Treaties are generally made between cities (though guilds are often included in the case of long-lasting postwar agreements) and are in most case negotiated between Ambassadors, the Crown and the Field Marshall, often with city patron or patrons present as witness to enforce the terms (if appropriate). Military engagements of great import tend to end in a treaty of some sort, whether as a precursor to an agremeent of peace (prior to any great consequential conflict) or in the form of an armistice in the case of a city conquest.
The terms of a treaty and its limits are solely at the discretion of the involved parties. In the case of the former, where two parties agree to a mutually beneficial peace, the terms often encompass some sort of agreement of non interference between two powers, often in exchange for land or goods. In the case of a city conquest, it is the conquering party who dictates the terms of any treaty and these typically involve monetary reparations, limits imposed on the conquered city's ability to expand or make further war against the conquerer and anything in between.
Syntax: TREATIES.
Type TREATIES and you will see a summary overview of all formal treaties of public nature (i.e. between cities) along with the date of treaty coming into force and the date of its conclusion. There are also some past treaties kept on the list for posterity.
Treaties are often posted to the "treaties" bulletin board and ratifications made public in subsequent posts. All treaties from the 14th Century onward are written on gold-gilted parchments and the signatories and presiding deity all sign using the RATIFY command (which automatically date-stamps and includes a secret passphrase unseen on the scroll but visible to the signing individual to verify there has been nothing forged. This is the only form of treaty with formal validity though informal treaties can be made by anyone at any time - enforcement of terms being their business, not an affair of the Gods.
The specific terms of a treaty can be read on the "treaties" bulletin board section if posted or on the gold-filted parchment - all signatory cities/guilds possess original documents. It is the decision of the Prince or Guildmaster whether these texts are placed on public display or kept in secure vault.
See HELP RATIFY for specifics of signing treaties using the gold-gilted parchment.
