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Napoleonic: Empires and Coalitions is a variant set at the beginning of the French Consulate after Napoleon toppled the French Assembly in the coup of the 18th Brumaire. It focuses on special rules concerning the formation of empires and coalitions as part of its game play. It is a 9 player variant with major and minor powers. The status of a major or minor power in this variant is based on the number of men mobilized during the Napoleonic Wars. Any power that exceeded 300,000 men during the course of the many conflicts or was a known militarized power begins the game with 3 or more units (this is done with historical flare, but the game map has been carefully tailored to hopefully reflect excellent balance based on this game mechanic). The major powers in this category are France (4 SC’s), Britain (4 SC’s), Russia (4 SC’s), Austria (3 SC’s), and Prussia (3 SC's). The minor powers of 1800 consist of any nation that mobilized 100-300,000 men during the course of the wars or were strategically significant. These include Denmark, Spain, the Ottoman Empire, and Sicily (all 2 SC’s). The status of major or minor powers only affects initial setup and has no bearing on the course of the game after the first turn.
44 supply centers, 26 controlled by the powers, 18 neutral, and 23 needed to win.
Powers:
Austria- A Vienna, A Venice, A Budapest
Britain- F London, F Edinburgh, F Gibraltar, A Hanover
Denmark- F Copenhagen, F Christiania
France- A Paris, A Brest, A Lyon, F Marseilles
Ottoman Empire- A Constantinople, F Angora
Prussia- A Berlin, A Konigsberg, A Breslau
Russia- F St. Petersburg, A Moscow, A Kiev, F Sevastopol
Sicily- A Naples, F Palermo
Spain- F Madrid, F Valencia
Rules:
Special Rules about the Board:
Gibraltar- Gibraltar is passable and considered a coastal space, movement by both fleets and armies is possible. Gibraltar is not an SC, but contains a British fleet to begin with supplied from Liverpool. Gibraltar divides the coastline of Andalusia, but does not break up the coast of Morocco. Gibraltar is considered a sea space for convoys and does not border Morocco for land movement.
Land Bridges- There are land bridges connecting Edi and Ire, Nap and Plm, Con and Ang.
Bosporus Strait- The Aegean Sea and Black Sea do not border one another. In order for a fleet to move from one to the other it must move along the coastline of either Constantinople or Angora through the Sea of Marmara (which is not represented as a sea space on the map). A fleet moving from either the Aegean or Black Seas into the other must first capture or move through Constantinople or Angora before proceeding.
Sweden- Sweden is considered to have one coast and is not interrupted by the space of Copenhagen.
Dual Coasts- The spaces of Andalusia (Spain), Papal States, Schleswig (Denmark), and St. Petersburg (Russia) have two coastlines.
Special Rules:
Additional home supply centers for minor powers- Each minor power begins with 2 home centers at the start of the game in Spring 1800. Each minor power has a designated neutral supply center that will become a third home center upon being captured by that minor power. The additional home centers respective to each minor country are as follows: Portugal (Spain), Sweden (Denmark), Egypt (Ottoman Empire), Papal States (Sicily).
Alliance Phase- The Alliance Phase occurs after the Fall Builds and before the Spring Orders. During this phase, coalition and empire agreements may be formed and submitted to the game Master who will announce them at the end of Alliance Phase and before the Spring Orders Phase begins. All powers joining in a coalition or imperial agreement must confirm the alliance via PM to the game Master or the alliance will not take effect that turn. The first phase of the game is the Alliance Phase for the year 1800.
Empires- Powers become empires when they gain 12 centers (more than half of what is required for victory). Empires can enter into agreements with powers that have four or fewer supply centers making them vassal or client states of the empire (both major and minor powers may be made into client states so long as they have 4 or fewer supply centers). If a power concedes to becoming a client state, it enters into an alliance with the empire, but the alliance must be submitted to the game Master during the Alliance Phase, before the start of the spring turn, for it to take effect that year. So long as the alliance lasts, neither may attack the other and units may move into one another’s supply centers without them being captured during the Fall Build. A client state or empire may break a vassal agreement, but must reveal that to the game Master in the Fall set of orders. At any other time the alliance stands regardless of the situation. If an empire or client state intends to break its agreement, it cannot retain its units within the others SC's and must remove them before canceling an agreement. Only one vassal agreement may be made by an empire per year.
A vassal agreement combines the victory points of the empire and the client state(s) allowing them to achieve victory sooner. A 12 center empire joining with a 4 center client state would represent 16 total victory points. Therefore, it is possible for an empire and a client state to have enough victory points to win after announcement of their vassal agreement during the Alliance Phase. Even if they exceeded the victory conditions, they would still need to maintain their majority of supply centers to the fall build in order to secure victory. An empire that exceeds the victory condition with the help of client states is still considered to have won the game (solo victory). Any client states of an empire are considered to have drawn the game counted according to the sum of the empire and the number of client states held by an empire. Example: France has 16 SC's and holds Spain (4 SC's) and Sicily (3 SC's) as client states. France secures a solo win at the fall builds, but the client states share in a three-way draw (France, Spain, and Sicily).
Any imperial agreements must be submitted to the GM during the Alliance Phase before the start of the Spring Orders Phase to be announced by the GM. Preferably, all agreements should include any players involved and the GM in the PM chain.
Coalitions- Coalitions may be formed by any number of nations regardless of supply center count. A coalition is announced in the same manner as a vassal agreement between an empire and a client state and must be submitted to the game Master to be announced at the end of the Alliance Phase. Nations comprising a coalition may not attack one another for the duration of the coalition, but may move units into one another’s SC’s without them being captured during the fall build. Any nation desiring to leave a coalition must reveal its intentions to the game Master in the Fall Orders Phase with the dissolution of a coalition being announced with the Fall Orders. If a power intends to break its coalition agreement, it cannot retain its units within the SC's of another coalition power and must remove them before canceling an agreement. Empires (nations holding 12 or more SC's) may not form coalitions with other empires or nations and may only enter into vassal agreements.
Coalitions may be formed to simply form a concrete alliance or they may be formed to topple an empire. Coalitions may be formed with the express purpose of stopping an empire and its client states from winning the game. A coalition formed for this purpose may announce itself at any time, but must designate its target; otherwise the nations must wait for the Alliance Phase as in the case of a normal coalition. A coalition that designates a specific target must secure at least one SC per nation of the coalition from the empire or its client states in the year it is formed, otherwise the coalition collapses and the nations comprising it must wait a full year before forming or joining another coalition.
All coalition agreements must be submitted to the GM during the Alliance Phase before the start of the Spring phase to be announced by the GM. Preferably, all agreements should include any players involved and the GM in the PM chain.
Specific Rules for Empires and Coalitions:
- Coalition members, empires and client states, may not attack with the support of a non-allied power or support the attack of a non-allied power against a province currently held by an ally's unit(s) with the intent of dislodgement.
-Coalition members, empires and client states, may not support the attack of a non-allied unit into an ally's supply center, whether vacant or occupied by an allied unit. Coalition members, empires and client states may support their ally's units or their own into an allied supply center, but may not do so for a non-allied unit.
- If two coalition members indicate in their orders to the GM via consensus that one coalition member will dislodge another for strategic reasons, then this order is permissible for the purpose of dislodgement. If both coalition members do not confirm this strategy, the orders will be invalid and the standard rules of dislodgement for allies will be enforced. Supply centers may be exchanged between coalition members, empires and client states, by the same means. If all powers involved confirm the move, an allied unit(s) may dislodge another ally's unit(s) in order to secure a build to be placed more strategically.
- This does not mean that players may self-dislodge their own units, only the specific orders of an ally may do this.
- Coalition members, empires and client states, may support non-allied units as normal, even if it is to a neutral supply center a fellow allied state intends to capture. However, an attack against a province or supply center currently occupied by an allied unit or a vacant allied supply center is not allowable and is an invalid move.
- Coalition members may create a standoff with allied units without it being considered an attack and an invalid move. This is also allowed to create a standoff to prevent an ally from securing a build because the GM cannot assume the intentions of all parties involved.
- Allied units may attack each other to create a standoff or to cut the support of an ally so long as they do not dislodge the other's unit. If an order is written with the purpose of dislodgement while the attacker is still allied with the intended target, the order is invalid and all units will hold.
House Rules:
Orders: Messages containing orders should have the following in their titles: "game Name-Country Name-Orders/Retreats-Season and Current Year" (ex.- NEC: Spain Orders-Spring 1800). All orders should be sent in a new message each season so that they are not lost in my inbox, this will also help me keep track of all orders for folders. Failure to do so is on the player's head. Before each phase is adjudicated, I will search for extra or lost orders, but if a player did not accurately label his orders, I am not responsible for his NMR.
Any ambiguities in orders are the responsibility of the player and will not be adjudicated if unintelligible. I cannot be expected to understand what a player means when submitting vague orders; anything that cannot be understood without grand assumptions of intent on my part will be rejected. So please make sure your abbreviations are accurate. Any and all questions regarding provinces' borders and names are welcome. A little bothering before the turn will save all of us from a big headache afterwards.
The site rules for mistakes by GM's will be followed regarding incorrect results posted after a phase deadline:
Any mistake in adjudication or in the map which has not been noticed by or reported to the GM by the next movement deadline will stand. If a mistake is reported, however close to a deadline, then it should be corrected and time given for orders to be modified.
Questions or Other Messages: Questions or other messages should be labeled differently than orders so that I can address them immediately. Something along the lines of "Question regarding (game name)" would be appropriate.
Deadlines: 48-72-24-24, unless a consensus of players prefer longer deadlines (the Alliance Phase will occur at the beginning of each game year and will have a 48 hour deadline). A reminder will be sent out 24 hours in advance of the phase end for turns with a deadline longer than 24 hours. Even if this reminder is not sent, players are still expected to submit orders in a timely fashion, though I will try to send a reminder every turn. I will be lenient for legitimate excuses, otherwise it will be an NMR.
I will use speed deadlines if all moves are submitted before the end of the phase. All moves will be adjudicated at such time as I receive final orders from all players. Any orders marked provisional will not be considered final until the deadline is reached. A player may submit an infinite number of order changes and the last set will be the ones used.
Delays will be granted on a case-by-case basis judged by me on the legitimacy of the request and circumstances involved for the player requesting the extension. Please ask for requests as far in advance as possible.
Draws: Draws cannot be proposed until Spring 1805. Draws are not DIAS.
NMR's: The deadline is final and any orders submitted after I have posted the adjudicated orders and the map are late and not valid. If a player submits orders after the dealine, but before I can update the map and post the results for the turn, those orders will be accepted and adjuducated with the rest.
2 NMR's in successive phases whether orders, retreats, or builds will result in the immediate removal of that player unless a legitimate reason is given, in a timely manner, for the absence. 3 NMR's overall, but not in succession, will result in a player's immediate removal and replacement by a reserve. game will reset if NMR on first turn and a replacement will be sought.
Countries will be assigned via blind auction. Please do not discuss preferences, this is not first-come-first-served.
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