


That's why players will often find themselves competing with other rulers to be the first to secure a free city's fealty, because once they swear a Pact of Vassalage to one faction they become off-limits to everyone else. However, a free city can only have one overlord, and even AI factions are aware of how valuable a vassal free city can be. The Pact of Vassalage has the city start contributing its income with their overlord, and they'll go to war with their overlord's enemies. The Pact of Loyalty allows factions to build on claimed provinces without complaint, and they start contributing to the Rally of the Lieges. This includes magical materials, and every free city has at least one magical material. The Pact of Cooperation opens up trade options, which players can select from the free city's diplomacy screen. The faction starts with a neutral relationship, and as Allegiance grows the free city will swear pacts of cooperation, loyalty, and then vassalage.Įach level of pact opens up new interactions with the free city. Assuming the free city doesn't declare war on the faction for whatever reason, players can give the free city a Whispering Stone that slowly increases the city's Allegiance stat. Once a faction discovers a free city, they can select it to bring up a simplified diplomacy screen. Diplomatic factions can start with multiple Whispering Stones, and there are ways to get more from the Imperium tech tree. Every faction in the game starts with at least one Whispering Stone.
