Catholicism (M2TW Religion)

Overview

Catholicism is one of the three major religions in the game Medieval 2: Total War, next to Orthodox Christianity and Islam. The Catholic Religion is headed by the Pope who in the game is the faction leader of the Papal States. Well over half the factions in Medieval 2 Total War are Catholic.

Unique Characteristics

The Pope

The Catholic factions in the game all have to contend with the will of the Pope - and therefore the Papal States. The Pope may give you missions during the campaign or make specific demands backed up by threats of excommunication. The Pope also tries to stop wars between Catholic factions, and attacking Catholics who are not excommunicated hurts relations with the Pope. The player has the opportunity to have one of his own Cardinals elected to the position of Pope when a Pope dies. Should this happen, the Pope will be much more tolerant of your behaviour and requests for crusades (see below)

Excommunication

-See main article: Excommunication

Should a player be excommunicated by the Pope for poor conduct towards fellow Catholics then his reputation with the Papal States will reach an all time low. This may also affect your standing with other Catholic factions in the game, and in particular the populations of your own Catholic cities will be more difficult to please while you remain excommunicated. This effect will remain until you are reconciled with the Pope.

Crusades

-See main article: Crusades

Catholic factions have the opportunity to request the initiation of, and take part in, crusades. Crusades are called by the Pope and will generally involve requests for the capture of a city (Jerusalem, Antioch etc.) belonging to either a non-Christian faction, or an excommunicated Catholic one. These are generally accompanied by a time limit and will otherwise end as soon as a faction who has joined the crusade captures the target city.

Units

Catholic factions get access to a number of Crusader Mercenary units. These units are numerous, cheap and effective; their upkeep is high but they are free during a Crusade. Most are available until 1300 only. Catholics can also build unique Crusader Guilds if they go on Crusades, which can recruit some of the most powerful Cavalry in the game. Several Mercenary Knight units also only fight for Catholic and Orthodox factions.