Defeated Pretender keeps on fighting...?

[Chazar]

I one of my multiplayer games someone else's nation was almost defeated. There was only a single big army led by its pretender left. The army went sieging its own capital, which was owned by enemies. Now the siege Lasted some turns and meanwhile all other provinces where lost, thus the game send that standard message that the pretender had been truly defeated...

...but the siege continued under the independent's flag and my scouts even report that they see a Nataraja among the sieging force?! Does it make sense for a defeated pretender to stay on?

I do not fear to intervene, but what would happen if I dont? Will the AI take over that independent Pretender an storm the fortress eventually or will it just sit and siege? I mean, I cannot even preach that Nataraja away, so this is really odd...

[Nagot Gick Fel]

Don't worry, this Nataraja ghost is just as harmless as Sauron's shadow rising above Barad-dûr after the One Ring was destroyed. It will be gone next turn. Even if you send armies against him now, it will be gone before the battle occurs.

[Chazar]

Ah, ok, thanks!

Nevertheless I think that it is buggy that the poor Nataraja was already defeated because of lack of provinces - it occupied a whole province, except for a small fortress within...

[Gandalf Parker]

Defeat is based on other things. I had a multiplayer game where I drove the #1 guy nuts (I was playing Pangaea). He took my temples, he took my castle. And I still kept sneaking armies cruising his provinces snagging here then there, driving taxes to 200%, and moving on. Finally he took out my god and I was still able to play. I think I finally was taken out when I lost the Last unit with preist power so that I could never build a temple or call my god back.

If the other player had just been able to recover abit I think the two of us could have taken down #1 even long after they both thought I was beat.

[Chazar]

@Gandalf: Yes, that is why I consider the actual behaviour buggy: The Nataraja was leading an army, which besieged its own captial city in order to get it back. During the siege the sieger pracitcally owns the province - he can set and collect the taxes and he controls who may leave the fortress (no one except stealth units that is...). So I think it is rather unfair that the game declared the Nataraja as defeated already at that point, since it could still be a substantial force...

[Cainehill]

Agreed - I've had a VQ "defeated" when she was alive, had positive dominion in a couple of provinces, but had no provinces - she was sneaking, and still quite capable of taking provinces.

[NTJedi]

Admirable fighting Gandalf... many other players toss in the towel with the fall of their capital.

[silhouette]

I had this happen in an unusual fashion in a SP game. I had taken the AI captiol earlier, and the same turn I took the nations Last province elsewhere the AI successfully called back its god. I got the BlahBlah has been permanently defeated message and the SAME TURN the god was back and seiged my forces in its capitol. The next turn I broke seige and there was no opposition, the poor guy had just ceased to be in the meantime. *poof*

Sill