How to negotiate.

[Jumbie]

Lord Thanatos recently posted that other players in his game have *ahem* denigrated his negotiating skills.

So what's a good negotiator do?

I've read some Oracle articles and there's basic stuff in there about being polite and seeing things from the other side's perspective, but that's pretty general.

I was wondering, in game, what are the things you look for in negotiations? Things you do?

What are some possible areas of compromise? Deal breakers?

How do you juggle working out a 3 kingdom deal?

Suppose someone offers you something better once you've made an agreement?

How do you back out of an agreement gracefully? What clues are there that someone's being honest/dishonest with you?

How do you prefer to work out splitting territories when you need to control one?

[bluefile2]

I think unclemike is the master of this realm. He may be willing to shed some light on this. I prefer to find a few players to work with that I like/trust. Makes the game more fun.

[Maniacal Menace]

Its simple, be likeable and have integrity. Integrity means what you do and what you say are the same, or as close as is humanly possible to being the same. Its a small community, word will get around. Backing out of an agreement, without the permission of the other person, demonstrates a lack of integrity. However, you weigh your options... is it worth winning a game to go back on your word? If so, do it. If not, lose the game and stick to your agreement. It will be much easier to find people to work with in the next game if you simply learn NOT to make ageeements that you can't stick to, rather than going back on your word.