301 - Forum Diplomacy Only Steel SVC

[HeadHoncho]

DW-WI

Dread Lord,

By all means, please feel free to work with the Underworld against the Black Dragons. I will happily continue with my harassment campaign against the Rangers.

I will issue the trade order for the Ring this month. Happy to loan it back to you the month after for a few more months.

Best,
Grundun

[HeadHoncho]

DW-EL

My Friend,

We would like to offer to extend our mutual defense pact for as long as you wish. We would also request that in light of our strong and pre-existing relationship, you allow for a "carve-out" from any non-aggression pact with the Demon Princes in the event they initiate hostilities against the Witchlord or me.

I have no expectation you would join in if I attack the Demon Princes, however, and in fact I have absolutely no hostile intentions against them, and would happily agree to a non-aggression pact with them as well, if he would so desire.

Best,
Grundun

[HeadHoncho]

DW-UN

Mysterious Yoda,

To answer your questions:

1) I believe the Black Dragons would be Hostile (assuming he started Friendly, he moved to Tolerant with your denigrate, Suspicious with the loss of the region, and Hostile with your Control and corresponding enemy declaration). Sometimes spells or other actions could have made it higher this month, but I believe between the order sequence and the low likelihood of the Black Dragons having access to some of these options, they are almost certainly Hostile.

2) All Gnomish emissaries except those who were captured this month or earlier are gone as of the latter part of the order sequence. All groups are gone as of the latter part of the order sequence. All artifacts located at population centers, or with a former Gnomish group at a population center, are now at that population center. I believe the only other possibility is an artifact with a Gnomish group that was not at a population center, and those are redistributed "in the wild" to be retrieved again. It is not clear to me if it is "in the wild" at the location where the group was, or randomly distributed somewhere in Alamaze.

3) I don't have either, but I can tell you the Gnomes were faithfully raising defenses every month for several months in a row, I would surmise at Cradia. So it's somewhat likely that the Black Dragons may have opted to move their capital to Cradia upon their conquest of it. It's an important population center in Runnimede, so it's probably worth refreshing a recon of it this month, anyway.

It sounds like the Witchlord is interested in working with you against the Black Dragons, in which case I will gladly let the two of you handle things. Since the Black Dragon will be occupied and likely unable to help the Rangers with more gold, I will let you tend to your own defense right now and not distract you with further hirings. I do thank you, however, for your excellent services!

Best,
Grundun

[VballMichael]

UN-EL

Favor, we owe you. If favor, you want, our northeastern water town, you take, in Torvale. Send gold for now, later we trade for Oakendell town. Agreed, we are?

Agreed we are

[VballMichael]

DW-EL

My Friend,

We would like to offer to extend our mutual defense pact for as long as you wish. We would also request that in light of our strong and pre-existing relationship, you allow for a "carve-out" from any non-aggression pact with the Demon Princes in the event they initiate hostilities against the Witchlord or me.

I have no expectation you would join in if I attack the Demon Princes, however, and in fact I have absolutely no hostile intentions against them, and would happily agree to a non-aggression pact with them as well, if he would so desire.

Best,
Grundun

Agreed. Our northern pact for defense will remain, though will not include an agreement to help each other attack.

[Acererak]

DE-WA

Forces are aligning and it appears to me that we should start to consider choosing what we will do. I have some thoughts on the matter but wonder if you do as well.

[Lord Thanatos]

DW-WI

Dread Lord,

By all means, please feel free to work with the Underworld against the Black Dragons. I will happily continue with my harassment campaign against the Rangers.

I will issue the trade order for the Ring this month. Happy to loan it back to you the month after for a few more months.

Best,
Grundun

BL - WI / DW

You guys better hurry since (as I am certain the DW knows the RD has previously left Synisvania) the RD has already invaded Southern Sands.  He owns the city and two or three other pcs and is poised to attack three more this turn.  You will find yourselves with nothing to gain if you don't hurry. RD will very soon control the Southern Sands and UN already controls Runnimede.

If one of you guys wish to be the third go right ahead.  It has long since become clear that diplomacy games are simply fucked up.  [Back to only anonymous for me!]

Sorry Vulkar, Forum - Only Diplomacy doesnt't fix a god damn thing.

On a brighter note -- the Eastern Steppes are wide open.

[HeadHoncho]

OOC: How are you "certain" I knew RD left R9, LT? I had absolutely no clue, given that two turns ago he took Jukanta, he hasn't mentioned leaving R9 or attacking R10, you haven't mentioned it until now, and finally I haven't been doing a ton of recon (as evidenced by the fact that I asked him last turn what centers he owns in R9, and by the fact that I haven't posted much recon data, which otherwise I would have leaped to share publicly).

You are just flatly wrong on what you assume I knew, and I hope you have the bare modicum of humility and graciousness to own and acknowledge that.

More broadly, I'm shocked at some of the assumptions you seem to be making, as you're someone who has played dozens of both diplomacy and anon games. How is it that you seem to have such little understanding of how coordinated vs. uncoordinated attacks go?

If DuPont and I had been coordinating well (and if I had been devoting more than a fraction of my resources to the attack), the Rangers would have been essentially out of commission by T10. Instead, the public forum (plus DuPont's busy-ness, which he has indicated here has taken a toll on his ability to post) has caused us to be stepping all over each other, I think I've needed to ransom back four of my emissaries from him, not to mention all of the missed opportunities. It has almost been like a comedy of errors, from my perspective!

The bottom line is that you are never going to have an interlocking series of half-a-dozen mano-a-mano duels going on, whether diplomacy or anonymous. Even if we're all trying to shy away from 3-on-1 coordinated attacks, 2-on-1 is inevitable.

One way you can avoid even those in diplomacy games is, you know, conducting diplomacy and doing your best to foster relationships and not antagonize people. If you or anyone isn't doing well in a particular diplomacy game, you may want to consider how you've been doing in those areas; I suspect the correlation will be strong.

EDIT: By the way, if RD has really been attacking you in force for two turns, then you totally should have taken UN's offer. That you failed to do so demonstrates a bad judgment call and bad diplomacy, in my view. So although it's far easier to blameshift and complain about your current situation, you bear the larger share of personal responsibility for it, from my perspective.

[Thudargh]

DE-WA

Forces are aligning and it appears to me that we should start to consider choosing what we will do. I have some thoughts on the matter but wonder if you do as well.

(WA->DE)
Dastardly Denizen of Darkness,

It does seem like events may overtake us if we are not careful.  I have been making plans for a grand entrance, which I will be keeping to myself.  Why spoil the surprise?  Besides, if events derail those plans while they remain secret, I can always pretend that whatever I do was the plan in the first place!

I am interested in your thoughts on the matter.

Scarlett

[HeadHoncho]

DW - DE & WA

Lord and Lady,

As I alluded to with the Elves, I have no hostile intentions toward either of you, and would be open to a non-aggression pact (unless you attack the Elves or Witchlord) of any reasonable length you propose. Please let me know if you are interested.

Best,
Grundun