Clergy Opinion

[bodmister]

Hi,

 

Whats the best way to go to war agaisnt another catholic country without annoying the pope/clergy?

 

Not sure how i invade europe witbout becomjng excommunicated? 😬

Atm im scotland and i want ireland and wales!

 

Thanks!!

[Molivious]

Plant a spy in their kingdoms and force them into a corner. Your spies can help you tiptoe around war by raising rebellions/loyalists that will fight for your cause; or you can provoke your target catholic kingdoms to declare war on you instead (this will make the clergy hate them, not you)—combine this with a diplomat holding a defensive pact against said kingdom and you should be set.

And when peace talks happen, consider it heavily especially when your clerics approve, or initiate it yourself as soon as things are turning into your favor. Otherwise, you can just hire 2 or more clerics to keep good ties with the pope and your clergy while you play aggressive with marshals. 

Edited December 21, 2022 by Molivious

[bodmister]

58 minutes ago, Molivious said:

Plant a spy in their kingdoms and force them into a corner. Your spies can help you tiptoe around war by raising rebellions/loyalists that will fight for your cause; or you can provoke your target catholic kingdoms to declare war on you instead (this will make the clergy hate them, not you)—combine this with a diplomat holding a defensive pact against said kingdom and you should be set.

And when peace talks happen, consider it heavily especially when your clerics approve, or initiate it yourself as soon as things are turning into your favor. Otherwise, you can just hire 2 or more clerics to keep good ties with the pope and your clergy while you play aggressive with marshals. 

I never knew you could do this stuff.. nice one man!!

So much i need to learn in this game!

[Lighthope]

8 hours ago, bodmister said:

Whats the best way to go to war agaisnt another catholic country without annoying the pope/clergy?

 

If you have the gold, you can go to war, accept the drop, and then just make a donation to the Papal States.  Opinion goes right back up.

[bodmister]

7 hours ago, Molivious said:

Plant a spy in their kingdoms and force them into a corner. Your spies can help you tiptoe around war by raising rebellions/loyalists that will fight for your cause; or you can provoke your target catholic kingdoms to declare war on you instead (this will make the clergy hate them, not you)—combine this with a diplomat holding a defensive pact against said kingdom and you should be set.

And when peace talks happen, consider it heavily especially when your clerics approve, or initiate it yourself as soon as things are turning into your favor. Otherwise, you can just hire 2 or more clerics to keep good ties with the pope and your clergy while you play aggressive with marshals. 

How do i get people to attack me, i cant work it out? 

Ive infiltrated my spy but no option to do so?

 

Cheers!

[Molivious]

22 minutes ago, bodmister said:

How do i get people to attack me, i cant work it out? 

Ive infiltrated my spy but no option to do so?

 

Cheers!

the opportunities all come with some RNG, so it doesn't just appear. But it doesn't have additional requirements as far as I know (like bribing Merchants is the only way get the Rob Treasury option, bribing Diplomats and the courtesy skill for the assist elopement, bribing Marshals for Army Revolt, etc). This is why I normally run 3-4 spies in a semi-pacifist run. While you can't infiltrate a kingdom with a spy more than once, you could still infiltrate multiple kingdoms simultaneously to keep rolling RNG more times than the usual 1 spy most people run. 

Edit: Additionally, backing Governor Independence and Loyalists require disloyal subjects...so you'll want to keep sowing dissent, break the target kingdom's relations with others, and cause all kinds of chaos for governors to actually become disloyal. Bribing them also affects their loyalty with their kingdom, so I guess there is a steep requirement after all.

Edited December 21, 2022 by Molivious