In this thread I will be going over basic strategy tips and helping with some of the rules until everyone is on their feet. Since everyone starts off pretty much the same, I have compiled a list of things that everyone should accomplish on their first turn:
1. Invade at least one independant province (there's the marauding for you). Realms that fail to expand quickly will be doomed. No declaration of war is necessary to invade independant provinces. In order to attack another player a declaration of war is necessary.
2. Issue a proclamation. Say anything you want (hopefully something amusing or creative). Every realm that issues a proclamation receives 7 free gold for the following turn. Only loser realms will fail to take advantage of this source of revenue.
3. Build new troops. There's no reason to save up your gold. In fact, unused gold depreciates at a 7% rate. Troops that you build cannot be used until the following turn.
4. Begin negotiations with your neighbors (optional). It is unlikely that you will come into direct confrontation with your neighbors on the first turn, but from the second turn on there is an increased likelihood that conflicts of interest will arise. Each turn you will be provided with a list of all the remaining realms and the email addresses of their rulers.
5. Form alliances (optional). In order to form an alliance with another realm, both realms must offer each other an alliance. If one realm fails to do so, the alliance will not go through. So just offering people alliances out of the blue will do you no good. They must know you intend to do so and be willing to reciprocate. Obviously the more allies you have, the better off you'll be. But the best reason to have a formal alliance with someone is that it will give you a one turn notice if they intend to stab you in the back. In order to attack an ally, you must first cancel your alliance, then you'll be able to declare war on them on the following turn. So if you find an ally has cancelled their alliance with you and they've got a large army on your borders, you can assume you're going to be attacked the following turn.
One of the more confusing things about Medieval Diplomacy is how to effectively manage and move your armies around. The following should help in that regard:
All infantry and siege units have 2 movement points (MPs).
Most mounted units have 3 MPs (some have 4).
It takes 1 MP to move into any friendly province and 2 MP to attack someone else's province. Therefore, infantry must begin the turn adjacent to any province they wish to attack. Mounted units can move through one (or two) friendly province(s) and still have 2 MPs left over to attack a hostile province.
Troops in a garrison cannot move on their own. You must first create a new army in that province and then transfer the troops from the garrison to the new army. You then issue your marching orders to the army.
Armies are holding units that you place your troops into. They cost nothing to create and will be dissolved at the end of the turn if they have no troops left in them. All marching orders will be issued to armies. Individual troops cannot move on their own.
An army can move only as fast as the slowest unit in it. An army with 2 crossbowmen and 2 knights will only have 2 MPs. In order to split the army in two, you must first create a new army in the province and then transfer the desired number of units into the new army from the old one. In the above example, you have an army (A1) with 2 crossbowmen and 2 knights. You want to split them up so the knights won't be slowed down by the crossbowmen. You need to build a new army (A2) in the province and transfer the two knights into it. Army (A1) with 2 crossbowmen will then have 2 MPs, while army (A2) will have 3 MPs.
Any questions?
Originally posted by rwingettThread 34466
See the thead "Medieval Diplomacy" in this forum.
Disputed provinces
Although the map is arranged so that the various kingdoms will not come into contact with one another on the first turn, there are about a dozen provinces on the map where this could happen. One example is Anjou, by France and Aquitaine.
If both France and Aquitaine make a move for Anjou on the same turn, ownership of the province will go to the side that has the largest army (in total attack strength) there at the end of the turn.
If France and Aquitaine are not at war with one another, then their armies will peacefully co-exist in the province, ownership of which will go to the side with the largest army.
If France and Aquitaine ARE at war with one another, then their armies will fight each other as well as the independant garrison in Anjou.