Dark Ages Variant Rules, Version 3.  Homepage: http://www.geocities.com/nairenvorbeck/files  

The Dark Ages Variant is a historical transplant of Hasbro/Avalon Hill's Diplomacy game to the North Sea region in 825 AD.  
The Dark Ages variant conforms to the standard rules of Hasbro/Avalon Hill's Diplomacy in most every way, with the few exceptions listed below.  The standard rules are NOT copied here, and all players of the Dark Ages Variant are assumed to own or expected to purchase the Rules of Diplomacy (or better yet, the full game) through Hasbro/AH, as I did.  

Turns move from Spring to Fall just like standard Diplomacy, and the first turn is Spring 825 AD.  Players take control of one of the seven major nations in the North Sea area, the Gaels, Scots, Britons, Anglo-Saxons, Danes, Norse, or Swedes.  
Please check the names feature of Realpolitik for accepted abbreviations of territory names.  

Special territories:

Somerset, Ribe, Jelling, and Saxony, and Lappland are bi-coastal territories, similar to Spain or Bulgaria in Standard.  

The island of Roskilde is similar to Constantinople in Standard in most respects.  Armies and Fleets may move directly from Jelling, to Roskilde, to Skane, and vice versa.  Unlike Constantinople though, Fleets MAY move directly from Kattegat to Bay of Pomerania (and vice versa) - they may move around Roskilde.  A fleet in Roskilde may NOT convoy.

Zetland is a single land SC depicted on the map as an island group.  Everything inside the small blue circle is a single space, i.e. the four small islands and the small amount of water around them are all one space (similar to Cebu in Colonial).  Zetland is bordered at sea by Scapa Flow, Norwegian Sea, Rogaland Coast, and Moray Firth.  It is not adjacent by land to any other territory, though Zetland may be occupied by an army (via convoy) or by a fleet.  
      
There are 38 total SCs on the map.  Solo victory is declared when one nation has control of 20 SCs (simple majority).  Have fun and happy raiding!