Priests and cardinals

[Parzival2211]

What's the best way to increase my priests piety and have them turned into cardinals?

Is it only by fighting heretics and witches? Also by slowly converting population? Does the presence of churches/cathedrals help?

Thank you in advance.

[misery-guts]

Send them to an area that has low stats for your religion, as a catholic go to Russia or Southern Spain/Africa

A better church/cathedral helps to get them off to a good start with better piety

Make space in the college of cardinals by sending a few other cardinals off to receive their reward in heaven (high ranking assassins)

[Xellos_Moon]

all info from the post above

and

Specialize a city with theologians guild.

[Parzival2211]

Thank you, guys. So, just by converting people, how many piety points may he get at best?

[Parzival2211]

Thank you, guys.

So, when you send a priest to non-Catholic region, he is more likely to improve? What is the maximum piety level he can reach like that?

[Xellos_Moon]

Thank you, guys.

So, when you send a priest to non-Catholic region, he is more likely to improve? What is the maximum piety level he can reach like that?

He can gain up to the last level piety... obviously the higher he gets the tougher he is to level up

[gutter-rat]

Thank you, guys.

So, when you send a priest to non-Catholic region, he is more likely to improve? What is the maximum piety level he can reach like that?

Basically yes he rises faster in a non catholic region, (he is slightly more likely to become a heretic but its worth the hit)
Don't just send 1 priest to a non catholic region send a few (jumping on heretics helps too and keeps those bandy legged gits away (inquisitors)

The piety level that matters is 5 because at that level he can become a cardinal, but of course you may need to create a few vacancies in the college with your assassins

[Parzival2211]

Thank you again +rep!

Unfortunately, I do have an inquisitor in one of my regions. He is just standing around. I moved my low-piety generals out of his way, just in case...

[Stolet]

Build a Cathedral and a Theologian's Guild in a city, and every priest that you train there will have at least 6 piety. Build a Huge Cathedral and you'll have 9 piety guys coming out every turn. But, before you can get Cathedrals, send priests to Muslim or Orthodox lands, kill some heretics if you get some. But beware, your priests can easily turn heretic, the bad thing is, usually you lose the best ones that way.

[Balor]

HUGE Cathedral and Theologians Guild in same city. Sit back and watch the piety rise. Also, try and nip the paedophilia in the bud before it becomes rampant and your whole religious organisation is corrupted and discredited.

[Incredible Bulk]

Necropost ha ha and how does Balor have so much rep after 26 post?

[complete noob:(]

Necropost ha ha and how does Balor have a much rep after 26 post?

Cause the site/database is messed up right now

[Balor]

I believe its because I started an AAR (discontinued - but another one will be started soon).

And I am a very reputable kind of guy.

[Vissewalde rex de Gerzika]

The decription if you mouse over is the same as if he had 0 rep, so he could actually have 0 rep.

[Balor]

The decription if you mouse over is the same as if he had 0 rep, so he could actually have 0 rep.

After much figuring out of the profile menu I have discovered that I actually have 5 rep. Now, I don't really understand the hoo haw about it but thats whats I gots.

Now I'm guessing that little gold chevron I have under my name indicates that I have a crazy amount of rep?

[Vlad Dracul]

Where's better to keep your priests on your territory, inside settlements or outside (make them walk -or stand- in the province).
How's safer, are the chances lower or higher for a priest to become heretic if its left out in the open?
It's more secure inside the city/castle?
Or it simply doesn't matter, it's the same thing?

[Aeratus]

Regarding in settlement vs. outside, there are only two differences:

(1) if the settlement has a cathedral or higher, spending time in the settlement increases the orthodoxy stat of the priest

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Orthodox (Dogmatic 1)- -1 Unorthodoxy, gained after 1 point of Dogmatic
Dogmatic (Dogmatic 2)- -2 Unorthodoxy, upgrade after 3 points of Dogmatic
Utterly Dogmatic (Dogmatic 3)- -3 Unorthodoxy, upgrade after 6 points of Dogmatic

Dogmatic has OpenMinded as an antitrait.A priest gains a point in Dogmatic with 20% probability if he ends his turn in a settlement with a cathedral or greater, or with 50% probability if he has been in the region exactly three turns, the population is more than 85% his faction's religion, and the religion shift is less than ten percent.

(2) leaving the settlement increases exposure to heretics (which may decrease orthodoxy) and assassins.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Odd Habits (OpenMinded 1)- +1 Unorthodoxy, gained after 1 point of OpenMinded
Open-Minded (OpenMinded 2)- +2 Unorthodoxy, upgrade after 2 points of OpenMinded
Quite Unorthodox (OpenMinded 3)- +3 Unorthodoxy, epithet "the Unorthodox", upgrade after 3 points of OpenMinded

OpenMinded has Dogmatic as an antitrait.
A priest gains a point in OpenMinded with 33% probability any time he is adjacent to a heretic, whether at the end of his turn or the heretic's turn. In addition, a priest can gain a point in OpenMinded with 20% probability at the end of any turn in which he is in a region with 40% or less of his own religion, and has been in that region for more than two turns.

So in general, it is better to stay in the settlement.

[UndrState]

From http://medieval2.heavengames.com/m2t...dex.shtml#tpbf :

Priest Traits:

Traits: Both Hidden and Obvious.

There are many mini-traits or hidden traits for you to discover for priests as well.
Orthodoxy/Unorthodoxy: This is a rating of how true to the faith your priest is. Affects the chance of becoming a heretic and surviving an inquest
Violence: You will want this trait in your Popes. It determines how likely a Pope is to agree to a crusade.
Eligibility: Determines the cardinal's standing in the collage of Cardinals. The more the eligibility, the more likely the priest is going to be a Preferati.
Purity: Also effects the priest's standing in the collage of Cardinals, but also affects the chance of surviving an inquest or becoming a heretic, although in smaller quantities.

[Bow-wow-wow]

Usually if you stick a Priest into Egyptian/holy lands territory and let him sit there for 10 or so turns he will gain full piety. Just send them off to regions with closer to 0% religion and sit him there and he will get top piety in no time.

[Vissewalde rex de Gerzika]

Not really, the current rep system is kinda messed up because the new skin has changed the value of each rep icon, earlier 5 rep was a ring, 15 was 1 golden fleur de lis and 150 was 1 red flur de lis, now the rings are removed and golden fleurs are worth more than the red ones. You can find out more by reading in the Q&S forum.