Vain Star
by
Andy Bate, Ned Eccles, Graeme Foster,
Des Langford, Bruce Maclean and Tom Walker. 0.
All the rules of Diplomacy apply, except where amended below. 1.
Each player may use each of the following twelve special powers precisely once
during the whole game. A. Thief: May nominate any one unit on the board to disband before any
other order is carried out. B. Pirate: May commandeer any seaborne fleet or fleets anywhere on the
board for the purposes of convoying any or all of his own armies. The convoy(s)
must be possible under regular rules, and the army(s) ordered accordingly for
the power to take effect. Two or more such orders applied to the same fleet(s)
(unless identical) stand each other off, allowing the fleet(s) original order to
take effect. C. Teleport: Player may order one of his units to any space on the
board, no matter where it is. The unit so ordered enters hyperspace before
attempting to make its move, and if it fails to reach its intended destination
the unit gets lost in hyperspace and disbands. A unit making a teleported move
may be supported in the usual way, though support may not be made via a teleport
order. D. Evil Eye: May submit an order for any one foreign unit on the board,
which countermands any other order for that unit except a Pirate or Teleport
order. Two (or more) such orders applied to the same unit stand each other off
(unless they are the same) allowing the original order to take effect. E. Superman: One of the player's units may move or stand for one season
with infinite strength. Supermen may not convoy or give or receive support, but
may be convoyed. They cannot be dislodged, can be stood off only by other
Supermen and can only be destroyed by Lepers. If a Superman is ordered by the
Evil Eye then it still moves at infinite strength. F. Leper: Player may nominate any or all of his units to be Lepers for
one season. Lepers may not move, convoy, give support or be dislodged. Any unit
ordered to move to a space occupied by a Leper is stood-off and disbands during
the retreats phase of that season. G. Pilot: Player may order any or all of his units to fly over an
adjacent space, whether it is occupied or not, into another space which is
adjacent to the space flown over. Pilots may not support, convoy or be convoyed,
though they may be supported. They may be stood off by a unit remaining in or
moving to their destination, though they do not stand each other off by using
the same airspace (i.e. they may change places). Armies may fly over sea spaces
and fleets may fly over land spaces. H. Amphibians: Player may permanently transform any or all of his units
occupying coastal spaces at the start of the season, armies becoming fleets and
fleets becoming armies. Such transformations take effect regardless of the
success or failure of the regular order that each unit is given. If an amphibian
is ordered by the Evil Eye the transformation still takes place. I. Petrol Rationing: For every unit which he orders to stand in the
season when he uses this power, a player may add an extra unit's strength to any
unit which he orders to move (creating, in effect, double or triple units for
that season only. Even if a player uses Thief, Pirate or Evil Eye on one (or
more) of the plater's standing units, the extra strength will still be added. J. Lethal Stand Off: When a player orders this, all units which were
ordered to move (to a space on the board) and which fail to do so for any reason
are disbanded after all retreats, but before adjustments. This applies whether
the ordered move was legal, illegal or impossible. K. Bomber: Player may plant a bomb in any space on the board (land or
sea). the bomb explodes at the end of the season in which it is planted (after
retreats and before adjustments), destroying any unit in the space (even one
owned by the player planting the bomb. L. Spring raid: When a player orders this in a spring season, there is a
summer adjustments phase that turn which affects all players. The adjustments
phase is used to determine control of supply centres, and to build and disband
units, just like the regular Winter adjustments phase. Every player should
therefore submit build/disband orders with their spring orders just in case. 2.
Each player may only use one power in any season. 3.
Use of the powers will only be revealed in the adjudication where necessary to
explain the success or failure of moves. The nationality of the player ordering
the use of a power will not be revealed, though sometimes it will be obvious. 4.
If a player orders the use of a power which is illegal, or which is nullified by
another player's use of a power, then the power has still been used (i.e. you
don't get a second chance). 5.
Players should maintain their own list of what powers they have used and haven't
used. Don't expect the GM to do it for you. 6.
The GM's decision is final in all matters. | 