Possible spoiler (from Jhereg so probably not tho): S P O I L E R MAD assumes two things that I don't believe exist in the case of Drageara. For MAD to work, there has to be a secured second strike capability. The most unstable situation with any WMD is not 1.) when 1 power has it or 2.) when 2 or more powers possess the weapons and have a secured second strike capability. The most insecure situation is when one or both powers in a conflict have WMD but their ability to retaliate is in doubt. It encourages a use it or lose it mentality -- for example, if Iran ever develops nukes, I'm sure the Israeli government will debate long and hard about hitting Iran with a devastating nuclear strike before it can hit them. The period between when Iran develops its first weapon and when it develops a secured second strike capability could be the most unstable the region has ever seen. I haven't seen any evidense that even a great wizard could rig a "doomsday" spell to go off if he or she was ever killed by a forbidden or pre-empire spell. In other words, if you're using pre-empire sorcery or amorphia in a battle, make sure that you kill the other guy first and you should be fine (assuming you can control the amorphia after using it). Second, MAD assumes that there is no defense against the weapons, and if you can defend against the WMD (aka amorphia), then you are much more difficult to deter. Aliera, for example, has the power to control and harness amorphia. I think she says that the power to create amorphia can't be learned and comes from a specific blood line, so I don't know if Morrolan / Sethra / the Necromancer / the emporer(ess) could create it (and the question arises that if they cannot create it, can they cause it to disappear). In other words, I think most dragaerans cannot hope to touch these skills (creating amorphia and pre-empire sorcery), and so naturally they fear those individuals who have the ability to use these skills. Any deterrence would seem to be more along the lines of the tacit deterrence against biological weapons during WWII. There were no official agreements to not use mustard gas made before or during WWII. However, all the great powers remembered how bad mustard gas was during WWI, and so they were content to forego the weapon as long as everyone else did the same. If one country had started using mustard gas, ALL the other countries would have begun to do so soon thereafter. Along the same lines, if one wizard started using pre-empire sorcery in battle, odds are good that every other wizard capable of doing so (probably a very short list) would soon be using pre-empire sorcery too. Individuals such as Aliera would probably still make it out of the battles alive, but the effects on the normal troops and on the landscape would be devastating. Howard Brazee <howard at brazee.net> wrote: It seems to me that there might be a MAD strategy in Dragaera. There are powers that most Dragaerans fear to touch - and some of the people we have met could qualify as "mad scientists" by our standards. But we've seen indications that MAD might not be enough to keep these powers >from being used.