Parleys are the most important aspect of Diplomacy. Almost every quest or activity that you carry out will at some point involve Parleys with one or more NPCs. The Diplomacy Tutorial Quests (which every Diplomat has to carry out at the start of their career) should teach you the mechanics of how to play cards, and teach you all about expression and how to use it during a Parley. This page will present a lot of the same information, plus provide guides on deck selection and card play.
The Mechanics
Adding cards to your Deck
Before you start a Parley, you must set up the Deck of cards that you will use from those currently available to you. (see Deck Selection for details on how to select which cards to include in your deck). To see what cards you have available you should open your Abilities window (be pressing P on your keyboard) and then clicking on the Diplomacy Tab:
You can click the [Back] and [Next] buttons to more pages of cards that you have available. Click the [Strategy] button to see you current deck of cards in your Strategy Tray (which might look like this):
To add cards to your Strategy Tray you should just Drag and Drop them from the Abilities window to your Strategy Tray. You can also Drag and Drop cards within the Strategy Tray to rearrange them. If you drop a card on top of another card in your Strategy Tray, the other card will be picked up and can in turn be placed elsewhere. If you do not want to place the card, drop it outside the Strategy Track, or just start a new Drag operation from the Abilities window. (You can 'drop' your chosen card anywhere in the Strategy Tray slot. If you try to actually line up the card graphic with the edges of the Strategy Tray slot it doesn't actually work. Put the upper left corner of the graphic inside the slot for the best results when dropping cards.) You can move the Strategy Tray around on screen using the small deck icon in the top left of the tray, and you can close it using the small cross icon in the top right. The Strategy Tray will open and close automatically when you start a Parley if it is not already open. Note: Once you have started a Parley you cannot change your cards.
The Gameboard and how to play a card
Once you start a Parley, the Gameboard will open (along with the Strategy Tray if it was not already open):
On the left of the Gameboard you will see the opponents cards when they are played at the top, and your cards when you play them at the bottom. The middle of the Gameboard shows the Expression Pools for your opponent (at the top) and yourself (at the bottom). From left to right, the expression pools are Demand (red) , Reason (green) , Inspire (blue) , and Flattery (yellow) . Each pool can have from 0 to a maximum of 10 points in it. For Interviews all pools are active, but for Entertain, Gossip, Incite, and Convince one of the Expression Pools will be blocked. The right side of the Gameboard shows the Parley Indicator on a vertical track at to top of which is displayed the number of Dialogue Points the opponent has, and at the bottom is displayed the number of Dialogue Points that you have. The amount of Dialogue Points you and your opponent have is regulated by the difference in level between you and your opponent. The Parley Indicator can move from a maximum of 10 points in your favour (at the bottom of the track) to a maximum of 10 points in the opponents favour (at the top of the track). Every time the Parley Indicator is closer to one side than the other, the number of Dialogue Points on that side will go down by one, and the first to reach zero wins the Parley. If the Parley Indicator is on zero (middle), then neither sides Dialogue Points will decrease. When it is your turn to play a card, just click on the card you wish to use in your Strategy Tray. They card will then be displayed in the lower left of the Gameboard. Note: If the card has an Expression Cost that you cannot afford, or it is otherwise not ready to play yet an error message will be displayed and the card will not be displayed on the Gameboard. Once you have selected that card that you want to play, click the [Speak] button. The opponent will then play a card. If you cannot play card (or if you choose not to play a card), then you can click the [Listen] button.
How card play affects the gameboard
Each card that you play has two main affects on the gameboard:
Points can be added or subtracted from both you and your opponents Expression Pools;
The Parley Indicator can be moved upwards (in the opponents favour), or downwards (in your favour).
If you examine some cards, they display all of the information that you need to know about how they will affect the gameboard:
The number displayed in the top right of each card is the amount of Influence a card has; the number of points that the Parley Indicator will move. If the Influence number is positive then the Parley Indicator will move towards your side of the Gameboard. If the Influence number is negative then the Parley Indicator will move towards the opponents side of the Gameboard. If there are any figures displayed against the word "Cost", then you must have at least the number of points in the corresponding Expression Pools in order to be permitted to play that card. When you play the card, those points are then subtracted from your Expression Pool. The next row of numbers shows how many points will be added to or subtracted from the opponents Expression Pools. In the case where the card subtracts expression from an opponent, it is possible to play the card when the opponent has less than the designated number of points. When you do that, their pool will be reduced to zero. An expression pool cannot have a negative number of points. Below that is the number of points that will be added to your Expression Pools. Finally, in the bottom right of the card is the Refresh Indicator. This tells you how many turns you must play before the card can be played again. e.g. 3-3 indicates that you must make exactly 3 other plays before the card can be played again, and 1-3 indicates that you might have to make as few as 1 or as many as 3 other plays before you can play this card again.
Special Clothing and the Start of a Parley
As a reward for one of the Quests that are part of the Diplomacy Tutorial Quests, you will have been given a pair of gloves that you can wear that will place a single point of expression in one of your Expression Pools at the start of a Parley. Which pool the point is added to depends on your Race. e.g. Races whose Racial Expression is Demand are given gloves that provide one point of Inspire.
These are very powerful since you can use them in conjunction with an Evaluation that you will also have been given in the Diplomacy Tutorial Quests that gives you 2 points in your Racial Expression, and 1 point to the same Expression Pool as the gloves give, e.g. Blunt Evaluation
This provides you with enough expression to play two Assertions. If you engage in Civic DiplomacyParleys, you will occasionally be rewarded with Information, which can be exchanged for Diplomacy Gear. Civic EntertainConversations can sometimes reward a Recipe that can be used by a Crafter to create Diplomacy Gear. Some of the Crafted Diplomacy Gear will move the Parley Indicator to your side at the beginning of the Parley. This can be a significant advantage. Finally, Writs provide gems that can be made into a customizable mask that can add points to your Expression Pools and/or move the Parley Indicator to your side at the start of the Parley. See Mask Rewards for more information.
Deck Selection
Before you start a Parley, you must select which cards you are going to use. Which cards you pick can make the difference between you wiping the floor with your opponent or them doing the same to you! Before selecting your deck, you should look for information elsewhere on this wiki to see if someone has Parleyed with the NPC before and knows what cards they have. If there is no information available you will have to guess what sort of cards they might have available to them and plan accordingly, or try to set up a fairly general deck that you think should hold up well against most opponents. When selecting your deck, the main things you need to do are:
Don't feed them the expression they need for their Assertions
Use as much of the expression they give you as possible
If possible: Steal any expression they generate for their big Assertions
Selecting Assertions
Suppose the opponent is feeding you a lot of Demand and you have the choice of the following cards which you might include in your Deck:
If the opponent uses Demand or Flattery then you would not want to use Flurry of Arguments, and if they used Reason or Inspire, then you would not want to use Think Fast or Aggressive Statement. A classic example of this problem can occur if an opponent needs 3 points of expression to play an Assertion that gives them 5 points of Influence. If they only have an Evaluation that gives them 2 points, then they need to play that twice before they can play their Assertion. If you play an Assertion that gives them the 1 point they need, then they get to play their 5 Influence Assertion much earlier in the Parley than they would have done otherwise. Sometimes an opponent will feed you small amounts of several different types of expression. When that happens you will not be able to play cards that cost large amounts of one type of expression (unless you use your own Evaluations and Repeals to create it). Instead you should look for cards that you have that use several expression types to fuel them:
A lot of the time the opponent won't actually be feeding you all of the expression you need to play these cards, so you will need to use your own Evaluations to fill in the gaps.
Selecting Repeals
If the expression you are being fed is either one that you cannot use or where the cards you do have available will give the opponent expression they need, you might use a Repeal instead to convert that to an expression that either scores you more points when played, or does not give the opponent expression that they can use:
Be careful though as using a Repeal obviously introduces a delay into your play during which the opponent might be scoring points and keeping the Parley Indicator on their side.
Selecting Rebuts
Rebuts can be a very powerful tool in your arsenal as they steal the expression that the opponent needs for their Assertions. There are most useful when the opponent makes significant use Evaluations to fuel its Assertions. Since the opponent has to wait a whole turn between generating the expression they need and using it: you can step in an steal it.
Again, depending on the nature of the Assertion the opponent is trying to play, it may sometimes be better to let them play it. This can happen if their Assertion will give you Expression that you can use to fuel an even bigger Assertion on your turn.
Selecting Evaluations
Selecting which Evaluations to include in your deck can be a difficult decision. The problem is obviously that most Evaluations will also feed the opponent the expression they need, or alternatively move the Parley Indicator towards their side of the gameboard.
You will rarely encounter Parleys where you will not need to use at least one Evaluation. Sometimes you will use them to generate all of the expression you need and at other times you will use them to enhance the expression the opponent may be feeding you. Whichever is the case you need to look carefully and such things as the Recast time and which expression that card may be giving to the opponent.
Selecting Comments
Comments are quick hitter cards which can move the Parley Indicator in your direction without requiring you to have any expression to fuel them.
Unfortunately they feed the opponent large amounts of expression. If you can restrict this to expression that they cannot use, or where they only have low scoring Assertions, this will help. In some Parleys it can be useful to play a Comment on the first turn of a Parley and then never play it again for the rest of the Parley.
Playing your cards
Playing your cards during a Parley has a lot to do with timing. Sometimes you have to wait until one of your cards is ready to play, or you might even choose to wait until just after an opponent has played a particular card. Then of course you have situations where you could play several cards and choosing the right one can make a big difference. Suppose an opponent has the following two cards in its deck:
And assume you have these cards:
If the opponent has 2 points of Demand, and you have 1 point of Demand and 2 points of Inspire, then clearly you must play Crafty Allusion. Of course that assumes that the opponent is not also waiting to get some Flattery, in which case some other card might be better, or even just Listening for that turn.
Opponents Strategies
Comment Storms
Comment Storms occur when an opponent uses a deck consisting almost entirely of comments. With this sort of deck you do not normally need to worry about what sort of expression you feed to the opponent (although some NPCs include the odd Assertion in their deck to catch you out). The strategy for dealing with these sorts of NPCs usually consists of two parts:
Using every last drop of expression they throw at you;
Generating extra expression of your own to speed things along.
This is all about bringing out your big Assertions and using Repeals and extra Evaluations to maximize the amount of expression you have available to fuel them.
Misers
A Miser is an opponent who uses a deck that gives you very little (or even no) expression that you can use to play your cards. With these sorts of opponents you virtually have to generate all of your own expression so you will be making good use of Evaluations and Repeals. Rebuts will also come in handy to slow down the opponent.
Thieves
A Thief is an opponent that uses cards that can steal your expression preventing you from playing your cards. These are very tricky opponents as they can completely block your ability to play your Assertions. Some of the time the only thing you can do is not use that expression and build your strategy around assertions that use an expression that they cannot steal. If their Rebuttals cost them expression to use, then you may be able to steal that expression from them, but you must be very careful not to feed them the expression at the wrong time.
Retrieved from www.vgtact.com
Starting Cards
Each race in game has a preference for a certain expression type. Special race-only cards are earned in the tutorial and intro quests and are a starting diplomats most potent cards available. These include a 5 point Assertion card as well as supporting evaluations to fuel the racial specialty. Here's a quick breakdown, taken from Dacian's excellent diplomacy guide
The choice of adventuring class also has an impact on the initial deck a diplomat starts out with. Like race, each class also has a preferred expression type, which determines which comments are learned by a new diplomat.
Comments Diplomats all start with the basic Snippet of Wisdom comment. Additional starting comments are determined by a diplomat's class and racial Expression preferences. These determine which 1 Influence comment cards are earned when starting out.
Assertions Every starting diplomat gets a 3 Influence Assertion for each expression type. These four cards are Aggressive Statement, Itemized Comparison, Loud Criticismand Enticing Whisper. Each race receives additonal Assertions based on their racial preference, including a strong 5 Influence Assertion card:
Multi-expression Assertions Each expression category also receives a card that uses multiple expression types, based on their strongest parley type. These cards a earned towards the end of the introductory diplomacy quest line in each starting city. Demand: Resolution Reason: Absolution Inspire: Elocution Flattery: Disillusion
Rebuttals Each race gets a specific rebuttal during the starter quest, with an option to choose a second.
Dark Elf: Dwarf: Gnome: Goblin: Halfling: High Elf: Half Elf: Kurashasa: Kojani Human: Lesser Giant: Mordebi Human: Orc: Qaliathari Human: Raki: Thestran Human: Varanjar: Varanthari: Vulmane: Wood Elf: Disarming Rebuttal, plus a choice of Lay Blame, Greener Pastures, and Gut Feeling
What Do the Numbers Mean
Ok, so you're presented with the following:
But really. What does it all mean? It's a shorthand code that people working the diplomatic line in Beta came up with. The name and seal are pretty self-evident so I'll leave those alone. Influence is how far the Parley Indicator on the board will move. If it's a positive number the marker will move towards the person playing the card, and if it's negative, the number will move away. Cost, Expression to opponent, and Expression to player all use the same numbers. So the cost means 2 demand, 0 Reason, 0 Inspire, 0 Flatter. Then the opponent gets no expression out of the deal, and you get 5 reason out of the deal. If you take a look at a card like:
... you'll see that the Parley Indicator will move 2 spaces away from you on the board (moving it closer to his side), but that you'll take away 2 of everything your opponent has. Useful if he is building up to nuke you. Refresh timer is the last information on the card. This is the number of turns you'll either have to play another card, or Listen, until you can play this card again. If a card has a timer of 1-1 then you will have to play 1 card and your opponent will have the chance to play 2 cards before you can play that card again. So the 4-8 refresh on Well-Traveled Wisdom means that you need to play/listen for a minumum of 4 turns and a maximum of 8, allowing your opponent to play 5-9 cards before you can play it again.
Diplomacy Chat Channel
While playing Diplomacy, it can be useful to check what other Diplomats are doing, or maybe you just want to have a chat. Every server should have a channel (or two) that you can join to talk to other Diplomats. To join a channel use the following command (replacing the word channel with the correct channel name): /join channel It is also possible to configure Vanguard to automatically join any channels you want on startup. To view the current list of channels that are joined automatically, use the following command: /autojoin view To set a new list of channels use the following command (entering the names of the channels): /autojoin set list,of,channel,names An example would be /autojoin set dip,craft,regionsay,auction Do NOT insert any spaces before or after the commas in the list of channels you want to join automatically. Keep in mind that regionsay and auction will by dynamically updated by the game as you move between regions. It's helpful to leave them at the end of your autojoin list so that your dip and craft channels will always stay at the same number. If you don't use them, or find you have no use for them, simply don't include them in /autojoin and you'll never hear from them again -- just like turning off shout in the chat tabs.
Leveling Guide
Getting started LVL 0-5 Level 0-5 Run your starter quests. This should give you enough diplomacy skill to start running the Civic Diplomacy levers at a comfortable pace. Depending on your primary color choice (based off of your race/class choice combination) will determine the best locations for you to continue your career.
There are a set of guards in Tanvu who can be fed an abundance of reason but have neither the ability to counter it, nor use it in any shape. Using the entertain option, which blocks demand (one result from some of the cards you should be using), you are easily able to dominate the conversation here. Be careful on feeding them too much flattery as they have some pretty strong flattery uses; however, this set of guards does not generate flattery on its own - no rebuttal necessary. Strategy - build up your reason pool for the first 2 turns, then lay the smack down with your agression generating green cards. This should leave you with one more spot to fill in your deck with any card of choice which does not feed them influence or flattery (snippet of wisdom is out).
Tanvu, The crafters square is a great place to lvl from 5 - 30 for Flattery Deck users. this will be a repeat on each section. here is a List of all Crafters there decks and a quick way to beat them. Oranku Silverwolf Outfitter Instructor - 7 Alasani Northdragon Master Artificer - 10 Romekai Wormscale Blacksmith Instructor - 10 Hotarnen Watterfall Master Outfitter 12 Aru Grayfish Refining Taskmaster - 12 Sanya eldersword Finishing taskmaster - 15 Katako Moonwalker Master Blacksmith - 20 Mikosa Nineblade Artificer Instructor - 22 Taljin Skydance Thatcher - 25 Mias Dragonsky - Crafting Advisor - 30 Sonjin Sixstar Master Minerologist - 50 ( just because he is there )
Shared Effort ( Demand, Reason and flattery ) Tricks of the trade ( Demand, Reason, Inspire, Flattery ) +25 artisan buff Whistle while you work ( Reason, Inspire, Flattery )
All these crafters are Heavy flattery and Reason users but there is a trick if you dont feed them anything they cant use their cards. The easiest way is to start off with Greasing the Wheels (gives them 1 flattery) then follow up with Catch Phrase which will give them 1 reason and 1 flattery. Doing this you can easily just listen since they don't have any cards to counter for a win. This can be done all the way to level 30.
Level 7-10
In Tanvu there are guards at the 10-12 level range which have the same play patterns as the guards mentioned before. Still reasonably close together and you are able to play the same deck against them - run back against the 5-7 mobs as well for more soldier presence dings.
Level 10-12
Demand Users
Tanvu, the guards 12-15 are further and fewer in between, but have the same pattern as before - easy pickings for entertain against a reason heavy deck. However, moving up in tier, these guards have a few more influence generating devices up their sleeves, including some flattery generating cards in their arsenal - the advice here is to stick a rebuttal in your deck to cover your bases.
In Veskals Exchange, run around, check any NPC, nice quests here at that lvl and enough different NPC's to stay here untill hitting lvl 15 :o)
Fukuden and Muratao by the entrance fence are level 12, and Mori is level 15. They make a good circuit. Better yet, up on the wall on the back right you'll find Imperial scouts Bak Uyo and Kin Fa, both 15, and Heng at 12 standing between them. I have found that they all use reason (not flattery as shown above) probably since the overhaul. You can feed them flattery all day, but if you feed them reason, only feed them 1. I use a rebuttal to starve them of reason.
Level 12-15
In Bordinar's Cleft there's an Academic called Theron Hardglass in the hallway on the right hand side of the throne room. I play all 3 parleys involving Demand and Inspire with him. My hand is Blunt Evaluation, Flat Dismissal, Think Fast, Aggressive Statement, Dwarven Resolve, Resolution, Crafty Allusion, Loud Criticism and Enticing Wisper. In addition I wear Inspiring Gloves. With this hand I loose less than 2% of the time. Just remember to take the points when you can. Don't try to build up for a good card when you already have a card to play for points. I receive an Academic Presence about every 7'th parley. You just have to go do some quests for new cards on occasions. After I reached 12 I did the quest Moonstruck Fool to get the card Crafty Allusion. Without this card I don't think it would have been so easy. In Leth Nurae, there are three NPC's grouped together. Starseer Darnier, Catary Unalu, Silver Cresent Volaris are lvl 15 and stand together and are quite easy to beat every time with a Demand Deck. They can be found on the path that wraps around the city half way up the mountain. While in town, the best way to find them if you are unfamiliar with the path is to go to the edge of the cliff to the left of the waterfall. Follow the edge left until you find a suitable place to jump down. You will need to go down one more level so find another place to make the jump. Now go to the right just a bit and you will see the NPC'S
Very easy lvl 17 mobs in BC. The play goes like this - Line of Reasoning, they give you one reason, Infallible Proof, they play a strong demand card, you take away the demand with Disarming Rebuttal - wash, rinse repeat. Some mobs feed off of yellow and blue, so watch your deck builds. There are a set of 2 mobs somewhat close together you can easily run between with 3 usable conversations per round - 1 academic and one soldier both level 17, which you can throw anything but red at them and they crumple like little children. The pattern is pretty solid. I would recommend one weak 2 cost red card to use some of the red they generate at you. Be careful with your clicking, there is one reason blocked conversation type - clicking on this is bad for the prestige grind.
In Bordinar's Cleft, Romm Stoneaxe in the crafter's hall is a level 17 guy who is easily beatable as he has little to no use of Inspire. This allows you to load up on him with impunity. Just deny him reason and you can beat him at three of the four parleys (avoid Convince though, as these are always rather tough for us).
In Ca'ial Brael, the NPCs Moren, level 17, and Perun, level 15, by and in the crafting hall are right next to each other, separated by the door. Not that hard to keep doing Gossip and Convince parleys to raise faction, skill and prestige. With good evaluation cards and the assertion cards, you'll do fine along with some assertion cards that use reason or inspire. If you complete gossip and convince parleys with one NPC, move on to the next and repeat. The lvl 20 NPC, Tomand Eraja, is by Moren once you hit 15.
Level 15-17
In Tursh, Emili Ishwall lvl 20, Eben Redstal lvl 20 in taverna "Barley Harvest Inn" near mailbox In Khal, lvl 20 Asherra Rohadyen, lvl 20 Odalga Khranmnox in "Tradewind Tavern"
In Veskals Exchange, I stayed here from lvl 10, but they are not difficult to find :o) Think caravan escorts (2 x lvl 20) and roaming guards (2 x lvl 20)
In Hathor Zhi, there are three guards surrounding the fort each at level 20. Together, the three form a triangle with two of them by the ballistas facing the wall with the final one right outside the fort's enterance. Easily beatable, especially if you have the card "Many Meanings" which destroys them.
Level 17-20
In Leth Nurae, there are 2 guards with skill 22 that are extremely easy to beat for deamnd users. I figure this goes for all guards there. But at least these two, Crescent Guards Rillithan and Crescent Guard Essol, are totally unable to use whatever demand points you throw at them. In addition Essol is almost unable to make his own points, and is dependant on you feeding him so you can even beat him in entertainment.
In Bordinars Cleft, one lvl 22 in the tavern, one NE of him (lvl 22), across the main hall. Another one roaming around, nice change of scenery when he passes. That roaming one is called Devotee Coppermend (lvl 22).
In Hathor Zhi, in the fortress near the tents, there are 2 guards Otheki and Xenyl skill 22 and 1 in the middle conglomerate, Ethyte, that are fairly easy. Strong Reason and Flattery can dispatch them with little issue. Be careful though. Twice per game day, they rotate with other guards. They move to the outer wall of the fortress. One stays at the entrance, and the other 2 along the wall (when leaving the fortress, veer right).
Level 20-22
There are two dwarves in Bordinar's Cleft that offer L25 parleys, and are very close to each other. This is an efficient place to grind civic diplomacy. The NPCs are Josin Runeaxe and Vungarn Grimgred. Josin stands at the top and on the right hand side of the ramp as you enter the main hall and Vungarn stands just North West of him at the base of the Statue of King Dargun Flamehammer. If you proceed on North West into the throne room there is a 3rd NPC that is fairly close by, named Royal Defender Hammerbrow. Tuatiren Trespass works very well against them.
There are two High Elves in Leth Nurae right next to each other that offer L25 parleys. This is an efficient place to grind civic diplomacy. The NPCs are Arcanist Qalaen and Arcanist Qaelias in the Azure Flame temple.
Level 22-25
In Hathor Zhi, inside the fort, there are seven soldiers in a circle around the campfire, or a few meters away, ranging from 22 to 27 skill, that are helpless against a strong Flattery deck in either a Gossip or an Interview. The same deck can be used with all seven, for both parley types.
Level 25-27
In Tar Janashir, there are 3 NPC's close by each other, who offer two parleys each. Two of the NPC's are level 30 and one is level 25. All three of them are really bad at Diplomacy and are easy easy wins. As a bonus, you'll get 9 Ahgram Prestige faction after all 6 parleys are done (which since there is no civic diplomacy in Ahgram, it can be hard to muster up the 1,000 faction you need for the title.) And as a bonus you'll also occasionally get crafter prestige. The only thing that is a little hard is mustering up the 700 crafter presence you need to parley with these NPC's. I came to Tar Janashir with none, and found all the clothes I needed on the broker for about 5-6 gold. The NPC's are Eshqi Tuhrur, Jalal Meheru, and Zaul. They are all three due east of the Tar Janashir mailbox. Experience: 120k per parley for the level 30's.
Level 27-30
Hathor Zhi(-15,-10) Inside the fort by the campfire are 6 lvl 22-30, and 1 lvl 50 NPC parleys available. The following cards will win vs. all NPCs at this location, every time, all parleys *except* entertain. You can parley 5 levels above your own and gain 100k+ per win. Also +3 Hathor Zhi Faction and +2 Pankor Zhi Diplomatic Prestige.
It should be noted at this level that your about ready to begin the NT Noble house quests EXCEPT it is real hard to get NT Prestige faction at this level because all the higher level NPC's are in Qalia. My reccomendation is to Level in Qalia, and take your Radiants and Shiny Prestige rewards to NT to gain that faction OR do Writs that give NT Prestige Faction. Additionally it is hard to get the required presence initially for the noble house factions though if your willing to trade some of your hard earned NT prestige faction for House diplo clothes, this can close the gap.
BC Tavern Domestics - 3 x 37 NPC rotation - interview and convince - Kojani Serenity, Poetic Truths and Absolution primary point cards, Many Meanings here and there. Smooth sailing with few/no losses
Submitted by: Hool, Xeth Martok -- Behind "The Green Palm" there are 3 Martok Fury's practicing their fighting skills. All are level 40 parley and their master is level 42. If you stand behind them, you can parley all 3 without moving. The one on the left side (If your facing the building) gives a lot of reason points, so make sure you have the cards to use them, such as Arch Analysis and Itemized Comparison. Absolution will also come in handy, as they provide many opportunities to use it. Submitted by: Zedar, Seradon
Hathor Zhi - 4 soldiers in close proximity all level 40 - interview rotation - kojani serenity, poetic truths, absolution as primary point cards, few rebuttals utilized - margin of victory 5-10 points regularly. Afrit - when you approach the city from the north there are 2x level 40 NPC´s at the Pavilion to the left - all require 700 academic presence // or inside the main building just on the left side there are 2x 40 lvl npc´s as well to the left - those require 700 noble presence (as all others inside the main building) -> both you can beat easily in interview and convince ! - you also should try the gossip but this is harder ! ((good to know - you will get from time to time searing stones - those are very usefull for a full set of adventuring clothes from lvl 38+ and for some other adventuring quests - so keep them well !!!))
Afrit - as noted before - there are in addition to the lvl 40 ones - as well 2x 42 lvl npc´s just as noted above (look at lvl 35 to 37) when you approach the city from the north there are 2x level 42 NPC´s at the Pavilion to the left - all require 700 academic presence // or inside the main building just on the left side there are 2x 42 lvl npc´s as well to the left - those require 700 noble presence (as all others inside the main building) -> both you can beat easily in interview and convince ! - you also should try the gossip but this is harder ! --> so to summarize it : you can do circles with the 2x 42´s and the 40´s lvl npc´s with interview and convince this is easy ! and good xp ((good to know - you will get from time to time searing stones - those are very usefull for a full set of adventuring clothes from lvl 38+ and for some other adventuring quests - so keep them well !!!))
Level 40-42
This goes for all expression users: bartenders. Do the 45 parleys until you have landed all of the nice t4 rewards (+790 noble chest and +790 clergy robe, general's belt, inlaid boots, etc.) Afrit - as noted above - main building : there are in addition to the 2x lvl 42 ones (back wall) - as well 1x 45 lvl npc´s inside the main building in the middle and 1x to the right side of the back wall - those require 700 noble presence (as all others inside the main building) -> both you can beat easily in interview and convince ! --> so to summarize it : you can do circles with the 2x 42´s and the 45´s lvl npc´s with interview and convince this is easy ! and good xp --> NOTE : at lvl 40 you will first have the chance to get unequalled evidences !!! ((good to know - you will get from time to time searing stones - those are very usefull for a full set of adventuring clothes from lvl 38+ and for some other adventuring quests - so keep them well !!!))
Level 42-45
Afrit - as noted above - main building : there are in addition to the 2x lvl 45 ones - as well 2x 47 lvl npc´s inside the main building just to the right corner when you enter the room - those require 700 noble presence (as all others inside the main building) -> both you can beat easily in interview and convince ! --> so to summarize it : you can do circles with the 2x 45´s and the 47´s lvl npc´s with interview and convince this is easy !
Level 45-47
Hathor Zhi Crafting hall is the spot - 3x50 and 3x47 all within a few seconds of each other, all crafting presence boosters.
Hathor Zhi Crafting Hall has three 50 SKill NPC's that you can easily Incite and Interview.
Level 47-50
Crafting Halls in Hathor Zhi have 2x lvl 50 crafting npc. Sallan Lerris and Serin Talah. Each have 4x parleys.
Table of Contents
Overview
Parleys are the most important aspect of Diplomacy. Almost every quest or activity that you carry out will at some point involve Parleys with one or more NPCs.The Diplomacy Tutorial Quests (which every Diplomat has to carry out at the start of their career) should teach you the mechanics of how to play cards, and teach you all about expression and how to use it during a Parley.
This page will present a lot of the same information, plus provide guides on deck selection and card play.
The Mechanics
Adding cards to your Deck
Before you start a Parley, you must set up the Deck of cards that you will use from those currently available to you. (see Deck Selection for details on how to select which cards to include in your deck).To see what cards you have available you should open your Abilities window (be pressing P on your keyboard) and then clicking on the Diplomacy Tab:
You can click the [Back] and [Next] buttons to more pages of cards that you have available.
Click the [Strategy] button to see you current deck of cards in your Strategy Tray (which might look like this):
To add cards to your Strategy Tray you should just Drag and Drop them from the Abilities window to your Strategy Tray. You can also Drag and Drop cards within the Strategy Tray to rearrange them.
If you drop a card on top of another card in your Strategy Tray, the other card will be picked up and can in turn be placed elsewhere. If you do not want to place the card, drop it outside the Strategy Track, or just start a new Drag operation from the Abilities window. (You can 'drop' your chosen card anywhere in the Strategy Tray slot. If you try to actually line up the card graphic with the edges of the Strategy Tray slot it doesn't actually work. Put the upper left corner of the graphic inside the slot for the best results when dropping cards.)
You can move the Strategy Tray around on screen using the small deck icon in the top left of the tray, and you can close it using the small cross icon in the top right.
The Strategy Tray will open and close automatically when you start a Parley if it is not already open.
Note: Once you have started a Parley you cannot change your cards.
The Gameboard and how to play a card
Once you start a Parley, the Gameboard will open (along with the Strategy Tray if it was not already open):On the left of the Gameboard you will see the opponents cards when they are played at the top, and your cards when you play them at the bottom.
The middle of the Gameboard shows the Expression Pools for your opponent (at the top) and yourself (at the bottom). From left to right, the expression pools are Demand (red)
The right side of the Gameboard shows the Parley Indicator on a vertical track at to top of which is displayed the number of Dialogue Points the opponent has, and at the bottom is displayed the number of Dialogue Points that you have. The amount of Dialogue Points you and your opponent have is regulated by the difference in level between you and your opponent. The Parley Indicator can move from a maximum of 10 points in your favour (at the bottom of the track) to a maximum of 10 points in the opponents favour (at the top of the track). Every time the Parley Indicator is closer to one side than the other, the number of Dialogue Points on that side will go down by one, and the first to reach zero wins the Parley. If the Parley Indicator is on zero (middle), then neither sides Dialogue Points will decrease.
When it is your turn to play a card, just click on the card you wish to use in your Strategy Tray. They card will then be displayed in the lower left of the Gameboard. Note: If the card has an Expression Cost that you cannot afford, or it is otherwise not ready to play yet an error message will be displayed and the card will not be displayed on the Gameboard.
Once you have selected that card that you want to play, click the [Speak] button. The opponent will then play a card. If you cannot play card (or if you choose not to play a card), then you can click the [Listen] button.
How card play affects the gameboard
Each card that you play has two main affects on the gameboard:- Points can be added or subtracted from both you and your opponents Expression Pools;
- The Parley Indicator can be moved upwards (in the opponents favour), or downwards (in your favour).
If you examine some cards, they display all of the information that you need to know about how they will affect the gameboard:The number displayed in the top right of each card is the amount of Influence a card has; the number of points that the Parley Indicator will move. If the Influence number is positive then the Parley Indicator will move towards your side of the Gameboard. If the Influence number is negative then the Parley Indicator will move towards the opponents side of the Gameboard.
If there are any figures displayed against the word "Cost", then you must have at least the number of points in the corresponding Expression Pools in order to be permitted to play that card. When you play the card, those points are then subtracted from your Expression Pool.
The next row of numbers shows how many points will be added to or subtracted from the opponents Expression Pools. In the case where the card subtracts expression from an opponent, it is possible to play the card when the opponent has less than the designated number of points. When you do that, their pool will be reduced to zero. An expression pool cannot have a negative number of points.
Below that is the number of points that will be added to your Expression Pools.
Finally, in the bottom right of the card is the Refresh Indicator. This tells you how many turns you must play before the card can be played again. e.g. 3-3 indicates that you must make exactly 3 other plays before the card can be played again, and 1-3 indicates that you might have to make as few as 1 or as many as 3 other plays before you can play this card again.
Special Clothing and the Start of a Parley
As a reward for one of the Quests that are part of the Diplomacy Tutorial Quests, you will have been given a pair of gloves that you can wear that will place a single point of expression in one of your Expression Pools at the start of a Parley. Which pool the point is added to depends on your Race. e.g. Races whose Racial Expression is Demand are given gloves that provide one point of Inspire.These are very powerful since you can use them in conjunction with an Evaluation that you will also have been given in the Diplomacy Tutorial Quests that gives you 2 points in your Racial Expression, and 1 point to the same Expression Pool as the gloves give, e.g. Blunt Evaluation
This provides you with enough expression to play two Assertions.
If you engage in Civic Diplomacy Parleys, you will occasionally be rewarded with Information, which can be exchanged for Diplomacy Gear. Civic Entertain Conversations can sometimes reward a Recipe that can be used by a Crafter to create Diplomacy Gear. Some of the Crafted Diplomacy Gear will move the Parley Indicator to your side at the beginning of the Parley. This can be a significant advantage.
Finally, Writs provide gems that can be made into a customizable mask that can add points to your Expression Pools and/or move the Parley Indicator to your side at the start of the Parley. See Mask Rewards for more information.
Deck Selection
Before you start a Parley, you must select which cards you are going to use.Which cards you pick can make the difference between you wiping the floor with your opponent or them doing the same to you!
Before selecting your deck, you should look for information elsewhere on this wiki to see if someone has Parleyed with the NPC before and knows what cards they have.
If there is no information available you will have to guess what sort of cards they might have available to them and plan accordingly, or try to set up a fairly general deck that you think should hold up well against most opponents. When selecting your deck, the main things you need to do are:
Selecting Assertions
Suppose the opponent is feeding you a lot of Demand and you have the choice of the following cards which you might include in your Deck:If the opponent uses Demand or Flattery then you would not want to use Flurry of Arguments, and if they used Reason or Inspire, then you would not want to use Think Fast or Aggressive Statement.
A classic example of this problem can occur if an opponent needs 3 points of expression to play an Assertion that gives them 5 points of Influence. If they only have an Evaluation that gives them 2 points, then they need to play that twice before they can play their Assertion. If you play an Assertion that gives them the 1 point they need, then they get to play their 5 Influence Assertion much earlier in the Parley than they would have done otherwise.
Sometimes an opponent will feed you small amounts of several different types of expression. When that happens you will not be able to play cards that cost large amounts of one type of expression (unless you use your own Evaluations and Repeals to create it). Instead you should look for cards that you have that use several expression types to fuel them:
A lot of the time the opponent won't actually be feeding you all of the expression you need to play these cards, so you will need to use your own Evaluations to fill in the gaps.
Selecting Repeals
If the expression you are being fed is either one that you cannot use or where the cards you do have available will give the opponent expression they need, you might use a Repeal instead to convert that to an expression that either scores you more points when played, or does not give the opponent expression that they can use:Be careful though as using a Repeal obviously introduces a delay into your play during which the opponent might be scoring points and keeping the Parley Indicator on their side.
Selecting Rebuts
Rebuts can be a very powerful tool in your arsenal as they steal the expression that the opponent needs for their Assertions. There are most useful when the opponent makes significant use Evaluations to fuel its Assertions. Since the opponent has to wait a whole turn between generating the expression they need and using it: you can step in an steal it.Again, depending on the nature of the Assertion the opponent is trying to play, it may sometimes be better to let them play it. This can happen if their Assertion will give you Expression that you can use to fuel an even bigger Assertion on your turn.
Selecting Evaluations
Selecting which Evaluations to include in your deck can be a difficult decision. The problem is obviously that most Evaluations will also feed the opponent the expression they need, or alternatively move the Parley Indicator towards their side of the gameboard.You will rarely encounter Parleys where you will not need to use at least one Evaluation. Sometimes you will use them to generate all of the expression you need and at other times you will use them to enhance the expression the opponent may be feeding you. Whichever is the case you need to look carefully and such things as the Recast time and which expression that card may be giving to the opponent.
Selecting Comments
Comments are quick hitter cards which can move the Parley Indicator in your direction without requiring you to have any expression to fuel them.Unfortunately they feed the opponent large amounts of expression. If you can restrict this to expression that they cannot use, or where they only have low scoring Assertions, this will help.
In some Parleys it can be useful to play a Comment on the first turn of a Parley and then never play it again for the rest of the Parley.
Playing your cards
Playing your cards during a Parley has a lot to do with timing. Sometimes you have to wait until one of your cards is ready to play, or you might even choose to wait until just after an opponent has played a particular card.Then of course you have situations where you could play several cards and choosing the right one can make a big difference.
Suppose an opponent has the following two cards in its deck:
And assume you have these cards:
If the opponent has 2 points of Demand, and you have 1 point of Demand and 2 points of Inspire, then clearly you must play Crafty Allusion. Of course that assumes that the opponent is not also waiting to get some Flattery, in which case some other card might be better, or even just Listening for that turn.
Opponents Strategies
Comment Storms
Comment Storms occur when an opponent uses a deck consisting almost entirely of comments.With this sort of deck you do not normally need to worry about what sort of expression you feed to the opponent (although some NPCs include the odd Assertion in their deck to catch you out).
The strategy for dealing with these sorts of NPCs usually consists of two parts:
- Using every last drop of expression they throw at you;
- Generating extra expression of your own to speed things along.
This is all about bringing out your big Assertions and using Repeals and extra Evaluations to maximize the amount of expression you have available to fuel them.Misers
A Miser is an opponent who uses a deck that gives you very little (or even no) expression that you can use to play your cards.With these sorts of opponents you virtually have to generate all of your own expression so you will be making good use of Evaluations and Repeals. Rebuts will also come in handy to slow down the opponent.
Thieves
A Thief is an opponent that uses cards that can steal your expression preventing you from playing your cards.These are very tricky opponents as they can completely block your ability to play your Assertions.
Some of the time the only thing you can do is not use that expression and build your strategy around assertions that use an expression that they cannot steal.
If their Rebuttals cost them expression to use, then you may be able to steal that expression from them, but you must be very careful not to feed them the expression at the wrong time.
Retrieved from www.vgtact.com
Starting Cards
Each race in game has a preference for a certain expression type. Special race-only cards are earned in the tutorial and intro quests and are a starting diplomats most potent cards available. These include a 5 point Assertion card as well as supporting evaluations to fuel the racial specialty.
Here's a quick breakdown, taken from Dacian's excellent diplomacy guide
Vulmane
Varanthari
Wood Elf
Orc
Mordebi Human
Gnome
Goblin
Kojani Human
Varanjar
Lesser Giant
Dark Elf
Qaliathari Human
Kurashasa
Half Elf
Raki
Dread Knight
Necromancer
Monk
Sorcerer
Disciple
Druid
Cleric
Shaman
Bard
Blood Mage
Psionicist
The Cards
CommentsDiplomats all start with the basic Snippet of Wisdom comment. Additional starting comments are determined by a diplomat's class and racial Expression preferences. These determine which 1 Influence comment cards are earned when starting out.
Assertions
Every starting diplomat gets a 3 Influence Assertion for each expression type. These four cards are Aggressive Statement, Itemized Comparison, Loud Criticism and Enticing Whisper.
Each race receives additonal Assertions based on their racial preference, including a strong 5 Influence Assertion card:
Dwarf: Dwarven Resolve
Gnome: Gnomish Brainstorm
Goblin: Goblin Gabble
Halfling: Halfling Laughter
High Elf: Elven Wisdom
Half Elf: Elven Unity
Kojani Human: Kojani Serenity
Lesser Giant: Hurskovar Mettle
Mordebi Human: Mordebi Candor
Orc: Orcish Grunt
Qaliathari Human: Qaliathari Charisma
Thestran Human: Thestran Leadership
Varanjar: Varanjar Rally Cry
Varanthari: Varanthari Stare
Vulmane: Vulmane Howl
Wood Elf: Elven Imperative
An additional 4 Influence Assertion is given based on racial expression preference:
Demand: Flurry of Arguments
Reason: Infallible Proof
Inspire: Slippery Slope
Flattery: Catch Phrase
Multi-expression Assertions
Each expression category also receives a card that uses multiple expression types, based on their strongest parley type. These cards a earned towards the end of the introductory diplomacy quest line in each starting city.
Demand: Resolution
Reason: Absolution
Inspire: Elocution
Flattery: Disillusion
Rebuttals
Each race gets a specific rebuttal during the starter quest, with an option to choose a second.
Dwarf:
Gnome:
Goblin:
Halfling:
High Elf:
Half Elf:
Kurashasa:
Kojani Human:
Lesser Giant:
Mordebi Human:
Orc:
Qaliathari Human:
Raki:
Thestran Human:
Varanjar:
Varanthari:
Vulmane:
Wood Elf: Disarming Rebuttal, plus a choice of Lay Blame, Greener Pastures, and Gut Feeling
What Do the Numbers Mean
Ok, so you're presented with the following:
But really. What does it all mean?
It's a shorthand code that people working the diplomatic line in Beta came up with.
The name and seal are pretty self-evident so I'll leave those alone.
Influence is how far the Parley Indicator on the board will move. If it's a positive number the marker will move towards the person playing the card, and if it's negative, the number will move away.
Cost, Expression to opponent, and Expression to player all use the same numbers. So the cost means 2 demand, 0 Reason, 0 Inspire, 0 Flatter. Then the opponent gets no expression out of the deal, and you get 5 reason out of the deal.
If you take a look at a card like:
... you'll see that the Parley Indicator will move 2 spaces away from you on the board (moving it closer to his side), but that you'll take away 2 of everything your opponent has. Useful if he is building up to nuke you.
Refresh timer is the last information on the card. This is the number of turns you'll either have to play another card, or Listen, until you can play this card again. If a card has a timer of 1-1 then you will have to play 1 card and your opponent will have the chance to play 2 cards before you can play that card again. So the 4-8 refresh on Well-Traveled Wisdom means that you need to play/listen for a minumum of 4 turns and a maximum of 8, allowing your opponent to play 5-9 cards before you can play it again.
Diplomacy Chat Channel
While playing Diplomacy, it can be useful to check what other Diplomats are doing, or maybe you just want to have a chat.
Every server should have a channel (or two) that you can join to talk to other Diplomats.
To join a channel use the following command (replacing the word channel with the correct channel name):
/join channel
It is also possible to configure Vanguard to automatically join any channels you want on startup. To view the current list of channels that are joined automatically, use the following command:
/autojoin view
To set a new list of channels use the following command (entering the names of the channels):
/autojoin set list,of,channel,names
An example would be
/autojoin set dip,craft,regionsay,auction
Do NOT insert any spaces before or after the commas in the list of channels you want to join automatically. Keep in mind that regionsay and auction will by dynamically updated by the game as you move between regions. It's helpful to leave them at the end of your autojoin list so that your dip and craft channels will always stay at the same number. If you don't use them, or find you have no use for them, simply don't include them in /autojoin and you'll never hear from them again -- just like turning off shout in the chat tabs.
Leveling Guide
Getting started LVL 0-5
Level 0-5 Run your starter quests. This should give you enough diplomacy skill to start running the Civic Diplomacy levers at a comfortable pace.
Depending on your primary color choice (based off of your race/class choice combination) will determine the best locations for you to continue your career.
Level 5-7
From level 5, you can do the Web Quests, currently available on Qalia and Thestra.
There are a set of guards in Tanvu who can be fed an abundance of reason but have neither the ability to counter it, nor use it in any shape. Using the entertain option, which blocks demand (one result from some of the cards you should be using), you are easily able to dominate the conversation here. Be careful on feeding them too much flattery as they have some pretty strong flattery uses; however, this set of guards does not generate flattery on its own - no rebuttal necessary. Strategy - build up your reason pool for the first 2 turns, then lay the smack down with your agression generating green cards. This should leave you with one more spot to fill in your deck with any card of choice which does not feed them influence or flattery (snippet of wisdom is out).
Tanvu, The crafters square is a great place to lvl from 5 - 30 for Flattery Deck users. this will be a repeat on each section. here is a List of all Crafters there decks and a quick way to beat them.
Oranku Silverwolf Outfitter Instructor - 7
Alasani Northdragon Master Artificer - 10
Romekai Wormscale Blacksmith Instructor - 10
Hotarnen Watterfall Master Outfitter 12
Aru Grayfish Refining Taskmaster - 12
Sanya eldersword Finishing taskmaster - 15
Katako Moonwalker Master Blacksmith - 20
Mikosa Nineblade Artificer Instructor - 22
Taljin Skydance Thatcher - 25
Mias Dragonsky - Crafting Advisor - 30
Sonjin Sixstar Master Minerologist - 50 ( just because he is there )
Shared Effort ( Demand, Reason and flattery )
Tricks of the trade ( Demand, Reason, Inspire, Flattery ) +25 artisan buff
Whistle while you work ( Reason, Inspire, Flattery )
All these crafters are Heavy flattery and Reason users but there is a trick if you dont feed them anything they cant use their cards. The easiest way is to start off with Greasing the Wheels (gives them 1 flattery) then follow up with Catch Phrase which will give them 1 reason and 1 flattery. Doing this you can easily just listen since they don't have any cards to counter for a win. This can be done all the way to level 30.
Level 7-10
In Tanvu there are guards at the 10-12 level range which have the same play patterns as the guards mentioned before. Still reasonably close together and you are able to play the same deck against them - run back against the 5-7 mobs as well for more soldier presence dings.
Level 10-12
Demand UsersTanvu, the guards 12-15 are further and fewer in between, but have the same pattern as before - easy pickings for entertain against a reason heavy deck. However, moving up in tier, these guards have a few more influence generating devices up their sleeves, including some flattery generating cards in their arsenal - the advice here is to stick a rebuttal in your deck to cover your bases.
In Veskals Exchange, run around, check any NPC, nice quests here at that lvl and enough different NPC's to stay here untill hitting lvl 15 :o)
Fukuden and Muratao by the entrance fence are level 12, and Mori is level 15. They make a good circuit. Better yet, up on the wall on the back right you'll find Imperial scouts Bak Uyo and Kin Fa, both 15, and Heng at 12 standing between them. I have found that they all use reason (not flattery as shown above) probably since the overhaul. You can feed them flattery all day, but if you feed them reason, only feed them 1. I use a rebuttal to starve them of reason.
Level 12-15
In Bordinar's Cleft there's an Academic called Theron Hardglass in the hallway on the right hand side of the throne room. I play all 3 parleys involving Demand and Inspire with him. My hand is Blunt Evaluation, Flat Dismissal, Think Fast, Aggressive Statement, Dwarven Resolve, Resolution, Crafty Allusion, Loud Criticism and Enticing Wisper. In addition I wear Inspiring Gloves. With this hand I loose less than 2% of the time. Just remember to take the points when you can. Don't try to build up for a good card when you already have a card to play for points. I receive an Academic Presence about every 7'th parley. You just have to go do some quests for new cards on occasions. After I reached 12 I did the quest Moonstruck Fool to get the card Crafty Allusion. Without this card I don't think it would have been so easy.
In Leth Nurae, there are three NPC's grouped together. Starseer Darnier, Catary Unalu, Silver Cresent Volaris are lvl 15 and stand together and are quite easy to beat every time with a Demand Deck. They can be found on the path that wraps around the city half way up the mountain. While in town, the best way to find them if you are unfamiliar with the path is to go to the edge of the cliff to the left of the waterfall. Follow the edge left until you find a suitable place to jump down. You will need to go down one more level so find another place to make the jump. Now go to the right just a bit and you will see the NPC'S
Very easy lvl 17 mobs in BC. The play goes like this - Line of Reasoning, they give you one reason, Infallible Proof, they play a strong demand card, you take away the demand with Disarming Rebuttal - wash, rinse repeat. Some mobs feed off of yellow and blue, so watch your deck builds. There are a set of 2 mobs somewhat close together you can easily run between with 3 usable conversations per round - 1 academic and one soldier both level 17, which you can throw anything but red at them and they crumple like little children. The pattern is pretty solid. I would recommend one weak 2 cost red card to use some of the red they generate at you. Be careful with your clicking, there is one reason blocked conversation type - clicking on this is bad for the prestige grind.
In Bordinar's Cleft, Romm Stoneaxe in the crafter's hall is a level 17 guy who is easily beatable as he has little to no use of Inspire. This allows you to load up on him with impunity. Just deny him reason and you can beat him at three of the four parleys (avoid Convince though, as these are always rather tough for us).
In Ca'ial Brael, the NPCs Moren, level 17, and Perun, level 15, by and in the crafting hall are right next to each other, separated by the door. Not that hard to keep doing Gossip and Convince parleys to raise faction, skill and prestige. With good evaluation cards and the assertion cards, you'll do fine along with some assertion cards that use reason or inspire. If you complete gossip and convince parleys with one NPC, move on to the next and repeat. The lvl 20 NPC, Tomand Eraja, is by Moren once you hit 15.
Level 15-17
In Tursh, Emili Ishwall lvl 20, Eben Redstal lvl 20 in taverna "Barley Harvest Inn" near mailbox
In Khal, lvl 20 Asherra Rohadyen, lvl 20 Odalga Khranmnox in "Tradewind Tavern"
In Veskals Exchange, I stayed here from lvl 10, but they are not difficult to find :o) Think caravan escorts (2 x lvl 20) and roaming guards (2 x lvl 20)
In Hathor Zhi, there are three guards surrounding the fort each at level 20. Together, the three form a triangle with two of them by the ballistas facing the wall with the final one right outside the fort's enterance. Easily beatable, especially if you have the card "Many Meanings" which destroys them.
Level 17-20
In Leth Nurae, there are 2 guards with skill 22 that are extremely easy to beat for deamnd users. I figure this goes for all guards there. But at least these two, Crescent Guards Rillithan and Crescent Guard Essol, are totally unable to use whatever demand points you throw at them. In addition Essol is almost unable to make his own points, and is dependant on you feeding him so you can even beat him in entertainment.
In Bordinars Cleft, one lvl 22 in the tavern, one NE of him (lvl 22), across the main hall. Another one roaming around, nice change of scenery when he passes. That roaming one is called Devotee Coppermend (lvl 22).
In Hathor Zhi, in the fortress near the tents, there are 2 guards Otheki and Xenyl skill 22 and 1 in the middle conglomerate, Ethyte, that are fairly easy. Strong Reason and Flattery can dispatch them with little issue. Be careful though. Twice per game day, they rotate with other guards. They move to the outer wall of the fortress. One stays at the entrance, and the other 2 along the wall (when leaving the fortress, veer right).
Level 20-22
There are two dwarves in Bordinar's Cleft that offer L25 parleys, and are very close to each other. This is an efficient place to grind civic diplomacy. The NPCs are Josin Runeaxe and Vungarn Grimgred. Josin stands at the top and on the right hand side of the ramp as you enter the main hall and Vungarn stands just North West of him at the base of the Statue of King Dargun Flamehammer. If you proceed on North West into the throne room there is a 3rd NPC that is fairly close by, named Royal Defender Hammerbrow. Tuatiren Trespass works very well against them.
There are two High Elves in Leth Nurae right next to each other that offer L25 parleys. This is an efficient place to grind civic diplomacy. The NPCs are Arcanist Qalaen and Arcanist Qaelias in the Azure Flame temple.
Level 22-25
In Hathor Zhi, inside the fort, there are seven soldiers in a circle around the campfire, or a few meters away, ranging from 22 to 27 skill, that are helpless against a strong Flattery deck in either a Gossip or an Interview. The same deck can be used with all seven, for both parley types.
Level 25-27
In Tar Janashir, there are 3 NPC's close by each other, who offer two parleys each. Two of the NPC's are level 30 and one is level 25. All three of them are really bad at Diplomacy and are easy easy wins. As a bonus, you'll get 9 Ahgram Prestige faction after all 6 parleys are done (which since there is no civic diplomacy in Ahgram, it can be hard to muster up the 1,000 faction you need for the title.) And as a bonus you'll also occasionally get crafter prestige.
The only thing that is a little hard is mustering up the 700 crafter presence you need to parley with these NPC's. I came to Tar Janashir with none, and found all the clothes I needed on the broker for about 5-6 gold.
The NPC's are Eshqi Tuhrur, Jalal Meheru, and Zaul. They are all three due east of the Tar Janashir mailbox.
Experience: 120k per parley for the level 30's.
Level 27-30
Hathor Zhi(-15,-10) Inside the fort by the campfire are 6 lvl 22-30, and 1 lvl 50 NPC parleys available. The following cards will win vs. all NPCs at this location, every time, all parleys *except* entertain. You can parley 5 levels above your own and gain 100k+ per win. Also +3 Hathor Zhi Faction and +2 Pankor Zhi Diplomatic Prestige.
Here is the deck build: Gremlin Greed, Frank Discussion, Pale Imitation, Bitter Truths, Lay Blame, Orcish Grunt (optional), Hobgoblin Harangue, Flurry of Arguments,Resolution, Aggressive Statement, Cyclopean Command, Ichtakhta Impulse.
Common rewards include: Hearsay for Blackmail, Evidence about Plots, Hearsay about Trends, Evidence about Plots, Rumor of Trends, Evidence of Trends, Hearsay about Plots.
1 in 5 wins will give you +1 Soldier Presence.
Submitted by: Hool, Xeth
Level 30-32
Hathor Zhi(-15,-10) Inside the main building. Rotate between Legionaire Kenduis, Legionnaire Helityl, and Legionnaire Myrae.
Expirience Gain: ~145k per win
Rewards: +3 Hathor Zhi Faction, +2 Pankor Zhi Diplomatic Prestige, 1 in 5 wins will give you +1 Soldier Presence.
Common Drops: Hearsay for Blackmail, Evidence about Plots, Hearsay about Trends, Evidence about Plots, Rumor of Trends, Evidence of Trends, Hearsay about Plots.
Suggested Deck: Gremlin Greed, Frank Discussion, Pale Imitation, Bitter Truths, Lay Blame, Orcish Grunt (optional), Hobgoblin Harangue, Flurry of Arguments,Resolution, Aggressive Statement, Cyclopean Command, Ichtakhta Impulse.
Submitted by: Hool, Xeth
Level 32-35
Hathor Zhi(-15,-10) Inside the main building. Rotate between Legionaire Kenduis, Legionnaire Helityl, and Legionnaire Myrae.
Expirience Gain: ~145k per win
Rewards: +3 Hathor Zhi Faction, +2 Pankor Zhi Diplomatic Prestige, 1 in 5 wins will give you +1 Soldier Presence.
Common Drops: Hearsay for Blackmail, Evidence about Plots, Hearsay about Trends, Evidence about Plots, Rumor of Trends, Evidence of Trends, Hearsay about Plots.
Suggested Deck: Gremlin Greed, Frank Discussion, Pale Imitation, Bitter Truths, Lay Blame, Orcish Grunt (optional), Hobgoblin Harangue, Flurry of Arguments,Resolution, Aggressive Statement, Cyclopean Command, Ichtakhta Impulse.
Submitted by: Hool of Dawning Nemesis, Xeth
BC Tavern Domestics - 3 x 37 NPC rotation - interview and convince - Kojani Serenity, Poetic Truths and Absolution primary point cards, Many Meanings here and there. Smooth sailing with few/no losses
Level 35-37
Hathor Zhi(-15,-10) Inside the main building. Rotate between Centurion Oussar and Centurion Atletlar.
Expirience Gain: ~176k per win
Rewards: +3 Hathor Zhi Faction, +2 Pankor Zhi Diplomatic Prestige, 1 in 5 wins will give you +1 Soldier Presence.
Common Drops: Hearsay for Blackmail, Evidence about Plots, Hearsay about Trends, Evidence about Plots, Rumor of Trends, Evidence of Trends, Hearsay about Plots.
Suggested Deck: Gremlin Greed, Frank Discussion, Pale Imitation, Bitter Truths, Lay Blame, Orcish Grunt (optional), Hobgoblin Harangue, Flurry of Arguments,Resolution, Aggressive Statement, Cyclopean Command, Ichtakhta Impulse.
Submitted by: Hool, Xeth
Martok -- Behind "The Green Palm" there are 3 Martok Fury's practicing their fighting skills. All are level 40 parley and their master is level 42. If you stand behind them, you can parley all 3 without moving. The one on the left side (If your facing the building) gives a lot of reason points, so make sure you have the cards to use them, such as Arch Analysis and Itemized Comparison. Absolution will also come in handy, as they provide many opportunities to use it.
Submitted by: Zedar, Seradon
Hathor Zhi - 4 soldiers in close proximity all level 40 - interview rotation - kojani serenity, poetic truths, absolution as primary point cards, few rebuttals utilized - margin of victory 5-10 points regularly.
Afrit - when you approach the city from the north there are 2x level 40 NPC´s at the Pavilion to the left - all require 700 academic presence // or inside the main building just on the left side there are 2x 40 lvl npc´s as well to the left - those require 700 noble presence (as all others inside the main building) -> both you can beat easily in interview and convince ! - you also should try the gossip but this is harder ! ((good to know - you will get from time to time searing stones - those are very usefull for a full set of adventuring clothes from lvl 38+ and for some other adventuring quests - so keep them well !!!))
Level 37-40
Three level 42 crafter NPCs in the Toolshed in Martok. Grenshaw Rolgrend, Kabon Osash, Gratosha
Afrit - as noted before - there are in addition to the lvl 40 ones - as well 2x 42 lvl npc´s just as noted above (look at lvl 35 to 37) when you approach the city from the north there are 2x level 42 NPC´s at the Pavilion to the left - all require 700 academic presence // or inside the main building just on the left side there are 2x 42 lvl npc´s as well to the left - those require 700 noble presence (as all others inside the main building) -> both you can beat easily in interview and convince ! - you also should try the gossip but this is harder !
--> so to summarize it : you can do circles with the 2x 42´s and the 40´s lvl npc´s with interview and convince this is easy ! and good xp ((good to know - you will get from time to time searing stones - those are very usefull for a full set of adventuring clothes from lvl 38+ and for some other adventuring quests - so keep them well !!!))
Level 40-42
This goes for all expression users: bartenders. Do the 45 parleys until you have landed all of the nice t4 rewards (+790 noble chest and +790 clergy robe, general's belt, inlaid boots, etc.)
Afrit - as noted above - main building : there are in addition to the 2x lvl 42 ones (back wall) - as well 1x 45 lvl npc´s inside the main building in the middle and 1x to the right side of the back wall - those require 700 noble presence (as all others inside the main building) -> both you can beat easily in interview and convince !
--> so to summarize it : you can do circles with the 2x 42´s and the 45´s lvl npc´s with interview and convince this is easy ! and good xp --> NOTE : at lvl 40 you will first have the chance to get unequalled evidences !!! ((good to know - you will get from time to time searing stones - those are very usefull for a full set of adventuring clothes from lvl 38+ and for some other adventuring quests - so keep them well !!!))
Level 42-45
Afrit - as noted above - main building : there are in addition to the 2x lvl 45 ones - as well 2x 47 lvl npc´s inside the main building just to the right corner when you enter the room - those require 700 noble presence (as all others inside the main building) -> both you can beat easily in interview and convince !
--> so to summarize it : you can do circles with the 2x 45´s and the 47´s lvl npc´s with interview and convince this is easy !
Level 45-47
Hathor Zhi Crafting hall is the spot - 3x50 and 3x47 all within a few seconds of each other, all crafting presence boosters.
Hathor Zhi Crafting Hall has three 50 SKill NPC's that you can easily Incite
Level 47-50
Crafting Halls in Hathor Zhi have 2x lvl 50 crafting npc. Sallan Lerris and Serin Talah. Each have 4x parleys.