I don't have any idea if XML could support this or if CCer's would accept the randomness involved, but here's an idea:
Create a map of a continent, real or imagined (probably imagined) that includes a river, a volcano, coasts, a swath of terts designated "tornado alley", and a section of between-tert border designated as a geologic fault line. Otherwise fairly normal regions and bonuses.
Randomly but with some frequency, one of the following things happens:
-- a tert alongside the river gets flooded
-- the volcano erupts and damages an adjoining tert
-- a coastal tert gets hit by a tsunami
-- a tornado hits a tert in Tornado Alley
-- an earthquake hits a tert adjacent to the fault line
In addition to the natural disaster killing off some troops (even neutrals??), those that remain can't do anything for a turn.
Perhaps, in addition, the RED CROSS can play a role. Make it somehow difficult to access but any player in control if it (?) has all damages reduced??
Or maybe this: every player has his own Red Cross and can add troops to it. Once X number are deployed there all disaster damages are reduced by some amount. When twice that are deployed there, the damages become a minor nuisance. Maybe these isolated Red Cross terts can bombard each other.
Personally, I'm not a fan of randomness in games beyond what the dice provide and I can imagine players screaming bloody murder if the randomness results (as it often would) in uneven distribution of disasters, but that would sort of be the point. Do you dare enter a game where skill alone may not be enough? Imagine a game with three generals and one private. That private would have a better chance in this game than in most (maybe any) others. Would that perhaps encourage newbies?
COULD CURRENT XML HANDLE THIS? If so, maybe I'd tinker with creating a map. Or someone else could.
