On Space Wars

[Pedant]

Methinks it may be possible to design a relatively realistic space combat style for the Crayfish Nebula (as realistic as you can get in a world with magic anyway), but for the life of me I absolutely cannot fathom why anyone would fight. Any thoughts on the matter, good folk?

[keenir]

Methinks it may be possible to design a relatively realistic space combat style for the Crayfish Nebula (as realistic as you can get in a world with magic anyway), but for the life of me I absolutely cannot fathom why anyone would fight. Any thoughts on the matter, good folk?

Short answer: Same reasons they would fight inside an atmosphere/gravity well.

Longer Answer: For money, for power, to become powerful, because you were told to, to punish those you see as wrongdoers/evil, to acquire magic/territory/food/technology/etc.

[Ares Land]

Do you have a bit of detail on what the Crayfish Nebula is? (You probably mentioned it before, but I didn't see it. Or I forgot.)

Some idea of what the conworld is like would help

[Pedant]

Do you have a bit of detail on what the Crayfish Nebula is? (You probably mentioned it before, but I didn't see it. Or I forgot.)

Some idea of what the conworld is like would help

No worries!
The Crayfish Nebula is a fairly compact region of space, a roughly spherical shape approximately 200 light-years in diameter. It’s unknown what precisely caused the vast expanse of blinding blue light visible from a great many worlds across the expanse, but whatever did it also twisted space-time a little. Now instead of the local four, seven dimensions are open across the Nebula, allowing among other things the manipulation of local 4D objects through 7D control. In other words—magic. It also allows the existence of souls, and of a “hyperspace” caused by the clustering of mass at a certain point in the Dig and enabling wormhole construction.
The whole area is under the control of a society called the Nexum. A series of patron-client relationships, the older races are deemed responsible for the younger ones, representing their interests at the Concord in exchange for settlement rights in new systems elsewhere. There are often several chains of these: a human wanting to expand to a new system (should they reach that point) would have to go through the Miser Crabs, who would have to take it up with the Ark-Builders, who would make a request of the Predecessors, seven-dimensional hyper-intelligent Ascended beings whose original form was definitively Lost To History sixty-five million years ago. The Predecessors then create a wormhole in space to a pre-scanned system from the home system of humanity, free of charge. (While in theory anyone can spin a wormhole, in practice most people prefer to use the ones created the Predecessors. It’s waaaay less costly—and the Predecessors know it too.)
That’s not to say different races don’t meet and interact themselves. That happens all the time, especially in the stations constructed around the wormholes. But it’s usually arranged by Higher Powers; the more Client species one can demonstrate responsibility for, the higher the rank in the Concord and the more planets allotted. (Sometimes this is useless, like with the Ark-Builders, but then the Ark-Builders have practically reached the level of the Predecessors in all ways but two so they’re an exception.) The Predecessors sit at the top in large part because they are the system; without them the whole thing would collapse, and they are extremely hard to kill.
The Nebula is home to 119 life-bearing planets, 24 of those also being life-birthing planets. (We still don’t know where the Ark-Builders come from. Considering they look like the jumbo version of Baby’s First Cthulhu, maybe it’s better not to spectulate.) There are also (currently) 23 sapient species (two from one planet, two from another, and the rest from their own—a few planets have yet to develop their own sapients yet), eight space-faring empires, and five Patron species (the Predecessors, Ark-Builders, Moulds, Miser Crabs, and Nadders). Technology levels differ, but generally speaking the Patrons offer their Clients new tech once they can actually support themselves in space, and there’s always trade.
Oh, and just as a reminder, the entire nebula is magical, and the type of magic differs from species to species and planet to planet.
Now, what have I missed?

(Also, a picture.)

[keenir]

Do you have a bit of detail on what the Crayfish Nebula is? (You probably mentioned it before, but I didn't see it. Or I forgot.)
Some idea of what the conworld is like would help

No worries!
The Crayfish Nebula is a fairly compact region of space,

The whole area is under the control of a society called the Nexum. A series of patron-client relationships, the older races are deemed responsible for the younger ones, representing their interests at the Concord in exchange for settlement rights in new systems elsewhere. There are often several chains of these: a human wanting to expand to a new system (should they reach that point) would have to go through the Miser Crabs, who would have to take it up with the Ark-Builders, who would make a request of the Predecessors, seven-dimensional hyper-intelligent Ascended beings whose original form was definitively Lost To History sixty-five million years ago. The Predecessors then create a wormhole in space to a pre-scanned system from the home system of humanity, free of charge. (While in theory anyone can spin a wormhole, in practice most people prefer to use the ones created the Predecessors. It’s waaaay less costly—and the Predecessors know it too.)
That’s not to say different races don’t meet and interact themselves. That happens all the time, especially in the stations constructed around the wormholes. But it’s usually arranged by Higher Powers; the more Client species one can demonstrate responsibility for, the higher the rank in the Concord and the more planets allotted.

Oh, and just as a reminder, the entire nebula is magical, and the type of magic differs from species to species and planet to planet.
Now, what have I missed?

Hmmm...well, in relation to the OP of "why would they fight?"...perhaps someone feels slighted? The Nexum society seems to work along the lines of entire species and chains of patronage - not dissimilar to Brin's Uplift universe {something i only noticed when I had already planned out how to reply to this post}
{this is assuredly NOT a problem - I am a huge fan of uplifting, in and out of Brin's universe}

Perhaps a sect or family within one of the species (or a family from each of several species within a patron-line) feels slighted, holding the opinion that they haven't been given the responsibility that they feel they have earned - possibly repeatedly so.

Perhaps a sect or family {etc} has violated the traditions in some way -- illegally settling a planet, or engaging in diplomacy and communications with other Nexum members or non-Nexum members without going through the proper channels {ie, in your example, a group of humans and some Miser Crabs feel able to open talks with the Predecessors without going through the Ark-Builders {maybe not even informing their fellow Miser Crabs of it either}......and another sect or family {etc} wants to take them to task for their "improper" actions.

Perhaps a dispute over a particularly dangerous-seeming/dangerous planetary species, spills over into blockades and more? {if humans are space orcs, imagine finding a planet full of kua toa or beholders with *that* sort of magic, however rare it is on the galactic stage}


Looking forwards to seeing more about this.

[Ares Land]

A possible area of conflict is client species. I think client species would learn to switch allegiances or to threaten to do so to get resources/goods/technology; some patron species would take advantage of this to get more representation in the Concord. Other patron species would resent this.

Factions could break off among client species.

I could see, for instance, a faction of humans breaking off the traditional patronage and seeking the protection of another elder species -- another faction would stick to its traditional allegiance.

You'd have two factions of humans fighting each other, each with different alien help/alien technology.