Baron VonPowell's 1900 is a variant that intends to capture the spirit of conventional Diplomacy while increasing both the historicity of the map and the likelihood of interaction between all seven powers. The original full rules are hosted at the Diplomatic Pouch. You may find the Gamer's Guide to 1900 useful to understand how the changes to the standard Diplomacy map yield a fairly different balance of power.

Variant designed by Baron M. Powell Variant Adapted to vDiplomacy by W. Alex Ronke Code for the Suez Canal Rules by Tobias Florin Rules Edited & Transcribed by W. Alex Ronke

Contents The Short Rules Basics Powers, Colors, & Units List of Names & Abbreviations The Verbose Transcribed Rules Introduction Map Changes Unit Changes Rule Changes Victory Conditions Egypt & Algeria Geography The Suez Canal Rules The Russian Emergency Measures Rule (EMR) Conclusion The Short Rules Basics 18+ SCs to solo. The player must also have a higher number of SCs than any other player. If two players tie at 18+ SCs, the game goes on. Britain & France start with Egypt & Algeria, respectively, but can't build there. Britain starts with Liverpool vacant. Gibraltar connects Spain and Morocco for fleets and armies. It's like any other canal except it can be convoyed through. Gibraltar breaks up the coast of Spain, but not the coast of Morocco. Gibraltar is not an SC, but Britain starts with a fleet there. Mid-Atlantic Ocean (Mid) connects to Egypt & Hejaz (going around the cape). Movement around the cape is at half-strength. Mid can't support Egypt or Hejaz to hold, and Mid can't support moves to Egypt or Hejaz. Egypt and Hejaz can't support Mid to hold, and they can't support moves to Mid. Read more details in the Suez Canal Rules. When Russia has control of one, but not all, of its home SCs, the Emergency Measures Rule (EMR) goes into effect. Russia can keep one extra unit while the EMR is in effect. Russia can also build in Siberia. Siberia isn't an SC. It doesn't matter if Siberia changes color. Read more details in the Russian EMR section. Powers, Colors, & Units

This section shows the units in a higher level of detail and describes the reasoning behind their colors. Armies are displayed as hexes, while fleets are shown as triangular sails.

Unit Image Power Starting Units Color & Historical Background Austria-Hungary A Budapest

A Trieste

A Vienna Yellow, a color in the Habsburg flag Britain F Edinburgh

F Egypt

F Gibraltar

F London Navy Blue, a color present in the flag of the UK and in British navy uniforms France A Algeria

F Brest

A Paris

A Marseilles Teal Blue, the shade of blue used in the insignia of the French Air Force Germany A Berlin

A Cologne

F Kiel

A Munich Black, a color in the German flag of the second Reich Italy A Milan

F Naples

A Rome Bright Green, a color in the Italian flag Russia A Moscow

F St. Petersburg (sc)

F Sevastapol

A Warsaw Drab Green, also known as Russian Green, used in Russian military uniforms of the period Turkey F Ankara

A Constantinople

A Damascus Red, the primary color of the Ottoman flag

List of Names & Abbreviations

Supply Centers are marked with an asterisk (*).

A-L M-Y Adr Adriatic Sea Aeg Aegean Sea Alg Algeria* Als Alsace Ank Ankara* Apu Apulia Ara Arabia Arm Armenia Bal Baltic Sea Bar Barents Sea Bel Belgium* Ber Berlin* Bla Black Sea Boh Bohemia Bos Bosnia Bre Brest* Bud Budapest* Bul Bulgaria* Bur Burgundy Cly Clyde Col Cologne* Con Constantinople* Cyr Cyrenaica Dam Damascus* Den Denmark* Eas Eastern Mediterranean Sea Edi Edinburgh* Egy Egypt* Eng English Channel Fin Finland Gal Galicia Gas Gascony GBo Gulf of Bothnia Gib Gibraltar GLy Gulf of Lyon Gre Greece* Hej Hejaz Hel Helgoland Bight Ice Iceland Ion Ionian Sea Ire Ireland Iri Irish Sea Kie Kiel* Kon Konya Lon London* Lvo Livonia Lvp Liverpool* Mac Macedonia Mar Marseilles* Mid Mid-Atlantic Ocean Mil Milan* Mor Morocco* Mos Moscow* Mun Munich* Nap Naples* NAt North Atlantic Ocean Net Netherlands* Nth North Sea Nwg Norwegian Sea Nwy Norway* Pal Palestine Par Paris* Pic Picardy Pie Piedmont Por Portugal* Pru Prussia Rom Rome* Rum Rumania* Ser Serbia* Sev Sevastapol* Sib Siberia Sil Silesia Ska Skagerrak Sou Southern Algeria Spa Spain* StP St. Petersburg* Swe Sweden* Swi Switzerland* Tri Trieste* Trp Tripolitania* Tun Tunisia Tyr Tyrolia TyS Tyrrhenian Sea Ukr Ukraine Ven Venetia Vie Vienna* Wal Wales War Warsaw* Wes Western Mediterranean Sea Yor Yorkshire

The Verbose Transcribed Rules

In this transcribed copy of Baron VonPowell's official variant description, the editor has made an effort to distinguish Baron VonPowell's commentary from the actual rules. Commentary text from Baron is shown as blockquotes with a gray background. Editor's notes are shown as blockquotes with a light blue background.

INTRODUCTION

MAP CHANGES

There are thirty-nine SCs. The Great Powers control twenty-five at game-start: Britain, France, Germany, and Russia have four SCs each and Austria-Hungary, Italy, and Turkey have three SCs each. The remaining fourteen SCs are neutral at game-start. Morocco is separated from North Africa and is a neutral SC.

What's left of North Africa is split into two spaces: Algeria and Southern Algeria. Algeria is a French SC.

The Tyrrhenian Sea touches Algeria, where it doesn't touch North Africa in Diplomacy.

Tunisia is no longer a SC. It is now simply a buffer between two SCs - French Algeria and neutral Tripolitania. Libya appears on the map and is represented by two spaces: Tripolitania, a neutral SC, and Cyrenaica, which serves as a buffer between Tripolitania and British Egypt.

Egypt appears on the map and is a British SC.

Syria has been renamed Damascus and is a Turkish SC. At the same time, Smyrna has been renamed Konya and is no longer a Turkish SC.

Two additional Turkish spaces appear on the map, Palestine and Hejaz. Aesthetic Note:

Palestine has a tiny southern coast, but this is only displayed on the map for geographic accuracy. Only Palestine's primary coast along the Mediterranean is playable. A new neutral space, Arabia, is sandwiched in between Damascus, Palestine, and Hejaz. Turkey controls a large territory in the Balkans called Macedonia. Macedonia has two coasts, east and west, and touches no less than eight other spaces. Albania, which came into existence in 1912 after the Balkan Wars, no longer exists. Moscow is split into two spaces: Moscow and Siberia. This division frustrates the formation of stalemate lines. Trieste is split into two spaces: Trieste and Bosnia.

Vienna no longer touches Galicia. Instead, Budapest now touches Bohemia.

Venice is no longer a SC. This diffuses the tension between Diplomacy's weak sisters, Austria-Hungary and Italy. Venice is also renamed Venetia. A new space, Milan, is an Italian SC. Tuscany no longer exists. Rome now borders the Gulf of Lyon, Piedmont, and Milan. This helps Italy reinforce its northern position. A Gibraltar space is added. Gibraltar divides the south coast of Spain in two (i.e., Spain now has three coasts: north, east, and west). Gibraltar is a sea space for convoy purposes, but an army can move there from either Morocco (via the crossing arrow) or Spain, and prevent a fleet from entering. Ruhr is renamed Cologne and is a German SC.

A new space, Alsace, separates French Burgundy from German Cologne and Munich.

Holland is renamed Netherlands. Switzerland is a neutral SC.

Ireland borders the Mid-Atlantic Ocean. There is a crossing arrow between Ireland and Clyde.

UNIT CHANGES

Austria-Hungary starts with an army in Trieste instead of a fleet.

Britain starts with four units: F London, F Edinburgh, F Gibraltar, and F Egypt. Note that Liverpool is still a SC, but the army that starts there in Diplomacy is gone. At the same time, note that Gibraltar is not a SC.

France starts with four units: A Paris, F Brest, A Marseilles, and A Algeria.

Germany starts with four units: A Berlin, A Cologne, F Kiel, and A Munich.

The Italian army that started in Venice now starts in Milan. The Turkish army that started in Smyrna now starts in Damascus.

RULE CHANGES

Victory Conditions

Victory conditions have not changed. If a Great Power gains control of eighteen supply centers, the game ends and the player controlling that Great Power is declared the winner. With thirty-nine supply centers, though, it is now possible for two Great Powers to get eighteen supply centers on the same game-turn. Should this happen, the player representing the Great Power with the most supply centers is the winner. If the two Great Powers each control the same number of supply centers, play continues until one Great Power controls at least eighteen supply centers and that Great Power controls more supply centers than any other Great Power.

Egypt & Algeria

Egypt and Algeria, while controlled by Britain and France respectively at game-start, are not considered home supply centers. This means that Britain may not build in Egypt and France may not build in Algeria. This also explains why Egypt is not called Cairo and Algeria not called Algiers.

Minor Rules Change for vDip:

For the vDiplomacy implementation, Algeria and Egypt are not build locations (as intended). However, they are treated as "home" centers when calculating default destroy orders under civil disorder (NMR).

Geography

Iceland, Ireland, and Switzerland are now passable.

Movement between Clyde and Ireland is allowed. This is true even if an enemy fleet is in the North Atlantic Ocean. A convoy is not required to move an army back and forth between Clyde and Ireland.

Army movement is allowed between Gibraltar and Morocco. No convoy is required in this case. Gibraltar is considered a sea space for convoy purposes. Clarification:

The verbage "sea space for convoy purposes" can be a bit misleading. It is intended to mean that a fleet in Gibraltar can convoy armies. Baron has confirmed that Gibraltar can also be a convoyed army's origin or final destination (like any other coastal space).

The Suez Canal Rules

A fleet may move back and forth between Egypt and Hejaz. Movement between Egypt or Hejaz and the Mid-Atlantic Ocean is allowed. It is assumed the unit travels around the southern tip of Africa. A unit that moves in this manner does so at half strength . This means that a unit adjacent Egypt or Hejaz succeeds in moving there if opposed only by a fleet moving from the Mid-Atlantic Ocean and a fleet adjacent to the Mid-Atlantic Ocean succeeds in moving there if opposed only by a fleet moving from Egypt or Hejaz. A fleet in Egypt or Hejaz cannot support a unit holding in or moving to the Mid-Atlantic Ocean. This is true even though the fleet in Egypt or Hejaz can itself move to the Mid-Atlantic Ocean. Likewise, a fleet in the Mid-Atlantic Ocean cannot support a unit holding in or moving to Egypt or Hejaz. A fleet moving from Egypt or Hejaz to the Mid-Atlantic Ocean does not cut support being provided by a fleet already in the Mid-Atlantic Ocean unless the attack results in F Mid-Atlantic Ocean being dislodged. The opposite is equally true. A fleet moving from the Mid-Atlantic Ocean to Egypt or Hejaz does not cut support being provided by a unit already in Egypt or Hejaz unless the attack results in the unit being dislodged. F Mid-Atlantic Ocean can convoy an army from or to Egypt or Hejaz. An army convoyed from Egypt or Hejaz attacks its destination space at full strength. An army convoyed to Egypt or Hejaz attacks at half strength. If two units are retreating to Egypt or Hejaz, or the Mid-Atlantic Ocean, and one of them must travel around the southern tip of Africa, the unit that does not travel around southern Africa may retreat while the other unit is disbanded.

The Russian Emergency Measures Rule

Whenever Russia possesses at least one, BUT NOT ALL FOUR, of its original home supply centers, it is entitled to maintain one extra unit on the map (i.e., one more than the number of supply centers it currently controls). Additionally, while Russia is in this condition, the Russian player may use Siberia as a build site during the adjustment phase, if Siberia is unoccupied. Should Russia fail to possess at least one home supply center OR should it regain possession of all four of its home supply centers, the ability to maintain an extra unit is lost and any excess units must be disbanded during the subsequent adjustment phase. Further, Siberia reverts too its normal status (i.e., it is no longer a build site)

Note that Siberia, while it may become a build site, NEVER attains supply center status.

Conclusion