26-11-2002 02:58									#1
	The last core rules expansion Increase Your PM Length

Finally got the wraps put on it today. This then, brings us to a state of completion with regards to the basic game.

Let me be quick to say that this does NOT mean we're done discussing models for the game....if anything, it means that several of the models we talked about before can be dusted off and revisited now that this segment of the work has been completed.

This, essentially gives us our starting point. The expansion you're about to delve into, taken together with the rest of the stuff found in the core rules, and here:

http://www.pyromaniaks.net/candlebr...une=&forumid=11

represents the game as it will be initially released. From there, we'll be clawing our way to where we ultimately want to be (which has been at least partially expressed and considered in the various model-discussion threads here).

So....at long last, here's the early version of Candle'Bre's Diplomacy and Espionage system....
PS: No! The math gurus have NOT looked this over yet, so the forumlae may or may not be right....but the *system* is in place!

	26-11-2002 02:59									#2
	Put an end to popups!

Honor and Infamy continued

The Honor/Infamy system is in place in such a way that the general bent of the system is to keep the sum-total of honor in the realm somewhere close to zero. No attempt is made to enforce this in any hard way, and some drift from this is to be expected, but as a general rule, the sum-total of honor in the land (taking all players into account) should tend toward zero. This is accomplished by providing a counter-balancing honor/infamy boon/hit for specific actions, as outlined below:

Gaining and Losing Honor
* Level Jumping – When a player accumulates enough honor or infamy to catapult him into the next “level,” that player receives either +5 or -5 Honor (depending on the direction he just moved on the scale). These points are given to prevent a player from yo-yoing back and forth at the level-gain point.

* Natural Drift – Every game turn, at the start of the current player’s turn, that player loses 1% of his accumulated honor/infamy, such that the long term trend tends toward zero (forgetfulness….over time, unless deeds—good or bad—are reinforced by similar deeds, the people tend to forget). Note that the Council of Seven suffers a "natural drift" of 3% per turn, but then, they are MUCH more prone to honor gains, as a function of their faction-specific special abilities.

* Combat, Including Overwhelming odds: Combat odds are calculated by comparing the gold cost of the units of each side. A bonus/penalty of (1*(attacker : defender)) +1 (math guys, I’m sure this isn’t right, HELP!) *G* Defending side gains honor, attacking side loses honor.

* More on combat – Withdrawing from any battle gives you a -2 Honor hit (cowardice) while your opponent gains +2 honor (boldly driving you from the field). This modifier is only applicable if you are a "Peer of the Realm" or higher. The modifier does not apply to Infamous players.

* Mercy – Captured leaders are given back to their commander freely (18 – (3*|Honor Level|)) Honor to the giver, a like amount to the recipient - the honor hit in this case is due to weakness on the part of the side who carelessly lost their leader, and the eating of crow that must surely follow the ceremony in which the leader is graciously returned to their side). Note that giving a leader back is the same thing as ransoming the leader for zero gold. Ransoming the leader back for anything other than zero is considered ransoming “for a fair price” and carries neither an honor nor an infamy bonus/penalty). Note that such gifts may be refused, but in this case, given that lives are at stake, refusal simply negates any honor/infamy considerations).

* More on Mercy – Captured troops are released freely: +1 pt. per unit for the giver, -1 pt. per turn for the receiver (see notes above)

* Gifts - Allies are aided with gifts of money/Units (1 point per 50 gold value in units, money, or any combination thereof). Note that the giver of the gift gains honor, while the receiver loses honor (in this case, accepting such charity is seen as a sign of your weakness by the population at large, and so your honor suffers a hit by acknowledging that weakness in the face of your rivals). Note too that the receiver in this case has the option of declining the gift offered (this to prevent someone from “giving” their way to the win), and if the gift is declined, then the decliner gains a flat 1 pt. of honor (showing strength and character in the face of a rival who obviously thinks himself superior), while the giver loses a flat 1pt. of honor (public rejection). Note that the public rejection modifier is only applicable to Peers of the Realm and above. Infamous players do not suffer any negative impact from Public Rejection.

* Espionage – See the core rules section regarding espionage and specific point losses for failure to successfully conduct espionage activities. The person upon whom you conducted the unsuccessful espionage activities gains an amount of honor equal to the amount of your loss in all of these cases.

*Attacking the Council of Seven – carries with it an honor penalty above and beyond the norm. This makes the CoS a natural choice for players looking to try for the honor victory.

* Spells that target the general (civilian) population of a province cost you honor equal to ((spell level * 2) + (Honor level * 2)). You lose that amount of honor, and your victim gains a like amount (cruelty to the commoners for your part, and stoic perseverance on the part of your victim).

* Fate Cards - may provide an honor gain/loss as prescribed by each card, and some of these may be conditional on how the card is used/played (ie – one card may see you gain honor upon playing, another may only see an honor gain if you give it away).

* Every four (4) turns you hold up your end of a treaty or diplomatic arrangement, you gain +1 honor. If/when the treaty is broken, the breaker receives a hit to his honor total equal to the total honor gained for both parties involved in the diplomatic agreement for the life OF that agreement.

* Slaughter – If prisoners are killed rather than held captive, you lose (1 + Honor Level) per prisoner so treated (note that it is NOT possible to gain honor for such a slaughter. The max is capped at zero)

* More on Slaughter – If a leader is killed rather than taken prisoner, you lose 20 Honor + (3* |honor level|)

End of Honor and Infamy subsection of Diplomacy and Espionage

-=Vel=-
(To be continued.....)

	26-11-2002 03:03									#3
	Support Apolyton, buy GURPS/ Alpha Centauri

Diplomacy and Espionage:
Part One

The root of this model centers around a numeric range, from -100 to +100. Your relations with each of the factions in the game will be expressed as some number on this range. The range itself is broken out into nine segments. Each segment represents a different "attitude" toward your empire. The ranges, and their associated attitudes are as follows:

-100 to -84: Black-hearted hatred
(weight for negatives = 2, weight for positives = 0.25)

-83 to -62: Disdain
(weight for negatives = 1.75, weight for positives = 0.25)

-61 to -30: Distaste
(weight for negatives = 1.50, weight for positives = 0.5)

-29 to -8: Negativity
(weight for negatives = 1.25, weight for positives = 0.75)

-7 to + 7: Neutral
(weight for all = 1)

+8 to +29: Positive
(weight for negatives = 1, weight for positives = 0.75)

+30 to +61: Kindly Disposed
(weight for negatives = 1, weight for positives = 0.5)

+62 to +83: Friends, Peers, Sister Nations
(weight for negatives = 0.75, weight for positives = 0.5)

+84 to +100: Staunch Allies
(weight for negatives = 0.75, weight for positives = 0.25)

Note that each of the nine "attitudes" will be assigned a weighting factor which will modify the impact of various actions you may elect to take to attempt to influence your standing....thus, showering a hated foe with gifts will not be nearly as effective as doing the same to someone who is Neutral or only slightly negative to you.

Note too, that all costs associated with diplomatic activities come from your "infrastructure" budget, while all costs associated with espionage activities are drawn from your "military" budget.

Finally, note that each faction has a "starting set" of attitudes toward the other, these are listed below:

Fury:
-->Castillar (+40)
--> Wizards (-10)
--> Council of Seven (- 5)
-->Mourngrym (-70)

Castillar
-->Fury (+40)
-->Wizards (-70)
-->Council of Seven (-10)
-->Mourngrym (-5)

Wizards
-->Fury (-10)
-->Castillar (-70)
-->Council of Seven (-5)
-->Mourngrym (+40)

Council of Seven
-->Fury (-5)
-->Castillar (-10)
-->Wizards (-5)
-->Mourngrym (-10)

Mourngrym
-->Fury (-70)
-->Castillar (-5)
-->Council of Seven (-10)
--> Wizards (+40)

	26-11-2002 03:06									#4
	Avatar Enlargement: We've got the solution

FORMULAE SECTION

Identifying the variables
Current standing (standing)
Honor/infamy comparison (honorval)
Nature of diplomacy initiated (offer)
Past dealings (regard)
Size comparison (# of provinces)(size)
Size comparison (military) (military)
Size comparison (economic) (economic)

Getting the numbers
(Standing) - Your current position along the sliding diplomacy relation scale with the target faction
(Honor) - (Your Honor level - Rival's Honor Level)/3 - Note that to prevent someone from giving their way to the win, we need some kind of limiting factor on this weight, such that, at some point, having a high honor actually begins to work against you (ie - at 200 honor or more, treat this variable as (honor - 200)
(Offer) - (advantage points to you : advantage points to rival) of the current deal
(Regard) +5 points for every past favorable dealing you have had with rival. -10 for every unfavorable dealing you have had with rival (capped at 100 and -100)
(Size) - (# of your provinces : # of rival's provinces)
(Military) - (gold value of your military : gold value of rival's military)
(Economic) - (your per turn GDP : rival's per turn GDP)

Notes:
* "You" and "Your" in the cases above refer to the player initiating the offer in question

* (Offer) - Offers are made up of components. Each component provides an advantage to one side or the other (and some of the advanced options provide an advantage to both sides). To come to some reckoning of how many advantage points an offer is worth, and to make the comparison meaningful, it is necessary to break every element of an offer down into its gold equivalent. Thus, every component of an offer is assigned a value in gold, and advantage points given to the side that would get the goodies. The more favorable an offer is to the faction you are making an offer to (the more advantage points that line up on "his side" of the table, relative to yours), the more likely he is to accept that offer. To value a province, figure it thusly: ((150 - current turn #) * income of the province per turn, in gold)

These formulae will provide a solid basis and good place of beginning where the simpler "war and peace" diplomatic options are concerned, but of course, there are other kinds of options in the list, and these will require some additional modifiers.

Additional Modifiers
If you are in a state of peace with a faction already, and offer further diplomatic overtures, those overtures have a +10% chance of being viewed favorably, and further, gain a +1% chance of success per four turns that the agreement is in place, to a maximum of +15%.

If you have an alliance with a faction already, and offer further diplomatic overtures, those overtures have a +15% chance of being viewed favorably, and further, gain a +1% chance of success per four turns that the alliance is in place, to a maximum of +25%.

If your Honor level is very high (approaching a point where you may wind up winning the game via Honor win), other factions will begin to view gifts from you with suspicion, such that your honor actually begins to work against you in terms of deal acceptance. When you become a Lord Protector of the Realm (minimum of 161 honor), you incur a penalty of (honor/8)% modifier to all your diplomatic dealings IF those dealings would result in your gaining more honor.

* Attacking a faction - Automatically reduces your relationship with that faction to -100

* Attacking the ally of a faction - Damages your relationship with that faction by -20 to -30 points (random)

* Breaking ANY alliance (negative): Damages your relationships with ALL AI's by 5 to 10 points, plus 5 to 10 points additional for each agreement you have broken in the past.

* If you are infamous, all your relations will decline by -2 with all factions, every four (4) turns. (absolute values, see above)

* Attacking the enemy of an AI nation - Improves your standing with that AI nation by 10-20 points (random) - Note here that an "enemy" is specifically defined as a faction that is presently in a state of war with the AI in question.

Case-by-case Impacts
* Fate Cards gifted to an AI - varies, see specific Fate Cards for details

* If you have honor, then your positive relations with all other honorable factions will increase by +1 every four (4) turns. All other relations will degenerate by -1 every four (4) turns. (this boost/degradation is not subject to positive/negative weight modifiers…these are absolute values).

	26-11-2002 03:08									#5
	Support Apolyton, buy Civilization 2

Action Name: Letter of Negotiation
Cost: 25g
Gold Taken From: Infrastructure Budget
Pre-Requisites for Use/Appearance: Herald must be in place, Diplo Level 3
Potential Honor Gain (y/n): N
Range or amount of potential gain: NA
Potential Honor Loss (y/n): N
Range or amount of potential loss: NA
Game effect: If the NET EFFECT of the negotiation is negative for the faction you are negotiating with (ie - you are getting more out of the deal than they are), you will see your diplomatic relations WITH that faction take a hit equal to -1 per 1% value in your favor. On the other hand, if the negations end in the favor of the faction you are dealing with, you will see an improvement in your diplomatic standing with that faction, equal to +1 per 2% that the deal was in the other faction's favor.
Relevant Formulae: (0.30* Standing) + (0.15 * HonorVal) + (0.30 * Offer) + (0.25 * Regard)
Note that multiple items may be demanded and/or offered in such an exchange, and that this can lead to quite intricate negotiations. Also note that only one such letter may be sent to a given faction per turn.

Notes on Negotiations: If you send an offer to the AI, a check is made (based on the % chance of the offer being accepted). If the result is that the offer is NOT accepted, the AI will send a counter-offer composed of elements that, had YOU tendered that offer, the AI would have had a 100% acceptance rate on that offer. At this point, if you come back with an offer that is LESS THAN your previous offer, it will automatically be rejected. If you enter into another round of negotiations, sweeten your deal a bit, and send the new offer, then another % check is made to see if it is accepted. If not, the AI will deduct 2-5% (randomly) from his offer and re-send. This process repeats until acceptance is gained, or the initiator of the deal gives up. (side note, cos someone will surely do this, if you reject an AI's offer and send the exact same offer, the AI will automatically accept this).

Note too that Negotiations for various goods and services exchanged between two nations does not impact honor in any way (though your honor may impact the offer's success or failure). You're bartering goods "for a fair price" and no risk to honor is involved.

***

Action Name: Alleviate Border Tensions (reciprocal arrangement)
Cost: 0* - component of a Letter of Negotiation
Gold Taken From: NA
Pre-Requisites for Use/Appearance: Herald must be in place, Diplo Level 5 Component of Letter of Negotiation
Potential Honor Gain (y/n): N
Range or amount of potential gain: NA
Potential Honor Loss (y/n): N
Range or amount of potential loss: NA
Game effect: Ask that the faction "stand down," pulling his troops out of any province that borders your province X (and using this option, countered by an offer on your part to do likewise and pull YOUR troops from that area--if you don't want to withdraw, but want your opponent to do so, then don't use this option….use the "Withdraw from province X" option, detailed below.
Relevant Formulae: None….this option assumes that you're making a reciprocal offer If you make a reciprocal arrangement for withdrawing from an area, then this component of a letter of demand "zeroes out." --you are offering exactly what you are asking.
Notes: If you EVER attack a faction who you make an "Alleviate Border Tensions" agreement with, they will NEVER sign another such agreement with you. Any letter containing this element in it will automatically be rejected, even if the rest of the terms IN the letter are favorable to the faction in question.

***

Action Name: Loan (offer or request)
Cost: 0* - Component of a "Letter of Negotiation"
Gold Taken From: NA
Pre-Requisites for Use/Appearance: Herald must be in place, component of Letter of Negotiation, Infrastructure tech level 7 (bank)
Potential Honor Gain (y/n): N
Range or amount of potential gain: NA
Potential Honor Loss (y/n): N
Range or amount of potential loss: NA
Game effect: Loan of x gold for y payments of z gold per turn - players may input all parameters, at any level desired. The AI may come back with counteroffers, haggling back and forth until the deal is hammered out.
Relevant Formulae: (0.25 * Standing) + (0.10 * HonorVal) + (0.35 * Offer) + (0.20 * Regard) + (0.10 * Size)
Notes:

***

Action Name: Attack Faction X (request)
Cost: 0* - Component of a Letter of Negotiation
Gold Taken From: NA
Pre-Requisites for Use/Appearance: Herald must be in place, Component of Letter of Negotiation
Potential Honor Gain (y/n): N
Range or amount of potential gain: NA
Potential Honor Loss (y/n): N
Range or amount of potential loss: NA
Game effect: If successful, the faction you send this demand to will attack the faction you named in the Letter of Negotiation
Relevant Formulae: ((0.25 * Standing (w/you) - (0.25 * Standing (w/target)) + (0.20 * Regard) + (0.10 * HonorVal) + (0.45* (His Military :Target Military))
Notes: If the faction you request an attack on is currently in an alliance with the faction you are making the request of, then this request will be rejected flat-out. This request is valued at ((0.5) * (His Military : Target Military))

***

Action Name: Stop attacking faction X (request)
Cost: 0* - Component of Letter of Negotiation
Gold Taken From: NA
Pre-Requisites for Use/Appearance: Herald in place, Component of Letter of Negotiation
Potential Honor Gain (y/n): N
Range or amount of potential gain: NA
Potential Honor Loss (y/n): N
Range or amount of potential loss: NA
Game effect: If successful, the faction you send this demand to will stop attacking the faction you named in the Letter of Demand
Relevant Formulae: (0.30 * Standing (w/you) + (0.30 * Regard) + (0.25 * HonorVal) + (0.15* (His Military :Target Military))
Notes: This option is valued at ((0.5 * (Hismilitary : target military) + (0.5 * (150-current turn * total income of all target's remaining provinces)/3)

***

Action Name: Withdraw from border province X (offer or request)
Cost: 0* - Component of Letter of Negotiation
Gold Taken From: NA
Pre-Requisites for Use/Appearance: Herald in place, component of Letter of Negotiation
Potential Honor Gain (y/n): N
Range or amount of potential gain: NA
Potential Honor Loss (y/n): N
Range or amount of potential loss: NA
Game effect: If successful, the faction you send this demand to will withdraw all troops from the (user specified) province.
Relevant Formulae: (0.35 * Standing) + (0.10 * HonorVal) + (0.15 * Offer) + (0.25 * Regard) + (0.15 * Size)
Notes: In this case, value the province at (((150-current turn) * (gold value of the province)/3)

***

Action Name: Offer or request research data for technology x
Cost: 0* - Component of a Letter of Negotiation
Gold Taken From: NA
Pre-Requisites for Use/Appearance: Herald in place, component of a Letter of Negotiation, Infrastructure level 3 (libraries)
Potential Honor Gain (y/n): N
Range or amount of potential gain: NA
Potential Honor Loss (y/n): N
Range or amount of potential loss: NA
Game effect: If successful, the faction you send this demand to will give you the technology you ask for.
Relevant Formulae: (0.15 * Standing) + (0.10 * HonorVal) + (0.25 * Offer) + (0.15 * Regard) + (0.35 * Size)
Note that in this case, the technology is valued at ((RP's needed to research the tech - RP's generated per turn by YOU) expressed in gold.

***

Action Name: Offer or request province X
Cost: 0* Component of Letter of Negotiation
Gold Taken From: NA
Pre-Requisites for Use/Appearance: Herald in place, component of a Letter of Negotiation
Potential Honor Gain (y/n): N
Range or amount of potential gain: NA
Potential Honor Loss (y/n): N
Range or amount of potential loss: NA
Game effect: If successful, you will gain full control of the province named in this component of the Letter of Negotiation
Relevant Formulae: (0.25 * Offer) + (0.25* Standing) + (0.25 * Regard) + (0.25 * Size)
Notes: In this instance, the province is valued at ((150-current turn) * (Province per turn income))

***

Action Name: Offer or request X Gold (lump sum or per turn for y turns)
Cost: 0* - Component of a Letter of Negotiation
Gold Taken From: NA
Pre-Requisites for Use/Appearance: Herald in place, component of Letter of Negotiation
Potential Honor Gain (y/n): N
Range or amount of potential gain: NA
Potential Honor Loss (y/n): N
Range or amount of potential loss: NA
Game effect: If successful, you will gain X gold, demanded in the Letter.
Relevant Formulae: (0.25 * Offer) + (0.25* Standing) + (0.25 * Regard) + (0.25 * Size)

***

Action Name: Offer or request Garrison (Army)
Cost: 0* Component of Letter of Negotiation
Gold Taken From: NA
Pre-Requisites for Use/Appearance: Herald in place, component of Letter of Negotiation
Potential Honor Gain (y/n): N
Range or amount of potential gain: NA
Potential Honor Loss (y/n) N
Range or amount of potential loss: NA
Game effect: If successful, the faction in question will hand over troops of the number and type you specify.
Relevant Formulae: (0.25 * Offer) + (0.25* Standing) + (0.25 * Regard) + (0.25 * Size)
Notes: Garrisons are valued at their gold cost to create and train.

***

Action Name: Offer or request Lands and Titles in province X
Cost: 0* - Component of Letter of Negotiation
Gold Taken From: NA
Pre-Requisites for Use/Appearance: Herald in place, component of Negotiation
Potential Honor Gain (y/n): N
Range or amount of potential gain: NA
Potential Honor Loss (y/n): N
Range or amount of potential loss: NA
Game effect: Land Grants and Titles are given on a "per province" basis, and are given in provinces you do not control directly. If you acquire Land Grants and Titles in a province, you gain 10% of that province's per turn income. The Land Grant and Title may be rendered null and void if the province changes ownership (if you, or any other faction, conquers a province which has third party land rights assigned, you get a popup box informing you of that fact, and what faction holds the rights. You then get a prompt to either protect or nullify those rights. Protecting them gives you a positive diplomacy boost with the faction in question, and nullifying the rights gives you a hit to diplomatic relations. (range of gain or loss of diplomatic regard in this instance is + 10-20 or -15--25, modified by diplomatic weights).
Relevant Formulae: (0.20 * Standing) + (0.25 * Honor) + (0.15 * Offer) + (0.25 * Regard) + (0.15 * Size)

***

Action Name: Gift of State
Cost: 25g + gift value
Gold Taken From: Infrastructure Budget
Pre-Requisites for Use/Appearance: Diplo 4, Herald must be in place.
Potential Honor Gain (y/n): Y
Range or amount of potential gain: Varies on amount of gift
Potential Honor Loss (y/n): Y
Range or amount of potential loss: 1pt for public refusal IF you have a positive honor rating when making the offer
Game effect: A specialized form of negotiation, where you offer "something for nothing" to help a faction in need. Like the Letter of Negotiation, multiple items (as many as you desire, actually), may be offered, and their sum-total value is what determines both your honor gain (if applicable) and the increase in your diplomatic relations with the gifted faction (honor increase = 1point per 50g value of the gift, diplomatic increase is per Letter of Negotiation (see above).
Relevant Formulae: There is a chance (5% per level of infamy) that an infamous AI will decline a gift offered by an honorable player, just to be spiteful. There is a 10% chance that a gift will be rejected if it is smaller than the previously given gift. Otherwise though, success is automatic for the AI, since they all love gifts! (the option to refuse, however, is present specifically for MP games).

List of Items that may be gifted
Grand of Land and Title in province x (see above)
Province x (see above)
X gold (see above)
Technology x (see above)
Garrison (army) X (see above)
Offer loan of x gold for y payments of z gold per turn (see above) - note that for it to be a GIFT, then the "z" element in this equation must be zero.

***

Create Diplomatic Incident - Cost 150g (Espionage function - taken from your military budget) -
Action Name: Create Diplomatic Incident
Cost: 100g + 1 spy unit
Gold Taken From: Military Budget
Pre-Requisites for Use/Appearance: Diplo level 5, Espi level 5
Potential Honor Gain (y/n): N
Range or amount of potential gain: NA
Potential Honor Loss (y/n): Y
Range or amount of potential loss: 0 to 50 points for players with positive honor
Game effect: Sends one of your spies on a mission to disrupt relations between two factions. Requires an embassy with the faction you are attempting to wreck relations for, and at least Espi level 4. Basically, your agent “does something” and somebody else gets blamed. Chance of success is: 40% + (5*Your Espi level - 3* Opponent Espi Level). Base chance of getting caught is 30% - (2* your espi level - opponent espi level). Level of impact is 10 points per espi level you have researched. Failure means that you've been found out, and your own reputation takes a hit with both parties, equal to the amount of damage you would have done. If you fail, you have a 50% chance of being caught, and there's a 50% chance that the incident turns into nothing more than a harmless (and memorable) gaffe. If caught, however, and if you had positive honor when you initiated the incident, you lose honor in an amount equal to (damage you would have caused/2) in honor.
Relevant Formulae: 40% + (5*Your Espi level - 3* Opponent Espi Level). Base chance of getting caught is 30% - (2* your espi level - opponent espi level).


Action Name: In collusion with….
Cost: 200g
Gold Taken From: Military Budget
Pre-Requisites for Use/Appearance: Diplo Level 7, Espi level 5
Potential Honor Gain (y/n): N
Range or amount of potential gain: NA
Potential Honor Loss (y/n): Y
Range or amount of potential gain: 0 to 50 points for players with positive honor.
Game effect: Essentially, this is an extension of the "Create Diplomatic Incident" option that only becomes available if you have forged an alliance with another faction, and attempt to get their help in creating the Diplomatic Incident involving a 3rd and 4th party. The essence of this option is that it gives you an alibi and a greater pool of resources to work with, thus increasing your chances of success and decreasing the likelihood that you will be caught.
Relevant Formulae: Per Diplomatic Incident (above). The chance that your ally will agree to this collusion is 80% + (2 * alliance duration, in turns) + your current diplomatic standing with your ally - (sum of his diplomatic relations with the targeted parties). Chance of success increases by 20%, chance of getting caught decreases by 15%.

***

-=Vel=-
(to be continued)

	26-11-2002 03:10									#6
	Support Apolyton, buy Galactic Civilizations: Deluxe Edition

Diplomatic Options Detailed

Action Name: Forge Alliance
Cost: 250g and 4gpt from each member of the alliance
Gold Taken From: Infrastructure Budget
Pre-Requisites for Use/Appearance: Herald in place, minimum relationship of +70 with target faction, Diplo level 6
Potential Honor Gain (y/n): N
Range or amount of potential gain: NA
Potential Honor Loss (y/n): N
Range or amount of potential loss: NA
Game effect: An alliance allows map sharing (pushes back the fog of war), and allows your troops to move into the ally's territory freely, stacking your troops in the same province without triggering combat. Unlike a peace treaty, which has a set duration in time, Alliances HAVE no specific duration, and last until broken by one side or the other. The options listed below are refinements and enhancements to Alliances, as such, they ALSO have no specified timeframe, and must either be manually cancelled (example: "Reduce Tariffs") or ended via a change in the diplomatic climate (example: "Coordinate Battle Plans" becomes a non-issue if neither you nor your ally are currently at war).
Relevant Formulae: Chances of the AI accepting your alliance proposal are 0% + (0.5 * relationship value if between 70 and 83) OR (0.75 * relationship value if 84 or higher) + 4% if you and the target faction are both honorable, -10% if either of you are Infamous.

***

Action Name: Coordinate Battle Plans
Cost: 0
Gold Taken From: NA
Pre-Requisites for Use/Appearance: Must be in an alliance, both parties must be at war with the same faction, Diplo level 7
Potential Honor Gain (y/n): N
Range or amount of potential gain: NA
Potential Honor Loss (y/n): N
Range or amount of potential loss: NA
Game effect: If successful, the AI will begin massing his troops to attack province X (specified by you)
Relevant Formulae: As soon as you bring this option up, the AI will inform you of its current plans ("I'm currently massing my forces near province X with plans to overrun it.") and recommend that you attack some nearby province (the closest province owned by that faction to the AI-targeted province that you can attack). You may be able to change the AI's mind, however, and get him to redirect: (100% - 20% per province between the AI's largest force in the field and the province you target) + 1% per turn that your alliance has been in effect.
Notes:

***

Action Name: Reduce Tariffs
Cost: 100g
Gold Taken From: Infrastructure Budget
Pre-Requisites for Use/Appearance: Alliance must be in place, Diplo level 9
Potential Honor Gain (y/n): N
Range or amount of potential gain: NA
Potential Honor Loss (y/n): N
Range or amount of potential loss: NA
Game effect: Each side gains 10% of his partner's GDP, per turn. Note that this applies to both parties in the agreement, and favors the smaller faction.
Relevant Formulae: (0.25 * Offer) + (0.35 * Regard) + (0.25 * Standing) + (0.15 * Size)

***

Action Name: Favored Trading Partner
Cost: 100g
Gold Taken From: Infrastructure Budget
Pre-Requisites for Use/Appearance: Alliance must be in place, Diplo level 10
Potential Honor Gain (y/n): N
Range or amount of potential gain: NA
Potential Honor Loss (y/n): N
Range or amount of potential gain: NA
Game effect: gain 15% of your partner's GPD, per turn (you may have only one favored trading partner. Note that this applies to both parties in the agreement, and favors the smaller faction.
Relevant Formulae: (0.25 * Offer) + (0.35 * Regard) + (0.25 * Standing) + (0.15 * Size)

***

Action Name: Pool Research
Cost: 100g
Gold Taken From: Infrastructure Budget
Pre-Requisites for Use/Appearance: Alliance must be in place, Diplo level 10
Potential Honor Gain (y/n): N
Range or amount of potential gain: NA
Potential Honor Loss (y/n): N
Range or amount of potential gain: NA
Game effect: gain 10% of your partner's rp's generated. Note that this applies to both parties in the agreement, and favors the smaller faction.
Relevant Formulae: (0.45 * Regard) + (0.35 * Standing) + (0.20 * Size)

***

Action Name: Guilder's Alliance
Cost: 100g
Gold Taken From: Infrastructure Budget
Pre-Requisites for Use/Appearance: Alliance must be in place, Diplo level 9
Potential Honor Gain (y/n): N
Range or amount of potential gain: NA
Potential Honor Loss (y/n): N
Range or amount of potential gain: NA
Game effect: 10% reduction in provincial improvement costs for both parties PER MEMBER. Note that this applies to both parties in the agreement.
Relevant Formulae: (0.45 * Regard) + (0.35 * Standing) + (0.20 * Size)

***

Action Name: Vassalization
Cost: 300g and 10gpt
Gold Taken From: Infrastructure budget
Pre-Requisites for Use/Appearance: Alliance must be in place at least ten (10) turns, total attack factor (all troops you control) must be 300+% higher than your ally's total defense factor (total of all troops). Diplo level 8
Potential Honor Gain (y/n): N
Range or amount of potential gain: NA
Potential Honor Loss (y/n): N
Range or amount of potential gain: NA
Game effect: Vassalization allows for the transfer of troops from your armies to your Vassal's armies, and vice versa. It also brings you an extra boost of gold, equal to half the income your vassal produces.
Notes:
* Your vassal's territories count toward your victory condition
* Taking troops from your Vassal and placing them in your army damages your relationship with the vassal (1/4 of the value of the troops taken), and giving troops TO a Vassal improves your relations (same effect).
* If you Vassal gains sufficient strength such that his military strength surpasses your own, the vassalship will end (need a reporting screen to track this).
* If your relationship with the Vassal drops below + 70, the Vassalization ends, and any troops you have in the territories of your former Vassal are sent home (nearest province).
Relevant Formulae: (0.30 * Honorval) + (0.35 * Size) + (0.35 * Military) IF the abovementioned conditions are true, +1% per 4 turns that the alliance is in place, count start at alliance turn 11.
***

Special Diplomatic Options
Some diplomatic options only become available to you upon investing heavily in Influence or Mana. This investment represents a certain empowering force at work in your borders that allow wizards and clerics (normally not the most politically-minded of folk) to begin exerting themselves in more secular concerns.

It requires an investment of 400 mana to gain access to the wizardly diplomatic functions. It costs 200 Influence and temples/churches in at least 80% of your holdings to gain access to clerical diplomatic functions.

Wizardly Diplomatic Functions

1) Herald Teleportation Network - No penalty for delaying a response to diplomatic overtures (available immediately upon initial mana investment)

2) Magic-Assisted Espionage - you may spend mana to increase the likelihood of success of any espionage activity you undertake. 2 mana = +1% chance of success, to a maximum of +25%

3) Bewitch - you may spend mana to increase the likelihood of success of any diplomatic activity you undertake. 2 mana = +1% chance of success, to a maximum of +25%

Clerical Diplomatic Functions
1) Inquisition - Cathedrals may be upgraded to an Office of the Inquisitor. Cost to upgrade the Cathedral is 200g. Generates 2 Influence per turn (as per cathedral), and gives a 5% chance per round that a spy planted in the province containing the inquisitor's office will be ferreted out and killed. Also makes any espionage activity conducted against you 5% less likely to succeed, per Inquisitor's office you have in your realm.

2) Clerical Pressures - you may spend influence to increase the chances that your diplomatic overtures will be viewed favorably by those you send them to (1 pt. of Influence = +1% chance of success, to a max of +20%)

3) Clerical Financial Assistance - Tithes diverted to various sectors of your economy allow for greater flexibility in finance. Spend 5 Influence, and you may now allocate money from the civilian infrastructure budget to the military budget (normally, you can only move money from the military to the civilian budget…this option allows you to move money in either direction. Budget is reset to 50/50 at the start of your next turn, but may be changed again by spending another 5 Influence (option - you may set it up such that 5I is automatically deducted form your pool of I for as long as you have sufficient I available. If you do this, then the budget will not revert to 50/50 at the start of your next turn, but will retain whatever settings you give it until you either elect to stop paying the 5I per turn, until you run out of I to pay the per turn cost, or until you elect to change the settings yourself).
***

Honorable Options

Action Name: Celebration
Cost: 75g* (plus 25g per attending faction that you extended "Ways and Means" fees to (you offer to pay to transport representatives from the other factions out of your own pocket))
Gold Taken From: Infrastructure pool
Pre-Requisites for Use/Appearance: Must at least be an "Honorable Lord" of the Realm to see this option
Potential Honor Gain (y/n): N
Range or amount of potential gain: NA
Potential Honor Loss (y/n): N
Range or amount of potential loss: NA
Game effect: All factions invited to the Celebration gain +2 Honor per faction attending. All factions NOT invited lose -2 Honor per faction attending (talking bad about people who aren't there). All attending factions gain +4-7 points of diplomatic regard for the faction hosting the reception. Double this is ways and means are provided by the Host. Factions invited but turning down your invitation see no impact to honor, but still see a +1-2 point boost to diplomatic regard. Factions not invited see a -5 to -10 point drop in diplomatic regard. (all diplomatic regard adjustments subject to weights)
Relevant Formulae: HELP!!!!!
Notes:

***

Action Name: Reception
Cost: 150g
Gold Taken From: Infrastructure pool
Pre-Requisites for Use/Appearance:Must be at least a Knight Protector of the Realm to gain access to this option.
Potential Honor Gain (y/n):N
Range or amount of potential gain: NA
Potential Honor Loss (y/n): N
Range or amount of potential loss: NA
Game effect: Choose a territory you control. That is the location of the celebration to be held. Targets a specific faction. That faction is the subject of a major series of parties held in his honor. Diplomatic regard increases +10 to +15 points (subject to weights). Loyalty in the province targeted increases by +10%, and the chance of rebellion in the province is halved for the turn that the celebration occurs. Note that if a rebellion DOES occur during the celebration, then diplomatic regard *decreases* -20 to -30 (subject to weights), and you lose -4 honor (endangering the guest of honor at the celebration). Note that if the territory where the celebration is occuring is subject to ANY negative effect (spell, etc), then the result is the same as if the province had rebelled. Also note that if the province you select as the site of the celebration borders a province of the target faction, then the loyalty boost, decreased rebellion chance applies to one of his (random) provinces that borders the celebration.
Relevant Formulae: HELP!!!!!
Notes:

***

Action Name: Censure
Cost: 200g
Gold Taken From: Infrastructure pool
Pre-Requisites for Use/Appearance: Must be at least a "Lord-Protector of the Realm" to access this diplomatic option.
Potential Honor Gain (y/n):N
Range or amount of potential gain: NA
Potential Honor Loss (y/n):N
Range or amount of potential loss: NA
Game effect: Focuses on a specific faction, and is a strong statement of distaste and dislike that causes all factions to take a dim view of the targeted faction's activities. All factions NOT allied with the target faction see a -10 to -15 drop in diplomatic standing (subject to weights).
Relevant Formulae: HELP!!!!
Notes:

***

Infamous Options
Action Name: Embarrass
Cost: 100g
Gold Taken From: Infrastructure Budget
Pre-Requisites for Use/Appearance: Must be at least a "Brigand" to access this diplomatic option.
Potential Honor Gain (y/n): N
Range or amount of potential gain: NA
Potential Honor Loss (y/n): N
Range or amount of potential loss: NA
Game effect: The Infamous player hires some third party to stage an embarrassing event to a particular faction (perhaps a public play that loudly declares the illegitimacy of all the offspring of the targeted faction….or something similar). The result is a loss of 5 Honor (the honor is gained by some other faction, named by the player using this option). On the targeted player's turn, he is made aware of this affront, and may offset the Honor loss by spending 2 Influence per point on Honor to be recovered. If he lacks the Influence to prevent the loss, then the Honor is lost.
Relevant Formulae: HELP!!!
Notes:

***

Action Name: Malign
Cost: 250g
Gold Taken From: Infrastructure Budget
Pre-Requisites for Use/Appearance: Must be at least a "Vagabond" to make use of this diplomatic option
Potential Honor Gain (y/n)
Range or amount of potential gain:
Potential Honor Loss (y/n)
Range or amount of potential loss:
Game effect: An even nastier form of attack than an embarassment, a Maligned faction sees its diplomatic relations suffer some random value from 5-20 (subject to weights) with all factions (halve this value in the case of Allies), as the target's intentions and reputation are dragged through the mud and any misdeeds of the past are blown out of proportion and brought to the fore.
Relevant Formulae: HELP!!!
Notes:

***

Action Name: Slander
Cost: 500g
Gold Taken From:
Pre-Requisites for Use/Appearance: Must be an evil bastard to make use of this option
Potential Honor Gain (y/n)
Range or amount of potential gain:
Potential Honor Loss (y/n)
Range or amount of potential loss:
Game effect: An insidious form of attack that make it 40% likely that the Church will not honor any intercessions on behalf of the targeted faction for (random) 1-2 turns.
Relevant Formulae: HELP!!!!
Notes:

-=Vel=-
(to be continued)

	26-11-2002 03:11									#7
	Enter the AD-FREE zone

Replying to Diplomatic Overtures
Two options here, when you receive a diplomatic request from another player. You may either opt to give the matter your immediate attention or delay responding for a turn. Responding immediately gives you no time to check your various sources of intelligence before making a decision, but you earn points for taking the time out of your schedule to respond immediately. Delaying for a turn gives you time to check intelligence and such, but you lose points diplomatically.

Implementation Note: On turn zero (the setup turn), you are prompted with something like the following: "Sire, as we go forward, would you like us to structure your day such that diplomatic overtures are attended to in the morning, or do you wish to deal with them as you can?"

If the player takes the "in the morning" option, then all incoming diplomatic offers will be brought to his attention via popup window at the start of each of his turns. Offers resolved in this manner (via the turn-start popup window) will be considered to have been resolved immediately, and subject to the bonus (see below).

If he chooses the other option, then the player will be alerted to diplomatic options via a flag somewhere on the main display screen. These offers will be treated as though the diplomats in question were made to wait till it was convenient for the ruling lord to answer them, and therefore subject to the slow response penalty.

This can be set to player's taste in the game's "options" section of the menu, when we have one.

Formula for Rapid Diplomatic Response vs. "Wait a Turn" Response
Respond immediately and you gain (current diplomatic ranking * 0.01) as a diplomatic bonus.

Respond with a delay and you lose (current diplomatic ranking * 0.02) as a diplomatic penalty.


Faction-Specific Modifiers
Fury
+10% more likely to accept an "attack faction x" or "coordinate battle plans" offer.

Letters of commendation are 15% more effective than baseline when sent to this group.

Castillar
Bribes and gifts of state are not as useful when dealing with house Castillar (-15%), but they are fiercely loyal to their friends (+10% chance to accept an alliance, and +15% more likely to offer or accept offers of titles and land grants).

Wizards
Lavish gifts of state are 15% more effective when sent to this group. The wizards are not fond of alliances, however, and are 10% less likey than the norm to enter into them.

Council of Seven
+20% likely to call off an attack vs. another faction when asked to. -20% likely to attack another faction. Gifts of state are 5% more effective than the norm.

Mourngrym
+15% to enter into ANY economic arrangement (loans, advanced alliance options involving trade, etc).

End of Diplomatic Subsection
-=Vel=-

	26-11-2002 03:13									#8
	Support Apolyton buy from Amazon

The Espionage Model:
Part One


Summary of Additions
Here's a complete list of the new things (units, flags, buildings, etc) that these changes in the diplomatic/espionage model will bring about :

* New Unit - Provincial Spy 0*/0*/1 - Costs 21g, per turn upkeep = 3g - Available at game start. Provincial spies are locals hired in a province you do not control. You pay them, they give you information. They are not as "good" as Professionally trained spies, but their advantage is that they're available immediately, require no special infrastructure on your part, and provide information on the province they're hired in just as a professional spy would if he had been hired and placed there.

There are no limits to the number of Provincial spies you can hire per turn, and no limits to how many you can have in any given province (though you see no added benefit by having multiple provincial spies in the same province, except that they're less likely to ALL be caught if someone sweeps the province for spies). Provincial spies cannot be assigned to other missions, nor can they be compelled to leave the province they're in for any reason. They work for you, but you don't own or control them. In combat with other spies, they serve as well as professionally trained spies, however (something about fighting for your life that provides a fair bit of motivation) (vs. other spies, treat their A/D values as being equal to your espi tech level).

* New Unit - Professional Spy 0*/0*/1 - Costs 21g, Per Turn Upkeep = 3g - Available at Espi Lvl 1. May only be hired from provinces containing Thieves' Guilds. Only one Spy may be hired per province, per turn, by any faction, and the cost of hiring spies comes out of your military budget. Spies are essential for performing certain espionage actions. Vs. other (combat) units, spies get no attack or defense rating, but vs. other spies, their attack and defense rating is equal to your current Espionage Tech level. Note an important difference between "Provincial Spies" and "Spies." Provincial Spies are locals you hire in someone else's territory to provide you with information. A Spy *unit* is a trained professional from your own territory. You may elect to send one of your spies into someone else's territory, and if you do, he gets a +30% chance of successfully becoming a Provincial Spy (a) he's better at his job, and b) he can go there, blend in with the local populace, and set up shop! Thus, professional spies are much less likely to be ferreted out than hired locals. Also, professional spies are 20% more likely to resist being found in a Counter-Spy Sweep, and 25% less likely to be turned into a double agent if found. The act of training a spy takes up one of your Espionage Action points in the current turn. A professional spy receives a bonus to accomplish whatever mission you assign him to equal to 10% + your espionage tech level (representing his greater relative skill over and above a provincial spy). Note that professional spies may be placed in your army. If they are, they do not participate in any attacking or defending if the army is attacked, cannot be targeted with precision strikes (but may be chosen as random casualties for spells or other effects), they serve as a measure of protection from battlefield assassination or troop buyoff, and they allow you to perform such actions on an enemy army. There is no limit to the number of spies you may have traveling with your army, and each spy can perform one action per battle round. Note that you must have an Espionage Action point to activate each spy you use, but once activated in a particular battle, no further Espionage Action Points need be spent. They will operate every combat round, for as long as you have resources left available.

* New Unit - Demolitions Expert - costs 40g, per turn upkeep = 4g if not used immediately. Available at espi level 5

* New Unit - Inquisitor - A specialized type of "spy" unit, used primarily for defensive missions (tho they can also perform the "snoop" option. Available at Espi Level 3, and Infrastructure 3, cost is 10g, 5 Influence, and 1 mana per turn "upkeep". These units may be trained in any province containing a temple or cathedral when the tech pre-requisites have been met, at the rate of one unit per turn, per eligible province.

* New Unit - Scout/Guide 5/5/2 - Costs 18g, Per Turn Upkeep = 2g (same as with all other troops). May only be hired from provinces containing both a barracks and a Tavern or Thieves' Guild. Available at Espi Lvl 2. Scout/Guides are treated as Infantry with respect to Combat Tech improvements to their baseline numbers but specifically DO NOT gain Infantry special abilities (Initiative, Flank), and also have the following special ability: If a scout/guide is traveling in an army, then ALL units in the army (scout included) gain +1 on their defense number (which will lead in an overall increase in the army's defensive factor). This bonus is NOT cumulative. If you have more than one scout in the army, the bonus only applies once. It IS cumulative with all other bonuses stemming from other sources.

* New Building - Tavern - Available at game start for 60g. This moves Thieves' Guilds to Espionage Level 3, and Infrastructure Level 1, as an upgrade to the tavern. Taverns generate 1 Espionage Action Point per round. Thieves' Guilds generate two. Both count equally for purposes of defending your holdings against the espionage actions of others (where applicable)

*New Building - Counter Spy Cell Network - Available at Espi Lvl 10. Costs 200g. Per turn upkeep of 4g. Reduces the chances of all espionage conducted against the territory that the Cell operates from, and all provinces you control that are adjacent to it by 30%. Also serves to "sweep" (see Counterspy Sweep ability, detailed later) the province that the Network operates from, and all adjacent provinces you control, every turn at no cost to you, and has a flat 30% chance of uncovering spies placed in adjacent territories, every single turn. Note too that the presence of a counterspy network reduces the chance of enemy espionage actions that DO NOT target specific provinces, and in these cases, the effect is -5% per cell currently in operation.

	26-11-2002 03:18									#9
	Support Apolyton, buy Civilization 2

A closer look at the Espi Tech Tree

Espi Level 0 - Hire Provincial Spy - New Map Graphic - One of the most basic espionage functions, this option is available without any Espionage tech research at all. A provincial spy is some guy in a province you don’t own, whom you pay for information. Nothing more, nothing less. It costs 21g to cultivate such a spy (espionage function), and 3gpt to maintain the spy. You can tell which provinces you currently have Provincial Spies in because placing such a spy will a) remove the fog of war in that province, and b) place a small “eye” icon in the province that only you can see. Having a Provincial Spy in place gives you the same level of information you have in your own provinces, including complete troop information, making these guys a bargain indeed! Your chances of successfully placing the spy in enemy territory are as follows: 50% + (5* Your Espionage Level - 2* Enemy Espionage Level). A failed result is transparent to you. It means that the spy was placed, but that the faction you placed the spy with was alerted to its presence, and may deal with it accordingly. (so, from the player's perspective, they always succeed in placing their spies). The act of hiring a provincial spy takes up one of your Espionage Action points in the current turn. It is not necessary to have a professional spy in the target territory to hire a Provincial Spy there.

Espi Level 0 - Incite Rebellion - Simply requires one or more Thieves' Guilds to function (which makes it a pre-requisite of Infrastructure Tech Level 1) - This is the same ol' Incite Rebellion function to be found in the core rules. No changes here at this time.

Espi Level 0 - Build Tavern - No pre-requisites for this building. May be built for 60g, and has the same restrictions that a Thieves' Guild is under (may not be built in a province containing a Temple). Generates one Espionage Action point per turn, and counts as a defensive countermeasure for espionage actions performed against you.

Espi Level 1 - Snoop - This is the "Information Gathering" Espionage ability from the core rules, involving an effort to "look in on" various bits of information that define another faction's standing. Mostly, this amounts to sending people into taverns to evesdrop on the conversations of men learned about such things. It is not necessary to have a spy in any particular province to perform this action.

Espi Level 1 - Train Spy - See note above on professional spies and their differences from the hired local talent. It is not necessary to have a spy in a province in order to train a spy.

Espi Level 1 - Steal Gold - Activate target spy - order to steal gold

Espi Level 2 - Scout/Guide becomes available in provinces that meet the requirements (barracks and tavern/thieves' guild in province)

Espi Level 3 - Inquisitor unit becomes available, if you also have Infrastructure tech level 3

Espi Level 3 - Thieves' Guild (upgrade to tavern) becomes available, if you also have Infrastructure tech level 1

Espi Level 3 - Steal/Corrupt Research - Activate target spy - order to steal plans and prototypes, or to destroy same.

Espi Level 3 - Acquire Double Agent - Any time a spy is found operating in your territory, you may attempt to sway that spy to your side. To do so, you must send one of your spies into the territory with the enemy spy. Battle results. If your spy wins the battle, there is a baseline 30% chance that you can sway the spy to your side (modified by 2% * Your espi level - opponent espi level). If the spy does not become a double agent, he is killed. If he does become a double agent, he remains, but begins providing the faction who placed him with false information about the province (random each turn, +/- 40% of troop strength data)

Espi Level 5 - Troop Buyoff - Requires that you have at least one spy in your army.

Espi Level 5 - Demolitions Expert (a specialized form of spy) - Cost 40g, 4gpt maintenance if not detonated immediately - Select target province and get a pull down menu of provincial buildings present. You have a chance of destroying target building and (potentially) doing collateral damage to troops in the province. Chance of destroying target building is 50% + (5* Your tech level - 2* enemy tech level). Chance of collateral damage is a survival check made by every unit in the province with the bomb. 1-2 on a d20 and target unit dies. Leaders are not subject to this check.

Espi Level 7 - Battlefield Assassination - Requires that you have at least one spy in your army, or enemy's army fighting you.

Espi Level 9 - Counterspy Sweep - Cost 10g This ability allows you to “check” your provinces for potential spy activity, and with further action by you, root them out and prevent enemy spies from passing important information to other factions. Chances of success when looking for a spy in your territory are 50% + (5*your espi level - 3* enemy espi level). Few things are harder than ferreting out spies in your own territory. It requires a great deal of patience and a healthy Intelligence Infrastructure. Note that this sweep will only reveal the *presence* of a spy operating in your territory. It will do nothing to remove the spy from your holdings.

Espi Level 10 - Subversion - A dangerous game to play indeed, subverting an enemy province out from under their control is an alternate method of gaining control of a province. Uses the same formula as Inciting Rebellion, with the exception that troops in the province do NOT modify the chances of success downward, but the chances of success are a flat 20% less than with Rebellion. The result though, is that if successful, the province reverts immediately to your control. All troops loyal to the formerly owning faction must roll a d20, 1-8 they revert to your control, 9-20 they do not switch sides and are expelled to the next nearest province that their master controls. Note that neutral provinces MAY be subverted to your will, and in the case of neutral provinces, all troops therein automatically revert to your control (they "switch uniforms").

	26-11-2002 03:20									#10
	Got spare money?

Part Three - Espionage Options Detailed

Snoop (all options below this are "snoop choices" - This replaces the "Gather Intelligence" option from the Core Rules, and has been expanded into several specific categories)
--->Fate Cards held
--->Influence with the Church, rate of Influence gain
---> Current Mana in pool, rate of mana gain, school(s) of magic chosen
--->Gold and Budgetary settings
--->Research Settings and Techs Discovered
--->General Military Disposition
Steal Gold
Steal/Corrupt Research
Troop Buyoff
Demolish
Attack
Assassinate
Sow Seeds of Rebellion
Subvert

General note regarding espionage: If there are only two players remaining in a game, honor loss will occur ANY TIME espionage is conducted, whether it succeeds or fails, as it is assumed that the “other player” did the deed, and his standing in the eyes of the general population will drop accordingly.

Mission Template
Mission Name:
Mission Cost:
Mission Duration:
What you get:
Downside if caught:
Modifiers in play:

***

Mission Name: Snoop - note that all snoop sub-options are essentially "the same" for purposes of determining success or failure. You're not trying to "get" anything tangible, so mostly, this is about information gathering.
Mission Cost: 1 available spy, 1 espionage action point
Mission Duration: 1-3 turns (random)
What you get: choose a snoop category when creating the mission. Success = information in the chosen area, on a particular faction.
Downside if caught: No honor loss for window shopping, but you WILL see a diplomatic relation hit of 2-5 base points (modified by relational weights) if it is discovered that you were behind the deed.
Modifiers in play: All modifiers are applicable.

Mission Name: Steal Gold
Mission Cost: 1 available spy, 1 espionage action point
Mission Duration: 2-3 turns (random)
What you get: (d6 * Your espi tech level) + # of Thieves' Guilds you control, in gold.
Downside if caught: Honor loss equal to 5 + (honor level *3), capped at a minimum loss of zero, so that infamous players cannot GAIN honor by stealing. Target gains a like amount of honor, and you suffer a diplomatic hit of 7-12 points (random), modified by relational weights.
Modifiers in play: All modifiers are applicable.

Mission Name: Corrupt Research
Mission Cost: 1 available spy, 2 espionage points
Mission Duration: 2-3 turns (random)
What you get: Targeted player loses a number of research points equal to (d6 * # of taverns/thieves' guilds in your empire) - 1 per tavern/thieves' guild in target player's empire. The points lost are entirely at random.
Downside if caught: Honor hit of 10 + (honor level * 3) (caped at a minimum loss of zero). Diplomatic relations hit of 8-16 points (random), modified by relational weights.
Modifiers in play: +15% chance from listed baseline, and all other modifiers are applicable.

Mission Name: Steal Research
Mission Cost: 1 available spy, 2 espionage points
Mission Duration: 2-5 turns (random)
What you get: Targeted opponent loses some number of research points (per above), and you gain a like amount in your research pools.
Downside if caught: Honor hit of 10 + (honor level * 3) (caped at a minimum loss of zero). Diplomatic relations hit of 8-16 points (random), modified by relational weights.
Modifiers in play: All modifiers are applicable.

Mission Name: Troop Buyoff
Mission Cost: 1 active spy (in an army you control), and 1 espionage action point/battle round, and gold (5g per bribe attempt, taken from your military budget)(note that in this case, the cost in espionage points and gold is deducted from your pool of available points. If you have no available points, the bribe option cannot be used. Note too that the gold is lost whether the attempt succeeds or not).
Mission Duration: special
What you get: Each round of battle, before ANY combat is resolved, you may make one attempt to bribe enemy soldiers per spy traveling with your army. Success means that one random troop from your enemy's army switches sides and fights for you. Failure means the troop in question does not join your side…he remains under the control of his original owner, but will not participate in the combat in any way (does not get to attack or defend). Such troops are NOT captured if the province is taken, however. Instead, they auto-retreat to a random, adjacent province owned by that player. If no valid retreat targets exist, the troops simply desert and vanish.
Downside if caught: You WILL be caught using this, succeed or fail, because the results are imminently obvious to both immediately involved parties, however….it cannot be said that there is much in the way of a downside to it. The honor hit is nominal (6 + (3* Honor Level)) (capped at a minimum loss of zero), and that you and the other party are fighting implies a state of war already, so it's not like you can further damage your relationship….
Modifiers in play: all modifiers except for "defensive spies in place" are applicable
Special Notes: To keep this aspect of the game from getting out of hand, if both sides have spies in their army, then before any ground combat is resolved, the spies will do battle. Thus, in any given combat, only one side will have the ability to bribe troops (as only one side will have surviving spies).

Mission Name: Demolish
Mission Cost: 1 Demolitions crew and 2 espionage action points
Mission Duration: Immediate
What you get: A rival's building blown to hell, and possible collateral damage
Downside if caught: Hit to honor equal to (18 + (3* Honor level)) capped so that you can't gain honor by blowing stuff up, and damage to your relationship with the targeted faction equal to (random) - 12-20 points (subject to relational weights)
Modifiers in play: all modifiers are applicable.

Mission Name: Attack
Mission Cost: 1 espionage action point, 1 (or more) available spy(ies)
Mission Duration: Immediate
What you get: Hopefully, one or more dead enemy spies. This mission is one of many ways to rid yourself of enemy spies inside your territory. You find 'em, send a hit squad of your own spies in, and take 'em out!
Downside if caught: None. You're takin' out the garbage….nothing more. About the only potential downside is the fact that you are putting your own spies at risk in the attack.
Modifiers in play: There are no modifiers in play. The attack WILL occur…the only thing left to chance is the end result, and who loses how many spies.

Mission Name: Battlefield assassination
Mission Cost: 1 (or more) spies in an army, and 2 espionage action points per attempt
Mission Duration: Special
What you get: Dead units, and possibly dead leaders!
Downside if caught: An honor hit equal to (24 + (3*honor level)).
Modifiers in play: all modifiers are applicable

Mission Name: Sow seeds of Rebellion
Mission Cost: 2 spies, and 4 espionage points
Mission Duration: 4-7 turns
What you get: A new province, or a war.
Downside if caught: A failed attempt will leave you with 2 fewer spies, and a damaged relationship with the faction you committed this act against (-100…this is tantamount to a declaration of war), major damage (40-50 points) to every ally of that faction, and minor damage (5-10) to every other faction in the game.
Modifiers in play: Formula is:
{(F1 ERL x 10) + (F1 TG#)} – {(F2 ERL x 10) + (F2 TG#)}
F1: Targeting Faction
F2: Targeted Faction
ERL: Espionage Research Level
TG#: Number of Controlled Thieves Guilds.
The base number is modified as follows:
+10 if targeted Province is adjacent to a territory F1 controls; -5 if it is not.
–10 for each Combat Unit in the targeted Province.
–5 for each Fortification level of the Province.
The modified number is the percent chance of success. This number may be modified by 10 points by spending Gold equal to the Revenue Value of the targeted Province. The opponent Faction may lower the chance by 10 points by spending Gold, Honor, or Influence (in any combination) equal to half the Revenue Value of the targeted Province.
If the Incite Rebellion attempt is successful, it immediately becomes controlled by the active player. Any troops in the Province remain controlled by the targeted Faction, but must leave the Province immediately. Move any Units to the nearest Province controlled by that Faction.
After a successful rebellion, the Church proscribes movement through the Province by any Faction’s Units for three turns, beginning immediately.

Mission Name: Subvert
Mission Cost: 2 spies, 4 espionage action points
Mission Duration: 5-8 turns
What you get: a new province, or a war.
Downside if caught: as above (sow seeds of rebellion)
Modifiers in play: formula is as above that enemy troops do NOT modify success downward, but success is a flat -20% less than with sow seeds of rebellion.

-=Vel=-

	26-11-2002 03:21									#11
	Support Apolyton, buy Civilization 2

and....that's all!

-=Vel=-

	26-11-2002 03:45									#12
	Increase the size of your Attachments

quote: Originally posted by Velociryx and....that's all! -=Vel=-

One tiny comment: I think players will probably relate to the "word" description better than the "number" description for diplomatic relations.

So, the diplomacy screen should have the "word" description like "disdain" as well as the number representation next to the faction in question.

For example,

quote: faction X relations: disdain (-70), improving

"disdain" would tell the player the current status of relations. "improving" or "worsening" would tell the player if relations went up or down from last turn, and the "-70" would give the player the current numerical representation of current relations.

I think this would give the player the info they need in a clear way.

	26-11-2002 19:19									#13
	Increase Your PM Length

::nodding:: Good thinking, Diplo! I like that!

And, I should clarify....we ARE currently working on expanding the scope of the Fate Card Engine, which will include coming here to kick ideas around for cards, effects, and story devices, so I think I prolly jumped the gun slightly in calling this the LAST expansion....let me say then, that this is the last purely mechanical expansion to the core rules.

The FC expansion *will* change (fairly dramatically, actually) the dynamics and mechanics of FC's, but in addition to that will be the inclusion of the story elements into the fabric of the game. IMO, that expansion will be what gives the game soul.

-=Vel=-

	28-11-2002 06:01									#14
	Browse Apolyton AD-FREE

Something you whipped up in a spare 20 minutes or so Vel? Managed to get through the first posts worth.
The rest is going into my directory titled "Threads that are just soo darned long that I can't read the whole thing at work so they have to be copied onto floppy disk and read at home".
Interestingly the content of said directory is pretty much the same size as the content of one of its sub-directories titled "Candle'bre". Curious that ...


Back to the first post - The point about looting - Is a negative honour required for "looting" your own dead? By which I mean recovering weapons/armour from fallen comrades rather than the enemy.
Now that you've brought it up I would've thought both such were pretty standard fare for the sort of setting you seem to be aiming at.
This happened during the crusades IIRC - which at least maintained the semblence of a (albeit slightly twisted) code of honour. Maybe this had something to do with the environment though - far from home and the standard support structure - armouries and whatnot...
Another point - Is the side that holds the field able to dispose (bury/cremate) of the fallen, of both sides, such that they can't be looted by a returning opponent?

Enough for now. I think I'm sounding rather ghoulish ...

	28-11-2002 08:25									#15
	Put an end to popups!

Well, I would still like to agitate for a magical spy unit.

	28-11-2002 19:30									#16
	Put an end to popups!

I wish I could say it were so, Rav....but actually it took more like 35 minutes....

Nahhh, in truth, that was one of the hardest bits to put together....something on the order of two and a half months...UGH....but now that the core system is in place, I predict relatively smooth sailing from here.

With regards to looting the dead.....some "normalized" amount of that can be said to be abstracted in that the total cost of units is perhaps a shade lower than might be expected, and upkeep probably isn't quite as high as it could be.....taken together, both of these can be explained away by assuming some level of "recycling" equipment, but as to the actual act of methodically stripping the battlefield of valuables....yep....that requires a lack of honor (it is viewed in much the same way as grave robbery). Sadly, there's not much that can be done to prevent it. Burial would only make the task take a bit longer, but for an army short on supplies, and under the command of an infamous leader, the extra time would almost certainly be taken in any event, and so the only other alternative would be to stoop to the level of the infamous player, something that those with honor would be loathe to do (tho it would not be unheard of)....that might be a tweak then....to allow it for honorable players, but to make an honor hit a part of the equation for them, tied to their honor level such that for a Peer of the Realm, it may have only minimal effect on their honor, but for a very honorable player, doing something like that would really raise some eyebrows.

Magical spies.....loved the idea, but ultimately expressed it another way, for this reason:

Spies are none-too-popular in Candle'Bre, and wizards are not all that commonly found. Those that do exist are almost unfailingly in important positions (as advisors, serving in battle councils, as the heads of universities or research concerns, or--in the case of the Wizard's own faction--ruling outright. Now its certainly true that any of these guys would prolly make a better than average thief or assassin, given their abilities, but they're too rare to risk in such pursuits. Still, magic-assisted espionage was an idea too good to ignore, so I built in a means for those with Mana to burn to help their spies out via a mana expenditure abstraction meant to represent the crafting of certain magical items to help the thieves out (cloaks of invisibility, slippers of silence, boots of speed....that sorta stuff)....spend mana on a spy mission and you get a hefty bonus to your chances of success.

A secondary reason I went that route was that I didn't want to find myself falling into the "unit rut" where every new ability expressed itself in the form of a new unit....so I attempted to strike a balance there....we've got a clerical "spy" unit that can only be used to snoop, or to root out enemy espionage attempts (Inquisitors are also cost-effective ways to eliminate enemy spies found inside your borders), and hand in hand with that, we've got magic-assisted espionage, which makes the job of the inquisitor that much more difficult.

On balance, I think (I hope!) that what this leaves us with is a game sub-system that, like the game itself, can be structured to suit each player's tastes, and presents a staggering array of choices....

-=Vel=-

	29-11-2002 03:57									#17
	Remove this text

Thats some depth there, can't wait for the release

	29-11-2002 13:17									#18
	Support Apolyton

Nice work Vel!

Minor point - personally I'd prefer it if the diplomatic response time wasn't set at the start of the game, or at least if the idea was tweaked slightly. Have two settings - 'quick response always on', or 'player decides case by case'. Setting yourself up at game start with an inbuilt penalty seems a bit odd.

Unless I'm reading it wrong of course

Rich.

	29-11-2002 17:59									#19
	Support Apolyton, buy Call to Power 2

Ya...we'll have it set up so that you can go into the game's preferences and turn that off anytime you want....the bit on the front end was mostly put there for flavor....

-=Vel=-

	01-12-2002 04:35									#20
	Help yourself to an AD-FREE life

Quick comment:

I've found that I much prefer abstracting espionage (à la MOM, Moo1/2) over moving spy units round in the Civ1/2/SMAC vein. While I like the honour system per se, I fear handling all those spys will be much MM. Too much.

	02-12-2002 11:37									#21
	Enter the AD-FREE zone

a-frikkin-mazing!

	24-12-2004 01:16									#22
	Tired of ads?

^ so I can find it again...rules revision notes.

-=Vel=-