Who's Going Down? Options

[FlakJacket]

So according to the blurb it mentions that one of the megas gets into a bad way and has to take desperate measures to survive and so far most seem to be assuming it's refering to Novatech. Aside from them, which other corps would you like to see - or could see - being the one in question?

Personally I'd like it to be Saedar-Krupp. Several of the books mention Lofwyr withdrawing from corp work and being distracted, thanks to draconic goings on like the Loremaster thing and the Jewel of Memory. Since he practically runs the show by micromanagement even with SK Prime picking up most of the slack he's still their biggest asset. His functioning at less than a hundred percent coupled with all the new and old enemies coming out of the woodwork could certainly hurt them, there's already been rumblings from within the senior management. It would certainly make things a little more interesting. :)

[Kagetenshi]

Ares! Ares! Ares!

C'mon, let's see them go the way of the Universal Brotherhood.

~J

[FlakJacket]

Another good choice. If the affair from Threats gets too out of hand they may have to go to a scorched earth policy. As the quote goes, 'I say we take off and nuke the entire site from orbit. It's the only way to be sure.' ;)

[Pthgar]

Not Ares! They're my groups major employer (check out my location). Send Mitsuhama down the tubes. Goodbye, generic Japanacorp.

[Kai]

Split vote. Half for expecting Renraku to find out they are well and truly screwed, half for really wanting to watch the flaming trainwreck that would happen should Ares fracture.

[Vuron]

It depends on how much you buy into the horrible concept that Leonardo pretty much created all of Renraku's cool toys. If you can conveniently forget that metaplot then Renraku's still pretty decent despite getting gimped but if you can't forget it then Renraku should be excised to get rid of IE tech demigod taint ;)

Honestly I'd love to see a credible euro corp alternative to SK but that pretty much requires SK to be taken down a peg which seems unlikely to happen.

Of course I'm tempted to do something like make CATco a French company as a quebecois megacorp is just too silly for me to handle from a macroeconomics perspective.

[RunnerPaul]

I don't think they'd let Ares fall if for no other reason all the guns they'd have to rename.

[Kagetenshi]

[Cynic project]

Well, it is clear that Nova Tech, or SK... both seem to have highly deadactated enimies with resources to burn.

[SirBedevere]

Shiawase! Extraterritoriality is all their fault!

Don't get rid of S-K, Lofwyr is such a good enemy :S
If Ares goes down the tube so does UCAS
Aztechnology are the best evil corp around

[Kagetenshi]

[SirBedevere]

If UCAS goes down the tube who will the Souix hate? Who will the CAS laugh at? With no UCAS, Seattle is just a little city state and will get absorbed. Lots of possibilities for Shadowruns disappear.

[FrostyNSO]

Maybe California will be nuked from the planet and make me happy :)

[hermit]

Renraku. It is struggling, and desperate. Novatech is a candidate too, but Renraku is more likely, considering their great losses in the whole Deus affair and all ... I mean, they cannot even force the UCAS military to give them back their arcology at cut prices, so they must have lost considerable behind-the-scenes power, right?

I'd like to see Ares fall, if only because a corp rising to AAA status with small arms sales is ludicrous, even if they had a monopoly on the US market. Small arms aren't really big business. But that's not gonna happen.

SK will likely get bashed, but will it fall? Hopefully not. I have always loved the idea of a giant, golden-scaled, cliche fantasy dragon flying into his lair, settling in front of a meeting table, staring at the assembled business types there, and say "Now, let's talk about my investment strategy ..."

[Paul]

If I got to choose it'd be Novatech. And CATco.

[DragginSPADE]

My bet would be either Novatech or Renraku as the most likely corp to have serious problems in the next five years. They've already got Novatech in trouble with the current metaplot, so it's easy to see how a matrix crash could really hurt them. Renraku also isn't as healthy as it used to be, and is heavily invested in matrix technology.

I seriously doubt Saeder-Krupp will be in jeopardy. Lofwyr may be distracted, but I'd still bet on a distracted Lofwyr vs. any other CEO at the top of his game any day of the week. Also, SK is diversified, with a strong interest in heavy industry. It's far less vulnerable to a major system crash than other megacorps.

Finally, an unlikely but interesting choice would be Aztechnology. They've gotten bogged down in the Yucatan, kicked out of Denver, and they do have formidable matrix assets. It would also have far-reaching consequences on the North American continent if Aztechnology came close to collapsing. However, I don't think it'll be them since they're NOT the most vulnerable corp to a crash, and they do have very diversified and strong interests. People aren't going to stop eating Stuff-it burgers just because the matrix is down.

[FrostyNSO]

Hmmmm. I actually think Novatech could have a large part in the building of the "new" matrix. However, the way things are going with that ridiculous Denkwalther crap, prolly not.

[DragginSPADE]

[hermit]

The new Matrix will be built by Transys, because the WMI is Celedyr's pet project. Actually, I think Transys might become a new AAA.

[FrostyNSO]

The last thing I want to see is another AAA Dragon-corp. One is enough.

But you make a hell of a point!

[FlakJacket]

[Kagetenshi]

Actually, it just says that a struggling corp takes a drastic step, doesn't it? What if the Azzies pull the plug to keep aid out of the Yucatan?

~J

"Bomb Cambodia!"

[DrJest]

[FlakJacket]

Maybe they get desperate and decide to go the WMD route. Drop a mix of nukes and massive fuck off size FAE bombs on the Yucatan and turn it into a complete wasteland with nothing standing. Or release a new gengineered version of Ebola, new Ebola Plus+.

[Austere Emancipa...]