User Guide

68
DIPLOMACY, WAR,
AND ESPIONAGE
Overview
Now that we have discussed most of the de-
tails of managing the internal affairs of your
nation, it is time to turn our attention beyond
your country’s borders. In almost all games
of Europa Universalis III, you will devote the
majority of your time and effort to your inter-
actions with the other realms in the world. At
the beginning of the game, there are in excess
of 170 countries scattered across the globe. At
times, this number can climb to more then
200. You will not be aware of all of them yet,
as many are located in parts of the world that
you will not have explored, but unless you have
chosen a very remote and isolated country you
will almost certainly have at least a couple of
neighbours and will be aware of the existence
of many more nations. It is your interactions
with these realms that will shape and define
the character of your game.
Depending on the country you have chosen
and the style of game you prefer to play, you
will engage in various forms of diplomacy to
further your goals. You may wish to secure your
borders by making close and friendly ties with
your neighbours, perhaps seeking an alliance
whereby you and a neighbour will come to one
another’s aid if attacked. If you are somewhat
more belligerent, you might declare war and at-
tempt to expand your realm by defeating the
enemy and demanding that provinces be ceded
to become part of your country. You may wish
to alter the trading relationship you have with
another nation to avoid relationship-harming
competition between your merchants, or you
could take offence to a nation’s aggressive trad-
ing and deny his merchants the right to con-
duct business within your borders. There are
many other options, all designed to alter your
relationship with other nations in one way or
another. If diplomacy or war doesn’t achieve all
of your goals, you might also consider trying
your hand at the less honourable side of inter-
national affairs: espionage. You may order your
spies to undertake a variety of clandestine ac-
tions against other nations, although there is
always the risk that they could be caught and
expose your involvement in the operation. Di-
plomacy, war, and espionage are the subjects of
this chapter.
The Diplomatic
Interface
To initiate any diplomacy with another coun-
try, click on any province that belongs to that
realm. An interface will appear that shows the
usual provincial summary on the right side of
the screen; the left side contains the Diplomat-
ic Interface that you will use to communicate
your intentions to that realm’s ruler.
Considering its size, the Diplomatic Inter-
face packs a lot of useful information into a re-
markably small space. While just under half of
the area is used to display a scrollable listing of
diplomatic option, the balance presents many
of the things you should recognise from your
own Domestic interface.
General Information
We won’t go into great detail about any of
the general information scattered around the
Diplomatic Interface, since all of it has been
covered in previous chapters. Above the list of
diplomatic actions is the national shield of the
country. To the right of this is the country’s
name, and form of government. You will also
see its national stability level, ranking, and
prestige.
Their ruler’s name and attributes are shown
at the top left of the screen. Below this you will
see their current relationship with your real, as
well as any diplomatic details that are pertinent
to the relationship between your two realms.
You will be able to instantly tell if you are at
war, or allied, or have a royal marriage, or have
any other special relationship with that nation.
You will also see their current reputation. The