Changing sides in a civil war?

[Dr Jebus]

Is there any way to change sides once a civil war starts? I generally keep an eye on faction sizes to avoid being on the wrong end of one but earlier a succession crisis broke out with a faction holding 5% of the King's troops. I shrugged it off and carried on my war with the welsh when one by one every single other lord in england sided with the rebels. From having 200 men and one county they went to having several thousand and the entirety of england minus my own and the king's lands. Its clear the computer is able to change sides when it wants... is there any way I can?

I really wish it just prompted you at the outbreak of civil war to pick which side you actually want to support... most medieval lords could decide which side of a battle they rode their horse up to...

[Warlord of England&Teds]

sometimes when i play as an english lord i get the meassage from a rebelling lord to join him in his madness

[Nef]

Have you tried diplomacy with the leader of the rebel faction and 'offer to join war'? Not sure if that would work in this situation.

[LionZ]

I think you missed something there ... You always get offers for war or intrigue. Only if you already declared your involvment you can"t just turn that simple. But if you're neutral, you can always turn on your liege. Go " join war" or somethingnon a rebel lord

[De Wilde Kaart]

You can´t change sides in a war once you´ve committed to one of them. However, if you were in one faction, but another faction rebels, you can leave your faction and join the rebels. If you don´t join the rebels, you´re automatically on the side of your liege. You may still join the rebels at any time, though.

[De Wilde Kaart]

Besides, I don´t think it was usage medieval lords rode on to the battlefield, saw the opposition, thought `that lot look stronger than I expected´ and then switched sides. But please do correct me if I´m wrong, I love a good story about treason ;)

[Nef]

I'm probably wrong about this, but isn't that kind of how Henry Tudor became King Henry VII of England? He showed up at the battle but didn't pick a side until the others had worn each other out?

[De Wilde Kaart]

Well, I don't know much about Medieval English history, but I'm defenitely gonna check that out. Wikipedia, here I come!

[De Wilde Kaart]

Originally posted by Nef:

I'm probably wrong about this, but isn't that kind of how Henry Tudor became King Henry VII of England? He showed up at the battle but didn't pick a side until the others had worn each other out?

Back from Wikiland... You're kind of right. It wasn't Henry though who was switching sides. At least, not at the deciding battle. However, one of the commanding nobles (Earl of Northumberland) of Richard III's army refused to engage the enemy, either for personal or strategic reasons.
What apperently decided the battle was the involvement of Lord Stanley. His army was present, but his allegiance was not clear.
When Richard personally engaged and tried to capture and kill Henry, Stanley sided with Henry and came to his aid. Richard was swept from his horse, and killed. After the battle Henry was proclaimed King.
Battle of Bosworth Field: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Bosworth_Field#Engagement

[Dr Jebus]

Thanks for the replied, it kind of worked in the future (there were a LOT of civil wars in the space of 20 years until I finally took power myself). All the others I was asked to join from the start. I think I may just have been disliked by the guy starting the war, or his chosen candidate so he didn't want me on their side.

And historically quite a few lords would change sides as and when it suited them. This was particuarly a problem in the various wars between England and Scotland, those who lived on the borders tended to feel seperate from both sides. They would often end up crossing the ranks to join the other side if it suited them, and very often would fight their fellow borderer "allies" mid battle due to ongoing feuds.

It really depended on the lord, his sense of honour and loyalty.

Either way... back having fun. After 4 generations I've managed to put England back together after the decades of warfare between William's children.

[Arkeangel]

This is where the term "turncoat" comes from. If you wished to change sides in a battle you would turn your heraldry inside out and swap sides.

[prince_of_arfon]

As the others have said, it's possible to join a faction which is already rebelling against your liege. In fact, I recently made it work for me. I rebelled against my king, and successfully called in another duke to help me even after the war had been going for some years. I'd even captured some of his land and had to give it back when he switched to my side, but he didn't seem to hold that against me. :)