Rules (Ninety-Five Theses Map Game)

This is the Official Rules Page for the Ninety-Five Theses Map Game. Please, follow all of these rules, in addition to the general community guidelines for map games. Thank you.

Basic Rules

 * Plausibility over all! We want to create a fun ATL where each person can have a good time while still having a bit of fun, needed, competition. To keep up this standard, there will be a strike system to help keep plauisbility in line. Here's how it works.
 * First strike, warning.
 * Second strike, one-day to seven-day ban.
 * Third strike, week ban, potenial removal from game.
 * Every day in real-life is one year in-game. Please do not edit past turns past four hours of the new turn being posted (unless with a really good excuse). Turns will start at 00:00 UTC every day.
 * A new map will be made every five years starting at 1520. Interim maps may be authorized by the moderator staff. Only mods may make the official maps, based upon the Map Issues section of the Talk Page.
 * Players may not create new sciences or technologies on their own but must instead approach the Moderator Team with the technology and provide explanations why they should discover the advancement; it will then be announced in the Mod Events section of the turn.
 * Technology will follow a tier system, which would be used for keeping technology plasuible for any time period.
 * The game ends when we have reached the last in-game year, which will be 2017. That gives us a solid five-hundred years to develop our nations and do all other map game like activities.
 * With these many turns, we will archive the map game regularly (every 10 years).
 * No real-life figures born after 1520 may exist.
 * You may only switch nations if you have been defeated completely in a war with another player. Exceptions may be made on a case-by-case selection. However, you do not have to switch and can possibly keep on playing as part of a colonial empire.
 * Have fun. Remember, Ninety Five Theses is only a game, and should be treated as such.

Technology Tiers
The Technological Tier system is based upon historical development. The lower on the Technological Tier scale you go, the less you will be able to fight and win against technologically-superior enemies. For every tier you go down, a state with higher technology will be able to more easily defeat a lower technological state.

They will work with a percentage basis. For every tech tier your above another state you will gain a 5% bonus to your score. For example, if you are in the Western Group and are fighting a state in the Muslim group you would have a 20% bonus to your score which turns a score of 100 to 120 accounting for the superior technological and military doctrine differences.
 * Western European: 1st
 * Eastern European: 2nd
 * Ottoman (on par with Eastern until 1600): 2nd
 * East Asian: 3rd
 * Muslim: 4th
 * North African: 4th
 * Sub-Saharan: 5th
 * Andean: 6th
 * Mesoamerican: 7th
 * Tribal: 8th
 * Nomadic: 8th

Advancing Technology Tiers
Changing technology groups is entirely possible in this game, and in a lot of cases could be extremely beneficial for your nation. However, it is a defined process that will take time and has no guarantee of success. Your state will have to take decades to embark on a process of adopting the new technology tier. Your production and culture have to be meshed, or adapted to handle the new technology and ideas.

For example: Poland while in Europe, is an eastern European state and while not much less powerful than her neighbors historically lagged just a bit in technology. If they wished to adopt a western technology movement, it would take them between 20-40 years to do so while they fully adapted their production centers and other cultural aspects to handle the change to a new technological tier.

In general, advancing technological tier is a long and drawn-out process that could actually hurt your nation in the long run. Due to the stability issues assumed with those kinds of technological changes, you can end up with revolts of all sorts from nobles down to peasants. The instability incurred from these changes will affect your nation drastically over the period, hence undergoing a technology advancement will be a serious and powerful decision.

To begin a technology tier advancement, you must:


 * Directly border a state with the technology tier you want; or


 * Secure an agreement with a state of the desired technology group that specifilcally delineates that a trade agreement has been reached to provide technology/expertise for some other product or service. (This could be a protectorate agreement, a monopoly on certain trade or otherwise, but it can't be undertaken lightly); and


 * Consult the Moderators to determine the plausibility of such and action and establish a time-table for your technological advancement.

Temporary Improvements
Another option to gain a local edge is to temporarily purchase a technology improvements. In this case, technology (such as firearms) would be purchased from a modern or semi-modern nation for a period of up to 10 years (renewable). While advatangeous, without a full-scale trade agreement (as mentioned above), you cannot permanently advance a technology tier.

For example: A small Indian principality purchases Western arms and expertise from a colonial state such as Portugal would maintain a significant military advantage over its neighbors and could very well use this 10 years advantage to embark on a few wars of conquest and secure vastly more territory for itself. The downsides however are the lack of permanence and the potential for angering the nation providing arms and hence the loss of said advantage.

Technology
Every nation may choose a primary and a secondary technological focus. The three technological focuses are: administrative, diplomatic, and militaristic.

Each nation may select a primary focus and a secondary focus (the secondary focus must be different than the primary focus).

Primary Focus

 * Administrative Primary Focus - This focus allows your nation to effectively organize the state, boost internal cohesiveness, and the scientific development of your country. Selecting this primary focus gives you:
 * Increased manpower; effective government policies will raise manpower from untraditional and rural areas
 * Increased religious conversion; heavy handed tactics and more zealous conversion can speed up conversion of conquered territories to your set religion
 * Increased cultural assimiliation; assimilating natives or settling conquered territories is easier and less risky
 * More effective taxation and production; you can then save the funds or spend the money toward warfare, science, or infrastructure
 * Diplomatic Primary Focus - This focus allows your nation to more effectively co-ordinate your diplomatic corps, secure trade, have larger naval forces, and receive preferential access to mercenaries. Selecting this primary focus gives you:
 * Increased trade power; merchants are able to diplomatically secure trade deals, potentially allowing small nations to become great powers
 * Preferred access to modern mercenaries; these states have access to the best armies and weapons that money can buy
 * Higest-level naval technology; with the best ships, you can better secure trade routes and engage in privateering
 * Colonization bonus; having a world-class navy and trade possiblities means you can charter new colonies with ease
 * Militaristic Primary Focus - This focus, for the warfare-oriented player, puts you on the forefront of military technology, and can increase your potential for developing notable military tactics, strategies and technologies. Selecting this primary focus gives you:
 * Highest-level military technology; developing, training, and employing the most recent technologies gives you substantial dividends in warfare
 * Combat and siege warfare bonus; your nation's focus on the military provides you with a 5% algo bonus and 10% siege bonus
 * Reduced revolt risk; maintaining a strong military presence reduces the risk of revolution and minimizes any possible revolts
 * Increased army mobility; your armies can move further and faster than their counterparts, allowing for outflanking and other benefits

Secondary Focus

 * Administrative Secondary Focus
 * Small manpower increase
 * Slightly more effective taxation and production
 * Diplomatic Secondary Focus
 * High-level naval technology
 * Small trade power increase
 * Militaristic Secondary Focus
 * High-level military technology
 * Small (5%) combat bonus

Technological Ideas
In addition to your focuses, you may be able to select a technological idea to provide an additional unique element to your nation's policies. The number of ideas you may have depends upon your nation's technology tier. Currently, the following tiers may have the following number of ideas:


 * Western European: 1

Additionally, there are limitations to which idea you can choose based upon your technological focuses. Your first idea must be in the category of your Primary Technological Focus. Your second idea must be in either your Primary or Secondary technological focus.
 * All Others: 0