Game Manual |
Multiplayer II Dragoon |
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Diplomatic Contact[]
Basic diplomatic engagement requires you to move a unit next to another nation's city or unit. This contact will trigger two consequences:
- Your diplomatic state with that nation will change from None to War.
- You will gain the ability for limited diplomatic engagement with that nation:
- Both nations gain the ability to propose and agree upon Cease-fire and Peace pacts.
In MP2-Dragoon, the time period you can do limited diplomatic engagement is 10 turns after contact. (You can see how much contact time is left in the Nations tab.) More sophisticated diplomatic arrangements require more than simple contact: one or both nations must send an Emissary or a Diplomat to enter a foreign city, and establish an embassy there.
- Contact time can be adjusted before games start. See /help contactturns for more info.
Embassies[]
An embassy allows making sophisticated deals such as: trading gold, technology, shared vision, maps; and forming an Alliance.
An Embassy also gives permanent intel on tax rates, treasury gold, technologies, wonders, type of government, and foreign relations. This means an embassy is valuable to have with your enemies as well. Keep your friends close, and your enemies even closer!
To engage in diplomacy you must:
- Go to the Nations tab to select the nation with whom you wish to engage.
- Click the Meet Player button.
- Using the menus, decide what you wish to give and receive (see pacts).
If an AI player is not cooperating, you can often find out why by attempting a Peace or Alliance with them.
Diplomats[]
See also Diplomatic actions
With Diplomats and Spies, you can observe and manipulate other civilizations more subtly than by military means. Both units are fragile and must move cautiously to survive. Aggressive diplomatic actions can spark a diplomatic incident, giving a nation Casus Belli. Courthouse, Police Station, and Supreme Court offer some protection against aggressive diplomatic actions. Theocracy resists a hostile espionage embassy and requires you both to agree to Cease-fire or Peace first.
Three actions can be done by done to a lone enemy unit (these actions cannot be attempted on a stack of units):
Bribe Unit[]
Most foreign units can be bribed with gold to join your nation. Bribing can only be done to units alone on their tile, although other diplomatic units do not count toward this—they will instead engage in diplomatic combat with the unit trying to bribe their compatriot. It is not necessary to be at War to bribe a unit, but it does cause a diplomatic incident, which gives the victim a casus belli against you. Bribe cost
depends on several factors:
- increases with wealth of the enemy civilization;
- increases with the enemy unit production cost and veteran level;
- decreases with loss of enemy unit hitpoints;
- decreases with increased+ distance from enemy capital;
- half cost if enemy unit is non-military.
- double cost if enemy unit is a ship
- other factors:
- +35% if enemy has the Mausoleum of Mausolos
- 2× if enemy unit is under Theocracy
- 3× if enemy unit is under Democracy
Sabotage Enemy Unit[]
A Spy can sabotage an enemy unit, reducing its hitpoints by half if successful. Sabotage can only be done if at War. It requires the victim unit to be alone on its tile, although other diplomatic units do not count toward this—they will instead engage in diplomatic combat with the unit trying to sabotage their compatriot. After successful sabotage, a spy returns to the nearest domestic city.
Spy Attack[]
Spies can engage in diplomatic combat in the open field against other Diplomat type units. This can be useful for eliminating an approaching Diplomat from a hostile nation.
Actions done to cities:[]
Diplomatic units can do actions to cities also. The base odds of success for diplomatic actions on enemy cities vary, though most are between 70% to 85% (see Diplomatic Operations.) Base odds can be reduced by defense bonuses such as those from a Courthouse or Police Station.
- Except for
Investigate City
, Diplomats can attempt only one diplomatic act, after which the Diplomat unit will be spent. Spies can select actions which may survive the mission.- Names of Diplomatic Operations will either have the word "Escape" after them or not. This indicates if the action has the expectation of survival if successful.
- Enemy Diplomats or Spies will oppose hostile actions with Diplomatic Combat. If you die, the mission fails. If the enemy dies, you lose a movement point, have a chance of promotion, and can try again if you have moves left.
The actions available upon a city are:
Establish embassy[]
An embassy gives you permanent contact with a civilization, ability to see their vital facts, trade, and make pacts.
Emissaries, Diplomats, and Patriarchs can establish an embassy. Spies cannot. The chance of success for this operation is 100% during Cease-fire or Peace.
👉🏻 A "hostile embassy" is one established on a nation with whom you are at war, presumably to collect intel on them against their volition. Establishing a hostile embassy is not allowed if:
- you are at War and the nation is Theocratic or has a Police Station
- you are at War and the city has a Courthouse or Homeland Security, and you lack Espionage.
city has/is:⏩ | No Security Building | Courthouse | Homeland
Security |
Police
Station |
Theocratic |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Emissary or Diplomat
no Espionage tech |
✅ | X | X | X | X |
Diplomat
with Espionage tech |
✅ | ✅ | ✅ | X | X |
Spy | X | X | X | X | X |
* The Patriarch has the same Establish Embassy
abilities as a Diplomat.
Investigate city[]
Investigate City
is an action that can also be done by non-diplomatic units: Tribesmen, Scouts, Partisans, and Satellites. Only Spies are able to Investigate City
while still loaded on a Transport: to do so, use the "D" (Do
) command.
When you Investigate City
, your unit attempts to give a report on the city's units, buildings, citizens, income, and what it is producing. There are several hurdles to sneaking into a city, investigating it, then escaping with the intel. In MP2, these hurdles occur during two operational phases: 1) attempt to sneak and avoid discovery, and 2) attempt to gather the intel and escape:
- Discovery Phase: Prior to the investigation phase, there is a 20% chance to be discovered (an 80% chance to avoid being discovered.) The consequences of being discovered are: (1) The target nation will become aware of it, (2) the nation will be given casus belli from a diplomatic incident, and (3) diplomatic units present in the city will do diplomatic combat to try to eliminate the investigator.
- 👉 Regardless of being discovered, any investigator not stopped by diplomatic combat will proceed to the investigation phase:
- Investigation Phase: There is an 85% base chance of success for this phase. Success at this phase means collection of the intel and survival of the operation. The 85% base odds are reduced by half when investigating nations with the Mausoleum of Mausolos, and for cities with Police Stations (under Democracy cities get no Investigation resistance from Police Stations.)
🎲80% Evades Detection |
🎲85% Investigation Succeeds |
Triggers Diplomat Combat* |
Gets City Intel |
Survives | Enemy Knows |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
NO | NO | ✅ | ❌ | ❌ | ✅ |
NO | YES | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
YES | NO | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ | ✅ |
YES | YES | ❌ | ✅ | ✅ | ❌ |
*if diplomatic defender is present
Sabotage city[]
Sabotage is an attempt to destroy a building or the current production in a city. Diplomats select at random, but Spies also have the option to choose a specific building or the city's current production with Targeted Sabotage (which has a reduced chance of success.) Palaces and Wonders can't be sabotaged. Fortifications, City Walls, or any building in a capital have half the chance of success. Sabotage is only possible if at War. If successful, a Spy returns to the nearest domestic city.
Industrial Sabotage[]
Same as above, but your unit attempts to destroy what a city is currently producing.
Steal Technology[]
Your agent attempts to steal blueprints for a tech. A city can only be stolen from once by Diplomats, who steal blueprints for a random tech. Spies can steal more than once, but the city becomes more resistant each time. Spies can target a specific tech, but targeting reduces the chance of success. Theft may be attempted when not at War, but causes a diplomatic incident. A successful Spy is returned to the nearest domestic city.
- No tech theft in cities with 50% Foreign Nationals. Cities with foreign populations of half or more are conquered war zones. They have not yet domesticated scientific infrastructure. Diplomatic tech theft is not possible from such cities, though they are not immune from theft by conquest.
Steal Map Fragments[]
Steals a portion of the world map of the target nation, giving you vision of fragments of their world map. The fragments are not "regions" but rather a "spattered" revelation of the nation's entire map. Base odds of success are 70%.
Incite Revolt[]
For a large amount of gold, a foreign city will betray its governing nation and change allegiance to join your nation. The city's size will be reduced by 1. The incited city brings along all nearby home-units that the city supports. Home-units in foreign cities remain in the enemy's control. Units outside cities are lost to both players. Incitement may be attempted even if not at War, but causes a diplomatic incident. This action can't be done to capital cities nor to any cities under a nation which has the Mausoleum of Mausolos. Many factors influence the price of treason:
- cost is ½ if the city was originally yours
- cost increases with city size
- cost increases with wealth of the enemy civilization;
- cost is 3× against Democracies;
- cost is 2× against Theocracies;
- cost is 3× for natively founded cities under Nationalist government;
- cost is ⅓ for non-native cities under a Nationalist government;
- cost is -33% if the city is not currently owned by its original builder;
- decreases with greater distance from an enemy capital;
- increases with the cost of present units;
- increases with the cost of the buildings present in the city;
- cost is ½ if city is empty of units;
- goes up/down with the happiness/unhappiness of individual citizens;
- cost is ½ if the city is in revolt OR the enemy civilization is in anarchy;
- cost is 2× if the city is celebrating;
- increases by 2× if city has a Courthouse or the nation has the Supreme Court:
- increases by another 2× if the city is occupied and protected by Courthouse or Supreme Court.
Treason's cost is complex! The only sure way to know is to make a diplomatic unit inquire how much the potential traitors want.
Poison city water[]
Only a Spy can commit this atrocity, and only in War; it empties the city granary and kills one citizen. A successful spy returns to the nearest domestic city. A size 1 city will be eliminated by this action.
Tile Claim[]
Claims a tile as the sovereign territory of your nation.
- Can be done to any tile in your own national territory by a single Diplomatic unit.
- Prevents a growing foreign city from claiming the tile.
- Can be done to a non-domestic tile if:
- it is adjacent to another Tile Claim, AND
- your Diplomatic unit is supported by the presence of another unit on the tile
- An unoccupied Tile Claim will be claimed by any foreign Land unit that enters the tile.
- Casus Belli is triggered by 1) Making a Tile Claim on a Foreign tile, or 2) occupying and seizing a foreign Tile Claim.
- To do a Tile Claim:
- Select a diplomatic unit on a tile that can be legally claimed (see above).
- Do ('D') >> (select tile) >> Build Tile Claim. OR,
- If Orders buttons at bottom are visible, click the Tile Claim orders button, OR
- Double click the unit and select "Claim Tile" from the drop-down menu.
- Select a diplomatic unit on a tile that can be legally claimed (see above).
Diplomatic Combat[]
In Freeciv, mechanics for diplomatic and military combat differ. Odds of success are calculated in a three step process. First, odds of success start with a 50% chance of success. Second, this chance is modified by additive bonuses or subtractive penalties applied for each unit, resulting in the base chance. Third, the base chance for the aggressor's success is proportionally reduced by percentile defense bonuses.
Step 1. Starting chance of success: 50%
Step 2. Additive modifiers: these add or subtract to create the base chance. Aggressor adds these to base chance of success; defender subtracts these from base chance of aggressor success.
Step 3. The odds of aggressor success are proportionally reduced by a percent:
Other Defense Bonuses | |||
bonus* | x̄ odds** | ||
in city protected by Courthouse | 25% | -⅛ | |
in city protected by Homeland Security | 25% | -⅛ | |
in city with Police Station | 25% | -⅛ | |
in city with Palace | 50% | -¼ | |
in city with Ecclesiastic Palace | 50% | -¼ |
* bonus = the percent of the base chance that is reduced.
** x̄ odds - the "real effect" on final odds, if under an average base chance of 50%.
Example: A v1 Spy attacks a v2 Diplomat in a city with Police Station.
1. Starting Chance of aggressor success = 50%
2. Base Chance: 50% (start) + 25% (spy) + 10% (v1) - 15% (defender is v2) = 50 +25+10 -15 = 70
= 70% base chance
3. Defense bonuses: 25% (Police Station): 70% - (25% * 70) = 70% - 17.5% = 52.5%
Final odds = 52.5% chance of success
Diplomatic Operations[]
Assuming there are no defending diplomatic units to get through (see Diplomatic Combat, above), then each Diplomatic Operation has its own separate base chance of success. The only thing that can modify this base chance of success are defense bonuses. The type of unit does not matter, nor does the veteran level. The table below gives the base odds of success for each type of diplomatic operation:
Diplomatic Operation Odds | |
operation | odds |
Investigate City | **85% |
Sabotage City | † 80% |
Steal Technology | *80% |
Incite Revolt | 80% |
Poison City | 70% |
Steal Map Fragments | 70% |
Targeted Tech Theft | *64% |
Targeted Sabotage | 55% |
Steal Map Fragments and Escape | 55% |
After you have your base odds for your operation, you calculate final odds by reducing any applicable defense bonuses. If the reduction shows a "-" sign, simply subtract this number from the base odds. In the case of sabotaging city walls, the base chance is simply halved:
Raw Defense Bonuses | |
operation | reduction |
City has Courthouse | - 20% |
City has Police Station | ** - 20% |
City has Homeland Security | - 20% |
Sabotage on any Building in a capital city | × 50% |
Sabotage on City Walls | × 50% |
* A targeted tech theft requires succeeding twice. In other words, if odds were 80%, then 80% × 80% = 64%. (If the city had a Courthouse, then 60% × 60% = 36%, etc.). Tech theft cannot be done to any city that has 50% or more foreign nationals, as it is considered a war zone under martial administration.
** (1) Investigate City
has a 20% chance of being discovered, which does not affect the odds of the operation. A discovered operation causes a diplomatic incident, which notifies the targeted player and gives any defending diplomatic unit a chance at diplomatic combat. If the operation is not discovered, the enemy will not get a report of it. (2) Normal defense bonuses against Investigate City
do not operate. The only bonuses are: Police Stations half the odds of Investigate City
for all governments except Democracy. The Mausoleum of Mausolos also halves the odds for all units except Satellites. (3) Satellites always have a 100% chance of operation success, no matter what.
† Sabotage City gets a +10% higher chance of success if: (a) The saboteur is Theocratic, or (b) The city is foreign occupied and has foreign nationals inside it.
If a Spy or Patriarch is trying to steal from a city that has already been stolen from, the operation must succeed one more time for each time it was stolen from. So, for example, if a Spy is stealing from a city that has been stolen from twice, she must succeed three times (80% × 80% × 80% = 51%). If this is targeted stealing in a city with Courthouse and Police Station, she must succeed four times under lower base odds: 40% × 40% × 40% × 40% = 2.56%.
An Emissary or Diplomat who tries to steal from a city which has been stolen from will always fail.
A useful bookmark is the full Diplomatic Action Chart which shows odds for every above possibility.
Pacts[]
Players can make informal requests, agreements, and threats via in-game chat. To transfer actual property they must arrange a pact. This can only be done if the players have an embassy. Each player can build a list of items offered next to a list of what will be receive in return. These can include:
- World Map, Sea Map. The nation's current world map or sea map— showing all the terrain discovered by that nation.
- Technology. Teaches another nation a technology.
- Gold transferred from one nation to the other, from the national treasury.
- City transfer (except for capital cities.) This also transfers all home units supported by the city.
- Shared vision — shares the vision of the nation offering it to the recipient nation: everything your cities and units can see as the game unfolds. This is a persistent ability: when you no longer wish the other nation to see everything, you must cancel this pact from the Nations Tab.
- An Embassy.
- An Alliance treaty.
- A Cease-fire, Peace (requires only contact, not an embassy.)
To remove a treaty item from the pact list, double-click on it. Only when both players indicate 👍 satisfaction is the deal consummated.
Diplomatic States[]
None[]
This is the state of having no status at all: the nations have never encountered each other.
War[]
If two nations have met, the default state is War.
If you have entered a pact such as Cease-fire or Peace, you may re-enter war by Declaring War. To declare War on an opponent: from the Nations tab, select the nation then cancel all treaties with that nation until the War state is reached. If your government has a Senate, you can only declare war if the other nation has given you casus belli—a treaty violation or act of war.
Attacking and conquering require a state of War.
- In War, foreign units impose zones of control and cities can be incited to revolt with no disapproval from the Senate.
- If tiles of foreign cities are occupied by military units, they cannot be worked by that city.
Cease-fire[]
A Cease-fire can be agreed between two nations. In Freeciv, this means a lack of War. Several conditions go along with this.
After 16 turns, it will lead back to the state of war. Be careful that reverting to a war state does not trigger consequences in the diplomatic states of allies and neighboring nations. You may renew and extend a Cease-fire before it expires. When a Cease-Fire has 3 or less turns left, you may create a new one, instead of being forced to wait for it to expire into war.
The first time you meet an AI player, it will always offer you a Cease-fire treaty.
Under representative governments, the Senate will block an unprovoked attempt to declare War again before the end of a Cease-fire; the only way to do so is to dissolve the Senate by revolution then break the treaty in the ensuing anarchy. (However, the Statue of Liberty allows you to break a treaty and restore order in the same turn.)
- In this diplomatic state, units impose zones of control
- Occupied city tiles are not blocked from being worked.
Armistice[]
If you want Peace with a nation, you can sign a peace treaty. For a transition period there will be an Armistice. Like Cease-fire, it has a countdown period. but unlike a Ceasefire, ends up in Peace status when the time runs out. The Armistice period is set to 5 turns by default.
This transition period allows time to move military units out of the other nation's territory, before the diplomatic status changes to Peace.
- Disbandment rule. On the exact turn that Armistice changes to Peace, military units will be automatically disbanded if they were inside and remain inside the other player's borders.
- The special disbandment rule only occurs once at the time described above, and at no other times in the game (such as units unfortunate to be caught within unclaimed lands when the other nation's borders expand. Such units will be paralyzed from movement if not adjacent to a legal tile to which to escape. (They may be "picked up" by a non-military transport unit to be transported out of the territory, however.)
The AI will always insist on some turns of Cease-fire, then Armistice, then Peace, and will use the Armistice to move its units out of the other player's territory.
Breaking an Armistice drops you to War. Under representative governments, the Senate will block attempts to nullify an Armistice unless there is Casus Belli.
In this diplomatic state, units impose zones of control. Foreign tiles occupied by military units can still be worked by their cities.
Peace[]
A peace treaty may be a step towards an Alliance. Or, it might be a way to force an untrusted nation from entering your territory, knowing that its Senate will prevent such actions.
Peace treaties come into effect after 5 rounds of Armistice, if no incidents occur. A nation may wish to deliberately spark an incident to prevent this from happening.
At the exact moment when armistice transfers to peace, all military units inside the other nation's territory are immediately disbanded. (See Disbandment rule above.)
- During Peace, military units cannot cross the other nation's borders without first nullifying the treaty in the Nations tab.
- If your government is able to cancelling a peace treaty, the cancellation drops you straight to War.
- Peaceful units impose zones of control and can't be attacked.
Be careful declaring Peace with a nation where military cooperation might be needed—you each will be unable to enter each other's territory, since that is considered an act of war, and under representative governments, the Senate will block an unprovoked declaration of War.
A nation without a Senate can unilaterally cancel Peace agreements, but not the nation which has a Senate.
- Therefore, a nation with a representative government only ties its own hands, when it makes Peace with a nation that has an absolutist form of government. However, the above restrictions do not apply to any nation possessing the Statue of Liberty.
Alliance[]
Alliance treaties come with obligations. You won't be able to ally any player that is at War with any current ally, and vice versa. If one of your allies declares War on another, the Alliance with the aggressor is automatically broken.
In an Alliance, zones of control don't apply. Allied units can enter the same tile, city, or transport unit. Tiles with allied units on them can still be worked by their cities.
Breaking an Alliance drops you to an Armistice treaty, giving each player time to move their units out of the other player's territory before a new peace treaty kicks in and disbands units. Non-representative governments can further nullify the Armistice to a War, and/or then propose a Cease-fire.
Under representative governments, the senate will block an attempt to break an Alliance without provocation. An Alliance can be broken at will by non-representative governments or any nation with the Statue of Liberty.
Casus Belli[]
Casus Belli is "reason for war." If you do an action which gives a nation Casus Belli, they can declare War on you even if they have a Senate and are in a Peace treaty with you. Casus Belli lasts for 12 turns, unless the server setting casusbelliturns
has been modified. If Casus Belli already exists when another Casus Belli is given, it adds +1 turn to the existing Casus Belli duration.
Excusing Casus Belli. You may forget or excuse Casus Belli by offering another Cease-fire or Peace.
International outrage. Under some conditions, a Casus Belli can cause international outrage, which gives the entire world Casus Belli against you. This may happen if you explode a nuclear device in foreign territory, or violate a treaty after the United Nations wonder has been built.
Casus Belli triggers:
- The following actions will give a nation Casus Belli against you:
- Attacking a nation's ally
- Pillaging a nation's territorial tile, unless you are allies.
- Stealing Maps
- Stealing Tech
- Bribing a unit
- Capturing a unit
- Sabotaging a unit
- Inciting a city to revolt
- Poisoning a city
- Sabotaging a city
- doing a Tile Claim on a tile in their territory
- occupying a foreign Tile Claim with your units
- Exploding a nuclear device:
- ground zero in Foreign sovereign territory gives Casus Belli to the entire world.
- ground zero in Domestic or Unclaimed territory does not give casus belli.
- Diplomatic combat.
- Making a road, railroad, quay, canal, maglev, sea bridge, or river in foreign territory, unless you are allies.
- Building a Fort or other base in foreign territory, unless you are allies.
- Transforming Terrain in foreign territory, unless you are allies.
- Founding a City in foreign territory (by appropriating an empty Fort), unless you are allies.
- Being discovered while Investigating a City, unless you are allies.
- Moving military units in a foreign nation with whom you are at Cease-fire, Armistice, or Peace.
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