Emissary Power and Usurpaton chances.

[Jumbie]

From the the sixth Oracle newsletter way back in the mists of time...

Power for the Politicians

How to Compute Your Emissary's Strength
Victor Patterson

Political emissaries--For some kingdoms they are the biggest asset and can be highly useful to all kingdoms. However, after all population centers are controlled, many kings are reluctant to use the #330 Usurp order because they have little idea what their emissaries's chances are. So emissaries are used only for status quo orders or to make population centers rebel.
I am currently playing the Westmen position. Due to large number of emissaries I have, I set out to discover exactly how the system works. Using my math skills and the chart at the end of the rule book, I discovered a method that works. It may not be the way the computer does it, but I haven't had it go wrong yet.

All emissaries have influence, and it takes a specific amount of influence to usurp control of a population center. Here is a graph showing how much influence you would need to take control, depending on the regional reaction.

City Town Village
Friendly 5.00 2.50 1.25
Tolerant 10.00 5.00 2.50
Suspicious 15.00 7.50 3.75
Hostile 20.00 10.00 5.00

Now you need to figure out what your emissary's influence is. On the back of the rulebook a chart the percentage of the king's power each politico has. A count has 60%; if your king has an influence of 20, a count will have an influence of 12 (20*0.6 = 12). This is complicated a bit by the fact that according to the description of order #320, all emissaries have a modifier of +/- 10%. So a count could have as much as 70% or as little as 50% of a king's influence. This is why some emissary's chances are listed as "Maybe". Please note that the graph I have given is for neutral population centers. If you are trying to usurp control of a controlled population center, you will need twice the influence; so you need an influence of at least 5.00 to take over a controlled village in a tolerant region. If someone is maintaining the status quo in a population center, you add his influence to what you already need to overcome. Also, I don't recommend trying to take over someone's capital using emissaries.

So there you have it. I feel that I must point out that I have no way of knowing if this is the official way the system works, but it is logical, easy to use, and practical. So go steal your enemy's populations centers and tell them King DuPont sent you.

Note: In Second Cycle, cities are harder to take, so (according to King DuPont) the numbers would be more like 6.25, 12.5, 18.75 and 25.

Also in Second Cycle there are modifiers for usurping cities based on regional reactions, as laid out in the order #330 description.

[DuPont]

How I would love to be an Alamaze 'pundit' and get a job talking about it on CNN and analyzing the politics of the ten regions.

[Hawk_]

How I would love to be an Alamaze 'pundit' and get a job talking about it on CNN and analyzing the politics of the ten regions.

I agree with the point information but have a further question.

Here is the example:

If you are taking a player controled town in a tolerant region under that player's contol. Does the 15% go on the town points such that 5 becomes 5.75 for the town?

Or is the 15% applied in another way?

Also, I assume nations with the 15% bonus emmy power get that applied in such a way that a Darkelf Baron is superior to another player's Count. Agreed? (wielding 65% of King's infleunce)

Thanks!

[Lord Diamond]

If the DA gets a 15% bonus, then his Baron would rank halfway between someone else's Count and Duke everything else being equal.

[Jumbie]

The commands description says that there is a +/-10% modifier for emissary usurpation.

Is that -10% to +10% on a sliding scale? (e.g. it might randomly be -4% or +7% etc?)

Or is it either -10 or 0 or +10? (e.g. Your Count acts either like a Baron, a Count or a Duke)

Or is it never the base value and always either +10 or -10? (Your Count acts either like a Baron or a Duke, but never actually like a Count?)

[Lord Diamond]

I believe that it's a range of -10% to +10%. It could fall anywhere in there.

[DuPont]

How I would love to be an Alamaze 'pundit' and get a job talking about it on CNN and analyzing the politics of the ten regions.

I agree with the point information but have a further question.

Here is the example:

If you are taking a player controled town in a tolerant region under that player's contol. Does the 15% go on the town points such that 5 becomes 5.75 for the town?

Or is the 15% applied in another way?

Also, I assume nations with the 15% bonus emmy power get that applied in such a way that a Darkelf Baron is superior to another player's Count. Agreed? (wielding 65% of King's infleunce)

Thanks!

That has always been my understanding, but I have no inside knowledge of that. Everything I did, I figured out from the charts and throwing in logic. So while I think I'm right, I can't guarantee that.
The only thing that ever annoyed me about writing that article was I was hoping for a free setup out of it - instead, the prize for the Oracle that month went to a short story somebody wrote about a patrol investigating an unusual encounter. Fie on you, 'Beach Patrol'! My article lives long after that story has been forgotten!