Thalaran Hegemony
The human empire where the story will begin. Proto-fascist. Recently forged out of a loose confederation of human settlements. It is called a hegemony purely to avoid any knee-jerk negative associations with the word "empire".
Structure
Lord Mordant is the supreme leader. He is surrounded by sycophants, as anyone who disagreed with him was purged years ago. Functionaries beneath that level do the actual work of running the empire. Most of them are aligned with Mordant's views although perhaps not as strongly in private.
Culture
Tense and suspicious. Humans were always numerous but fairly quiescent, trading in goods and services across the continent. A general sense of dissatisfaction arose 30 years ago, and was seized upon by certain schemers and plotters. Mordant was very much a lesser figure in this group, but rose to power by addressing the population directly and saying outrageous things that everyone else was too polite to say. There is now a deep divide among Thalarans, between fanatical supporters of the Lord and his xenophobic policies, and those who wish to coexist peacefully with the other species and the natural world.
Public Agenda
Propaganda positions humans as superior to all other species, with human-like species (elves and halflings, mainly) second-best and all others of decreasing worth as they get further from the human ideal. So dwarves and gnomes are looked down on, but at least they're better than goblins or orcs. Magic is good when it is used in service of the state, deeply suspect otherwise.
Assets
The Thalaran Hegemony controls vast tracts of farmland. Like humans elsewhere, they have recently introduced capitalism into this world, and are beginning to hoard wealth.
History
Pre-Convergence, the people of Thalar were mostly from the United States. The capitol is located where humans from Texas wound up. The Hegemony has grown to encompass most former Americans, and is aggressively trying to spread further.
Demography and Population
There are about as many humans in the world as all other humanoids combined. That said, humans are even more overrepresented in Thalar, especially as you get closer to the capital. Elves and halflings are mostly accepted, even exoticised, although intermarriage is definitely frowned on by loyalists. Dwarves and gnomes are tolerated, usually, especially as merchants and laborers. Most loyalists wouldn't befriend one or want one as a neighbor. Orcs, goblinoids, and other obviously non-human species are almost never seen in the capital except when passing through, and even then are likely to see significant discrimination. Further from the capital, demographics look more like the rest of the world.
Military
The Thalaran Hegemony has parlayed its very large population into the largest standing army in the world. It is an order of magnitude larger than is actually needed to protect them from any possible invasion. The military is thus used as a constant threat against other nations, and many territories have been annexed simply by having the military roll in and set up camp, without a single arrow or spell ever being fired.
The military does almost nothing at all to protect people from monstrosities unless they are completely unable to avoid it (e.g. a military camp is attacked directly instead of the nearby village). That is the purview of the Adventurers' Guild, and there is very little overlap between the two skillsets.
Technological Level
Humans of Thalar rely on non-magical technology more than most other people. Water- and windmills, gothic architecture, the printing press. Cranes. Parachutes. Paddlewheel boats. Lack of easy access to large quantities of metal has thusfar hampered the development of steam technology, though humans elsewhere may have already cracked it. If so, Thalar will acquire it as soon as they learn of it.
Religion
Publicly, Mordant gives lip service to gods such as Chauntea and Sune, but rarely seems to know who they are or anything about them. They are very popular among the people nonetheless. Waukeen and Torm are much more aligned with the nation as it seems to want to be, and are worshiped by the merchant class and the military respectively.
Foreign Relations
Lord Mordant is utterly convinced that he is the greatest person ever, and that his Hegemony is the greatest nation ever. He goes into every interaction with other nations from this viewpoint. He likes to think he is projecting strength, and that he is respected and feared by all. In truth he is considered a buffoon, and is largely despised by almost everyone outside of Thalar (and many within), but since he controls the single most powerful nation in the world, they have no choice but to nod politely. Mordant is always looking for an excuse to use his military. Lacking that, he uses the nation's wealth as a cudgel.
Laws
30 years ago there were very few "laws" in Thalar, and no fulltime law enforcement. Since then, a vast byzantine code of laws has grown, along with an entire ecosystem of enforcing them and punishing transgressions. Mordant is the source of most of the laws, which is complicated because he will frequently rail against something once, and laud it a year later. The result is that no one is entirely certain what is legal and what is not, and thus anyone could be arrested for anything at any time. This is exacerbated by the fact that the cruelest bullies and thugs gravitate toward police work in order to indulge their vices without repercussion.
Agriculture & Industry
Thalar is mostly farmland. In the revised history, humans have been farmers and simple laborers in this land for thousands of years. There are mills in every settlement, and the larger towns and cities are centers of trade with other nations.
Humans are just beginning to reinvent industry. New machines are being invented but are not yet widespread. There are not yet "factories" in the sense that we know them. However, in the name of efficiency, many things that used to be made by individual skilled artisans are now made by large groups of people each doing one part of the process. This applies to clothing, armor and weapons, carts and wagons, and many more.
Trade & Transport
Thalar produces enough lumber for its own use but little more. There is a great surplus of food and wool generally, and a shortage of raw metals and things made from metal. This is the basis for the majority of trade, especially with dwarves and gnomes.
There is a network of carts and covered wagons drawn by teams of horses that allows for faster travel than most other lands have without magic. Major routes have rest stops where the horses can be detached and replaced with a fresh team, when speed is of the essence. On the rivers, the paddlewheel boats (powered by prisoners on treadmills) are so new that most people still stop and stare when one goes by.
For the People
Type
Geopolitical, Empire
Demonym
Thalaran
Leader
Head of State
Government System
Despotism
Power Structure
Unitary state
Economic System
Mixed economy
Major Exports
Food
Wool
Magic items
Wool
Magic items
Major Imports
Metal ore, refined metal, metallic goods
Magic items
Magic items
Notable Members
Related Species
Comments