The Diplomatic Life

Certain aspects of ambassadorial life are of specific importance in city campaigns.

Diplomatic Meetings: As a matter of course, the ambassadors meet with the Directors in the City Hall on the first day of each Festival Week, under conditions of extreme security. These meetings are usually rather strained affairs. Nonscheduled meetings are arranged periodically as the need arises. Some ambassadors (Furyondy, Nyrond, Veluna) meet with Directors more regularly. Informal meetings between individual ambassadors and Directors are held rather secretively and are considered off the record.

Diplomatic Retinues: Each ambassador is allowed as many as four attaches or assistants (other than servants), who carry diplomatic status. Diplomats don’t pay taxes and tithes (other than the ambassadorial residence levies), aren’t subject to the fines of the People’s Constables, and can commit minor offenses with impunity. If they commit serious crimes (murder, conspiracy, sedition, etc.), they are automatically exiled but cannot be otherwise punished.

In the fine print of conditions in the Pact of Greyhawk, diplomats may not carry out espionage, magically scry upon other diplomats or Directors or perform actions that are "incompatable with diplomatic status." The fine print on this clause is endless, and is a matter of pragmatism. The Greyhawk authorities won't worry too much about a little spying, so long as they feel they know about it and it doesn't hit a real nerve (such as spying on Nerof Gasgul).

Diplomatic Leomund's Chests: Each month, each ambassador may receive one chest (capacity up to 2 cubic feet) in shipment from his homeland or elsewhere which may be magically sealed and cannot be opened by the Greyhawk authorities. This is to allow for "diplomatic correspondence," but again, this is a cat-and-mouse business. Everyone knows these chests contain all manner of udbiquitous items, but as lojng as no one imports and uses sphers of annihilation or equally crazy items, the authorities turn a blind eye to such matters. These domestic chests are invariably accompanied by large numbers of couriers. Escorting one might be an excellent job for PCs of sufficient trustworthiness and appropritate background.

Diplomatic Residences: These have individual defenses and protections instaled by their occupants (as the DM chooses), but they have certian geatures in common also. Each has been thoroughly painted, inside and outside, with an alchemical preparation devised by Heironymous Tigana (FFF pp. 19-20) that completly blocks any magical scrying of the building in question. Each also contains a fragment of a magical stone that radiates a form of protection from evil, which prevents extraplanar creatures from invading the building. Each also contains a small magical brass shpere that prevents unauthorized magical ingress by such spells as dimension door, teleport, and the like; these spheres have been made so that the dipolomatic retinue can pass into and our of the building by use of such spells.