Velok the Younger
When I Was A Young Warthog
The humble Diplomacy thread might be the most flexible game mechanic on Chaos. I'm no expert - nobody is - but I find the options downright inspiring. Fiftyish posts with decent member buy-in will let two factions trade 1-3 hexes total, and the story is entirely up to you.
And story, incidentally, should be the focus. A lot of this little guide talks in terms of Chaos 'game mechanics' and map rules, but story is the priority, far as I'm concerned. Use this mechanism as a storytelling tool and all kinds of fun things can happen.
* OPTION ONE: The de facto merger
Merging major factions isn't allowed. However, Diplomacy-threading Faction A’s territory to Faction B three hexes at a time is explicitly legit. Little work involved? Sure. For the right territory, though, it's worth the effort. Just about every major faction has one or two cool worlds that benefit the faction in any number of small ways. A diplo thread can give you a three-for-one deal compared to a post-collapse Dominion chain. The only caveat is that the rules are gray about whether a major faction that's been recalled (or that's announced it's going minor) can participate in something like this before it comes off the map. For best results, do your transfers before any final recall/minor decision, just to be safe.
* OPTION TWO: Leverage, says you...
If you're invested in major factions, there's a decent chance you're tied into the 'map game’ to some extent. There's an equally decent chance the guy next to you cares more about it than you do. Maybe his faction really needs planet X and you've had your eye on his planet Y for a while. Actually had this come up recently: GA asked for an empty ORC hex to avoid a potential cloudbreak. ORC’s price was Terminus - one of canon’s most ORCy planets, and one we'd coveted for ages. Moral of the story: you can often leverage your unused hexes and name your price. This is the kind of thing Diplomacy threads were designed for, but they're criminally underused.
* OPTION THREE: The friendly invasion
A Diplomacy thread doesn't really have a winner, and judging focuses on whether the factions showed up and wrote a little story together. So if you and the enemy faction next door are both cool with it, you can easily use a Diplomacy thread as a low-impact fifty-post non-judged Invasion substitute. Do some spy games and skirmishes and tough talk, swap a hex each, shift the borders a little, shake hands and walk away. Fantastic way, incidentally, for a faction to practice for real Invasions. And since almost every faction has 1-3 others right next door, there are plenty of opportunities for low-impact, net-zero 'invasions’ that change the map a little.
* OPTION FOUR: The big gamble
Picture this. OOC-friendly enemy factions want to just plain write some skullduggery, no format restrictions, no judging necessary. Whoever stays the course and comes out on top walks away with 1-3 pre-wagered hexes. If it looks more like a tie, turn it into Option Three and everyone leaves happy. Maybe the contest is gambling or spy games or assassinations or genteel negotiations - all up to you, and that kind of material suits a fifty-post baseline nicely. I don't see it as likely to happen, but you never know. Fringe, Red Ravens, Horde, Black Sun...we've had some factions who would happily have gone all in for something this unpredictable. It's a thought.
* OPTION FIVE: The triple swap
A wants B’s hex, B wants C’s hex, C wants A’s hex. All three show up, throw down 15-20 posts each, and three hexes change hands. Maybe the story is friendly, maybe it's hostile, maybe it's both.
Happy diplomatting.
And story, incidentally, should be the focus. A lot of this little guide talks in terms of Chaos 'game mechanics' and map rules, but story is the priority, far as I'm concerned. Use this mechanism as a storytelling tool and all kinds of fun things can happen.
* OPTION ONE: The de facto merger
Merging major factions isn't allowed. However, Diplomacy-threading Faction A’s territory to Faction B three hexes at a time is explicitly legit. Little work involved? Sure. For the right territory, though, it's worth the effort. Just about every major faction has one or two cool worlds that benefit the faction in any number of small ways. A diplo thread can give you a three-for-one deal compared to a post-collapse Dominion chain. The only caveat is that the rules are gray about whether a major faction that's been recalled (or that's announced it's going minor) can participate in something like this before it comes off the map. For best results, do your transfers before any final recall/minor decision, just to be safe.
* OPTION TWO: Leverage, says you...
If you're invested in major factions, there's a decent chance you're tied into the 'map game’ to some extent. There's an equally decent chance the guy next to you cares more about it than you do. Maybe his faction really needs planet X and you've had your eye on his planet Y for a while. Actually had this come up recently: GA asked for an empty ORC hex to avoid a potential cloudbreak. ORC’s price was Terminus - one of canon’s most ORCy planets, and one we'd coveted for ages. Moral of the story: you can often leverage your unused hexes and name your price. This is the kind of thing Diplomacy threads were designed for, but they're criminally underused.
* OPTION THREE: The friendly invasion
A Diplomacy thread doesn't really have a winner, and judging focuses on whether the factions showed up and wrote a little story together. So if you and the enemy faction next door are both cool with it, you can easily use a Diplomacy thread as a low-impact fifty-post non-judged Invasion substitute. Do some spy games and skirmishes and tough talk, swap a hex each, shift the borders a little, shake hands and walk away. Fantastic way, incidentally, for a faction to practice for real Invasions. And since almost every faction has 1-3 others right next door, there are plenty of opportunities for low-impact, net-zero 'invasions’ that change the map a little.
* OPTION FOUR: The big gamble
Picture this. OOC-friendly enemy factions want to just plain write some skullduggery, no format restrictions, no judging necessary. Whoever stays the course and comes out on top walks away with 1-3 pre-wagered hexes. If it looks more like a tie, turn it into Option Three and everyone leaves happy. Maybe the contest is gambling or spy games or assassinations or genteel negotiations - all up to you, and that kind of material suits a fifty-post baseline nicely. I don't see it as likely to happen, but you never know. Fringe, Red Ravens, Horde, Black Sun...we've had some factions who would happily have gone all in for something this unpredictable. It's a thought.
* OPTION FIVE: The triple swap
A wants B’s hex, B wants C’s hex, C wants A’s hex. All three show up, throw down 15-20 posts each, and three hexes change hands. Maybe the story is friendly, maybe it's hostile, maybe it's both.
Happy diplomatting.
