Medieval II: Total War Game Info - Religion

In Medieval 2: Total War, the Pope can excommunicate factions that do not bend to his will sufficiently, the same as in Medieval: Total War. The option to become the Pope is now available, as the game progresses players will be able to have develop their religious characters to the point where they can even get their own Cardinal elected as Pope.

He can also grant Crusades to various factions/settlements, as the Senate did in the previous entry of the series, Rome: Total War. Spreading your religion is also a major part, putting priests in enemy settlements will convert the population, or at least cause riots and unrest in the settlement and can gain popularity with the church for "spreading the word of God." How you interact with the Pope will determine your standing with him; if you listen to his demands, he will like you and give you benefits. Ignore him and you may be excommunicated.

When the existing Pope dies (for whatever reason), a new Pope is elected by the College of Cardinals. If you have a Cardinal of sufficiently high rank, he’ll be a candidate in the election. You can then negotiate with the other factions to get them to vote for your man, or you can agree to vote for theirs. You can bribe or bully other factions to vote for your candidate, or sell your own vote. The new Pope will remember who voted for him, and who against, so how to cast your vote requires some consideration if you’re not sure of winning yourself.

Once a settlement develops heresy, then the Pope will send an Inquisitor to stamp out the problem, but unfortunately they may also try and execute your generals in the process.

Thus, probable major religions pertaining to the varied cultures during the Middle Ages include:

* Roman Catholicism
* Orthodox Christianity
* Islam
* Judaism
* Paganism

Also, there may be features such as sectarian breakoffs from major religions, resulting in heretical sects, especially as the game ends slightly after Protestant Reformation.

Crusades will be far more of an “event” in Medieval 2 than they were in the original Medieval. The Pope will commission a crusade that all Catholic factions then have the option to join. The faction that captures the target first will gain considerable prestige and wealth as well as significantly boosting its standing with the Pope. As you gain more influence with the Pope you can begin to request Crusades to be called on specific targets.

Jihads can be called by Muslim imams with a sufficient religion rating. They can be called against settlements owned by non-Muslim factions that have significant Muslim populations. Once a character decides to go on Jihad, he’ll have a range of low cost religious troops that he can recruit to the cause.