Diplomacy: Classical Variant Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Base Rules and Scope
• Powers and Starting Units
• Building
• Special Map Features
• Land Bridges
• Abbreviations

Base Rules and Scope

1. The rules of "standard" Diplomacy are valid, unless specifically replaced or amended by these rules.

2. All references in the "standard" rules to specific powers, provinces, locations, and seasons do not apply to "Classical." The standard map is replaced by the "Classical" variant map.

3. The game begins in Spring 273 B.C. Because years before 1 A.D. count backwards, Spring 273 B.C. is followed by Fall 273 B.C., Winter 273 B.C., and then Spring 272 B.C. However, for the purposes of Judge play, the game is counted in years since the death of Alexander the Great (to allow time to move forward and fit the Judge program). Thus 273 B.C. is noted as Year 50, and 272 B.C. is Year 51, etc.

4. There are 35 supply centers on the board. The winner is the power which holds 18 or more supply centers during an adjustment phase.

Powers and Starting Units

5. There are 5 great powers. The starting units are as follows:

• MACEDON (abbreviated "A"): Army Pella, Fleet Cassandreia, Fleet Kallatis
• CARTHAGE (abbreviated "C"): Fleet Carthage, Fleet Panormus, Fleet Leptis Magna
• EGYPT (abbreviated "E"): Army Thebes, Fleet Alexandria, Fleet Memphis
• ROME (abbreviated "R"): Army Brundisium, Army Roma, Fleet Cumae
• SYRIA (abbreviated "S"): Army Antioch, Army Damascus, Fleet Tyre

*** Please note that MACEDON is abbreviated with an "A" to avoid conflict with the MASTER of the game. ***

Building

6. A power may build in any vacant supply center it owns during an adjustment phase, assuming at least one of the original SCs of that power is owned by that power: thus while there are permanent "home centers," as long as you own one, all owned centers act like home centers. For example, Carthage may build in Syracuse if (1) it is vacant, (2) Carthage owns it and (3) Carthage is eligible for a build and (4) Carthage still owns at least one of: Panormus, Carthage, or Leptis Magna.

Special Map Features

7. All Coastal provinces are assumed to have only one coast. Thus, for example, a fleet can enter Athens from Euboea and exit to Corinth the following turn. The same holds for Fleets entering Sinai from Memphis and proceeding to Petra (and vice versa), and for Agrigentum as well.

Note, however, that two neighboring coastal provinces, may not necessarily be adjacent for the purposes of sea travel. For example. Etruria and Cisalpina are both coastal provinces, but they do not touch on a water border, and thus a fleet in Etruria may not move to Cisalpina or vice versa.

7a) The Nile is navigable up to Thebes. Once in Thebes, a fleet may move to the Sinai, Sea of Reeds, or Nubian Desert via "portage" (this is just a regular move order. i.e. a "portage" from Thebes to Nubian Desert is just F Thebes- Nubian Desert, with no special indication that the fleet may have had to be lifted across a stretch of desert). Note, however, F Thebes cannot move to Libya, for the same reasons that F Cis-Etr is not allowed.

7b) The Rhodes space in southeastern Asia Minor consists of the island of Rhodes proper and the mainland province of Caria which Rhodes controlled. They are one province despite being separated by water. Thus, for example, a unit entering Rhodes from the Sea of Alexander may move to Pergamum in the following season (and vice versa). Note however, that the Lycian Sea and the Cretan Sea ARE adjacent (as are Lycian and Kos), despite this unusual land province.

Land Bridges

8. The games has several land bridges, designed to improve interaction among the five powers. These connect the following land provinces:

• Mauretania – Saguntum
• Kyrnos – Sardo
• Cumae – Mamertines
• Brundisium – Epirus
• Bithynia – Thrace
• Thrace – Troy
• Chersonesus – Tanais
• Corinth – Delphi

*** Note that Rhodes also has a land bridge indicated, but its special nature is defined by rule 7b above. ***

8a) Units (army or fleet) in a province with a land bridge may move to the opposite shore at full strength. In addition, a unit in such a province may give support to a unit on the other side, or support a move into the space across the bridge, also at full strength, regardless of the presence of a fleet in the waters between the land bridges.

Examples:

• R: Brundisium-Epirus. A: Pella-Epirus. Result: both bounce.
• R: Dalmatia-Epirus, Brundisium s Dalmatia-Epirus. A: Pella-Epirus. Result: Dalmatia-Epirus succeeds.
• R: Brundisium S Epirus, Epirus H. A: Pella-Epirus, Delphi S Pella-Epirus. Result: Epirus holds, Pella bounces.

8b) None of these land bridges precludes movement across the sea spaces they cross. For example, an army moving from Thrace to Troy will not impede a fleet moving from Propontis to Lesbos. In addition, these land bridges do not prevent convoys, so an army in Bithynia may convoy via Propontis and Lesbos to Pergamum, or even, should the need arise, directly across the Propontis to Thrace (this might be used to swap two units which would otherwise bounce).

Abbreviations

9. Generally, land locations can be abbreviated by the first three letters. The one exception is Sarmatia, abbreviated as Srm to avoid a conflicts with Sardo, Sar. Ignore the word "The" when abbreviating.

Sea space abbreviations are a bit more complicated. Three-word sea spaces, like Bay of Pelusium and the Magna Grecian Sea are abbreviated by their initials, e.g., BoP and MGS. Sea spaces beginning with Sinus are abbreviated S plus the first two letters of the second word, e.g., Sinus Ligusticum is abbreviated SLi. Similarly, sea spaces beginning with Mare are abbreviated M plus the first two letters of the second word, e.g., Mare Adriaticum is abbreviated MAd. Other Sea Spaces are abbreviated by the first two letters of their first name and S, such as Antigonid Sea (AnS) or Messenian Gulf (MeG). In a few cases, such as Maeotis Palus, the first three letters will suffice (Mae). Finally, the Syrtis Major and Syrtis Minor are abbreviated SMa and SMi respectively.

Please note these abbreviations:

Full name	Abbreviation
Mare Internum	MIn
Minoan Sea	MiS
Antioch	Ant
Antigonid Sea	AnS
Sardo	Sar
Sarmatia	Srm
Syrtis Major	SMa
Syrtis Minor	SMi
Barcid Sea	BaS
Baleares	Bal
The Fetters	Fet
The Mamertines	Mam