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Deus Vult! - Diplomacy vs. Nations

In addition to the normal diplomacy against individual regions and cities, your nation may attempt to absorb a neighboring nation wholesale. The first requirement is that the nation must be currently unplayed. Note that new (or switching) players may not take on a nation within three days of the due date, thus guaranteeing that all parties are able to react to a new player entering their sphere of influence.

Action Mechanics

Location

The Diplomatic attempt must take place in the capital of the nation being targeted. The capital city counts as the base for the Diplomacy. All leaders who are supporting the action must travel to the capital.

Scope

The player has a choice in how much of the target kingdom he wishes to pursue. All locations being wooed add their resistance value to the capital's. This can quickly push up the total resistance value to staggering figures. Thus, the player is allowed to choose how much of the Kingdom he want to absorb. At a minimum, the player must target all the Homeland, Friendly, and Friendly Colony locations of the target nation - this is the default. Anything beyond that is up to the player to note (SCOPE = EA, for example). The tiers of control are as follows:

[HM, F, FC] > A > EA > T > FA > NT > P > PT

If the diplomacy is successful, only the locations of the target control level and those higher are absorbed. Any lower control levels are granted their independence, and the acting nation has no claims on them. Claims posted on the grouplists can be mocked and ridiculed (depending on your comparative MSI ratings, of course).

The acting player will not get any free information on what locations fall under what control level. It is up to that player to scour newsfax entries, run Reveal Fact operations, or perform Investigate Location actions to determine control levels. Emailing an old player for the information should be considered against the spirit of the rules, and I hope players will respectfully refrain from requesting or granting such information.

Effect

Depending on the level of success, the nation will gain some level of control over the targeted regions. The new control level for the acting nation will be equal to the lower of A) The Success Effect of the Diplomacy Attempt, and B) The current control level of the Target Nation. So, even if you score a 'Friendly' result on the Diplomacy check itself, if a region was only held at Tributary status by the target, you will only receive it at Tributary.

In addition to the territorial gains, a successful attempt will gain the acting nation some number of other bonuses, similar to the Free Start builds. These will be directly tied to the statistics of the nation compared to your own. If the nation has higher Quality Ratings than you, you can take a build to increase one of yours. Did they have a big university? Take a build to absorb it into your own. The nation's Government Stats will always be an option to take unless you have already reached your own maximum in INFRA or BL.

Remember, the scope of the Diplomacy attempt holds sway. So if you only target EA locations in the nation, all locations of T and lower are automatically granted their independence. Additionally, all locations must conform to new Maximum Status by Religion and Maximum Status by Terrain levels. Nations which cannot add more Allied or Feudal Allied Leaders (Due to Leader Cap or Improved Size Divisors) will also see control degrade: A > EA and FA > NT.

Action Modifiers

Many modifiers affect the final outcome of the check:

Negative
Language: Each location that speaks a different language than your National language adds +1 to its resistance value.
Religion: Each location that follows a different religion than your nation adds +1 to its resistance value. Hostile religions add +2.
Casus: Any Casus Points between you and the target nation act as direct negative modifiers to the roll. (Appeasement actions just before the finish of the DP action may be wise).
Support Ops: Failed Support Diplomacy and Religious Support Diplomacy (Where appropriate) operations subtract from the roll.

Positive
Leaders: Supporting Leaders add one half their Diplomacy Rating.
Time: Each additional 5 APs adds +1 to the roll.
GP Bribery: Normal Bribery Charts apply.
New Marriages: Marriage offers to K/Q/E/H leaders add +5 each. Marriage offers to P Leaders and Royals add +3 each.
Existing Marriages: Existing Royal Marriages between the two nations (Defensive Pacts, etc.) add a bonus depending on the controlled Spouse's Charisma. Spouses with higher CHA add bigger bonuses.
Heir-Apparent: If the acting nation appoints an eligible royal from the target nation as its new Heir-Apparent, a +5 bonus is added. (If the Diplomacy fails, the AHA action is automatically aborted.)
Support Ops: Successful Support Diplomacy and Religious Support Diplomacy (Where appropriate) operations add to the roll.
Infiltrations: Government, Populace and Royal Family Infiltrations in the target nation add their levels as a bonus.

Success!

Once you have achieved a success, the following steps immediately happen:

A) All locations are transferred to your stat sheets as per the above chart. All non-Friendly locations start as Tenuous. New Allied and Feudal Allied leaders will be generated for the appropriate regions. All other controlled regions by the target become independent and up for grabs.

B) All offered royal marriages are accepted. If there are eligible spouses in the target nation, they take precedence. Any excess marriages are filled by local nobility from the target capital. Offered wives are removed from your stats. Offered husbands gain new wives on your stats.

C) The ex-Ruler of the target nation is placed on your stat sheet. You may not control or appoint the leader directly unless he is an Allied Leader, or you take the Entwined Families build (which transfers all royals of the target nation to your stat sheet). As long as he remains alive, he acts as if he were a ruler under a successful Abdication action.

D) All Casus Points generated by the target nation are immediately transferred to you. All Casus Points received by the target nation are forgiven.

E) The National Census is lost. However, if both nations had an active Census at the time of the Diplomacy, a Build Option will be available to reinstate the Census for free.

F) A list of build options will be added to your player notes. You will see the types and direct effects. (Troop Builds will show exactly how many troops you receive, University Builds tell you exactly how many GP / Years you will absorb). You must include your Build Choices on your next set of orders. They will then be available on the following turn. That means government stats and troops are not usable for that first turn as you struggle to coordinate the merger.

G) A new 'Cultural Identity' project will be created in your project list. It will have no GP or NFP cost, but will have a Years cost. During the time the project remains unfinished, there can still be found a populace base loyal to the old nation. If a Dynastic Failure happens, the old nation is somewhat more likely to split off in civil war. The chances for Dynastic Failure itself are not increased, only the chance for a civil war should the DF happen. Nations may also directly pay down the years of the project at the cost of 5 GP or 1 NFP per year.

The following turn, additional steps come into play:

A) All of your build options are enacted. Stats increased, troops gained, royals adopted, etc.

B) Royals from the target nation which have not been taken as a build option or have not been filled as A or FA leaders may turn to Mercenary service.

C) Troops which are not taken by the acting nation through build options become mercenaries in the geozone of their location.