Diplomat

Overview

A diplomat is an agent character who may be trained at settlements which have built or already have the prerequisite structures. Diplomats do not have any offensive capability and as such may not take part in battles. The main purpose of a diplomat is to allow the faction from which they belong to establish alliances, trade rights and more with rival factions. The main actions a diplomat may perform are listed below:

• Alliance - Forms alliance between two factions, if agreed to. Forming an alliance may require additional incentive. Alliances can be broken by future aggression towards an allied faction. Due to bugs in the campaign map AI alliances are almost never lasting.
• Map Information - Asks the faction to give you their map so you can see all the towns and provinces they have explored This does not give you vision though the Fog of War it just removes the blackness from the map so you can see the terrain. to actually see what's happening there you still need a presence in the area. This is an easy agreement to get and selling your map to other factions is a good way to make cash early.
• Ceasefire - Ends war with the target faction, if agreed to.
• Establish Trade Rights - Allows trade with other faction. Increases income. Is a MUST for beginning of the campaign. Only really good if you have good trade infrastructure. Build roads and markets EVERYWHERE to get the cash rolling in. Enemy land armies and navies blockading your ports will block trade from occurring.
• Bribe - This usually takes a lot of money. If the bribe is accepted and the troops are not ones your faction can recruit the army disbands and simply disappears. If they are units your faction can recruit, they join your faction.
• Single Payment - Gives a one time payment to another faction. Useful for helping another diplomatic action (eg. Map Information) to be agreed to.
• Regular Tribute - Gives a set amount of money times a certain number of years. Often used when granting a request from a faction to cease hostilities.
• Military Access - You can ask for or grant access to another faction, usually an ally. One of the tougher negotiations to complete.
• Give Region - You can give a region to another faction, but you can also demand a region that you desire. Region meaning settlement. This is where negotiations can be lengthy.
• Attack Faction - You can offer to attack a faction for someone or in turn demand that they attack a faction for you. Often it comes with a price. This can be quite difficult to get an agreement on. It is easier if you and the faction you are talking to are both at war with the current faction. This is unconfirmed.
• Become Protectorate - If you have been beating up an opponent and they sue for peace, demanding that they become a Protectorate will work. They become an ally and you both have military access and trade rights. This is often impossible to do. Factions will usually not agree even if they have almost nothing left. A Protectorate gives the faction they are a subordinate to a portion of their profits every turn.

Tactics

Diplomats can attach themselves to an army or settlement. While with an army, they are not considered an extra unit, so several diplomats could board a fleet with one army. If two diplomats of differing experience are in the same settlement, the more experienced unit can gift ancillary characters to the less experienced one. To do this click and drag the ancillary characters from the information scroll to the portrait of the receiving diplomat. The ancillary will be transferred. This is useful to pass on beneficial ancillaries before diplomats die of old age.

They can also be used as a lesser spy. If you place a diplomat next to a settlement, often times most of what is contained there becomes visible.