Is it Diplomacy I'm looking for?

[Thieves]

I'm looking for a game, not a computer one. I don't know if it exists.

There is a GM, and a handful of players.
A game where you assume the role of a ruler, or someone on his way to becoming one. You have to perpetuate your rule / career by intrigue, negotiations and basically anything you can come up with - to achieve a goal set pre-game: conquer the world, win / remain until next elections, anything. Other players are either rulers of other states, or people in position of power in other administrational units of the same country, or even your competitors on the way to the crown right there at the court.

I don't mean an adventure game where you see your character move 5 ft. in this or that direction. A game of processes and events rather than singular actions. And meant to be played over long periods of time, without meetings, like Play By Mail, but mainly communicating with the GM.

The point is, the feature I'm looking for is extensive interaction with NPCs. A real reason for a GM to be there. Not just Player A telling Player B "Let's form an alliance with Player C and stab Player D together", but Player A asking the GM "Can I, using the 500 million I got from this year's customs revenue, aid the fight of the Lions of Somalia against the Player-D-established government? Can I spend another 100 million to send agents among the people to increase their support for the Lions?".

Please, if you know of a game that would function any close to this, please share.

[Closet_Skeleton]

There was a political D&D setting called Birthright, but it hasn't been in publication for years.

Most non-WotC RPGs have a stronger non-combat or social element.

[Starfols]

I remember there being a game called diplomacy, but it was turn based, and played through the events of WWI. Fun game, though.

[Selrahc]

I remember there being a game called diplomacy, but it was turn based, and played through the events of WWI. Fun game, though.

Played prior to WWI actually. From 1901.

Diplomacy is a good game, but it doesn't feature any NPC's. There is a GM but they don't really serve a function in game other than to take in the players moves.

[Thorcrest]

Well, I can tell you it is most definitely NOT Diplomacy.

I have played many board games in my time, and none have been nearly so complex as what you are looking for... and I have played games where you had to actually find the other players on the board since you didn`t know where they were, and wheather might prevent you from doing that... 3000 words on searching for players later and the game was quite good, but once again not what you are looking for.

You'll have to make your own game or search in the annals of lost games known as the internet.

You said you don't want video games, but if in all desperation you change your mind, check out Commander and Chief: Geopolitical Simulator 2009. Its exactly what it sounds like, you can rule any country in the world, with mostly accuarate statistics based on data for January 1, 2009, then you do whatever you feel is best for your country. BE warned that if you don't know how to run a country and you aren't in a first world country, you will be killed in a massive riot. If you are in a Western country you'll be kicked out of office, and then have a 50% chance of being killed by a guy that you really pissed off. Oh, and by the way, the people of each country react differently to each type of policy, and your party might disagree with them... they can kick you out too, so good luck!

[SolkaTruesilver]

There was a free MMO I once participated in. In french (eh). It was all about being a ruler of a planet, and eventually conquer your own little empire and taking care of the other player's.

Lots and lots of Role-playing would occur in the forums, between the various factions. A big storyline would occur, all player-driven.

You would post your actions every week, deadline Friday at 19h00 (France time), and the new results would pop out on Sunday.

The game was fun, albeit a little intensive and LOTS AND LOTS OF RULES. I don't know if that's what you meant.

[Jimorian]

Perhaps Republic of Rome (http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/1513/the-republic-of-rome)? I've only watched it being played a few times, but it seems to have at least some of the features you mention.

[Thieves]

@Thorcrest: Yes, I played (okay, attempted to play) video games working Exactly as you mentioned in the past - and this is mostly where the idea comes from, and where the Necessity For Something Different comes from! :smallwink: I just feel that video games, or even board games, are too impersonal, too mechanized and too limited to run such a type of game - the only vehicle capable of giving you total creativity -> power relation is the form of playing RP with living people, one of them as 'the world'.

That board game where you had to look for players, what was its name?

@SolkaTruesilver: Well, could give it a try, though keeping it among acquaintances is part of the appeal for me... And unfortunately I don't know the beautiful language French is ;d

@Jimor: I'll try to take a look at it if I manage to find it anywhere. It actually was Rome or city-state Greece that I imagined as a perfect setting for such a game!

[SolkaTruesilver]

@SolkaTruesilver: Well, could give it a try, though keeping it among acquaintances is part of the appeal for me... And unfortunately I don't know the beautiful language French is ;d


Pauvre sauvage non-civilisé. Vous devriez essayer de hausser votre niveau de savoir et de connaissance en vous joignant à ce merveilleux cercle d'élite sociale et pétant que sont les Francophones.

:smallwink:

[Cobalt]

Pauvre sauvage non-civilisé. Vous devriez essayer de hausser votre niveau de savoir et de connaissance en vous joignant à ce merveilleux cercle d'élite sociale et pétant que sont les Francophones.

:smallwink:

Mm. Sounds yummy.

[chiasaur11]

Pauvre sauvage non-civilisé. Vous devriez essayer de hausser votre niveau de savoir et de connaissance en vous joignant à ce merveilleux cercle d'élite sociale et pétant que sont les Francophones.

:smallwink:

Come the language wars, you'll be the first against the wall, Frenchy!

[Eldan]

Well, not published games, but these fora, we had a lot of nation games... Total War, which has it's own forum now, Manifest Destiny, Moons of Theia, Lords of Hell... some of those had quite a few NPCs as well.

[Capt Spanner]

Shameless plug, but I'm actually looking for three players to complete my forum game of Diplomacy. (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=157088)

What you described to me sounds a lot like Risk.

[blueblade]

TC. I don't know if you ever read Complicity by Iain Banks? But in it, his main character plays a game that basically sounds like the most overarching and complete geopolitical strategy game you've ever heard of, and describes moves and actions similar to what you describe.

Any danger you've transferred the book to something you think might be real? No shame in it!

[Seonor]

TC. I don't know if you ever read Complicity by Iain Banks? But in it, his main character plays a game that basically sounds like the most overarching and complete geopolitical strategy game you've ever heard of, and describes moves and actions similar to what you describe.

Any danger you've transferred the book to something you think might be real? No shame in it!


There is also the game Azad in Player of Games (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Player_of_Games)

[blueblade]

Well... except Azad sounds nothing like the game he's describing..

[Thieves]

Pauvre sauvage non-civilisé. Vous devriez essayer de hausser votre niveau de savoir et de connaissance en vous joignant à ce merveilleux cercle d'élite sociale et pétant que sont les Francophones.

:smallwink:

I can understand, though, when someone boasts cultural supremacy :smallamused:

[SolkaTruesilver]

I can understand, though, when someone boasts cultural supremacy :smallamused:

Linguistic supremacy, you barbaric anglophone :smallcool:

[Eldan]

Pah. Everyone can learn a language with a written form. That's for losers.

[Brother Oni]

Linguistic supremacy, you barbaric anglophone :smallcool:

So what's your position on Franglais then? :smalltongue:

[Eldan]

Franglais is pretty bad. But you should have heard those romands I met a few years ago.

They had such delicious words as "le sac de abfall" and "les schuh".

What would you call that? Frallemand?

[SolkaTruesilver]

Franglais is pretty bad. But you should have heard those romands I met a few years ago.

They had such delicious words as "le sac de abfall" and "les schuh".

What would you call that? Frallemand?

The weirdest I know is either Frarab, or Tag-glish.

Albeit don't use Parisian's so-called "French". They seem to have a perverse pleasure of including as much english word as possible in their speech.

[Eldan]

Ah, yes. Our french teacher hired an exchange student from Paris to do some group discussions. Apparently, "le skateboard" is more well known than "la planche a roulette". Or at least, she only knew the first one.

[SolkaTruesilver]

Ah, yes. Our french teacher hired an exchange student from Paris to do some group discussions. Apparently, "le skateboard" is more well known than "la planche a roulette". Or at least, she only knew the first one.

Indeed. They use english words even if we came up with perfectly legit english words instead. For not legit reason!

But anyway. What is this MMO "Rome"? Looks interesting.

[Brother Oni]

The weirdest I know is either Frarab, or Tag-glish.

I've heard Manglish, which is Malaysian people speaking English (about double the speed with 'lah' added at the end of every other sentence) and Singlish, which is Singaporean people speaking English (Manglish, only faster).

[Thorcrest]

Before I get this back on topic, Fringlish is a very horrible, horrible bastardisation of French and English, and being bilingual, I detest that. Though soon I will be Trilingual and Chinglais will be hard to do!


@Thorcrest: Yes, I played (okay, attempted to play) video games working Exactly as you mentioned in the past - and this is mostly where the idea comes from, and where the Necessity For Something Different comes from! :smallwink: I just feel that video games, or even board games, are too impersonal, too mechanized and too limited to run such a type of game - the only vehicle capable of giving you total creativity -> power relation is the form of playing RP with living people, one of them as 'the world'.

That board game where you had to look for players, what was its name?


The Game I was refering to is not what you are looking for, its a game that attempt to recreate the Battle of the Coral Sea, its called Flat Top (by Avalon Hill, the same company that made Civilization before the horrible game by Sid Meier was released and then he copyrighted the name:smallfurious:). I quite enjoy large, complex board games so I often look for them and nothing I have ever encountered matches what you describe, though that would be awesome! (also haven't encountered anything in a RPG sense either)

Once again, I'm going to recomend you try Commander in Chief: Geopolitical Simulator 2009, even though it is a computer game, you can play online with a player assuming the role of head of every country, and then the computer simply determines NPCs within countries and acts as the GM.

But since you don't want a computer game, I'm going back to answer from before, you will likely have to create your own game system since a realistic portrail of this would be far beyond most things.

[Thieves]

@Thorcrest: Well, won't hurt to try it out. Thanks for the tips ;)

@'linguists': please cut it, it's offtopic and flammable. Doesn't serve you well, either.