Is Iceland part of the NAN countries or is it still independent? Am looking for information on the island so I can use it in game without walking all over cannon.

While it is technically part of the TPA (a NAN nation) it has a fair amount of autonomy (like most TPA members). Their association in the TPA has more to do with trading agreements (like the ability to fish in NAN waters, conduct seal hunts and whaling, and not having to pay royalties to European powers any more). They cover a bit about Iceland in Target: Wastelands and Shadows of Asia (when they cover Russia).

I believe Iceland is still part of the NAN states (went to the NAN states to survive after the Crash), but there's a significant independence movement afoot because Iceland doesn't share a whole lot of cultural heritage with the Native Ameridans. I think Iceland was annexed by the Trans-Polar Aleut, but I'm not quite sure on that and I don't have my books handy. Iceland is a valuable asset because of the fishing rights in its territorial waters, so the NAN states don't want to give it up, opening up the potential for a lot of shadowrunning in the struggle between the independence movement and the NAN government.

I had a thread on this about a month ago when I discovered it is a part of Trans Polar Aleut. A clearly european nation with no real NAN population to speak of and yet there it is a part of the NAN. I think this falls into the catagory that the designers covered this one some time around 4am when they were coming off the pizza and Mountain Dew high.

Yes because it's completely impossible to consider that the NAN might make nationally signifigant chices outside of the purview of being buckskin wearin' tommahawk wielding cultural sterotypes.

I'm with Lurker. It does make a certain amount of sense geopolitically, even if the cultures aren't aligned. Iceland's very touchy about fishing; see "Cod War" on Wikipedia. Europe's fucked up the North Sea royally, and presumably Iceland's done a much better job managing its fisheries. The TPA, like most NAN nations, is comparatively ecologically friendly, and is going to share a lot of Iceland's idea about fishery management, so they're a natural choice to keep the Europeans off their back. Remember, culture is one thing, but fish is life in a place like Iceland, especially in the Sixth World. Moreover, the Euro Wars might also have been a factor in Iceland's decision to turn away from Europe. And it's certainly in the TPA's interest, because it gives them an industrial base and economic clout that they otherwise largely lack.

As an aside Tom Clancy uses Iceland as a major part of the setting in Red Storm Rising, and does what I think is a decent job of describing how hard the terrain is there, and how operating in that country might be pretty difficult.

No, because the NAN was the idea of taking back land stolen by the pale skins. Iceland RL is a part of Europe, not norht America,that is by politics and culture. the idea of it "leaving" Europe to ally itself with a people with whom they do not share any culture, religion and potentially even language group is just dumb. Even a depolulated region stircken by VITAS the was it suffered during the plague is more likely to fall back on Scandanavian nations for support, cultures with whom they have much in common.

So wait, the NAN forming amidst the US and Can by virtue of magical advantage is not dumb and completely rational because there are events that lead up to such an event (VITAS) //Paraphrased from the NAN thread

But Iceland choosing to go with the NAN because it increases their global position after global events (Crash 2.0), and the NAN annexing Iceland because it gives them some thing in the bargain is dumb?

It wasn't a cultural decision it was a political decision, why is that so hard for you to accept?

That is why I subscribe to the idea that they joined the TPA (along with parts of Siberia) for fishing rights and the ability to participate in "traditional" activities such as seal hunts and whaling (something that would be a part of life for most NAN TPA citizens but is frowned upon by European culture).

I don't think for a second that Iceland was conquered or that there was a NAN uprising on the island. Logically it would have to be political, and along with joining the TPA, they would have gained extra Independence that they never had from Denmark.

Or Iceland, with a stable established government decides to chuck its independance to join up with a just formed isolated nation of eskimos? They could just as easily see the weakened nation as not able to hold fishing grounds and move in on it.

The TPA grabs parts of Siberia no one is really going to care or notice. Most Siberians live along the TS railroad, for generations the RL goal of Russians and Soviets alike has been to find a way to get into the tundra to get at the natural resources there. So there's just open land for someone to redraw a map on and Moscow cna't really do much. BUT Iceland is settled, accessable and developed, peopel do not want a change.

Seriously when the awakening came the world was falling apart. Magic, orks/dwarves/elves/trolls the USA disintergrates, VITAS breaks the world population, food supplies are in question ETC. That is not when you take a chance on something new. It's not human nature. What is human nature is to hunker down and hold on fast to what you KNOW.

Iceland's geothermal gives them a secure power supply and with fishing and crops they feed themselves. If there's a shortage they look to the existing ties of Europe, not the freaking artic circle which does not exactly have a good crop base!

I actually found some canonical stuff on Iceland. Where's AH when we need him? It's in Target Wastelands and says that Iceland was thrown into chaos by the original crash and the natives in Greenland, now known as Thule, placed it under a protectorate status, now they don't want to give it back as they view it as a sign of sticking it to the euros. Iceland has several groups that want independence but they hate each other as much as the NAN and TPA doesn't want to give it up because it is the one solid reliable source of income. Lots of room for runs here between differing groups.

The SB also said that TPA is likely to collapse, not from activist groups but just lack of care-no one really gives a devil rat's hoop about the 'nation' as it is made up of widley divers tribal groups who never saw themself as part of a greater nation the way say the Souix or Salish did.