Archmonarch

The map has been adapted to more adequately fit the board game setting i.e. to make it more balanced between players.

Creative.

True. Consider Reveiled's words as if they came from my mouth, because in your reality they did. :D

Not exactly, but at least you're thinking.

I forgot one thing, and though I could add it to the first post through Edit, it is cluttered enough as is. Players from either of the existing games are welcome, should they desire. However, understand that new players have a priority.

Though I know repetition is almost a necessity in a multi-part thread of this size, I suggested a Force Adept protagonist (though not an Outcast one) long ago. As you say, it would free you to learn fringe force powers (even ones that were only used in story-progressing movies [though I would prefer their free use]) not known to traditionally trained Jedi/Sith, thus gaining a step up on them whether in a possible cutscene confrontation, a true in-game battle, or a mixture thereof. Also, it possibly eliminates the 'how does this character relate to Revan/Exile aspect' at the beginning of the game. Either the character comes from a civilized planet (in which case he knows of at least Revan and can choose his outcome) or he comes from a primitive world and knows nothing of greater galactic events (a possible explanation for new players who havent gone through K1 and 2). Finally, should the protagonist come from a primitive world, the story could show his introduction to current galactic tech and his gradual adaptation to its use. Maybe it would affect his view of the Force, causing him to join either the Jed or Sith. Maybe he rejects it altogether and depends entirely upon his Force Adept powers, which would necessarily have to be different. There are so many possibilities with this character type (Force Adept), it would be a wonder to me if the devs chose anything else.

I think Ive been stepping on Meta's toes a little here, so until someone asks a general question pertaining to the rules of all games of Diplomacy (and not the house rules of this one in particular), I shall remain quiet.

Psst... Informally means newspapers probably wouldn't use it. I do my homework. But if there's something else (or I interpretted the quote wrong), please let me know. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Ah, you are correct in that it was formally abolished within Russia. However, I found this quote: Thus, I suppose either is acceptable, though the proper equivalent should be Imperator, not Emperor.

Well, here we are again. As still more individuals have expressed interest in playing Diplomacy, I shall (with the knowledge of Reveilled, my own Diplomacy GM) be GMing a 3rd game. To blatantly plagiarize Reveilled's introduction for the second game: To anyone unfamiliar with the game of Diplomacy, it is a game played on a map of Europe in 1901, with players acting as one of the seven great powers of Europe at the time. Through strategy, planning, and above all diplomacy, players must attempt to gain control of the majority of Europe through wars, alliances, and betrayals. There are a lot of Rules [The link goes to a pdf file(which requires Adobe Acrobat) and can temporarily hang certain browsers while it downloads, so beware], but once you get the hang of them, they are actually quite intuitive and fairly easy to remember. Here is the Starting Map. Stars are armies, Anchors fleets, and coloured circles supply centre provinces. To again borrow Reveilled's explanation for the general rules (he introduced me to the game): Everyone starts with a certain number of armies and fleets (3 total except for Russia with 4), and you send the GM move orders in order for them to move. For instance, playing as France, you might order your Fleet in Brest to the Mid Atlantic Ocean, your Army in Paris to Burgundy, and your Army in Marseilles to Spain. (Rather like Chess, the game has its own notation, though it is not necessary to use it. Those orders would be F Bre-MAO, A Par-Bur, A Mar-Spa. They can still be written out in full, though) The game's structure is composed of Years, which are divided into seasons, Spring, Fall and Winter. In Spring, everyone sends in Move orders as in my example. In Fall, the same happens again. Also, at the end of Fall, any Supply Centre (a province that has a coloured circle in it) that has a unit in it becomes the property of the country which controls the unit. For instance, if in Spring France ordered Army Marseilles to Spain, and ordered it to remain there in Fall, there would be a French army in Spain at the end of fall, and so France would own Spain. In winter, adjustments to the number of units are made. Units are built or removed in order that the number of units is equal to the number of Supply Centres owned. In our example, assuming that France captured Spain, and didn't lose control of its starting centres then France would have four centres. Since France starts with three units, France would build one unit in Winter (sending the GM an order like Build Army Paris, or Build A Par) If France moved its fleet in Brest to the Mid Atlantic in Spring and from there to Portugal in Fall, then France would have five centres, and build two units. There are other rules regarding conflict between units and convoys and such, but I'll leave explanation of that to the rules themselves. When someone owns 18 centres, they win. What's important is the Diplomacy aspect of it all. France can't afford to send two of its units into Iberia unless he can be sure he won't be attacked in the first year. Sending his fleet into the Mid Atlantic and then into Portugal isn't a good idea if England is going to order his fleet in London into the English channel and then into Brest, so the player of France has to negotiate furiously either to get England on his side, or to get Germany to attack England and thus keep him occupied. Of course, Germany and England might well be planning an alliance against France, and so how can France be sure that England's promise of an alliance is sincere? The intrigue is what makes the game fun. If you look at our current game's map and compare it with the start, you'll see the horrible consequences Austria suffered for trusting Italy just a little too much. For examples of how this game can be played, please refer to the two Diplomacy threads in the Pen & Papersection of these fora. So far, two that I know of have expressed interest (sorry if I am forgetting anyone): 1. Darque 2. Numbers So that leaves 5 open spots Please post or otherwise contact me if you desire to play. Once we have the players, we will decide who plays what country. P.S. I am willing to walk all players through their first turn or so, should it be required.

Psst...Russia had a Czar (or Tsar) and Czarina (or Tsarina) in these times. Like many other titles, it is a derivation of Caesar. Also, Meta, just in case you should have any questions concerning adjudication, feel free to ask me [and I assume any other player from the first game (excluding Reveilled and Aishur for obvious reasons)].

While I enjoyed JE, be aware it is the quintessential Bioware game. Good and Evil are basically the equivalent of A. I'll help you for free or B. Pay me so I can do the same quest as the good guy in a slightly more evil way that earns me less xp and fewer items in the long run. In other words, it is heavily biased towards good and both extremes are rather shallow. The storyline (IMO, others will disagree vocally) was apparent from the moment you learn a certain pertinent detail quite early in the game. From there, it only becomes more predictable. The choices you can make are shallow and affect very little, and you are basically limited to two (one good one evil), three (one good or evil and two of the other), or four (two of each) of them. Not very much variety. The combat is simplistic, even laughable, and will fail to satisfy even the least demanding of action fans. It didnt really bother me because I play pretty much only RPG's, but it has bothered others I know. Finally, to make matters worse, it can be beaten in approx 10 hours plus or minus 2. I dont recommend against it, I simply want you to be aware of its faults before you engage in the game.

I can explain that, though. Since Baley took so long to answer my diplomatic tendrils as well as the tribulations of everyday life, I was fairly short on time to rework my orders Thus, I forgot St. Petersburg connected to Norway and expected no attack from Russia. Had I remembered, I would have supported Norway and let you have Belgium, especially considering Baley's behavior. <_< I blame all faults in my playing upon the power outage I suffered before S01. If I had had power and therefore been able to submit my orders on time, Baley would never have gotten the Channel and my entire strategy would therefore be different. However, considering my current position, I admit I am fairly screwed and will probably be the second to go, unless I shape up considerably.

For example?

Bah. Live a little dangerously. Save up and buy a BFG 7800GTX OC like I am.

Fair enough, then.

Nor would I. If you wanted to play again, Reveilled, I wouldnt mind GMing.

Based on your link, I thought you were referring to manga scans/translation and it was to such I directed my commentary. Though it could apply equally as well to visual medium, I do not know as I have never bought anime. Anyway, this is what I meant: Its not wanting a profit that makes the quality worse. Its the philosphy implied by such a desire. The profit overrides all other considerations, and while many would expect this to lead to higher quality so as compete with others, the fact that an anime series is licensed by a single company renders this argument void. There is no competition within a single series distribution, thus there is no reason for higher quality. After all, who else could you buy it from, provided you did not use alternative means?

I agree, though it would require somehow forcing Baley to be prompt and observe scheduling. Im tired of waiting for him (whether it be in negotiations or orders).

Pretty much why I gave up on Naruto the anime about 25 eps ago, and now exclusively read the manga. The flashbacks are still hella annoying though.

I usually find exactly the opposite to be true. The fan scanlations are usually of a much higher quality than the American distributors, mostly because the fan groups actually care about their work and audience. They do it for no monetary gain, simply for the enjoyment of others. Companies do it purely for monetary gain, and dont care about their audience in so far as it extends beyond their purchases. Either I just know a higher quality cadre of scanslators than you, or you know some that are below the norm I expect.

Which would explain the dark ages. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Indeed. Simply imagine where we would be today if not for that approx 800 year period. Stupid Church/Germanic Barbarians. <_<

Though it is somewhat old, I recommend HunterxHunter. Basically the story of a kid who tries to become a Hunter (a specially licensed investigator/explorer sort of thing) in order to find his father, one of the greatest Hunters of all time. It can be somewhat childish at times, though also dark at others. I enjoyed it quite a bit, though I havent watched it in a few years. A few others I liked: Trigun, Evangelion (make sure to watch the movies after the series), the original .Hack//SIGN, 12 Kingdoms (based on a hugely popular series of Japanese fantasy novels we will never see), and One Piece (foolish and outlandish but entertaining). If I think of any more later, I will post them. Also, many of these animes were originally manga (the highly superior equivalent to western comics). So if you like any of the animes, the mangas are usually much better (particularly Berserk which btw is ongoing and ranges far beyond the anime ending). Same for Hellsing. I can suggest some sites and such for procuring these, should you choose to do so. A word of warning: should you choose to read the HxH manga, be prepared for some really bad art in the last 2 years or so. The mangaka (artist/writer) had a debilitating illness which affected his work. It seems to be getting somewhat better recently.

Well, having had nothing else to read, I just finished perhaps a half-hour ago reading my sister's copy that she bought yesterday afternoon. As Eldar says, this book is much darker than the others. Perhaps even too dark, considering the audience for which it is intended. The pacing, in my opinion, seems somewhat better, despite that most (if not all) of the "revelations" were obvious from their introduction as plot devices. I must admit that the dialogue is still quite questionable. Also, the ending, especially Harry's new attittude, seems almost forced and unrealistic. Overall, it was fairly intriguing, if only to see how she would continue the saga.

Considering the success Of Kaff's '80's, '90's TV thread, I thought a future version was in order. What shows are you looking forward to next season? Preferably new shows, though they can be new seasons. Given my love for the scifi/fantasy genre, my choices (thus far) are of this variety. In no particular order: Lost Season 2 Battlestar Galactica Season 2 Supernatural (If for no other reason than to see how the WB screws up the occult) Surface (Previously called Fathom) Threshold Invasion I dont expect all of these to be good (excepting those proven few). Hell, I dont even expect many of them to be good. But they seemed worth a chance from what I know so far. And I always have room for a pleasant surprise. Care to share your lists?

Baley should be banned from further games, on account of his lax behavior. " That said, should there be room, I am willing to join as well.