There was indeed a need to balance the old with the new information and keep it concise, I'm sure the draft suffers from it but we tried to introduce a different take on many subjects to keep it interesting (such as the second front of the Jihad and explaining how the EuroWars fought mostly in Eastern Europe damaged Europe so much).

The subtle differences between the NEEC and the EU are the important ones. Europeans will probably realize the implications better than Americans because we are all too aware of the EU's advantages and failings and how the NEEC would compare. The corp's direct (and indirect) involvement for one is a major step in a new direction. However we were careful to keep this from spinning off into the realm of high politics and away from the shadows, and the ImpComms, Directorships, lobbying and games of power (with respective examples) should provide ideas on how to ground the "mighty" NEEC in the dark and dirty dealings of the SR underworld. Note that EuroForce (currently under discussion IRL) replaced NATO as European Defense force when the US and UK pull out, so it actually dates back to the 30's. EuroPol should provide a nasty shadow opponent if needed.

BTW- CEERs isn't humorous but it sounds like seers which is appropriate in it's own way, since the CEER/SIN allows the right people to look into your life.

Just to note that after quite a bit of thought we decided on a different approach from the traditional corp writeups. This allowed us to give all the basics and also provide some hidden agendas and plothooks. Hope people like. You'll also find that like most of the material in these sections the corp stuff is threaded throughout the remaining chapters (ie. Proteus vs. Maersk => Scand Union, etc)

Ahh, the dictates of wordcount. It was inevitable stick with the really big players. Spinrad Industries and several other up-and-comers were cut for length and because they weren't the biggest boys in the playground. SpIn was included elsewhere, others weren't. (note- this should put Nath's old Dumpshock signature in a whole new light ) However the relevant stats and even the missing writeups exist and may appear soon.

Quite proud of this bit. Kudos to Molloy for his help in the early stages. I'm especially happy with the subplots (ie. Feretti's ultimate goal, the Red Vory vs. the Euro Vory and, of course, the N'drangheta syndicate).

There's a reason there's a section called EuroMagic in SOTA64 Loads more useful material upcoming. We tried to cover all the basics here though and provide enough for GMs to build on but essentially to get a feeling for the differences in style between what they're used to and European magic.

Now I'll just shut up and let you get on with the good work

I hope that with these stats we will also get a conversion rate for the Nuyen to the Euro, and vice versa. It seems from SoE at least that the Euro is more common in Europe than the Nuyen. However I can't find a conversion rate between the euro and other currencies in SoE.

I have a minor complaint about the section awakened Europe. I just wanted more to it in this book, with more information given in the Game Information section. It can be difficult for GMs to wait until SOTA 64 in order to implemennt this new material. In the meantime it makes things difficult if the GM wishes to stick to canon material. As a GM I can take this section many ways, but I don't want canon to go some oppositte way in a few months to a year from now, and force me to make changes in my own campaign in order to stay with canon.

I just feel the way this was presented, left the reader wanting more.

Veracusse

If nothing too drastic happens in the next 50 and some years, it ought to be 1:1.

According to the German books, €:¥ is in fact 1:1.

I don't know if that info was taken into SoE but the various German books provided the following exchange rates:
1 Nuyen equals...
- 1 Euro
- 2 German Marks
- 0.5 Swiss Franks

In 2064 the nuyen to euro conversion rate is assumed to be 1:1, subject to a little fluctuation. This was mentioned originally in the European Central Bank subsection of the NEEC but may not have been in the final edited version (I haven't seen the printed book yet).

The other exchange rates M¥$TIC quotes above are also correct, although only the most rabidly independent AGS states won't be using the Euro as equal currency.

Again, space was the decisive factor. We had a lot more material ready but wordcount simply didn't allow for detailed development. The goal here was to give you enough material to build on and to get a feel for the variety and in fact I'm not entirely sure this is a problem. The basic rules for playing Wiccans, Druids and Norse magicians, for instance, are all in Magic in the Shadows. Traditional witches and the hermetic schools mentioned in Prague and elsewhere are the only ones that might not be so easily playable right now.

While SOTA64 will delve into what it actually means to be a neo-pagan (European) magician in the Sixth World, as well as cover some of the other variations and traditions mentioned in Awakened Europe it will build on the rules in MitS too. If there's anything you really need/want clarified of the material introduced herein, please start up a specific thread and we'll do our best to answer your doubts within the limits of our NDAs.

However, according to the GenCon SR announcements, every effort is being made towards having SOTA64 ready for Origins (ie. next month). I'm sure you can wait just that extra time.

I presume that "seers" as you use it is (or should be) two syllables, which seems kind of counterintuitive to 9at least) my usage and natural pronunciation given that the closest word in my vocabulary to "seer(s)" is "seersucker," with the "seer" being one syllable.

And yet the dollar:nuyen rate is $4:1

Damn Canucks, driving down the value of the dollar with their inferior currency.

According to the German books both Euro and Deutsche Mark are official currencies of the AGS.
While Euro is used for all electronic transactions, foreign trade, trade between banks, etc., DM (hard currency) is used by the population for everyday payment.
The black market especially likes the Mark - coins leave no data-trail...

Did you change that situation in SoE?

Certainly.

Part 2: Sprechen sie Deutsch?

This part deals with the Allied German States (AGS) and Austria.

The AGS, in 2063, only has 11 members. A far cry from 1848, when the number hovered around three dozen. But there doesn't appear to be a Bismarck on the horizon, nor do the individual states seem to be looking forward to one. A good amount of space is devoted to Germany in this book, although it might not be enough detail for some people. Hey, the Germany Sourcebook is really cheap at Fast Forward right now.

The set-up in the previous chapter allows for the reader to recognize certain groups and names, and may cause some flipping of the pages. Lots of "where did I see that?" moments. This mini-Roget's guide to Germany goes North, East, Central, West, and South, and so will I.

I'll be honest, I had to look up "hanseatic" in the dictionary. It doesn't surprise me that a German city might have such a pompous word in its official name. ("hanse", by the way, a medieval merchant guild or trade association. "hanseatic" would therefore be the adjective form. Draw thine own conclusions. ) Hamburg's definitely a corp town, and while other Shadowrun-related activities undoubtedly take place there, corp-related runs are the bread and butter. Kind of like Boston, but with less magic. It's also a port city, so pirates and aquaphiles will be taken care of. And the corps have noticed this. So, make sure to raid the ships in Bremen, too. If Hamburg equals "corp", Hannover definitely equals "politicos." Being the capital of the North German League tends to do that. An understated aspect of Hannover is annual Cybit Electronics and Computer Entertainment fair, and clever GMs will find a way to have a run involving an extraction or theft of some sort.

Ah, another isolationist elven society. The best options for runs in the Duchy of Pomorya look like they involve Target: Wastelands, seeing as how the shores have toxic sludge on them. Pomorya doesn't really look very interesting otherwise. Racist elves in an isolationist society isn't really a new concept.

Eastern Germany is full of border crossing opportunities. And while you're there, don't forget to pick up some nice cyber. Just make sure the Tamanous-wannabees (or maybe Tamanous has a branch over here) don't slice and dice you. And if you wander into Saxony, make sure you don't make the wrong person "demand satisfaction."

Over a hundred years later, and nothing changes. Berlin is again a city divided. Wasn't there a poster earlier in the book about history repeating itself? Should I just crack open the Denver Box set and use that as a guideline to the city? The anarchist part of Berlin seems intriguing, but what are anarchists "own affairs"? Nothing I can come up with seems to be very productive. I'm kind of glad the corps came in and kicked them out of part of the city; at least there's some reason to the rhyme with them.

If you manage to get into the middle of Germany, you may find some interesting ways to pass the time. Badisch-Pfalz is an excellent launching point into the SOX region. Find those mutant critters, and scout out places for S-K to build biohazard labs. And when you're done with that, there's an escaped imprisoned elected prime minister on the loose. Just watch out for the massive amounts of military troops and mercs. (This section also mentions Ramstein, where my parents used to work, and Kaiserslautern, where I used to roller skate. Fond memories, guys.) Franconia looks like a typical sarariman getaway, with all the possibilities that that implies. But Nuremberg gives us another thing to think about: research labs. Another opportunity for a two-fer, maybe? Extraction in the morning, theft in the afternoon. (Or extraction in the evening instead, if you think you're just that damn good.) Hesse-Nassau is another getaway for the corp types, and the book even acknowledges that it's similar to, but not exactly like Franconia. Discerning GMs can understand the difference and tailor their runs to each area. And check out the universities in the area while you're there. Lots of up-and-comers for the corps can be seen.

Where's Westphalia? If you said "in the west," you've got amazing reasoning skills. Seriously, this place looks like it's about to combust because of a favorite concept loved by us all: religion. We've got liberal catholics, conservative catholics, and...meat barons? Yes, they wield power too. All hail the mighty rib roast. No mention of the Templar in this section, but maybe it was just assumed they'd have an interest here? Westrhine-Luxembourg appears to be a skirmish between Rhonabwy and Lofwyr currently, which appears to be the most excitement here since the orichalcum rush is now in the rear-view mirror (and wasn't as profitable for the area as they hoped it might be). The SOX doesn't get touched on much, but it got a fair amount back in Target: Wastelands. The big deal currently seems to be a possible dragon's hoard, which may or may not exist.

The big news in the Black Forest region, aside from their famous cake, is that and APB has been posted for their monarch. He's a troll, which ordinarily means that he'd be tough to hide, but in a kingdom full of them...He was officially reported missing on July 21, 2061, which means he's been gone longer than that. Did the new Chancellor have anything to do with it? Only time will tell. Wurttemberg's got some racial problems. I guarantee that the "quarantine camps" didn't endear the government to the changelings. Most of them scampered off to the Troll Kingdom, so maybe they're just happy to be somewhere else. Stuttgart looks to be to the music industry what Los Angeles is to trideo. Plenty of megacorp influence, and plenty of opportunity. If you wanna chill and just catch a concert, that's a possibility too. Bavaria looks like a mish-mosh of occurances. We've got policlub terrorism, SURGE issues, another Renraku screw-up, Munich shadow opportunities, a blurb about the dragon Nebelherr, and Marienbad-related stuff. Enough choices for you?

The chapter closes out with a focus on three hot-spots. First up is Karlsruhe. We already heard earlier about the fantastic amount of military personnel in the area. But apparently, what we've got on our hands is a mana focus. There's a big secret to this city, and GMs on the cutting edge of the Shadowrun timeline can make their own decision for how this will play out. Lots of magic-related groups are scampering about, and we've even got the Freemasons on our hands again. The Nord-Rhine-Ruhr metroplex is S-K central. Plenty of opportunities for runs for or against the Golden One. Especially against, as there are plenty of employers in the area now. And if you really feel like doing syndicate stuff, well, that's an option too. I'm not sure what to make of Frankfurt. I get the feeling that a lot of what isn't being said occurred in Shockwellen. To me, there isn't enough to go on to create runs. Obviously, some GMs will create their own version of events, but this last section seems very devoid of specific information.

Keep reading. I'm just about to get to Austria.

We start with entrepreneur Hans Dechant, a modern Walt Disney. Walt never had to deal with a large corporation run by a Dragon, however. Dechant, amazingly, kept dodging bullets, then finally sold his kickass media company to Mitsuhama. This is a really big deal. (By the way, did anyone else chuckle to see someone by the name of "Falco" posting"?) We've got a new nationalist political party headed by a Habsburg, and the ties to MCT are incredibly overwhelming. Comet fun-ness in 2061 led to two provinces coming back into the fold, after having tried their hand at going it alone. Tourism will only get you so far, bucky-boy. What do we have now? Japanese citizens can now enter Austria with just their passport, increasing the amount of racists already residing in the area.

Not just legal Japanese citizens are in Austria now. The Yakuza have made inroads, and if you didn't understand it before, you have to by this point. And the Yakuza are already not playing nice with small cells of of gangsters. No, not Seoulpa Rings! Strizzis.

The most important city in Austria is Vienna, and it's got multiple-personality disorder. Let's check 'em out.

North and West is classic Vienna. Cafes, restaurants, wineyards, and other tourist trappings. South was the South Vienna Special Prison, but that kind of ended in 2059 when security disappeared, and the walled-off schmucks went to town. Now, it looks to be the foundation for a new MCT business district, but there appear to be a couple small roadblocks still in the way. The East has a walled-off section, too. Again, it's the corps trying to distance themselves from the anarchists. (Those pesky anarchists! Why won't they go away?!) Transdanubia is the realm of the corps (and don't try your shitty illegal passes here; get the good stuff), whilst Danube Island is the hotbed of anti-government thought. It's become more than that, apparently, but no one wants to make any kind of move.

There's more to Austria than just Vienna. Honest.

Remember the two provinces that went away, and came back? They have names. Vorarlberg and Tyrol. There's not a lot of info about them that's useful for current runs, but anyone who wants to re-enact the years of 2061-2062, it's all laid out for you.

Salzburg is both the name of a province and a city. The city also declared independence, but hasn't officially come back into the fold. And the province is sort of following the city's lead. Remember the Grand Tour that was mentioned in a previous book? I can't find the reference right now, but Salzburg is one of the stops on the party train. All you face characters, this is your chance to shine. Upper Austria is home to Linz, basically a Saeder-Krupp enclave. Some of you might have reasoned that Detroit was Arestown or Quebec City was Cross and no other, but Linz is totally S-K.

Carinthia just doesn't seem like a fun place to go. Toxic earth, land mines, and ever-present background count make for the opposite of happy fun time. And the toxic zones might be increasing. What luck! Styria is not of any interest to anyone who isn't in a merc campaign, and even then, it's only useful as the home base of operations. Most of the action will be taking place in surrounding provinces.

Lower Austria is where Vienna sits in the middle of. Interesting stuff here, outside of the capital. There are clashes between nobles and neo-druids, sprawling Habsburg estates, and a private Protestant organization. The latter, by the way, has a leader who's got a bone to pick with the ruling family. Burgenland appears to be a smuggler's paradise, and an excellent place to lay low after a job.

Final thoughts:
Man, this review took longer to type than I thought it would. I have to admit, doing a cursory review wouldn't be very fulfilling, but this is tough. But I'll stick with it.

I keep wanting to rush back to Year of the Comet, Target: Wastelands, and other books to cross-reference stuff. While that may be time-consuming, it's also a good thing. It means that the books are working together, and that the story that's being told is one that I want to follow. I can also see how the book is setting the stage for Loose Alliances, and I'm anticipating seeing some of these policlubs and groups again, with more stuff fleshed out about them. Some of the areas got a great deal of attention and run possibilities (like Bavaria), and some places got zilch (like Saxony). Not every place can or should be interesting to a shadowrunner, admittedly.

I'm not sure what to make of Berlin. I was half-joking about the comparison to Denver, but that means I was also half-serious. One of the great allures of Denver to me was that it was six (now five) governments all trying to administrate this one random sprawl. Berlin's a little different because they're walling off anarchists and dividing the city up, but with megacorps in place of governments. I guess it's a variation on a theme, and different enough that I'm okay with it for now. But if Feuerschwinge comes back from the dead and descends on Berlin, making it "his domain," I will have to bust some heads.

Fans of MCT and the Yakuza will find plenty to do in Austria. Anyone who wants to go the other way and play "metas getting out of Dodge" will find it easy to do.

SOTA: 2063 made the merc important again, and MET2000 is getting a lot of talk in this book. Europe is the best opportunity for a mercenary campaign right now, bar none. And I haven't even finished reading the book!

For the sections of Germany and Austria, 7.5/10. I think some areas could have used at least another paragraph, or some shadowtalk to make them seem interesting. And there's nothing specific in the Game Information section about Karlsruhe, in the style of Target: Awakened Lands. I expected some explanation, with possibly some game mechanics.

I haven't decided if I'll be going by country or grouping couples together from hereon. Maybe some of both, depending on length. Czech Republic is definitely next, however. We'll see what's going on with Marienbad.

I did want to check the Shockwaves thread, but I didn't want that knowledge to influence my review. I wanted to let the material of SoE stand on its own and see where it took me.

Hannover is not only the capital of the North German League but of the whole AGS!
Unfortunately, even though this was established back in DidS1 (1992) Hannover (the capital!) has been only sparsely described in the German books.
Is there more info in SoE besides "it's there, it's the capital, it's very tidy and has much security"?

How is the fight against the anarchists described in SoE and when did it take place?
In the German books the anarchist rule ended in 2055 but later English books (like Target Smuggler Havens, set in 2059) still talked about anarchist Berlin (I guess because the authors didn't know about the German changes.)

Looking back through the book, I notice that it is the capital of the whole country. It's got a circle with a star on the inside, just like Prague and Vienna. I just kind of glazed over it, I guess.

I also said Hannover hosts the Cybit fair. Beyond that and the political machinations, not a lot of info.

Well, the only major place the book mentions Berlin is in the Germany timeline. There's also a mention in the text about the corps "brutally overthrowing the anarchist project."

And we're back on track.

Part 3: Truth and Lies

This part deals with the Czech Republic and France.

Our lead in-character author is one who would check "Other" on the race box. The centaur who writes the brief past and present look at the Czech Republic has definitely advanced beyond the "hand tools" stage. Reading his intro, you get the sense that he's still in tune with nature, despite his experiences. He's definitely more worldly, good or bad as that may be. "Past Tense" recaps the history given to us from earlier in the book, but with a metahuman reaction to the events. He's very deferential to the great dragons Dunkelzahn and Schwartzkopf, as they seem to have had profoundly affected him. He sets up the rest of the chapter by talking of the universities, "foreign interests", and the culture.

Just so you know, Bohemian has a meaning aside from "sipping coffee in a French cafe and talking about art." Bohemia is an actual place, and it's in the Czech Republic. Gypsies started the whole thing, and gypsies are still around. Places of interest abound...as there are many gypsy settlements. A World War II concentration camp is spoken of, which has a signifcant background count for obvious reasons. Prague itself is not similar to other urban sprawls as it doesn't have the gleaming steel and glass towers of commerce running rampant through the city.

Moravia is very unlike Bohemia. We're talking Heavy Industry, Genetics, Biotech, and other corporate-type stuff. Ground Zero for this is the city Brno, the capital of the province. Universal-Omnitech was the first to settle and get to business, and their efforts encouraged Saeder-Krupp, Ares, and Mitsuhama to grab some land. Because of corp concerns, the populace has found more ways to divide and unify. Ares workers don't like Saeder-Krupp workers, and it extends beyond the softball field, my friends.

Ah, Schwartzkopf's personal concern: Marienbad. The first time this place was ever of interest was during the Orichalcum Rush. Schwartzkopf decided to grant it some protection, and this eventually led to them seceding from the AGS. Marienbad's not a nice place, however. It's very feudal, with multiple warlords fighting over small pieces of land. All in all, Marienbad's a very ugly place to be. Mercs, gypsies, border patrols, and local warlords mixed together only brew calamity.

All right, time for magical places you don't want to be caught in. First up is a bone cathedral east of Prague. Correct, human bones were used to build this thing. Yes, I'm disgusted, too. All the helpful info comes from the Shadowtalk. Apparently, the bones are trapping shedim. And there's a mysterious power in the cathedral which may or may not be related to all of this. We've also got some caves that people have been disappearing into, north of Brno. The rocks are swallowing people, says the locals. But few care, because we've got trapped shedim in a cathedral! Rar!

On to the capital: Prague. We've got a reluctant street witch giving us the inside story. Synner, I hear the back of a hand works wonders. First off, we get a dose of civic pride, telling us how much better than everywhere else Prague is because of the racial acceptance that runs rampant through the city. Basically, Prague as a city is a tapestry, unlike other cities, which are mosaics. Did the metaphor stick? I hope so.

Anyway, the big draw here is Charles University. The approach to magic here is Bohemian, although I'm not sure how many cups of coffee it takes to get that way. And yes, Professor Schwartzkopf does teach. Other magic-related groups have an office here, like DIMR and the Faustus Society. Schwartzkopf has been in a bad mood lately. One of the students at the University was murdered in broad daylight. A fairly unique student, which is really saying something in Prague.

One thing to keep in mind is how easy it is to grab arcane materials. They're abundant, and prices are on the cheap. Thank competing syndicates for that. Also be aware of a fair-sized group of qabbalists performing their stuff. They may have been responsible for some kick-ass golems roaming around lately.

Last but not least is the small section of Prague that was grabbed by the corps. Most of their presence is limited to the thaumaturgical, so they're at least keeping with the theme. S-K and Mitsuhama lead the way here, with Aztechnology, Ares, and Shiawase attempting to establish themselves.


L'hexagon has seen some changes over the years. France apparently is now built on a foundation of lies, always a favorite. Let's see what's here.

It says here that the nobility has been everpresent and just receded into the background, since 1789. Man, that's a while to be on top. France has always enjoyed going its own way, and that was made clear when the French Catholic Church, with backing from the nobles, opposed the Vatican's stance on magic and metahumans. The Crash and the waves of VITAS did nothing to help the politicos, and the nobles just kept pushing buttons and pulling levers from behind the curtain. Bastille Day in 2029 was the setting for a military takeover, and the Euro Wars cemented their position, moving Antoine D'Orleans into the forefront as a hero and political figure. France tried to play hardball with the AAA corps for a little while, but that ended up not really working, and a consensus was reached, possibly the first setback the French power players had dealt with in a while. As the situation stands now, things aren't so hot. Three 10 AAAs in the place of 8 isn't marvelous to deal with. Syndicate war is never good for helping the public feel safe. Brittany hides behind some mist and makes waves about cutting ties. And the newest President isn't listening to her fellow nobles.

France has changed a little in the georgraphy category since the 20th century. The SOX is a no-man's wasteland, Corsica found its freedom, and the Basque part of France went it's own way, possibly to reinvent the game of Jai-Alai.

Wanna go to France? Find some documents. Without them, you're boned. Plain and simple. Got slightly menacing cyberware? Boned. Strange magic? Boned. Look like a tourist, but get a linguasoft, for heaven's sake. To fit in, don't mess around with the things that I just said would bone you. I wasn't kidding!

The book goes with "Three Estates" so I will too.

We first get a quick overview of how the power structure is. Extraterritorial corps negotiate leases with France's economic committee. This isn't much of an issue for French corps, or for Saeder-Krupp. (Insert comment about dealing with dragons here.) There's more interesting stuff about conducting business in France, like having to choose between paying high taxes and doing things normally versus letting the government deal with the welfare situation of the corp's employees while gaining a lot of information in the process. The AAAs are starting to bring more weight to bear upon the French, because they think their system blows.

The First Estate are the nobles. And boy howdy, are there a lot of them. And they're all mega-pissed that France is a part of the NEEC. Could be bad for the way they rule from behind the scenes, don'tcha know. There are dozens of "Houses" in France, but only the major players get touched upon. House D'Orleans has as its head the same guy who's the war hero. This house also has the "official heir to the throne," which would matter more if France was a monarchy, but still matters some. House Bourbon-Anjou is a wing of the Spanish noble Bourbon family. If you'll believe it, this house has the "natural heir to the throne." Yeah, my head's starting to spin, too. And they don't like D'Orleans. House Rohan (save the LotR references) resides in the land of mist, Brittany. Would they throw away their influence in France to take part in the making of a new country? It's entirely possible. House Rochefort has friendly ties to D'Orleans. Nicolas de Rochefort is someone you don't want to get into a debate with. Aurelie de Paladines is the country's new President, but we don't get a mention of what House she was aligned with. Her biggest sin appears to be pulling France into the NEEC. She leans heavily on a dwarf divinator by the name of Yohann de Kervelec. He runs the French Diviners and Mediums Guild. These guys are pros at what they do, no two ways about it.

Time for Church. As stated earlier, the French Catholic Church split from Rome when this whole business about metas and magic started. Sort of like how Rome has the Knights of the Templar, the FCC has an order called Manus Dei. What's left is a lot of shadowtalk about how the cardinal has been replaced, warrior monks summoning powerful magic, and the Templars poking around.

France has corps too, and I'm not talking about the Big Three automakers. Noble ties to corps are very tight, and these guys all get educated at the same places. France is downright incestuous. Anyway, we've got Aerospatiale SA, which sounds like an aerospace company and actually is. Esprit Industries is responsible for much of France's defense. This would be much easier to accomplish with fewer shareholding factions. Intracorp runs are definitely not out of the question with this one. Hermes Eurocom is the corp in charge of communications. If you ever want to joke about how the French have poor communication skills, blame these guys. Will a Scandanavian prospect unseat this local corp? Index-Axa has everyone's money. Because they're a financial corporation. And they're not afraid to hold significant shares in other corps. More incest. Yeesh. Spinrad Industries used to be here, until 2051. Then shit happened, and now they're in Portugal.

Organized crime makes up a fourth Estate. Things were relatively quiet for a while, but the Batukhtina Vory has punched the Marseille Milieu in the mouth and proclaimed "From Russia, With Love." Now we've got what we in the industry like to call "escalation." Even the aristo-controlled media has to report on this mob war, since things have gone so far.

Corsica is no longer a part of the French family thanks to another shot from the past. The Bonaparte name lives on in Guillaume Bonaparte, the head of the Corsican Mafia and president-for-life of Free Corsica.

Time for sprawl goodness. Paris has a lot of people. A significant percentage of those people make sure everyone else feels safe touristing around. You have to know that because downtown Paris is nice and shiny, there are portions of it which are dark and deviant. Some things never change. Who wants a chipped-out flesh doll?

Marseille's an interesting place. We've got S-K here up the wazoo, as well as French mafia. Specifically, the ones who just got their balls kicked by the Russians. Marseille may even be the home of S-K's delta clinic, depending on whose campaign you're running in.

Lille is all about smuggling and counterfeiting. It's really a swell deal. They can smuggle you in, and give you papers to make sure no one looks twice at you. It's like going to a store where you can buy guns and alcohol. Wait, some Wal-Marts do that. Anyway, the Vory is big here. The second-in-command of the French Vory is running the show here for the most part.

Did you know there was an earthquake in France in 2043? Well, there was. And Nice went independent, and hasn't looked back since. Most of France isn't racist. The ones that are end up here. It's a nice place, if you're human. Hotels, casinos, and other attraction for rich humans abound.

Finally, we've got Strange French Magic. Brittany, as I said before, has a mist hanging around. It's not your normal fog. It's been around in some form or fashion since 2023 (celebrate 40 years of fog!), and it screws with people. Makes them mad, or even disappear. And people still live there. Can you believe it? Among them are some faeries known as the Korrigan, who don't seem very affected by it. As The Laughing Man says, "The Mist doesn't affect these Korrigan, you say? That's awfully convenient." I concur. Druids have been battling the mist for some time, but their early success has given way to recent failure. Also of interest is the Forest of Broceliande, which is a strange place. Here, trees talk to druids. One has to wonder what the hell they have to say. ("Nice robe, douchebag!")

Auvergne has volcanoes. In a bad way. This might have gotten glossed over when Ryumyo appeared on Mount Fuji, but in 2011, these volcanoes erupted, destroying Clermont-Ferrand and making a lot of land unusable. They quieted down in 2035, but nothing good lasts forever. Trying to take the opportunity while it was there, S-K set up research stations under the LAVA (ha ha!) project. Put simply, they found that the earth was difficult to astrally project through, and some interesting plant life was also discovered. When the comet passed by, however, the volcanoes woke back up. Sort of. Astral lava spilled out, creating a hazard for spirits in the area. In 2062, the physical caught up with the astral, and the LAVA labs became a bad place to be. They now reside abandoned, with attempts to recover stuff from inside taking place all the time.

Final Thoughts:
The Czech Republic really got the short end of the stick. Any land with a great dragon has to seem somewhat important, but there's not enough going on of interest. I'm not sure what to make of the Marienbad situation. It seems like very little has changed in the region now that they're Czech instead of German. The biggest draw has to be Prague, and players are going to want to take advantage of its excellent value on magical items. Who knows? While they're hunting around looking for a bargain, maybe they'll find an adventure. The Czech Republic just doesn't seem like it's set up to hold an ongoing campaign. A few adventures that might take a couple of sessions each, but not a campaign.

France is full of stuff. The incestuous nature of France is brought out in so many ways, and while France isn't a House of Cards just yet, it's definitely on its way. It seems that aside from Esprit, the French Corps aren't going to be hitting each other. Their business concerns may be related, but they certainly don't overlap enough for it to be any more than a small nuisance. They might try poking at the AAAs, and vice versa, though. An entire campaign could be made just by doing runs centering around the nobles. The mob stuff has been touched on before, and there's plenty to do regarding this new flare-up. Brittany seems like a place that the players might wake up in, not willingly go into. Auvergne is very limited in what its purpose is, but that's fine. S-K has plenty of stuff to do all over Europe, and coming over here for a couple of runs into the LAVA labs would be a good change of pace.

Czech Republic: 6/10
France: 9/10

Next time, those crazy Eye-talians and Portugal. Hey, we'll get to Poland later. I want to do some Romance first!

Thank you for the praise. It's greatly appreciated.

Check out future SR books for developments of some of the ideas introduced in the French chapter of SoE. I hope you will like them as much.

This is where knowing some European history helps. D'Orleans were the last king, the citizen's king brought in in 1830 and tossed out in 1848, if memory serves. Their claim seems based on "we were there last, so it belongs to us".

The Bourbons have a pretty good claim; it's the family that spawned Louis XIV, XV, XVI, Charles some number. They took the French throne back a while around the 1600s when Henry V married Margarette d'Anjou and converted to Catholicism. They're also the Spanish Royals due to the war of the Spanish Succession, which placed Louis XIV's nephew on the Spanish throne with the provision that Spain and France can never unify (people were afraid that an immortal Louis XIV would take over both countries; the guy was around 60+ and showed no signs of stopping, not to mention that he had outlived multiple foreign opponents). The current king of Spain, and probably the king's succession mentioned in SoE's Spain chapter are part of the struggles of the Bourbon family.

Don

"Lower Saxony"

When I was still in school (the 90ies) my friends and I used to travel from Celle to Hannover to visit the RPG shops, too.
Those were the days... Trivial Book Shop, Comics am Raschplatz, Fantasy In...

Seuufz - now all's lost but honor and fond memories...


Birdy

Let's hope the next few aren't bland. Sorry for the tremendous delay. I want to get the whole book finished by Thursday, so I'll kick it into overdrive.

Part 4: Romance and Pole Dance

Today, we learn about the Italian Confederation, Portugal...and war-torn Poland. Bonus Material!

First up is a focused primer of Italy's future alternative history. (God, I love that phrase.) The Confederation has been known in its current form only since 2045. But there's still plenty of people and organizations that have existed prior to that. Italy's history always seems to sound the same: corruption in the political venues, organized crime pulling certain strings from behind the scenes, and the Catholic Church sitting serenely through it all. What you really need to know is this: the Euro Wars did a number on Italy, and the Catholic Church attempted to be a beacon of hope in the darkness. Milan got hosed by riots, and Genoa and Turin fell the next day to the same fate. The political system went into cardiac arrest, and the various regions decided mitosis was the way to go. Pope John XXV brought about the creation of the Papal States, and Rome asked in. That was in 2037. Some time later, the various regions pulled together -- sort of -- and created the creature that's now known as the Italian Confederation. Take a long hard look, kids. This isn't exactly Caesar's Rome.

Next is a focused primer on the Catholic Church. If you're talking about Italy, you can't neglect Mother Church. No mention of our current Holiness, John Paul II is mentioned. We do get, however, two more John Pauls to make up for it. We get no information about when JPIII took over the helm, but we do find out he did in 2010, thanks to VITAS. Didn't something big happen the next year? Oh, right. JPIV saw what was happening, put up a big hand, and said, "Denial!" January 1, 2012 was the day that JPIV said it's okay to player-hate on magic, metahumans, and other funness brought around by the Awakening. This led to the Schism. Conservative areas like Italy, Spain and Poland were drinking JPIV's Haterade, but Ireland (heh), France, Brazil (still called Brazil then), and "USA! USA!" said "Make love, not war." Two years later, and we need a new pope. We finally get a moderate in John XXV from Brazil. He tries pushing reforms through, but the conservatives in the administration (Curia) aren't having with it. It takes 10 years for In Imago Dei to come to fruition. After IID, Germany said "No thanks." Also created was the Sylvestrine Order. As if IID wasn't crazy enough, women finally get suffrage, I mean, a chance to become priests in 2042. The pope is currently 99 years old, and could probably kick the ass of everyone else on Zurich-Orbital. He is currently leading his "Enlightened" faction in the Church, locked in a contentious battle with the Conservatives.

The Church itself is divided into two types of people: those who stand and preach, and those that do everything else. The first group has people in it like priests, bishops, archbishops, and good ol' Johnny Two Bits. Everyone else is lumped into a group called the Orders of Saints. We've got Great Orders and not-so-great (Minor) Orders. Great Orders are Benedictines, Carmelites, Dominicans, Franciscans, Jesuits, and New (not necessarily improved) Jesuits. Minor Orders are the Augustinians, Sylvestrines, Hospitalares (guess what one of their jobs is), and Trinitarians. Want to know what these classes do? Buy the book!

More Vatican hilarity. The conservatives bide their time, as they know that no matter how much God loves John XXV, he's going to get recalled at some point. Johnny Two Bits is working to put people and plans into place, hoping to outsmart the old guard. Here's how the Vatican keeps itself going, by the way. They have money. Lots of it. We're talking extraterritorial corp rich. Funny, since they own a few. They've got info. We're talking databanks that make Shiawase's MIFD look like they're using punchcards. (OOC alert: Should shadowposters refer to the number after the color of a system's difficulty? "Red System" sounds okay to me. "Red-6" doesn't for some reason.) They've got political connections. As a matter of fact, the Vatican is the head of the Italian Confederation Council. Finally, they've got 800 million people believing in approximately the same thing they do. That number isn't as high as it used to be, what with the Schism and all, plus disenfranchised congregation members. Still, partial Catholics are better than non-Catholics, and the message sent out by France's, Poland's, and Spain's Churches help more than hinder.

Now for Michael Jordan's major in college: Geography. First off are the Papal States. What's fun and exciting is the ambiguity of who's really in charge. We've got the Curia being a source of power in the region, but at the same time, corps handle much of the infrastructure. Really, it's a toss-up. This bi-polarity is actually a theme of the region, and makes it a fascinating study in culture. Rome is still the capital, however, and is extremely important no matter what facet of society you're talking about. The mix of old and new makes Prague look like Atlanta, a city which makes no sense and was designed by pot-smoking hippies. Rome has strict building guidelines, so all corp offices are squat and seem to sprawl. You won't find a Renraku Arcology or Aztechnology Pyramid here, chummers. Tourists are ever-present and make for a crowded downtown, made worse by narrow streets. Their version of Grid Guide can't even by called a Guide; it's more of a informal suggestion.

Genoa, Milan, and Turin were all felled by riots. Figures that they'd be collectively grouped together in a place called the GeMiTo sprawl. Think Redmond Barrens, but almost as large as Switzerland. Companies still have buildings and assets there; razor wire and guards with milspec are the norm here. An uneasy peace between poor bastards and corps exists, where the citizens leave the corps alone for the most part, and the corps let the citizens have bare bones survival necessities. Point of interest are Genoa, Societa Thaumaturgica, The Markets, NewVara, and The Hole. Genoa is a port in GeMiTo, with the only "authorities" being the Camorra branch of the Mafia. Societa Thaumaturgica is a free school for the Gifted run by the Sylvestrines. Every three weeks, The Markets (also known as Fiere), occur. A cease-fire is called, and bartering occurs. Well, you can pay with scrip, too, but make sure it's physical cred. Not many places have a credstick reader. You can find a lot of things in these markets, but you won't find the goods and services of organleggers. Keep on the look-out for the N'dranghetta branch of the Mafia. They're a serious power with regards to Fiere. (We again get a shadowposter giving a description about how the N'dranghetta work, reinforcing what they really are.) NewVara is the largest of the tent towns in GeMiTo, of which there are actually a few. Sounds like a nice place to get lost, but GMs will have to make up the details themselves. The Hole is a patch of land that serves as the dumping ground for three corps: Renault-Fiat, AG Chemie, and Shiawase. It's all industrial and chemical stuff, and sometimes there's good stuff. But yeah, some of it's also toxic. Crack open your Target: Wastelands book, kiddies, and go to town. Or Critters. Or both.

Now, other places in Italy. We got your Republic of Tuscany, with the capital of Florence. It's only now decided to go along with Rome on policy decisions. This place is a hotbed of media and entertainment, and there are families with serious money here. We got your Italian state of Mezzogiorno, and its capital of Naples. It's a port city, so pirate and smuggler campaigns will see plenty of action. For the most part, Mezzogiorno and Naples suck for the people who live there, so it's a perfect breeding ground for corrpution and crime. Don't forget to pay the Camorra the pizzo, the 10% cut that is owed them for anything that happens there. Fail to do that, and you may not be around much longer to do anything else. Sicily is essentially a Cosa Nostra stronghold. Really, there's nothing here that doesn't have anything to do with them. Most of the stuff on the island like resorts and hotels is owned by the Familia, and the members of the Familia are treated like royalty. Trieste is a free city that is a thriving port. It's a place that's seeing more and more megacorp influence. Carnia's big claim to fame is as a region that's a waypoint for smugglers of all types, from and into Austria, the Balkans, and the Confederation. Bordering Carnia is Serenissima, whose capital is the well-known Venice. This place has a lot of money and bluebloods, since many nobles fled here to get away from bad happenings earlier in the century. The odd thing going on with Venice is the waterways that mysteriously cleared up...but that was six years ago. Big Brother is a serious issue in Venice, and runners will need to tread lightly and be smart about what they do.


Poland has much more interesting and topical issue going on with it. Seems there was a small uprising. Something about a liberation army rising up against the Russian incursion, although one has to wonder at what point it can no longer be called an incursion. Is 23 years enough time?

Poland's never been a rich country, and the events of the new millenium did nothing to help them. VITAS, the Awakening, the Crash, and the Border Wars (where Poland sent troops to Belarus and the Baltics to help against the Russians) only drained the country of its wealth and will. Then came the Euro Wars, with the Russians wanting to educate Poland about its way of life. They were good enough to withdraw in 2034, but five years later, the Night of Rage made its way to Poland. And the Russians were called back in to help put down resistance. Corps moved their heavy industry subsidiaries to the area, and gained a wealth of cheap labor. An organized movement called the Domestic Army (AK) started up. Resistance grew, but only the masses suffered. Finally, on November 2nd of 2062, the AK brought the fight to the Russians with an attack both in the physical world and the Matrix. The citizens rallied, but the Russians were too strong to be completely removed. A Free Republic was set up in the southwest, and the battlelines were drawn.

Now, we've got a Free Republic and a National Republic. We'll take a look at the National Republic first. The head of government is a guy by the name of Rybinski (his underlings are rybokrats), and he seriously dislikes the situation. The Russians are barely keeping things together, and his followers are slowly leaving the country. Things to know about the Russian military presence: it's very prevalent. They're headed by a man named General Mikhail Suchov. (Thing to note: there's a lot of names to keep track of, as well as terms to keep in mind. It'll be a fair effort to keep it all straight.) The Russians have serious problems on their hands because they're not really being funded by Russia; their sugar-daddy is Rybinski, and his regime isn't as rich as it used to be. We said "Heavy Industry" earlier, right? Well, that phrase goes hand in hand with Saeder-Krupp. Its Polish affiliates merged into a consortium called Konglomerat-Przemyslowo-Wydobywczy (thankfully, it's also known by the acronym KP-W, or as Konglomerat). S-K in some form or fashion is responsible for 40% of NRP's economy. Most of its stuff resides in and around Krakow, which itself is in a region called the Malopolska Free Trade Zone. Incidentally, working conditions at S-K locations are stellar compared to what the Poles are used to. Is this how they endear themselves to the common man? References keep being made to a fellow named Stanislaw Wiacek, and any of you who have Corporate Download will remember him from the S-K section. How important is he in the scheme of things? I'm not really sure, but he's still around and doing stuff for Lofwyr so he must have done something right.

The Free Republic isn't as large an area as NRP, and there's less going on, it seems. Elections haven't really taken off yet, and the biggest issue is keeping the citizens alive while the Domestic and Liberation (AW) Armies plan for another push. Some notes on the AW: they're composed of all kinds. Husaria mercs, AK guerillas, Nationalist Army deserters, and random recruits make up this rag-tag bunch. The leader of the band is General Michal "Daddy" Marszalik. He's currently arguing with General Andrzej Wysocki on where and when to strike next. Both the AW and the AK sustained heavy losses during the uprising, but the AK seems like it's in a worse way. It's current goal is to rid Warsaw-Lodz of the Vory so that the Warsaw Syndykat can take their turf. Really, to me, one syndicate is as bad as another, but nationalism wins out in the end, I suppose. AK names of importance are General Kruk, who may or may not be running the show, and Captain Zbik, the ork who's clearing out the Vory and the rybokrats.

Other players exist in Poland with their own goals. The Catholic Church is very influential in the lives of Poles, and they're a conservative bunch. They make their HQ at Czestochowa, which is an interesting place in itself, since apparitions of the apostles are seen there every so often. The guy with the biggest hat in the area is Cardinal Wojtowicz. Incidentally, the Church controls an AA corp by the name of Providence Corporation (KOB). KOB does the media and finance thing, which surprises absolutely no one. Other corps in Poland are Yamatetsu, AG Chemie, Zeta-Impchen, and Gaz-Niki. Free Tricity is another story, and everyone's playing the game there. The Organized Crime struggle is a fairly interesting one, as it mirrors the situation going on with the militaries. The Red Vory are the establishment, much like the Russian Army. The Syndykats at one time were the main power, but they lost a lot of ground to the Russians. Now they're clawing and scratching, trying to work together to kick out the Russian Menace. One of the strangest things I've seen in the book, however, is in this section. The person detailing the situation out-and-out says that the right-hand man of one of the Syndykat leaders is a Vory guy. Shouldn't he be dead by now, or at least some serious questions raised? These people have Matrix access, right? Poland's got a coast, and Tricity is a port, so we've got pirates. They're called the Kapers, and they even have a council where they decide things. It's really quite quaint.

Finally, some information about different parts of Poland. Maybe we won't have so many names to deal with. Free Tricity and the Mazury-Bialowieski Containment Area are the places to be here. Tricity is a Smuggler Haven™ and a corp stronghold. The Containment Area is home to a region that had toxic flooding, and also has a forest that some suspect to be a living organism. Once you're in, it won't let you out. Smack in the middle of Poland is the Warsaw-Lodz sprawl. It's not a pretty place. Smog, corps, and rybokrats make it a nasty place. Finally, the southwest has the front lines of the NRP and FRP struggle. Wroclaw in FRP is mostly an underground city now because of all the bombings that take place topside. Stuff gets shipped in all the time from the Czech Republic and Germany, so there's plenty of stuff to do, even if it is the same damn thing. Oswiecim is not really a tourist attraction; the spirits of guards and prisoners from Auschwitz run rampant here, and the Sylvestrine barrier erected in 2035 isn't as strong as it used to be. What would a screwed up place like Poland be without a Great Dragon? Incomplete, that's what. Calozerca looks to just be cruising the skies, and no one's got any clue what his thing is.


Third on the list, and last for this portion, is Portugal. It's the smaller of the two countries that make up the Iberian Peninsula, but hey...they carved out a huge country by the name of Brazil a while ago. They can get it done when it counts. Then again, Spanish is the hot language right now...never mind this! Spain's another day.

Portugal in Shadowrun is a weird place. I read the section and I'm not sure I agree with the Game Information's idea of Portugal, but my WWII knowledge definitely didn't focus on Portugal. I paid more attention to where fighting actually happened, y'know? What we've got currently is the indigenous population, Brazillian refugees who saw something they didn't like in the forming of Amazonia, and African and Arab refugees from North Africa. Portugal's a hotbed for mercs, too. Were it not for the Conservative Catholic influences, this place might be a rival to the Czech "quilt of racial tolerance." Well, maybe not. Just because poor Brazillians live in shanty towns doesn't mean there's intolerance, however. The shadowposter who made the implication isn't really working the logic through on that one. Culture here is unique (duh!), with people going to work at 10AM, as opposed to the normal 7 or 8. Catholicism is a serious thing here, as is football (soccer). I wonder if Amazonia is still a World Cup power, and if it's still called the beautiful game.

Corp talk in Portugal starts with Lusiada. It's basically Portugal's national corporation, but it's not like the Pueblo Corporate Council or Aztlan. It's a different beast entirely. This all started in 2036 when Portugal saw that the world was coming down around its ears, and partially nationalized over 150 companies into one bloated national corp. The government owns a fair stake, but most of it is in the hands of four very wealthy families. Let's meet them, shall we? The Balsemaos, the Castro-Marins, the Champalimauds, and the Espirito-Santos. Joaquim Balsemao is the head of his family. He's a member of the New Western Dawn Masonic Lodge (would calling them the Freemasons be horribly incorrect?), and he made Manuel Champalimaud angry when he refused some monetary aid in a bleak period. The Castro-Marins are led by the twins Guilherme and Jaime. Their family is actually Brazilian, not Portugeuse, so that tends to create interesting conversations with some of the other power families. Manuel Champalimaud is the head of the family by the same name. He's also got ties to the NWDML. He's recently gone missing as of late. He's probably off on a bender with the monarch from the Troll Kingdom in Germany. Can't anyone take a little time off? The Espirito-Santos family is very conservative and religious. One of their own is actually going into the priesthood. They're now linked through marriage to House Rohan back in France. The family member who's going into the priesthood? His godfather is Cardinal Tavares, head honcho in Portugal. He wasn't happy with Johnny Two Bits and In Imago Dei. As a bonus, we have a CEO who doesn't really link to any of the families mentioned. Emanuel Salles pissed everyone off the least, and sometimes that's enough to get the job done. He's a former schoolmate of Johnny Spinrad. You think Spinrad is recruiting him in his vendetta against Lofwyr?

Most corps in Portugal aren't monolithic. They're small and specialized. A couple exception exist in the form of Spinrad Industries and Aegis Cognito. SpIn now has their shop set up in Portugal after finding the going rough in France and Monaco. SpIn hasn't regained the AA rating they lost in 2051, but they're slowly making the climb back up the slope. Aegis Cognito came up with a brilliant concept: recover data lost in the Crash. These guys are all about data. They eventually expanded their interests into the information sector, and now have terapulses of info on lots of junk.

Society isn't all pretty. Organized Crime exists here, as it does everywhere else. The Mafia branch here is the Baptista family. This makes no one in Spain's Vasquez syndicate thrilled, to say the least. Portugal's got a big coastline, and shipping and smuggling are big concerns here. Remember to pay the family its cut. Also active here is Kussondulola, an African cartel. They've got an agreement worked out with the Baptistas to do the drug and BTL distro in the area, but their biggest concern is smuggling of all kinds.

We check in now in Lisbon, the capital of this place. Why are all of these Euro cities mixes of old and new architecture? Just once, I'd like to see "they got rid of all the old stuff." The description even vaguely sounds like Rome. The African themes make it seem somewhat different, though. Most of the corp stuff in Lisbon is in the eastern portion of the city. Across the Tagus river, however, the Lusiada HQ stands tall and proud. The Sentinel is a 120-floor spire of homegrown corp.

The southern portion of Portugal was leased out to the megas and turned into a vacation spot for their workers. It's called the Algarve Corporate Enclave, and there are corps a-plenty with investments in this place. Security is fairly tight, but varies throughout the region.

Final Thoughts:
Italy always seems like it's a poor man's Germany. They're very similar in many ways, but Germany always seems to do everything bigger and better. That's true for the most part here, but Italy finally has something that Germany can't match: the Roman Catholic Church. This thing is monstrous, and lends itself to multiple and various campaigns. This thing can take you anywhere in the world. Italy also has it's opportunities for smuggling and standard corp runs. The merc aspect is possible, but it's not really expounded upon. It can be made to work, but effort needs to be made.

Poland is kind of limited in what can be done there, but it's definitely not as bad as the Czech Republic. And you can even make a campaign here. Granted, that campaign will probably involve the slaughter of tons of Russians or Poles, depending on which side you're on, but at least it's there. Smuggling is another possibility, but Tricity isn't going to be the home base of operations for most campaigns. The corp aspect is very limited, and focuses mostly on S-K. On a side note, the names and words got to me after a while. Reading this section gave me a headache and made me feel like I was carsick. Maybe it's the foreign letters; I'm not sure. Lots of names and one-use Polish words didn't make for easy reading.

Portugal got a limited spread, but they made the most of it. Focused presentation, and they hit the high spots. There might be a lack of specific information, but all the important stuff seems to be there. You may not get the exact feeling the Game Info section suggests, but you get a feel for the place nonetheless. Whoever wrote Poland might want to look at Portugal's section. Poland's got too much specific information and too many names. Sometimes, less is more.

Italian Confederation: 7.5/10.
Poland: 6.5/10.
Portugal: 8/10.

What've we got left? Scandanavia, Spain, Switzerland, Tir Na Nog, the UK, the United Netherlands, and a small wrap-up section. Wow, I've got my work cut out for me. Till next time, chummers.

I understand that not everything can be written in the same way, for it would get tedious after a while. But the unfamiliar words and letters just made it extremely difficult to keep track of everything.

And for the record, I thought calling John XXV "Johnny Two Bits" was funny.

I'm not going to get it done by tomorrow. Maybe a week from tomorrow.

The show continues.

Part 5: o/~"People that come together...."o/~

All right, people. Scandanavian Union. I was also going to do Spain, but I wanted to post something sooner than later.

My real world knowledge of Scandanavia is rather limited, unfortunately. I know that Legoland is in Denmark. There's something called "the Stockholm Syndrome." And vikings came from this area, or something. I think with these three key facts, I know more about Scandanavia than 80% of Americans. But thankfully, this chapter will tell us more. And some of it even has to do with Scandanavia today!

The Scandanavian Union was essentially a product of all the bad stuff happening. Crash of 29, Evil Russians from the East, so on and so forth. Having a union such as this one didn't go over well with a lot of the citizens. I hear there's this thing called "nationalism," or something like that. Anyway, this concept succeeded, and now things are definitely a sight better than they might have been had the Union never formed.

With the realignment of the countries into the Union came a revised government of a sorts. Finland and Norway are technically republics, and Denmark and Sweden are monarchies (all of them parliamentary), but here's how the system works. We have a Council of Ministers. 40 ministers in all, 10 from each country. (We don't find out how they get elected to these positions.) There's also a Union Parliament which deals with stuff the Council of Ministers thinks isn't worth their time. Parliament is made up of 54 members (not divisible by four, if you're paying attention), elected every six years. The Scandanavian Commission puts into action legislation set by the previous two groups. The Commission itself is put together by the Council. The Union is an over-riding system, and it has priority when it comes to law and world affairs. Borders between the member countries are basically non-existant. Things aren't totally egalitarian, however. Sweden is still the leader of the pack, and Norway has a big "L" on her forehead.

Ever notice how the Corporate Court tends to get into contentious battles with European countries? The Union didn't quite play the same level of hardball as France did, but they played a tough game nonetheless. We don't actually have a physical copy of the Corporate Court's Business Recognition Accords (well, at least I don't), but here are some of the amendments made when the Commission and the Union finally agreed on something:
1. Extraterritoriality is granted unconditionally to AAA corps only. AA corps must negotiate for it with the member countries.
2. Extraterritorial corps cannot be hired to perform police functions there. Sorry, Knight Errant and Hard Corps.
3. Strict restrictions for corporate armed forces. Less strict restrictions for police corps, but certain policies must be abided by.
4. Local multinational corps will stay local by limiting shares sold abroad.

September 2063 is when the the amendments come up for review between the Union and the Corporate Court. You think "deniable assets" might play a role in this?

We in the real world are going through a period where wireless networking is the major thing. So it comes as no surprise that in Shadowrun, the Wireless Matrix Initiative is occurring. Yeah, the Crash of '29 set people back, and they basically rebuilt the way computers work and operate from the ground-up. 35 years after the fact, a reliable nationwide wireless network is in the cards for the Scand Union. The major players in this one are Erika (formerly Ericsson and Nokia) and Transys Neuronet. (I guess Eliohann will be able to go insane in the Matrix hands-free now.) Saeder-Krupp has gotten the short end of the stick here, so a focused shadow-war is currently in operation. Novatech, Renraku, and Mitsuhama seem eager to join the fray. Could one of these out-of-town darkhorses steal some key personnel and contracts?

Culturally, the Scand Union countries don't differ all that much, especially since the borders between them became nonexistant. We've got a few groups to keep and eye on, however. The Sami (aka Lappish) are the indigenous folk of the northern regions. No noise about making their own nation so far. Problems in Norway may eventually lead to a separatist Lapland. (In all seriousness, how do these little countries even survive on their own? Any serious effort to pool resources would easily bring rogue provinces and such back into the fold, in my opinion. I'm always a little mistified.) The Aesir society is one of the most popular Norse-related groups. Radical ideas such as gender equality and a back-to-nature lifestyle seem to mystify others in the region. They build farms and collectives out in the rural areas, where they work the land, live peacefully, and help fill out the ranks of the Winternight terrorist group. If you're not paying attention, you may not notice how the Siida, another slice of Scandanavia's cultural pie, is different from the first two. These guys are also anti-tech and back-to-nature. Hanging out with the Siida, however, is probably a safer proposition than the Aesir or the Sami.

Organized Crime is everpresent. The main players here are the Vory. This is fairly obvious and logical, given Scandanavia's proximity to Russia. The group here is the Lobatchevskis. What's interesting is that they've got serious ins with the Scand bureaucracy. It does fit their "white-collar " background, though. You may have read this in another thread: Scanadanavia has vikings, and not the Minnesota football kind. These gangs take the lower-end stuff that the Vory has mostly little use for. Serious ties to the Aesir, and obvious breeding ground for Winternight operatives. There appears to be an issue over who's the head honcho, however, so the gangs look like they're going to have a familial dispute. Lastly are the Yakuza. They mostly hang around Oslo, since the Japanacorps are there.

Onto individual countries. Denmark is first, since we're alphabetical. Oh yeah. The other thing I remember about Denmark is that Danish is an ugly sounding language. Anyway, we get a short blurb on the general attitude of the Danish. Humble, proud, sometimes proud of being humble. Danes think of themselves as small cogs in a machine, so Denmark joining the Union was a formality. Corp control is limited, except on the island of Funen. Jutland, which is the part of Denmark most people will point to on a map, is a toxic wasteland. Refugees from Jutland flooded onto the island of Zealand, driving down property values there, so to speak. The Crash of 29 did Denmark no favors, and a large black market sprang up, which still exists currently. Denmark attempted to stay out of the Euro Wars, and was successful for the most part. Their current goal is the recreation of the welfare state. The hot corp type in Denmark is currently biotech.

Corps here are mostly small. The Big 10 each have a presence here, but it's only a presence. The major player is Tyr Inc. They provide all kinds of services: medical, police, and they run the Free Trade City of Christiania.

The peninsula of Jutland could probably be described by the Toxic Zone section of Target: Wastelands. But people still live there, and not just researchers and prisoners working to remove the toxins. Siida communities don't really thrive, but they're there. Funen is where the corps play for the most part. It's the only part of Denmark that hasn't really changed much. Hans Christian Andersen was born here, and the Council that rules here is intent on keeping its image. Zealand is mostly about the Orestad, the metroplex which has Copenhagen as its core. Interesting fact: four different police forces work in this area. That's both good and bad for runners. Just try to maximize the good and minimize the bad. Christiania is a section of Copenhagen that's under Tyr control. Hippies and anarchists used to live there, but Copenhagen got Tyr to kick them out in 2026. In one of the greatest miracles of the 21st century, no one was killed during this process. Copenhagen couldn't afford Tyr's price, so Tyr just took over the area. It's called a free trade zone for good reason. Slaves, organs, and the like are about the only things that aren't traded. Ship City is the other place of interest here. This originated when some Jutland refugees took to the sea to escape the toxic waves. They were denied at a port in Zealand, but a weirdo named Henrik Gaarde had an idea. He hooked three large vessels together, and told the refugees they were welcome to attach their ships. Now, it's a floating city just off the coast of Copenhagen. Currently, the Lobatchevski Syndicate rules Ship City. It's a tourist attraction, and boasts two casinos and a hotel. Smuggling takes place under the water, and black-market dealings occur on the fringes of Ship City. Sounds like home, really.

Finland is home to oppressive forests and weird magic. (Starting to see why Target: Awakened Lands was limited in scope?) Finland did a serious prep job for a Russian invasion which never materialized. In its wake is a country that nationalized most of its corps and has only one real corp to speak of: Erika. Erika took advantage of the nationalized corps, buying and acquiring them hand over fist, and became an AA corp in 2048. Erika has a serious hold on the Finnish government, one which it doesn't plan on loosening. Erika's got problems, however, with the upcoming summit between the Union and the Corporate Court. They're being pulled in both directions, and no one's sure which way they'll go.

Finland is a good place to go for Shadowrunning...if you want to go somewhere else. Seriously, most of the activity in the area is actually taking place in Norway, Sweden, or Russia. Yes, Finland is still nervous about Russia. With Russia losing some of its grip on Poland, maybe they need to grab a piece of Finland to boost their confidence. If you are staying in Finland for the run, it's probably got to do with Erika, the government, or both.

Now, about that weird magic. The Haparanda Anomaly Zone is home to thick forests and strange paranimals. This was strange enough, but toxic pollution entered the region, and the two "forces" started a war of sorts. That was also strange, but then the Comet came. Now, the forests and toxic areas have become bedfellows. The combination is startling, to say the least, and research of the area is more frantic than it ever was.

Norway, for the most part, looks like it's the redheaded step-child of the Union. Racked with poverty, the Corps came in after the Crash and started raping the countryside for the natural resources. Norwegians weren't being hired for the most part, and the government had no strong welfare system in place. Norway, outside of corp enclaves, is a Barrens. Norway has no homegrown extraterritorial corps, and Saeder-Krupp and AG Chemie are sucking the ocean's resources dry. Oslo is the only real place of importance, but it's very important to the cybertech people. Lots of cyber clinics here.

A small section on Norwegian runners here. They're more likely to blend in than typical shadowrunners (yeah, even you with the Blandness Edge). They're cynical and not flashy. The book makes an interesting point that the cynical part comes in because shadowrunners are making their living by working for the people who've exploited the region, and that their actions are only perpetuating the process.

Oslo is a kickass place. It runs and feels like a normal city. Secure downtown, not-so-much for the outer portions. But if you can keep yourself safe, then you're in okay shape. Vory has a lot of pull in this city. The big draw here are the prolific cyberclinics. The good news? Most of them are shadowclinics. The small bio and cybertech players find that they can make good Euros by installing illegal Tailored Pheremones on the side for people that have money and don't want questions asked. And if you're really one of their faves, they'll even let you field-test a prototype or two. Also here is something called the Black Stock Exchange. I'm not really certain how this works, but it's a physical stock exchange with paper stock and all that. Like all black-market type things, its location changes about every other time it occurs, which is every week, for the first three days of the week.

Sweden is a land where Terra First! fits right in. The Swedes are definitely the class of the Union. Clean countryside, well-kept cities, and a high standard of living make this one of the best countries to live in, worldwide.

Sweden is fairly corp-hostile, but it's mostly to the foreign corps. And they're hostile to any corp which is a serious polluter. A company like Proteus AG really confuses the hell out of them, as they have been known to do serious stuff to the ocean but also are helping clean up Denmark. The major local corps in Sweden are Erika, Hydrolux Engineering, and SAAB. We already know plenty about Erika (aka, the Finnish government). It's kind of obvious what Hydrolux brings to the table. SAAB is your typical automobile/armaments manufacturer.

The Shadows in Sweden aren't very friendly ones. Sweden tends to limit the corp presence to their homegrowns, and they protect them with serious assets, including a special taskforce. The police aren't shabby either. What this all adds up to is increased pay for a more challenging area. No n00bs need apply, please. One last thing? Remember the automated robot vaccum cleaners and all those other things from Sprawl Survival Guide? You're likely to see all that and more when you visit Stockholm. Many, many automated services function here. If a rigger manages to sneak in a quality RC deck, or a decker comes in with the right equipment, they could really have some fun.

Final thoughts:
The emphasis seems to be on the Union as a whole, as opposed to the individual countries, and that's not necessarily a bad thing. Everybody wants to feel special, but I don't think it's always required. Besides, the Union is a unique and interesting place, unlike anything else in Shadowrun. The struggles between local and foreign, corp and anti-corp, and even internal struggles are well detailed. Sweden and Denmark seem fairly secure in who they are and their place in the world. Finland is a little less so, but they've had Russians breathing down their necks for over 100 years. Norway is getting the short end of the stick, and provides a nice balance of dissatisfaction to everyone else's Happy Hour. Previous books go well with the information given here. The Scandanavian Union is a reason for everyone to learn the decking rules, as the Wireless Matrix Initiative seems like something really important. 8.5/10.

Spain is next. Time to run with the bulls.

It should be noted they're not the first countries to differ from the UCAS norm (which make me tell the BRA is actually more of a minimal agreement). The Pueblo Council has operating license and an audits system ; in the CAS the governement has to appprove all real estate transaction a megacorp is involved in ; in Québec it's even tougher since there is a limited numbers of Entreprise Zones to be leased where extraterritoriality can apply. And those three countries signed the BRA !?

It should say somewhere that all Union citizens can vote for all minister-candidates. So a Dane can vote for a Finnish candidate.

Actually they can, but they lose their extraterritorial rights. KE has contracts in several Scandinavian cities.

Thanks a lot, this sounds better than what limited information others have given so far. Must get that book soon.

However there are a few things that made me wonder:

Does it stat that Norway is a republic? Today Norway is a constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary system of government, just like Denmark and Sweden.

That's just like today!

Well Swedish sound just like Danish with your mouth full of hot potatoes.

At least that look better than what was hinted at earlier. I had heard stories about most of Denmark being destroyed by the Black Tide.

Make that closer to 250+ years. Finland was conquered by by the armies of Russian Emperor Alexander I in 1808.

I also though they were finally going to move Iceland from TPA to Scandinavia, since that makes a lot more sense.

Lars

Jutland is most of Denmark...

Didn't Target: Wastelands sort that out. Don't own the book myself, but I believe that was Tzeentch's intention.

You mean the other way around

Here in Sweden, we say that all you need to speak Danish is a throatful of porridge...

My apologies. This is going to be a very busy time for me, as I have 16 hours of college classes and 24 hours of work every week. I'll try and get these pumped out sooner as opposed to later, but I'm struggling to get organized. Spain may actually be done tomorrow; we'll see where things go from there.

Thanks, I am very glad you liked it and understand what I (and the others) wanted to convey. From various previous posts it shows that far to many people have failed to understood it at all.

Say what? It's the other way around. Sober danish sounds like completely wasted swedish.


As a general note the chapter could have used one other part that wasn't included and that would have been a historical part, a quick reference over the last 1.000 years or so. It might have explained a few things and set a few things for the record. Oh well ... that pesky wordcount ... so many cool things so little space.

Iceland was originally supposed to be "moved" to the Union because quite frankly it was one of the strangest and illogical bits of SR canon. What, precisely, does Iceland have to do with ANY tribes at ANY point in history? I came up with some (what I thought was) a plausible explanation regarding fishing rights (got to love archaic international law with regards to economic exclusion zones!) and the fact that the place was kind of depopulated/didn't care enough to contest the claim. Last I recall, there were no protests from the line developers

It's not like the TPA could do a damn thing to stop the Union from taking the place over either. What are they going to do, Ghost Dance all of the nordic countries? They have no military to speak of, zero power projection capability, and so many local problems I doubt that Iceland even enters into the conversation most of the time.

Blarg, best not to think too hard on issues like this. Brain . . . hurting . . .