Diplomacy: Reports, Instructions, PMs

[MrWhereItsAt]

SrWIA enters the palace and prostrates himself before Togas El Magnificente Imperio de Oro

My most enthusiastic yet humble salutations to you, lider Togas. I have much to thank you for, both for introducing civilisation to our lands and to the benifecence of your rule. It has long been my dream to make supplications before you in person.

I have received word that there are postes gone begging in your enlightened Government. I am here hoping to persuade you to give a poor Iberico a chance at satisfying one of these roles as a thank you for all that you do.

[Togas]

Senor WhereItsAt,

You have come at a fortunate time. Our former ambassador to Neu Dem has died, and there is no one suitable in his family to take on the role.

I would be very pleased to give you the new title and responsibility of Ambassador to Neu Demogliptica, our neighbors to the north and the most important foreign relations position that exists in Spain.

If you accept this role, please send a Private Messanger to myself and Picahulu, the representative of the Arabs, to introduce yourself and get aquainted. I will send you further information in a Private Message about the history of our relations and your current tasks.

--Togas

[adaMada]

GoW Report

Special Note: If Ghengis asks you about "military maneuvers", please tell him that we are "discussing it in the forums". Full reasoning listed below, but for any lazy/busy people who aren't going to read the whole post

Between today and yesterday, I've gotten five PMs from Panzer, most of which have contradictory/revised information. I've got all the information sorted out now, however, and I can make a report for the general public.

Diplomatic deals (potential and concluded):

• We will be trading Literature + WM for Map Making + WM as per Ghengis' negotiations with Togas last night. We will also be trading maps again if and when we get them from Vox/GS.
• They are offering contact with Lego and Philosophy (once they get it form Lego) for us to make a deal on. Remember that we will soon acquire contact with Lego assuming their boat arrives, though it sounds like GoW got exclusive rights to Philosophy, a deal which Lego may or may not be willing to break.
• Ghengis wants to stage some "War Maneuvers" -- an opportunity for both sides to kill off some of the other's warriors and (as a result) to try and get some GLs. We're telling him that it's being "Discussed in the forums", but it sounded like it was discussed by a larger body yesterday and it was decided that it wasn't a deal we were all that interested in. Doing some math, it seems like it'd take a ton of warriors to do it, so I'd probably have to agree, though I wouldn't mind using such "Maneuvers" as a ruse if we ever were to attack ND -- declare war on GoW, come together and attack in the middle (where ND can see us fighting), kill a few warriors that way, and then suddenly turn around and attack an ND city instead of GoW. Might catch em off guard... Anyway, unless Togas decides otherwise, right now we're "dicussing it on the forums", and I'd suggest citing "prohibitive costs" whenever Ghengis mentions it. I'd also suggest telling him that we "may be able to afford it in the future" -- as long as we don't give him a specific time frame, we can just delay and delay with excuse after excuse until he no longer wants it or it's no longer practical.

Other information:

• GoW has Code of Laws, so we can't use that to trade.
• Panzer has asked that we withdraw our northern warrior to avoid upsetting ND, saying "[...]please remove your warrior from the north. We feel it might upset ND, and we can't get them upset until we're ready (unlike what Lux did)." I'm not sure why GoW cares, or if ND's made any noise about it yet, but I felt obliged to pass on the information. I haven't mentioned it to Ghengis in the chat -- no need to bring it up if we just want to ignore the whole thing.
• Ghengis is saying he is untrusting of Vox, and I think E_T mentioned that he was considering a tech embargo. Personally, that sounds good to me -- just puts us ahead in the tech race.
• Ghengis has said that he believes that GS and Vox have an alliance. He's citing the fact that one of the two always seem to make a solid offer for a tech and then the other magically acquires it the next turn. He also says that Vox said that they split the gold they got from Lux with one other team, and since it wasn't GoW or ND it must've been GS or Roleplay. We confirmed that we haven't gotten squat from Vox, meaning that if Vox did split the cash, it would've probably been with GS. That doesn't make much sense to me -- what sort of alliance involves either side splitting EVERYTHING (even cash) they get, but I guess it's possible. I think it'd be to our benefit if we were to investigate Vox's relationship with GS...
• E_T posted a conversation between him, Donegeal, and Ghengis. In it, Donegeal says that ND is REXing high production cities. Ghengis also said that “Lego seems to think that ND is becoming a significant threat”, and Donegeal suggested that ND might kiss up to Lego in hopes of having them help by invading one of us from the sea while ND attacks from inland. Donegeal also said that they “must have founded two cities in one turn”. All three basically agree that ND is shooting for high production sites rather than population. (E_T, does this basically cover the meat of the conversation?)

Just a general update of everything I've learnt today and yesterday from PMs and chats. Togas, if you're interested in bidding on either Contact with Lego (which we'll probably get anyway) or Philosophy (which we might not), let me know and I'll start feeling them out. As far as I know, we don't have any techs that they don't, so it'd probably have to be a cash offer -- nasty :-\.

-- adaMada

[E_T]

stuff from Yesterday

The deal that Togas had worked out with Ghengisfarb

[15:35] [Togas> sending the following agreement to GF to ratify:
[15:35] [Togas> Roleplay agrees to:
[15:35] [Togas> Give our World Map to Glory of War in exchange for their World Map
[15:35] [Togas> Not try to sell or trade Mapmaking for 10 turns.
[15:35] [Togas> Give Glory of War our World Map again on the first occasion of us receiving the World Map of Vox and Gathering Storm.
[15:35] [Togas> Glory of War agrees to:
[15:35] [Togas> Give our World Map to Roleplay in exchange for their World Map
[15:35] [Togas> Give Roleplay our World Map again on the first occasion of us receiving the World Map of Vox and Gathering Storm.
[15:36] [Togas> Give Roleplay our World Map on the first occasion of us receiving the World Map of Legoland.
[15:36] [Togas> Agreed to by:
[15:36] [Togas> Togas of Roleplay

Also, we should be having a summit with Vox today at 2AM GMT (I think that's 9PM EST). We will be discussing our relations with them and trying to set up better lines of communications with them.

E_T

[Togas]

PM sent to Vondrack

(note: in my private conversation with Vondrack he mentioned that Legoland would help pay for 1/2 of the contact price for their nation, as I was rather concerned that they were not going to contact us and that GoW would charge us a large sum of gold for contact).

Vondrack,

We have successfully negotiated with Glory of War to aquire contact with your nation for 40 gold. We feel that contact with your nation is worth paying this amount (we probably would have paid more, and are glad we didn't have to!), and we are happy to have arranged it.

We would like to ask that Legoland help pay for 1/2 of the cost of contact you. Please let us know as soon as you can.

--Togas

[Togas]

LEGOLAND CONTACT TRADE

If you didn't catch it, we negotiated with Ghengis Farb of GoW this afternoon for contact with Legoland.

This is in addition to our previously arranged trade for Mapmaking & WM for Literature & WM.

GoW gives:
Contact with Legoland, Philosophy.

RP gives:
40 gold
Agreement not to sell or trade Contact or Philosophy for 10 turns.

......

SUMMIT WITH VOX CONTROLI

In our "summit" meeting tonight with Vox Controli a lot of things were discussed, but it was mostly a friendly chat designed to bolster relations between our two sides and get them to consider us for future trades. Dissident, Betahound, and Jon_Miller were all there ... pretty much their whole "active" team.

We nearly made a trade deal for Mapmaking as GoW was asking a hefty sum but Vox decided at the last minute that they couldn't because they had agreed to buy it from GoW, and didn't want to break that agreement. Vox seemed truely interested in trading with us in the future or at least contacting us in the future as we were offering to bid lower than GoW.

We chatted a bit about politics and our future fears. Vox confirmed that they had a strong relationship with Gathering Storm and did not forsee any future wars on their continent. They talked a bit about the Lux situation and seemed very burned by the whole Lux affair, not wanting to go into details other than they wish Lux would have simply "gone into hiding" for several turns after the deal was made, instead of talking to everyong. Dissident described Lux's problem as a "diplomatic problem" in that Lux's agressive Diplomacy put Vox on edge. They confirmed that no Luxians have asked to join Vox yet, and they later expressed interest in BFM and sent him a PM. They all seemed rather unhappy with Trip and expressed displeasure at the thought of him joining our team.

They are not interested in selling or trading their maps at this time.

They are likely going to research Currency, and they have recently finished Philosophy. We told them we were working on Polytheism.

They agreed to our proposal for a NON-AGRESSION PACT, and we agreed to a term of 50 turns for the pact. We need to send over an official PM/treaty for them to post and ratify.

All in all it was a pleasant chat and I urge members of this team to small talk and chat with members of Vox Controli whenever possible. We need to start creating new and building new friendships.

--Togas

[Togas]

Nuclear Winter -- You are to IMMEDIATELY write up a Non-Agression Pact and send it to Dissident of Vox Controli ( Krusher3X@yahoo.com ) for their approval. We agree to a Non-Agression Pact for 50 turns with them. If we get the pact signed before they play their next save, it will be ratified on Turn 70. If not, it'll be turn 71. I'd prefer Turn 70.

If you have any questions, drop into our chatroom.

--Togas

[Togas]

PM received from Vondrack of Legoland:

Togas,

I am happy to hear that we now have an ingame contact. I have posted your PM in our forum and asked for the approval of my teammates. But as I sort of pre-discussed the compensation with some of our members over IRC yesterday, I do not expect any objections.

I have also asked them about if they agree to make the deal for Republic (+those 20 gold, paid immediately) for Polytheism and Currency. As you indicated you'd be happy with such a deal, it may expedite things to know what they think and possibly get their authorization in advance... (again, the early "unofficial" responses during our private Lego chat were positive).

I will get back to you later today - probably around the same time we talked yesterday.

Cheers,
Radek aka vondrack

Note: As many have pointed out, this isn't a good trade for us ... we have no use for Republic unless we can aquire it and trade it to Vox & GS.

However, as it will likely take Legoland nearly 40 turns to research the tech, we may change our mind down the road or we may discover an excuse later on to not follow through.

At this time I believe we should be very supportive of Legoland, give some positive feedback to any tech trade discussions, but not commit to any trades or sales that far off in the future.

--Togas

[MrWhereItsAt]

Most venerated and dominant Don Togas, he who is referred to as Lo Mas Grande by the maidens of the valleys, just how often will it be necessary to journey to the lands of Neu Demogliptica and engage in witty banter and hob-nobbing?

Moreover, how active do I need to be and when (time, not date)?

From he who has travelled far on elbows and knees merely to be touched lightly by the holy saliva of Lo Mas Maravilloso Togas that showers when he speaks his sagely words to impart divine inspired knowledge to his nobles,

SrWIA.

[E_T]

I'm reporting here for NuclearWinter. He askes someone in Chat to please Report this:

[NuclearisWinterius> well unfortunately I´m not here for long,
[NuclearisWinterius> school is taking my post time away, so if you can please tell someone that I´ve sent the non agrssion deal to Dissident, but no answer until now. Tell ´em I sent it yesterday.

E_T

[Togas]

To All Ambassadors:

Do not feel that you may only act when given a mandate or instructions from me. I urge you to be proactive and to contact and communicate with your nations on your own, and to bring back information to us that you have learned from them.

Should you have any questions about what is OK and no OK to offer, post it here and I will answer it. You should be seeking out FUTURE tech trade options (but not full fledged deals, those need to be discussed first), future peace and cooperative deals, and keeping an eye out for possible deals and schemes.

Our Goals for each nation:

Glory of War -- A closer relationship that borders on an alliance, agrements to share information learned about our common enemies, and we should consider talks about a possible alliance in the event that Neu Dem goes to war with one of us. We should also negotiate future tech deals. All in all, GoW is our rival and a dangerous competator in all areas from military to technology, however, we both share a common rival that cannot be ignored and that overshadows our other competitive interests. Good relations with GoW are a high priority, especially as we move into the Middle Ages.

Neu Demogliptica -- Our biggest threat, our only neighbor, our interests are to maintain peaceful trade and to maintain long term peace deals with their nation. Our diplomatic goals are to convince Neu Dem that we are not a threat nor a competator, and to convince them that we can be trusted so that they will look to their north for conquest.

Legoland -- Their blinding self-intrest has made it very hard to play "friend" to an isolationist Legoland. They continue to research technology we do not need and continue to seek relationships with other closer nations. Our ambassadors (and other team members) must work overtime to gain the trust and friendship of Legoland ... a Legoland that looks to be pulling away from their duties to us. They agree we have a "tech alliance" however they don't seem to want to actually use it.

Vox Controli -- Small and also isolationist, we have just started to try to create a friendship with this nation and our efforts must continue to gain their attention, respect, and trust. They have never completed a deal with us, and have a tight relationship with Gathering Stom that we need to undermine. Future tech deals and alliances with this nation may be in our best interest depending on how relations with Gathering Storm turn out.

Gathering Storm -- Logical and careful, we will get no where with witty banter and chatter, we must instead make well reasoned deals and be sure to include no-trade clauses as they are nearly as opportunistic as GoW. They are fair traders, but we must strike early deals as it takes them time to consider them. Should they ever make a move on their continent or to move to another continent, we must get involved at some level to ensure that their power does not expand too rapidly.

--Togas

[MrWhereItsAt]

Originally posted by Togas
Senor WhereItsAt,

You have come at a fortunate time. Our former ambassador to Neu Dem has died, and there is no one suitable in his family to take on the role.

I would be very pleased to give you the new title and responsibility of Ambassador to Neu Demogliptica, our neighbors to the north and the most important foreign relations position that exists in Spain.

If you accept this role, please send a Private Messanger to myself and Picahulu, the representative of the Arabs, to introduce yourself and get aquainted. I will send you further information in a Private Message about the history of our relations and your current tasks.

--Togas

As I imagine the diplomatic residence with Neu Demogliptica ahs been vacant some time, I imagine that it is urgent to set a new ambassador to work there.

Please answer my questions above and I will start work whenever I am needed.

[Togas]

Senor WhereItsAt,

There is no easy answer. You will be called to travel to the embassy we have established (the ONLY Embassy Spain has built ... consider yourself very fortunate you have an established quarters) in the north as the needs of your nation compel you to. I would like to see you make this journey at least once every 10 turns, but you will be required to urgently contact Neu Dem as soon as asked regarding any number of matters.

I may require you to meet in chat with members of Neu Demoglyptica on occasion, and you may also arrange for such meetings on your own at times that work for you, but if there is an emergency and you are not present I will try to arrange for a chat myself.

The job of an ambassador is to maintain good relations and contact, and to be available for important diplomatic affairs. My hope is that in time you will also become our resident "expert" on their civilization, to lend your opinion on what they may do, should asked.

--Togas

[Togas]

Sent to Neu Dem:

To Our Northern Friends:

Arne has spent several lifetimes in Spain, he has been to every corner of our great land. We believe now would be an excellent time for him to return home.

As you know, there is only one way out of Spain and our cultural borders will soon swell to close even that route off. Arne's scouting mission is complete, he serves only to watch us and report back to you on our activities. Frankly, many of the powerful families of Spain have brought compliants to me, calling Arne a spy, worrying that he is watching us to pick the right time for an attack. I don't want to give any credit to their fears, but I worry as the complaints seem to only grow in number ... and I do not want the people of Spain to grow in their suspicions of our good friends from Neu Theben.

Please, for the good of my people and for the good or Arne, send him home. It will greatly reduce suspicions within my people and help to keep the peace between our nations. I urge you to do this for the benefit of both of our nations.

--Togas, Lord of Spain

[Togas]

Hello Togas,

we have read your pm concerning Arne and i must sa that we were mildly surprised.

Arne did never block in anyway yout troops or settlers or anything else. He never entered your cultural borders and if he wnat's to we will ask for your permission to do so. If you don'T want to give these permission Arne will enter a ND Vessel that will be there on time if he want's to come home.

You own scouting warrior's are sightet far in the north and at our south borders time after time. We don't mind and we do not call them spy's.

So what is bothering you? Do you have Things to hide? Are you preparing an attack? We hope not because we allways thought that you would be a friendly and peaceful nation though your setteling policy is debatet among our ranks.

So leave Arne be. He'll come home exactly at the time he want's to not sooner but not later also.