Vassalship --Downsides?

**Itilas** · November 26, 2006, 02:18 PM

I'm wondering are there any downsides to being a vassal? From what I can tell there aren't any. You usually get a stronger alliance with your "lord", you don't have to be subservient in anyway, and you can usually wrestle a few provinces in the deal. So is there anything bad about it; can it hinder your game play at all?

**Shaio** · November 26, 2006, 02:29 PM

i think you have to pay your ruling fraction money. so yeah theres a down side.. the benefits are much greater thou.

**Reiver** · November 26, 2006, 02:47 PM

Originally Posted by Shaio

i think you have to pay your ruling fraction money. so yeah theres a down side.. the benefits are much greater thou.

Nope. Not that i've seen. There was certainly no money coming out of my treasury when I accepted the Byzantines offer.
It's a bit of a joke. There was no point in including it in the game imo. It's a get out of jail card if you're in trouble and pointless to use on a nation you're beating since you may as well just beat them. The alliances they provide do tend to be stronger (in my experience) than normal alliances but the AI still acts like there's no bond in place most of the time.
If there were abilities to request aid (financial or military) from your overlord or vassal or the ability for them to provide you with troops. A special trading bonus between the nations or even some affect on your status in the world by entering into the agreement it may have a place in the game. At the moment it sems a pointless and undeveloped idea tacked on to give another option in the already pitiful and poorly integrated diplomacy.

**Flogger** · November 26, 2006, 02:31 PM

I personally find it quite shameful to be forced into vassalship... (is that even a word?)

**Itilas** · November 26, 2006, 03:20 PM

Originally Posted by Flogger

vassalship... (is that even a word?)

I dunno, I just made it up...

**Hedniskhjäertad** · November 26, 2006, 02:38 PM

I could get France to be a vassal of mine, and i got a little boost on my income.

Might be related, or i might be crazy. ;p

**Antonov** · November 26, 2006, 03:02 PM

Yes, I have the same impression, and I was a vassal of Germany for a little while -- vassalage is only de jure. I'm not paying them a single phening and I had an excellent alliance with them, until I just told them one day, that they can count me off as their vassal. Later they wanted a province or they threathened with war. I gave them like 2000 zloty and they cooled down, hehe.

Seriously, vassalage is either a function that has been sadly left unfinished by CA or I don't understand something about it.

**Ragss** · November 26, 2006, 03:22 PM

I've never done it, but my impression was that the player's vassals could be ordered around a little bit to attack and stuff. However, I don't see how becoming one yourself would work. I'd rather go down fighting.

**(insert clever name here)** · November 26, 2006, 03:28 PM

Protectorates and Vassalships are only good if you need time to build up to backstab.

I tried to do this in RTW because I once got the Scipii to be my Protectorate. I then tried to get them to attack the Brutii and the Julii, I was hoping to trigger the Roman Civil War a few hundred years early. But nope, they were gay about it and responded by gathering all three Roman families together to push me off of Italy and Sicily.

So yea there is really no point to it unless they do some things to provide more benefits for someone who wins it.