Subject: Empires in Arms: Alternate Strategic Movement From: peccav1@aol.com (Peccav1) Empires in Arms, strategic movement using leaders The movement of armies is never as simple and orderly as moving chits on a map. Knowing how far an enemy could possibly move is one thing, but the certainty in Empires in Arms eliminates much of the drama from the strategic game. These rules put a little uncertainty back into the game. They are especially appropriate for pre-napoleonic scenarios. Corps are normally only able to use one-half (rounded up) of their movement points for movement. The remaining points are reserved for foraging, even if the unit is not foraging. In order to free up the extra points the leader must make a strategic roll. The roll is made against the leader’s (or corps’) strategic rating modified by number of corps as the tactical rating is in battle. If the roll is made, the extra movement points can be used for movement or foraging. Forced marching requires an additional strategic roll for the movement point and is allowed only if the first roll was successful. Realism and drama require the strategic roll to be made after the player has committed to the initial movement. NOTES: This rule has little effect on Napoleon and other good leaders. It does reduce the effectiveness of bad generals significantly but not fatally. It gives small armies a movement advantage over large armies which is needed. It also provides a use for extra leaders maneuvering corps around in the rear. Subject: Empires in Arms: Minor Power Diplomacy From: peccav1@aol.com (Peccav1) Empires in Arms: minor power diplomacy I have always been disturbed by the start of the 1805 campaign as Britain seeks to gain the support of Portugal by going to war with it. I have devised rules to allow for major powers to gain control of minor powers as free states through diplomacy instead of violence. A new step is created before the Declaration of War step. This is the Declaration of Diplomacy step. During the step, players secretly record to which minor powers they are making diplomatic overtures. Then these are simultaneously revealed. Major powers pay 2 political points per district of the minor country with which they are attempting to ally. The major power rolls a d6 and adds the minor powers reaction modifier to the roll (do not include modifiers for dominant). If the result is 7+, the minor power becomes a free state of the major power. The minor power’s army and navy are intact. The major power gets back 1 political point per district of the minor power. If more than one major power rolls successfully to ally, the minor power remains neutral. NOTES: This rule swings power towards the weaker major powers who can now use diplomacy instead of relying upon force to increase their empire. However, for victory purposes this is negated by the increased value of political points to the lesser of the major powers. Because it uses the existing modifiers in the game, it should not create unrealistic results in terms of which major powers gain which free states. Ultimately the importance of this rule depends upon whether players like free states or conquereds. It is most important for minor powers with fleets who are normally used as free states such as Denmark and Portugal. Players may get greedy and diplomatically gain free states they are not strong enough to keep.