Diplomats and courtiers often come into conflict trying to achieve concessions from defending organizations, including: the release of disputed territory, prisoners or information; the negotiation of a trade agreement; support for a war; or to cause regional instability. Use Diplomacy to attack, and defend with either Diplomacy in a conflict over concessions or with the Sway or Control skill of a region under attack.

The organization pushing for the concession rolls Diplomacy against the defender’s Diplomacy, Control, or Sway: shifts indicate how much the defending organization conceded. If related to a Trade asset check, shifts can be added to the Trade asset roll in the next scene as a bonus. Failure deducts the negative shifts from the subsequent Trade roll.

Whether a merchant ship selling his guild’s goods or a trade meeting between kingdoms comprising dozens of staff, trade missions are a vital part of any commercial organization’s operations.

A successful Diplomacy check prior to a trade mission can provide bonuses (or penalties on failure). Make a Trade check: shifts indicate the value of a new trade agreement in your organization’s favour. Organizations may send a trade mission once per month of game time (or once every four scenes); once per session, the value of a trade agreement can be used as a bonus in an organization Resource check.

If several agreements are in place with different empires or kingdoms the organization uses the highest bonus.

Organizations attack and defend against Arms attacks with an appropriate Arms asset. So, naval Arms attack and defend against other ship-based Arms; ground-based Arms (soldiers and armies) attack and defend against other ground-based Arms.

Roll your organization’s Assassination asset against the defending organization’s Security skill. If successful, add the shifts to your next Diplomacy skill check. If unsuccessful, your organization incurs the negative shifts as Composure stress damage.

Sometimes you have to send special agents to do your dirty work. Make a Security skill check against your opponent’s Security skill; if successful, add the shifts to your next Arms, Diplomacy or Special Operations roll, or succeed at a particular task set by the Story Teller. If unsuccessful, your organization incurs the difference in Composure stress damage. If the target has the Secrecy skill, you must first make an Arms or Security skill check to discover the location of the target facilities. If you fail you find nothing, and can’t attack until you successfully discover new information using the same method, which can’t be attempted until the next scene.

You can send elements of your armed forces (Arms skill) to destroy targets, make daring raids, cause confusion, spread disinformation, steal things, kidnap or rescue people, etc. However, it’s very damaging to be caught out if your organization isn’t “at war” with the target (ie involved in an Arms skill conflict).

Such missions use your Arms against your opponent’s Arms or Security (whichever relevant skill is highest – Arms (Naval) doesn’t count if you’re attacking a ground base, for example). If successful, add the shifts to your next Arms, Security or Diplomacy check, or succeed at a specific task set by the Story Teller. If unsuccessful, your organization incurs the difference as Composure stress damage.