alone, as they might get recommunicated, if he dies. With a bit of luck, you can also call a crusade on their capital, leaving them swarmed in crusaders, and easy pickings.

That is atleast the safe way to do it, although it can be somewhat time-consuming.

**moosey** · February 23, 2009, 05:25 AM

Cant everyone just learn to love one another? peace and love over all of gods lands and there are no need for excommunications... or troops... or total war for that matter, lol.

**Caesar Clivus** · February 23, 2009, 05:30 AM

Originally Posted by moosey

Cant everyone just learn to love one another? peace and love over all of gods lands and there are no need for excommunications... or troops... or total war for that matter, lol.

Would be much of a game then would there

**Spartan90** · February 23, 2009, 05:41 AM

Originally Posted by henyo10

How come even though the pope threatens me with excommunication if I attack a faction, that faction still continues to attack me without consequences. Is there any explanation for this?

There are always consequences, look at the Papal favour as proof. You may have already had a mediocre to low standing with the Pope, yet your enemy may have had immaculate relations with the Papacy. If this is the case, he can still be excommunicated, yet it will take a lot longer for them to face the consequences. It will eventually happen though, just check the Papal favour to see the progress.

**henyo10** · February 23, 2009, 05:48 AM

My enemies have 7+ crosses while I only have 1....

**EmpireFalls** · February 23, 2009, 06:04 AM

lol@ moosey

As playing with england attacking the irish the pope told me to stop the attack. When I wanted to attack an irish army I was told if I would do so I would be excommunicated, but although I attacked the army I wasn't excommunicated.
I think it depends on the relation with the pope. It was nearly perfect and after attacking the irisch army just a few crosses vanished.

**Spartan90** · February 23, 2009, 06:05 AM

Originally Posted by henyo10

My enemies have 7+ crosses while I only have 1....

You just answered your own question

**Viscule** · February 23, 2009, 08:08 AM

If i play as scotland or any other faction that is located good. Getting excommunicated is not really a problem. No matter what the pope would tell me while i'm slaugthering england i wont back down. Because if i do, england will end up coming back at me in force. Pressuring is better than being pressured. When england is dead, just work on curches/etc. Easy to get the pope to lick your foot while you're kicking him with the other.

**Phier** · March 17, 2009, 09:46 PM

I'm playing Ireland with S.S. RR and the SavageAI on VH.

England declares war about 8 turns in, and blockaids my only port of Dublin.

I then get the Papal 'Stop all hostilities' in 5 turns but of course the English don't want to make peace. Worse I have two lightly defended English towns in striking range.

I want the option to switch your faction back to pagan

**Caesar Clivus** · March 17, 2009, 10:13 PM

In that situation, England will also have gotten a warning from the Pope. If they keep attacking you, then they will get excommunicated. The Pope doesn't chastise you if you are defending. Only the attackers need to be wary of the pope.

**Smikis** · March 17, 2009, 10:51 PM

playing as genoe few weeks ago, hre attacked me. after few turns of skirmishes around, pop asked to cease hostilities for period, none of us attacked in that time if i can recall.. in the end hre got excommunicated and i was free to pewpew

**jokamachi** · March 19, 2009, 12:12 PM

One of my favorite tricks is to initiate a crusade just before I start attacking whomever is pissing me off at the moment. That way, even if you are excommunicated, you'll have at least 12-15 years before the current pope can launch a crusade against your faction. Makes the ol' smash and grab all the more pleasureable.

I like the idea of pissing off your neighbors, though. That bit about marching units of peasants around your neighbors territories is a great way to incur thier anger!!

Of course, excommunication isn't such a bad thing, after all. Just toss a territory the pope's way, throw in a few thousand gold and a tribute, and you're back on easy street. Just like the middle ages!!

**JorisofHolland** · March 19, 2009, 02:09 PM

Originally Posted by jokamachi

Just like the middle ages!!

Probally because it is

. My favourite trick is only usable during crusades. I place one main army in assault for the city, then later I place about 5 other armies also on crusade. I take the city and have thousands of soldiers near their settlements. Even if another faction takes the cursed settlement before I do it doesn't matters, my armies are there anyway.

**preachercheeze** · March 20, 2009, 03:41 AM

I figured this out last night actually when playing my English campaign against my former allies Norway, whom attacked my, in blood, allies Denmark (which I have royal marriges with in four generations of kings

)... they where already excommunicated so it was just a go-and-take from my part...

I hade taken Bergen, Oslo, Eikunarsund and Skara when their king died and they where reconcieled most inappropriatly (I hade two armies in Sweden, one going for Kalmar and one for Lund)...

The one against Kalmar I pulled back to Skara but the one against Lund I let continue, as a favor for my pals in Denmark (they had many bitter battles at Roskilde), the turn after my initial siege I got a message from the pope that must seize hostilities...

And here comes the interesting part... I was surrounded by EIGHT stacks of norwiegans (the king, prince, two familymembers and captains) and couldn´t get anywhere... for the next four turns I had to fight for my life against these stacks (even though they where small, they did sting a little) and couldn´t move due to them still being to close to me... Fortunatly, it was 1294 so I had both Dismounted feudal knights, Bombards, Longbowmen, English Knights, Feudal Knights, Armoured Seargents and one Yeoman archer... strange enough, they didn´t become excommunicated, and when I tired of this and attacked one of their stacks, no warning came to me as long as I was surrounded...

so it seems that when you DEFEND yourself from invasion (note: NOT defend as in battle but trying to throw out an invader) you can´t get excommunicated, same thing happend in france when they where in my territories and I was prompted to sieze the hostilities... as long as I attacked stacks within my own territory that where besieging my cities or blocking my trade, no warnings or excommunications came to me... but as soon as I attacked the french in THEIR territory, I was threatened by Excommunication...

Unfortunatly for france, they got excommunicated first so it was just a "three-turns-to-die" campaign after that (took their last four cities in three turns hehehe)... and Norway was even quicker... I loaded two boats with full stacks and sent one to Lund and one to visby, the one I had at Lund the first time was sent to Norrköping and the Kalmar army was sent there again... and in a joint attack for one turn, I besieged and took all four cities... I risked excommunication the next turn and threw them out from scandinavia for good by taking Uppsala and running down the last armies... although they hold prussia, they are no longer a power of significance....

it´s now 1310 and I bought both Cologne and Roskilde from Denmark too, so now I own the British Isles, All coast from Rennes to Groeningen, the french inland except Bordeaux, Toulouse and Dijon, the imperieal cities of Metz, Frankfurt and Staufen are all in my possession after two succesfull crusades, and the whole of Scandinavia except Århus after a pushing invasion by the grandson of William the conqeror and his protegé...