Matador09
Ashigaru
posted 04-14-11 09:14 AM
EDT (US)
1 / 8
I would declare war on one of their very strong neighbors like the Hojo and let them either not back you up or get taken out. Otherwise I can't think of anything else.
Matador09
Ashigaru
posted 04-14-11 10:06 AM
EDT (US)
3 / 8
They don't always attack. In my most recent Hojo campaign they stayed allied up until the point that I declared war on both of them by virtue of their alliance (around 10 conglomerated regions).
Ultimately, for them to attack you, you have to appear weak. It is a great idea to build up your forces for the attack but be sure to post them in your non-neighboring territories or you'll never induce the AI to attack you.
Matador09
Ashigaru
posted 04-14-11 01:01 PM
EDT (US)
6 / 8
Clarification- I meant that in my Hojo campaign, the Imagawa never attacked their vassal, Tokugawa.
No, there's no simple diplomatic way to cancel vassalage. The only surefire way is to declare war on your overlord but that provides a diplomatic penalty. Ultimately, to avoid the penalty, on of two things has to happen: 1)Imagawa ceases to exist or 2)Imagawa cancels your vassalage through some diplomatic means.
Exploring option one, you have three methods. First, hope that their enemies will take them out. This is unreliable. Second, pull them into intractable wars (for them) by declaring war on their neighbors. This is a gamble. You could win big by having them not back you up after you declare war on one clan which cancels your vassalage. However, you could also end up with very powerful enemies after the Imagawa are destroyed. The third and preferable method would be to subvert them with Ninja sabotage and Monk revolts. Combined, those two can cause rebel takeover of their lands, not only eliminating the Imagawa, but also allowing you to cherry-pick their regions for your takeover.
Option two shares some similar methods. First, you could declare war on their neighbors as previously stated to be a gamble. Second, and superior to this would be to make diplomatic threats. Go ahead and phone up your friend Imagawa and say that he better give you 10000 koku, infinite military access and his sons as hostages or else you'll attack. Then call him back every season with the same demands until he finally attacks you for being a megalomaniac, child sex-offender.