Europe 1615: Prelude to War

EUROPE 1615: PRELUDE TO WAR

A DIPLOMACY VARIANT

by Matthew Medeiros

[Play-testers needed! Any comments or questions please write to medeiros412@aim.com, thank you.]

INTRODUCTION

The Europe 1615 Diplomacy variant allows players to take the reigns of one of the great powers of the time: Austria, France, Spain, England, and the Scandinavian Kingdoms (Denmark and Sweden). For the purposes of this game, Denmark and Sweden are treated as in a permanent alliance and controlled by one player. During the game, players deploy influence points (INFs) to secure religious and political control over minor states. The Ottoman Empire can be influenced as well, and may be controlled anonymously by a player. Victory is measured by the gain of victory points (VPs) through various aspects of the game (military and political objectives). Game begins in 1615 and runs up until the end of 1620. Each game year consists of an influence phase, 3 movement/retreat phases, and a build phase (and in some years, a scoring phase).

Standard 5th Edition rules of Diplomacy apply with modifications as described below.

PHASES OF THE GAME YEAR

Before the start of a game year:

1- Political and Religious Influence + Diplomatic Attack Phase

Each game year is then divided into the following phases:

2- Spring Movement and Retreat Phase

3- Summer Movement and Retreat Phase

4- Fall Movement and Retreat Phase

5- Winter Ownership/Build/Adjustment Phase

At the end of 1616, 1618, and 1620 there is an additional phase called the Scoring Phase.

POLITICAL AND RELIGIOUS INFLUENCE PHASE

Each power receives influence points (INFs) each year to distribute to the minor states.

INFs Available per Year

INF gains and losses: Powers also receive INFs from the capture of a supply center (see table of pliant minor states and INF values). This gain is maintained as long as the power captures and maintains control of the minor state.

(1) If the captured supply center of a minor state is controlled by the opposing religion, no gain in INFs can be made until the status changes.

(2) If an owned supply center is occupied by a minor state's army that is aligned with another power, then INFs cannot be gained from that supply center at the influence phase. (Armies of neutral minor states will have no effect on the gain of INFs.)

(3) A power will lose INFs from the loss of a home supply center equal to the value of the supply center.

List of Home Supply Centers, SC Values, and INF Values

SC Values: These values essentially rank the importance of a supply center (or province, where there is not a SC). INF value, victory points for the capture, and other rewards are calculated from the SC values.

INF distribution: During this phase, each major power deploys all available INFs to selected states (minimally 5 INFs to each selected state). INFs already deployed cannot be moved. After deployment, GM publishes the results of the deployments, which powers have deployed to which states, but does not reveal the actual number of INFs deployed by each power; instead, the percentage of INFs held is published. A listing of the minor states that may be influenced is given below.

List of Pliant Minor States, SC Values, and INF values

Note: The Catholic powers, only, may deploy INFs to the Papal States (PAP) [consists of Rome (ROM) and the Marche (MAR)]. Poland (POL) consists of the provinces of Warsaw (WAR), Danzig (DAN) and Posen (POS), therefore, their statuses will match POL. Lithuania (LIT) consists of Samogitia (SAM) and Vilnius (VIL). Two-letter designations for each minor state are given to label the armies/fleets on the board.

Writing the order: Typical syntax for the submission of the deployment list is:

INFs: MINOR STATE 1

INFs: MINOR STATE 2

INFs: MINOR STATE 3

etc.

(Example: France wishes to deploy 5 INFs to Saxony, and writes 5: SAX. )

Influencing the Ottoman Empire and the Barbary States

The Ottoman Empire (OTE/Ot) is treated much like the pliant minor states, however, the Empire spans over several provinces and has 3 units in its military service: A(SAL), A(SER), and A(BUL). As a whole, INFs may be deployed to the Ottoman Empire. The Barbary States consist of Morocco (MOR), Algiers (ALG/Al), and Tunis (TUN/Tn), and INFs can be deployed to each separately. At the start of the game no power can deploy INFs to the Ottomans or the Barbary States. These states begin as neutrals. Players may begin deploying INFs to those states at the opening of 1616. The GM keeps the deployment of INFs to the Ottoman Empire secret, and only reveals its status.

DIPLOMATIC ATTACK ORDER

First year: Diplomatic attacks are not performed in the first year.

Ottoman Empire: Diplomatic attacks are not performed at any time in the game within the Ottoman Empire.

Purpose: Diplomatic attacks offer players an opportunity to potentially alter the results of the influence phase. Basically, a player will select one state where he/she has deployed INFs and then directs an attack against another player/power that also has INFs invested there. Diplomatic attacks allows a player to (1) reduce the influence of another power in a minor state to gain the alignment, (2) aid an ally by reducing the influence of an opposing power, or (3) change the neutrality of a minor state.

Submission: The decision of a player is then included with the submission of the INF deployment lists to the GM. Each player submits one order to perform a diplomatic attack, where the order indicates the abbreviation of minor state and the target of the attack. Typical syntax for the order of the diplomatic attack:

MINOR STATE > MAJOR POWER

(Example: England wishes to perform a diplomatic attack against French INFs in Rhineland, so, writes RHI > France.)

Sequence of attacks: The sequence of attacks is dependent on the number of INFs received for the year, basically from least to greatest. Therefore, in 1616, assuming that there are no changes in the number of INFs received for the year, the sequence is: (1) England attacks first, then (2) Austria, (3) Scandinavia, (4) France, and finally (5) Spain . In case of ties, follow the sequence of the previous year.

Effect: Diplomatic attacks are resolved by a MUTUAL REDUCTION. In the attack, the power with the lesser number of INFs removes all and the power with larger number of INFs loses equal amount. It is also the only time when the GM reveals the numbers of INFs distributed to states in question, where diplomatic attacks are occurring.

Example of play: England has deployed 5 INFs in LOR. France has deployed 10 INFs in the LOR, and Spain has deployed 5 INFs. England is first in sequence before France, and decides to perform a diplomatic attack against France in the LOR. France, however, submits an order to attack Spain, and Spain submits an order to attack England. The result is that England loses all INFs in LOR and France is reduced to 5 INFs. Since INFs remain for France, the result of the French attack against Spain is that both French and Spanish INFs are reduced to zero. Spain is unable to perform its attack due to the lack of INFs, and so its order is reported as FAILED. LOR is then left unmarked if no other INFs are present (see below on how minor states are marked).

Political Status of the Minor States After the Influence Phase

After the influence & diplomatic attack phase the following is considered:

Status of minor state: The minor state is marked as ALIGNED or NEUTRAL or UNMARKED depending on how the major powers invest INFs in the minor state. Minor states marked as ALIGNED are in allegiance with the major power holding the most influence. For two or more powers equally invested in a minor state, the minor state will be marked as NEUTRAL.

Minimum # of INFs for an alignment:

Minor States & Barbary States = 5

Ottoman Empire = 15

The required percentage of INFs for gaining the alignment of the Ottoman Empire:

Explanation: The political status of the minor state is ALIGNED if a single major power holds 50% or more of the total INFs present in the minor state and has minimally 5 INFs invested. The allegiance of the Ottoman Empire, in 1616, requires that a major power holds 80% or more of the total INFs present and minimally 15 INFs invested. The GM keeps the aligned major power for the Ottoman Empire secret. Political status of a minor state is not established if there are less than 5 INFs present. Minor state is then considered UNMARKED. (If there are less than 15 INFs in the Ottoman Empire, its status will default to NEUTRAL; this rule also applies to the Barbary States when there are less than 5 INFs present.)

Religious Status of the Minor States After the Influence Phase

The combined INFs remaining for England and Scandinavia represent the influence of the Protestant factions in the state. The combined INFs of Austria, France and Spain represent the influence of the Catholic factions in the state. Control of a province by either the Protestants or Catholics is determined by the following: The religious status of the minor state is CONTROLLED if a single religious faction holds the minimally required percentage of the total INFs present for the given year, and has minimally 10 INFs invested (see tables below). If the condition above is not met then the state is marked as religiously NEUTRAL. Religious control is marked on the map throughout the game and becomes important during the influence phase, scoring phases, and the build phases. Papal States will always be marked as Catholic controlled. Religious status for the Ottoman Empire and the Barbary States do not change. They are, for the purposes of this game, permanent Islamic states.

Percent Requirement by Year for the Religious Control of a State:

Rules Concerning Political Status of Minor States

(1) If the political status is not established (UNMARKED), any major power may move into and/or capture the minor state.

(2) If the political status is NEUTRAL, no major power can enter the minor state as it violates the neutrality status. Neutral units within neutral states cannot receive support.

(3) If the political status is ALIGNED, the major power that holds the majority of INFs in the minor state can submit HOLD, SUPPORT, MOVE/ATTACK, or CONVOY orders to the minor state's unit. Major power will also be responsible for ordering retreats for the unit (or new builds, as in the case of the Ottoman Empire). The major power cannot dislodge or support the dislodgment of the minor state's unit, even if that dislodgment is unexpected. Additionally, the major power may SUPPORT the unit's HOLD or MOVE (other powers may SUPPORT the unit as well). If no unit is present in an ALIGNED minor state, any major power may enter freely. For a power aligned with the Ottoman Empire, the power may submit orders to all units of the Empire, and the GM keeps the player anonymous, but orders are published in adjudication. Communications with the Ottoman Empire should be conducted by public white/grey press or through the GM.

Rules Concerning the Minor State and Its Army

Capturing an SC: The minor state's army cannot capture a supply center. It can prevent the gain of INFs as explained above. It can also prevent scoring should the army occupy a minor state that is aligned with another power. However, the units of the Ottoman Empire are able to capture supply centers and contribute to its expansion.

Disbanding: If the supply center of a minor state is captured when the state's army is position elsewhere on the board, the army is disbanded at the build phase.

Movement: A major power may move into its ALIGNED state if the army is not present, but cannot capture the supply center as long as it is aligned.

Concerning neutrality: If minor state changes to a neutral state, a major power's army situated in the minor state can still function to support, attack, hold, etc., however, if the army maintains its position into a build phase, it is then interned and disbanded. If the army moves out of the neutral state, no other army can enter, but while holding its position in the neutral state it is open to attack and dislodgment (neutral state harbors an active power's unit, so other powers have the right to attack). If the minor state becomes neutral after its army has moved, the state's army holds its position where ever it is on the board, and is disbanded if dislodged. Neutral army's position may be supported if it is not in its state of origin.

Capture of the minor state: If a major power captures a minor state's supply center, then the state is permanently withdrawn from the list of pliant minor states. It can no longer be influenced. The occupying power will earn VPs for the capture of the supply center and additional INFs as mentioned above, but forfeits any VPs that could be earned from the Objectives Tables at the scoring phase. If the minor state was marked as religiously controlled, it retains that status even after being captured; however, it loses any alignment status, and all INFs invested in the state are locked in as is. Religious control is still subject to the changing percentage threshold by year.

Note: All SCs of the Ottoman Empire must be captured for the state to be eliminated from the list.

SCORING PHASE

Earning Victory Points (VPs) Based on Alignment/Religious Status of the Minor States and the capture of SCs

Victory points are awarded at three periods in the game. Scoring depends on the capture of SCs, and a reward system based on the alignment and religious status of the minor states. It is important to note that this rewards system only applies for minor states that have not been captured by a major power. It will be up to the players to weigh the benefits and drawbacks of capturing a minor state’s supply center.

Victory Point Value for the Capture of a Minor State or Province

TABLE 1: Objectives Table and VP Awards (Rewards for Alignment)

TABLE 2: Objectives Table and Awards for Alignment AND Religious Control of Minor States

Explanation and Examples

Reviewing the tables above: If Saxony is aligned with Austria, then Austria can garner 148 VPs at the scoring phase (TABLE 1). If Saxony is aligned with Austria AND Catholic controlled, then Austria can garner 295 VPs at the scoring phase (TABLE 2). The only situation where Austria cannot garner points from the alignment and/or Catholic control is if Saxony is occupied by an army of another minor state (one that is not aligned with Austria).

If Scandinavia captures Saxony, Scandinavia can earn 75 VPs at the scoring phase. Saxony is then withdrawn from the list of pliant minor states. No power (including Scandinavia) can garner points on the alignment or religious control of the state from that point in time onwards. If Saxony is Catholic controlled at the time when Scandinavia captures the supply center, say, Fall of 1618, then Scandinavia gains the 75 VPs at the scoring phase, and gains a new build, but is unable to garner the INFs from the capture. (This scenario can be thought of as a Catholic state under Protestant occupation; the state is in revolt and influence cannot be gained by the occupying power.)

Since the percent threshold for religious control changes/decreases with each year, and as long as the Catholics do not hold 80% or more of the total INFs in the state, there will be a point in time when the Catholics will lose control of the state. For example, if the Catholics hold, say, 76% of the INFs in Saxony, then beginning 1620, Scandinavia will be able to gain the INFs for the capture of Saxony; the Catholics are no longer in control in 1620. Although the Catholics are not in control of Saxony in 1619 (80% required), Scandinavia still does not gain the INFs since the influence phase occurs just prior to the start of the year, and takes into consideration the religious control for the current year (1618 versus 1619; influence phase occurs just prior to 1619 and Catholics are still in control).

Note: No points are garnered for NEUTRAL minor states.

Scoring Metric

Three cumulative scoring sessions are done: one at the end of 1616, another at the end of 1618, and the other at the end of the game. Therefore, it is possible for a power to score VPs on the alignment and/or religious control of a minor state 3 times (this also applies to the capture of supply centers). A player can still score, for example, on the religious control of a minor state in the first-half of the game, even after losing the control in the second-half, as the VPs gained at each scoring phase are permanent. Based on this system of scoring, players are ensured a score for his/her efforts in the game, regardless of the final outcome of the game (unless the player is eliminated: see below under ELIMINATION AND EFFECTS OF).

Scoring phases in the game:

Checklist: During the scoring phase, the following questions should be evaluated to determine the overall score of a power.

(1) Did the power acquire/capture any new supply centers?

(2) Are there any minor states aligned to the power?

(3) Are there any minor states aligned to the power and under religious control?

(4) Are there any minor states aligned to the power but occupied but an army of another minor state that is not aligned with the power?

BUILD/ADJUSTMENT PHASE

Waiving the capture of a supply center: The player occupying a major power's supply center, or a minor state's supply center, or a province at the build phase may waive the capture of the supply center or province. This may be arranged by the player (and communicated to the GM) to avoid depriving a center from an ally. Once the decision is made no reversal is allowed until the next build phase. Provinces or states held by a major power are absorbed into the power, unless it is an ALIGNED state to the power that occupies it.

Concerning supply centers: Each supply center controlled during the build phase provides the resources to field 1 army or 1 fleet (as in standard diplomacy). Players may build new units on any unoccupied home supply center or captured supply center of a minor state (as long as the minor state is not controlled by an opposing religion). Owned/controlled home ports may be used as a build site for fleets (anchor symbol on map). Builds are not allowed in captured home SCs of the Ottoman Empire or the Barbary States. Protestant powers cannot build in a captured Catholic power’s SC or port, and the same rule applies to Catholic powers with captured Protestant SCs or ports.

Re-building a minor state's army: If a supply center of a minor state is unoccupied and has yet to be captured by a major power, a new unit is built if the original unit was previously disbanded.

STARTING POSITION OF UNITS

France: A(PAR), A(NOR), A(GUY), F(PRO)

Spain: F(GAL), A(MAD), A(LUX), A(MIL), A(NET)

Austria: A(BOH), A(SLO), A(VIE)

England: A(BRI), F(LON), A(LVR)

Scandinavia: F(STO), A(DEN), A(SCA), F(NWY)

Starting Deficit: Each power starts with one unit less than the number of home supply centers.

Total Supply Centers: 24 home SCs + 26 minor state SCs + 3 Ottoman SCs = 53.

ELIMINATION AND EFFECTS OF

Any player who has been eliminated based on standard Diplomacy rules, cannot continue receiving nor deploying INFs for the remaining years, and all scores are ceded. INFs of the eliminated power that have been deployed to all minor states are removed and the statuses of the minor states reassessed at the next influence phase (this includes captured minor states, where the removal of INFs may impact the religious status; and includes the Ottoman Empire and Barbary States, where the alignment can change).

VICTORY CONDITIONS

At the end of 1620, the player with most VPs wins the game. If there is a tie in VPs between the two top-ranked players, then victory will depend on the player with the most supply centers; if there is a tie on SCs, then victory will depend the player with the most INFs.

Optional Alliances and Victory Conditions: Two players, before the start of 1618, may form an alliance. This is a permanent agreement and is communicated to the GM and declared to the other players. Alliances do not change the rules of the game, but affects victory condition. It is possible for two alliances to form in the game. At the end of the game, an alliance wins if the combined VPs of the two allies exceed the total VPs of the other three players (or the other alliance and the fifth player). Alliances are bound to this rule to the end, so it is possible that a single unallied player can (1) win the game with a minimum amount of VPs by bringing about a balance of power between two alliances; or (2) exceeding the other two unallied players in total VPs given the only alliance cannot meet the condition above.

REFERENCES/ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

History, concepts, and rules adapted from:

Core Rules

Standard Diplomacy by Allan Calhamer (Rest in peace!)

Adapted Map Structure, Unit Positions, and Supply Centers

1600 by Tommy Larsson

1648 by Charles Feaux de le Croix

The Influence of Minor States

Ambition and Empire by B. M. Powell and Jeff Kase

Status of States and Their Treatment; Victory Points and Time Limit

Formal Diplomacy by E. Sabatine and Edi Birsan

How to Handle the Ottomans and the Barbary States

Juggernaut Diplomacy by Tim Snyder and Jamie Drier

Influence, Diplomatic Attacks, and Scoring System

Origins of World War 1 by Jim Dunnigan

Origins of World War 2 by Jim Dunnigan and Thomas Shaw

First Session Play-testers

Mark Utterback, Max Victory, Steven Caponigri, Aaron Havas, and Greg Bim-Merle.

Political and Military History

The Thirty Years War by C.V. Wedgwood

Wikipedia entry:- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thirty_Years'_War.

Britannica entry:- http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/592619/Thirty-Years-War.

Europe 1615 Map and Starting Positions

List of Provinces and Minor States