Diplomacy

A communiqué sent out shortly after our first round of diplomacy commenced:

Gentlemen, greetings and salutations.

Welcome to the continental powers of the west, year 1901. There is war on the horizon. Tensions between neighboring empires in the West have been mounting. Tonight they will snap. The war to come will put into question all that we have held true about trust, loyalty, kinship. Decency. It will no doubt test the very limits of our own humanity.

Please join us for a group convening this eve. It is considered honorable to look a man in the face before stabbing him in the back.

A rule that was not mentioned, perhaps the most important one--this is a game. Be sure to maintain a separation between diplomacy relationships and real ones. Remember, it is in everyone’s best interest to backstab someone at one point or another. Refrain from taking it personally. Refrain from casting aspersions.

I mention this as a preventative measure, you’ve all been a pleasure to wheel and deal with thus far.

I probably should’ve made this announcement at the beginning of the game lest it now lead any of you to believe I am planning a particularly pernicious backstab this round. You’ll have to take my word that this advice has nothing to do with my forthcoming actions.

It was a bloodbath.