Papal States (M2TW Faction)

The Papal States is a non-playable faction in Medieval II: Total War. Historically the Papal States was one of the major Italian states, until the Unification of Italy in 1861. The head of the States is always the Pope, who leads "God's Armies" into battle, and governs the only Papal city in the game, Rome. Players cannot play as the Papal States unless enabled by modding the descr_strat file. When trying to unlock the Papal States and other non-playable factions, you should remember that gameplay as them can be unstable.They are similar to the senate of Rome total war.

Papal States (M2TW Faction)
Name:	The Papal States
From Game:	Medieval II: Total War
Religion:	Catholic
Culture:	Southern European
Playable:

Gameplay

Starting Position

Papal States Starting Position.

They start in the middle of the Italian Peninsula.

Their settlement is;

• Rome: Capital - Minor City

Victory Conditions

• Long campaign: Hold 100 regions.
• Short campaign: Hold 80 regions.

Campaign Play

The Papal States is different from all the other factions. For starters, they have no family tree at all. Their faction leader is the Pope, who cannot marry. When the Pope dies all the Cardinals elect the next Pope. The Papal States can still get generals through adoptions and Man of the Hour the same way other factions can, but these generals will never become Faction Heir or Leader.

Another interesting thing about the Papal States is that they still have a relationship with the Pope like all factions. It is indeed possible for the Pope to not like your faction very much! For this reason, you cannot always call Crusades as you please, you need high Papal Approval just like everyone else. You increase your standing with the Pope the same way other factions do, through building priests and churches, converting other religions, participating in Crusades, and listening to Papal Missions. The Papal States get Missions from the Pope like any other faction, although you can ignore them. The Papal States can never be Excommunicated.

When playing as the Papal States, you don't send missions to other Catholic rulers, and you cannot choose to Excommunicate other factions directly. However, if a war is declared between the Papal States and another Catholic faction, the other faction is automatically Excommunicated, even if the Papal States were the aggressor! The player can offer Reconciliation with Catholic factions who have been Excommunicated in Diplomacy, giving the Papal States an excellent Diplomatic advantage.

The Papal States faction also controls Inquisitors. These Agents spawn in Catholic ruled regions with heresy. They increase conversion but also increase Unrest, and can denounce anyone who is not part of the Papal States. Characters with high Piety are harder to Denounce, and Inquisitors with more Piety are more effective. If the player does not give Inquisitors orders they act on their own, looking for heretics and other blasphemous individuals to denounce.

The Papal States are never completely destroyed. Unlike any playable faction, the Papal States survive losing their last region. They also get a continuous stream of Popes from Papal Elections. The player could only 'lose' if all Catholic factions are destroyed, and they have no regions, armies, or characters. Even at that point the Papal States still exist technically but they won't rise up again.

Other than this differences, the Papal States function exactly the same as any other Catholic faction.

Units

The Papal States army functions mostly like a generic Italian faction. This means they have some very strong Militia units, especially in the Early Game. They also get some unique and very powerful Infantry from cities with a Stone Wall or higher, this gives them an enormous Military advantage. Like the other Italians, their elite Swordmen and Cavalry is a little lackluster, although it is well armoured and cheap. The Papal States is similar to Milan in that it can build a strong army without Castles.

Papal States Generals Bodyguard.

• Light Infantry
  • Peasants
  • Italian Militia
• Heavy Infantry
  • Halberd Militia
  • Dismounted Feudal Knights
  • Dismounted Men at Arms
  • Swiss Guard
• Spearmen Infantry
  • Sergeant Spearmen
  • Armoured Sergeants
  • Pike Militia
  • Italian Spear Militia
  • Papal Guard
• Missile Infantry
  • Peasant Archers
  • Peasant Crossbowmen
  • Pavise Crossbowmen
  • Pavise Crossbow Militia
  • Arquebusiers
  • Hand Gunners

• Light Cavalry
  • Mounted Sergeants
• Heavy Cavalry
  • Knights Hospitaller
  • Knights Templar
  • Cavalry Militia
  • Broken Lances
  • Men at Arms
  • Feudal Knights
  • Mailed Knights

• Missile Siege
  • Ballista
  • Catapult
  • Tebuchet
  • Bombard
  • Mortar
  • Ribault
  • Culverin
  • Great Cross

• Naval
  • Galley
  • Lanternas
  • War Galley
  • Carrack

Faction Details

If you have further detailed information on the faction, such as strategies, AARs, pictures, or history, please post it on the Faction Details page in a new sub-section so that this page can be kept clean of opinionated information.

Papal States Details (M2TW Faction)

Medieval 2: Total War | Factions:
Aztecs | Byzantine Empire | Denmark | Egypt | England | France | Holy Roman Empire | Hungary | Milan | Mongols | Moors | Papal States | Poland | Portugal | Russia | Scotland | Sicily | Spain | Timurids | Turks | Venice | Rebels