Diplomacy Master Thread- Helping Your Opponents Beat Themselves

[scooter]

I don't think fear of annoying them is even slightly a valid reason. I mean okay, soooo says it would annoy him... Would it seriously be as annoying as the runaway leader asking for a 75 turn NAP? Because we just did that to them a little while ago and we got them to AGREE to it, so obviously they weren't too concerned. They're in the middle of a war in which I'm sure they could use a resource, a couple War Chariots, or something along that line. Sure maybe they say no, but just because YOU would say no does not mean the other teams are that smart. So far in this game we actually have accumulated a significant amount of evidence to suggest a lot of these teams are just not as smart as you would normally expect (I don't know how to say that in a delicate way, sorry).

I've got a pretty decent rapport with CFC's diplo guy despite the fact that Sommer behind the scenes thinks we are quite literally the devil. A quick chat of "hey, is there anything you guys would be interested in us trading to you in exchange for two fast workers?" is almost entirely harmless.

Also, I'm laughing at the dichotomy here - we have "what, why would we need fast workers" and "those would be SO useful that CFC would be crazy to give them to us" occurring at the same time.

edit: not intended to sound confrontational or dismissive FYI - just stating my opinion and continuing discussion.

[sooooo]

OK, but you could use the "there's no harm in asking!" logic to justify all sorts of prospective deals. In my opinion it's a waste of time and will devalue our real offers in the future. But I'll bow to the majority opinion.

[regoarrarr]

If we do end up asking for a fast worker, I'd definitely value 2 more than 1 - I see most of their value in war time logistics, and 1 by itself doesn't do as much (can't road forest or jungle immediately)

[kalin]

My initial suggestion to consider was to ask for 2 workers.

EDIT: scooter, thanks for continuing the discussion. My suggestion still stands that we should ask.

Kalin

[Ceiliazul]

If we can ask in an informal way, that's fine. I would say the maximum price worth discussing is ~100h per fast worker (agree we need 2 and only 2.)

I'd prefer to push for some kind of concession on their failure to supply marble... like pulling back our stone for example.

[sooooo]

Scooter, if we won't get an email do you think you'd be able to chat with Decebel before next turn to secure a promise that they'll send their missionary elsewhere?

[Boldly Going Nowhere]

Ask away. Just be prepared for them to ignore the request. I don't suppose there is much harm in asking. What would we say is a fair market price? They don't want a gift of WCs at this point, I'm assuming.

Edit: just saw Ceil's post. That seems on the high side to me, but I have no idea how much this kind of transaction typically goes for in MP games. Normal speed workers are 60h, right?

[Sullla]

You can ask away if you want, but be prepared for me to say "no thanks" as turnplayer if CFC wants a sizable amount of gold or a bunch of military units in return. I don't think asking causes any harm, I just doubt that we're willing to pay what they are going to expect from us.

[Nicolae Carpathia]

2 fast workers for 2 knights

[scooter]

Scooter, if we won't get an email do you think you'd be able to chat with Decebel before next turn to secure a promise that they'll send their missionary elsewhere?

Nah, last time we had negotiations with Decebal he was extraordinarily difficult to get into a chat - it was literally weeks before he reluctantly agreed to chat. He's not regularly logged into any sort of IM account on any platform. We are very likely going to have to make a decision on whether or not to close borders prior to hearing from them.