Military/Social Organisation

The Rising Sun Empire.

The Rising Sun Empire is mostly made up of small towns and farming communities, with the a few large cities. Their society is controlled by the emperor, who with the help of regional governors he controls the lands with an iron fist. The political situation within the empire is volatile, caused mostly by political infighting between the emperors own aides, the military leadership and private individuals. The cities of the Rising Sun Empire are typically built of stone, they are well built and designed. Larger cities are typically walled, and patrolled frequently by guards. The military of the Empire consists of infantry, who form both a police and offensive/defensive fighting force. The military are under the direct control of the emperor who issues orders through his generals. Governors of a city frequently support small garrisons of their own who serve as personal guards and carry out the orders of their master.

Marriage patterns in the Rising Sun Empire are based on status and wealth. For the masses marriage is monogamous, women have no rights to divorce but men may divorce a woman if they have sufficient grounds. In the upper echelons of society, polygamy is common practice, a man has one wife and any number of concubines. In these cases titles are only given to children of the individuals wife. The marriage ceremony is a simple affair where the couple wishing to marry must take oaths in front of a priest.

The Nomadic Clans.

Each nomadic clan organises itself differently, the similarities are in that they all have a leadership based on the family group. The individual family groups spend much time away from each other so when they do meet, so do the leaders. It is often the case that at set times of the year groups will meet in a previously arranged place, tales and merchandise are exchanged and problems are figured out.

Marriage is monogamous and the line is traced through the male, females leave their own family and become a member of their husbands. Duties are shared between the family with very little gender bias, childcare is typically communal. In the case of laws and punishment, a practical eye for an eye approach is taken in the case of serious crimes the accused is usually tried in front of a group of elders, and sentence is passed. The families band together for mutual defence, any outside aggressor faces guerrilla warfare and hit and run attacks that will harass and inconvenience formations of troops, and decimate small skirmishing groups. Against internal threats, families call in allied families and use similar tactics against each other, few battlefield engagements have ever occurred.

The Drakespire Alliance.

The Drakespire alliance is made up of a large number of small villages and several large towns. The largest towns are mostly subterranean, created within massive underground caverns that are thousands of years old. Food is produced in large underground gardens, that make use of magical light and ancient plumbing systems. Smaller towns rely on surface mining, and on more traditional farming techniques.

Marriage is monogamous and for life, divorce is unheard of. Due to the close knit society, the concept of law and order is paramount to life in the major cities. Almost all crimes carry stiff penalties, ranging from fines to imprisonment, very rarely is a death sentence passed. Local soldiers act as a police force, as well as defending the town from any hostile force. The cities are ruled over by a local bureaucracy, the Alliance its self is controlled by a council of nine individuals. When one member of the council leaves or dies, he or she is replaced by the selection of a new member by the rest of the council. Often this replacement is suggested by the prior member, often a relative or trusted aide.

Deseryian Concordance.

The Concordance is made up of towns and mining villages dotted around, and on both sides of the mountains. Trade is the mainstay of their survival, without it they do not have a sufficient farming base to support their population. Each town is ruled over by a council, and representatives from each town meet monthly to discuss common details. Laws are practical and very eye for an eye, banishment is common, flogging and stocks also, death is reserved for higher crimes. Marriage is monogamous and for life. The military are primarily centred around militia forces with minimal amounts of standing forces that also police the towns.

Council of the Moon.

Individual member villages of the council govern and manage themselves, typically based on the idea of a head man or village elder. Law and order is maintained by a combination of local individuals and the Rangers. The council consists of representatives from individual villages and members of the Rangers. In most cases a representative from one village will speak for many other villages, this reduces the numbers of individuals at a council meeting, whilst ensuring each village gets a fair say. Life in the great forest is centred around family and home, villages are usually fairly small, and so people tend not to be very worldly. Most villages support themselves by hunting and farming, with those villages in the deeper forest and the jungle rely far more on gathering and hunting.

The Rangers are totally responsible for military actions, and they are responsible for more severe punishments. Crimes are typically punished with fines or banishment, on rare occasion death for the crime of murder. Only the sentencing of the village elder and a Ranger permits a death sentence. Rangers are appointed by the council and a group of retired Rangers, this group is also responsible for revoking the position if charges are brought against a Ranger. Rangers spend a lot of time travelling, primarily to spread around their experience and allow the land between villages to be patrolled. It is common for younger Rangers to spend time drifting from one place to another, this is encouraged to give them time to develop and mature.

The Cerinthian Empire.

The cities and towns of the Cerinthian empire are centres for commerce, trade and art. The citizens of these places are very worldly in their views, but simultaneously tend to have a low opinion of outsiders, especially those from cultures they see as far lesser than their own. As such Elves and Nomads are misunderstood by the townspeople and they are treated with at best coldness, often contempt. Those living in the more rural areas value art less, but find pleasure in tale telling, music and song. They are far more open minded about other cultures and far less racist. The Empire affords equal personal legal status to women, but they may not vote or hold property. Marriage is monogamous, divorce is possible but very difficult.

The military of the Cerinthian Empire is highly organised, well disciplined and extensively trained. The Military is centred around small groups of heavily armoured cavalry, groups of equally armoured elite heavy infantry, and large numbers of lighter infantry. In rare circumstances these standing forces will be supported by local militia. The typical fighting force is one thousand strong, organised into groups of fifty. The first group is elite heavy cavalry, the second three lighter skirmishing cavalry. The next four groups elite heavy infantry, the remaining twelve are moderately armoured infantry.

Due to the high population density of the Cerinthian Empire, law and order are very important to the typical citizen. Penalties are based on the crime, with maximum and minimum penalties set down for any crimes. Typically breaking minor laws results in fines, more serious crimes are punishable by imprisonment and in the case of murder execution. Crimes against citizens of high standing carry stiffer penalties, also the same citizens also tend to be favoured by the legal system.

Due to the partially democratic nature of the Cerinthian political system, corruption is fairly low. The emperor has the power to veto any decision made by the senate or his lords, but as he removable by a large enough coalition of senators, this power is used rarely. The emperor does however have great power, and rewards his allies appropriately.

The Northern Wasteland.

Day to day life in the Northern Wastes is centred around fishing and hunting, typically ordered around patriarchal gender specific tasks. Typically villages are small and usually one individual acts as leader and the arbiter of disagreements, this individual is typically the most respected male in the village. Relations between villages are based on trade and mutual co-operation, some villages have excellent ties and will assist each other in any way possible, others are constantly hostile with each other, resulting in small skirmishes as they compete with each other. Typically relations are good, and the distances between villages is sufficient to reduce tension considerably.

A typical village will be built on a hill or other defensible point, surrounded by a wooden wall, and defended by all of the inhabitants. Most construction will be done with wood, typically using thatch for roofing. Stone is occasionally used for important buildings, or to add strength to other buildings.

Marriage is polygamous with lineage traced through the male. Males can have more than one wife but not women, but a bride price must be paid to the father of the bride and so it is rare to find a male with more than one wife. Divorce is acceptable but the woman must be remarried, and to someone outside of the village. If their husband dies the woman tends to remarry out of necessity, often they will marry their brother-in law or other blood relation of their husband. Laws vary from one tribe to another as does punishment, the village leader will assign punishment based on situation. Punishments tend to be along the lines of an eye for an eye, but banishment and fines are common, social crimes especially (adultery for example) are frequently punished by banishment.

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