I think a war now and then is demanded by international politics. The real power of nations is constantly changing as they grow richer or poorer, as they build up armies or succumb to special interests, and as international alliances shift. But the perception of power doesn't match the real power all that well, and may lag behind. A war is a way of showing that you're stronger than the other nations think, that they need to take your demands more seriously than they currently do. Or they're a way of exposing another to be weak. Basically, they're a reality check.

A lot of countries are watching each other, wondering when it'll be advantageous to go to war. When it's not, when they're not ready yet, they may use shadowruns to slowly improve their position without going to war. But that doesn't they never will, just that they don't want to right now. Or not with the target of the shadowrun.

It's not mutually exclusive. War and shadowruns are both the continuation of politics with different means.

Exactly. Amazonia is no-go territory for the corps (and funds deep green groups), so nobody cares if it looks like Dresden '45. Should the front move into Aztlan...well, at some point CC would probably intervene, after seizing the opportunity to demand some concessions...

The way I see it, after having read War!, The area between Aztlan and Amazonia is not at the level of a major "hot war". Rather it seems like a lot of sporadic, low-intensity conflict, with occasional localized flare-ups. And most of the war is centered around Bogota, with neither side making serious in-roads into the other's territory. Hell, even shadow-ops are still going on, albeit with a nod toward merc units and other higher power teams.

Were Bogota really on one side or the other, then things could go "hot". But one side has to see winning the people as a lost cause first.

Also, the CC doesn't HAVE to move a muscle to help AZT is they don't want to. There is only one guaranteed vote in the CC that would favor helping them, and land within Aztlan borders CAN'T be given extraterritoriality I believe. In fact the government generally makes life difficult for any non-Aztech corporation. The CC has to choose what is good for the whole, which isn't always good for the one. In this case the one, being Aztechnology. The CC likely hates that Aztlan uses its puppet nation to go around starting wars. This being the second one Aztlan started. While the first was pretty much a "civil war" it still caused immeasurable amounts of havoc, chaos and strife.

If Aztlan took a beating and lost turf to Amazonia, then I could see the CC letting them take their hits as a lesson to quit stirring the pot. After all, the others corps are already in Bogota ready to "help", or are already "helping". I think in the long run, the CC would likely not interfere as long as things did not sway too far in one direction or the other. Done properly, the war can help churn the economies in the regions surrounding it. Sure Aztlan, Amazonia, and Bogota wouldn't feel the gains, but many other places would.

Have I told you lately I love the way you think?

I need to finish reading War and Spy Games. I have such a hard time finishing PDF"s.

Well, W! leaves a lot open to interpretation...

Regarding a potential intervention by the CC, I think the important factor is that Amazonia is still worse than Aztlan/Aztech to the corps (and I doubt most people like their Luddite ideals, either). So if things go bad for the Azzies the corps would watch gleefully while they take a beating, but then intervene before the tree-hugging nutjobs and their deep green agendas gain more foothold.

It does. Especially next to military-heavy settings like Heavy Gear or Battletech. But when comparing it to the YotC entries on the Yucatan War, I don't feel that Bogota has the same level of intensity. Of course, it will probably draw out for much longer.



I agree here. If I were the CC, though, I would try to keep Bogota independent from both sides. As long as the war is draining the resources of each side, the rest of the megas only stand to profit.

I can see the other megas desiring Amazonia weakened to the point where they can force it to accept the BRA, but they certainly wouldn't let Aztlan win and conquer the place.

On the other hand, most of them can live with Aztechnology getting shot up a bit, but not too much. For the CC to remain credible, they can't let down the core members too much. Don't want to give nation-states the idea that you can divide-and-conquer the CC.

But the problem is the incestuous relationship between Aztlan and Aztechnology. In theory, Amazonia is at war against Aztlan, it just so happens that Aztechnology sells, loans, lends all kind of military gear and personel to Aztlan...

I thought they were TOO South for that.

Everyone hates AZ though. People keep posting that they don't see the CC letting AZ get tore up too bad. I do. AZ has been the mega everyone's loved to hate from the start. All that crap with blood magic and starting from drug dealers ect. Everyone..... EVERYONE Hates AZ. I can totally see the CC Going "hey man. Amazonia isn't a corp it's a nation. Maybe you should stop warring with them. Till you do, don't come crying to us"

AZ is their competition and a dirty, back stabbbing militant one at that. ___NOONE__ Shed a tear when they got kicked out of Denver by Ghosty.

The only thing that might slow the CC down is the old 'Noone picks on my brother but me" Mindset.. but again it circles back around to everyone hating them. The other mega's would love a chance for AZ to fall in status, then they could divy up what was left, that wasn't drenched in blood and sacrifice. Alot of the CC stuff is done out of mutual assured destruction thought process... who would care if AZ was ripped apart and they could fivy up the remains?

The only people that don't hate AZ is the average joe that really loves Stuffershack and the tasty soy-based products they sell there. Consumers in general that don't know anything beyond their PR image, that is to say.

Exactly. And they aren't the ones that make the call on the CC. The other mega's would love to scoop up AZ's "General products" and "Food" industries.

I would say that is not because the war is different, but because the writing is...