Thoughts
IMVHO Its mostly that old problem of in-game consequences.
The game calls them nukes so they are nukes, so Player X fires a nuke at a target in Atlas Park. What level of crime is this and how would the wider world respond?
Is this a worse crime than a Rad/Rad dropping a [Neutron Bomb] or [Atomic Blast] power?
If its inside Paragon or the Isle does it count as more than the normal level of carnage and destruction?
If it was outside Paragon or the Isle would it be classed differently?
Can you get away with firing a Warburg nuke at Atlas Park, but not at Times Square?
Currently the works Nuke and WMDs are the big terror words and the ultimate level of weaponry in the Real World in-game we have other threats. But outside of the battle ground that is Paragon, we have no hints how the wider world would view such things beyond the UN and Lord Recluse talking about them.
In most game situations we tend to assume a Real World crime and punishment system, the question then become how can you apply this to Player X.
Personally for in-game RP, unless you have some vital plot point that needs a live nuke, I would ignore them as WMD, and avoid the whole issue. Use them as guide missile sure, but assume its explosive warhead. Yes this is the easy way out, but its simple it works and gets around the thorny issue of in game consequences and the problems of them being applied evenly.
This was an issue that came up a while ago, and is probably going to come up in the future as well, and now that things seem relatively settled with sever list merge, here it is.
Warburg has WMDs. It also has WMDs that our villains (and even heroes) can gain the launch codes for and use. How on earth does this work in a roleplaying setting? What would be the ramifications of someone, IC, firing of a nuclear warhead from Warburg inside Paragon (for example)? Nuclear weapons (and chemical ones) are something of a big deal, to put it mildly. The destructive firepower Warburg potentially offers is something of a problem.
Here are my thoughts.
One issue we had when this issue was raised was whether the nukes were, in fact, actual nuclear weapons, on the basis they dont really do the massive devastation real nukes do. Beyond simple balancing reasons, Id say that doesnt matter. The power is called [Nuclear Blast], and you can select the payload from that terminal with a big nuclear trefoil on it. Im pretty sure, in game, its a nuke. A nuke that inexplicably doesnt do much damage, but hey, this is a comic book world. I can use polonium irradiation to improve my health with Science! Besides, even if the [Nuclear Blast]s are not, in fact, nuclear blasts, you cant really argue the same thing about the chemical weapons.
Secondly, these weapons have been used on US soil. In the description of Warburg it mentions the fact that Marshall Blitz launched warheads armed with various toxins at Paragon, which is why Longbow were given a Presidential mandate to go in and sort it out. We also have Lord Recluse telling the UN that hell deal with the situation. I can only conclude therefore that using such weapons isnt as big a deal as it would be in the real world. Yes, it prompted a response, but it wasnt the US and allies bombarding Warburg into the stone-age. They sent in Longbow and metahumans.
Yes, to some extent that could never happen, because if theyd done that, then there wouldnt be the PVP zone where we could run around collecting nuclear weapons. But so what? Contrivance or not, we have to run with that the Canon tells us. We might as well ask why the US hasnt done more about the Etoile Isles, given Arachnos has launched repeated attacks against the them. Or start complaining about the various other times narrative imperative has trumped realism.
So, in my humble opinion, yes, there are nukes and other fun toys in Warburg, and yes people can, and do, use them, and while this might elicit some response, it wouldnt be as drastic as it would be in the real world. If you go round firing off a lot of these things youll probably garner some attention from Longbow and some of the premier super groups in the city but that would probably be about it. These are, however, only my opinions.
I await other peoples thoughts on the matter.
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