You are citizens of The Empire, the greatest nation in the world. It is the year 2512 IC, some 10 years into the reign of the great Emperor Karl Franz. He is a mighty ruler, Commander-in-Chief of the Imperialist Army and lives in the capital, Altdorf, some 340 miles by road from Middenheim.
The Empire is divided into Electoral Provinces, large regions ruled by powerful nobles who gather together and elect a new Emperor on the death of the old Emperor. These are:
- the Principality of Reikland
- the Duchy of Middenland
- the Principality of Ostland
- the Duchy of Talabecland
- the County of Stirland
- the County of Averland
- the Barony of Sudenland
- and the halfling Mootland.
is ruled by Baron Nikse as a vassal of the Graf of Middenheim. The Sea of Claws bound The Empire to the North, and mountains to the east, south and west. In addition, the nations of Bretonnia (south-west), Marienburg (west) and Kislev (northeast) surround the nation, and demand constant vigilance.
Middenheim is allied to Kislev because of their common belief in Ulric, but both the others are historical enemies. Indeed, Marienburg used to form part of The Empire, but it revolted many years ago. It is the major trading port in the Old World and is full of merchants and other money-grubbers.
Imperialist citizens like you know that the Emperor is simply biding his time before re-capturing the city, and hanging the fat merchants by their purse strings.
As citizens of Middenheim, you are held to be familiar with the city. Middenheim is situated on top of a sheer crag, Fauschlag, and can only be entered by one of four gates served by great viaducts rising from the forest floor 500 feet below or either of two chair lifts. Buildings in the city are made of stone that was mined from the rock or hardwood taken from the forest below. Architecture is impressive – though run down in places – and reflects the liberal and artistic nature of the city.
Middenheim is the centre of worship for the Cult of Ulric (see below) but is a generally tolerant place to all faiths and peoples. You can select any (legal) faith that you desire. Graf Boris Todbringer rules the city. The city is split into a number of districts. You are required, by law, to own one of a crossbow, a longbow or a sword, and to train for two hours per week as members of the Citizen Levy.
There is a standing army of mercenaries and the City Watch patrol the streets to make them safe for the citizenry. Middenheim is also the home of the (Ulrican) Templar Order of the White Wolf.
Your knowledge of the rest of The Empire is fairly limited in most cases. The Empire is a highly regional nation; think of it more as a loose confederation of states, ruled by a centrally elected Emperor. This means that there is strong regional diversity in all areas. Whilst there is a theoretically uniform law, economy, language and culture, expect regional variations. In general, you are aware of the hierarchical nature of things. At the peak are the gods, then the Emperor, then the Electors, and finally an assortment of lesser nobility. As urban dwellers, you are familiar with elected governments of sorts, but these are simply servants for the nobility. Most towns have councils, but these are actually simply representatives of the varied ruling groups – the guilds, landowners and urban nobility – within the town. The closest that The Empire approaches to a democracy is in the election of its portreeves, who are elected by a ballot of all the property owning citizens.
Whilst theoretically representatives of the people, rather than businesses, they are usually senior figures within guilds. The number of portreeves varies between settlements, whilst villages have a single mayor to represent them. Despite the nominally uniform Code of Law throughout The Empire, there are still many local customs and laws. In some cases, it is simply that these have yet to be officially overturned, but like many other things within The Empire, it is often politically impossible to over-write local laws. Imperial power is very weak in local regions, and local lords have almost complete independence to do as they wish. A coroner is appointed by the Emperor to investigate crimes against Imperial law. In general, if you witness a crime or discover a body you are expected to raise hue and cry. This will mean shouting and giving chase, or alerting the local residences and authorities to the crime. You must not interfere with the crime scene. Failure to carry out your duty is an offence leading to a fine. In reality, most people simply try and avoid trouble and stay well clear of the legal authorities. The other basic legal issue is the need for permissions. Basically the authorities control everything, and you need a permit or warrant to carry out most tasks. Travelling, buying and selling goods, carrying weapons and many other things may only be done where you have the authority. Some of these permits are written parchments, others are deemed from wearing appropriate livery or trading under a guild sign. There are even wands of carved bone, silver or gold that offer more permanent rights, so you hear said. In any event, make sure you have the right permissions – or good forgeries, of course! As a citizen of Middenheim, you are deemed to have most of the appropriate approvals from your residency.
The nature of The Empire also leads to a repetition of many services by Empire, provincial ruler and private individuals.
For example, road wardens are Imperial employees patrolling the Emperor’s roads. However, there are also provincial road wardens employed by local rulers and civil authorities to patrol the lesser (provincial) roads, and private organisations – such as the coaching houses – who employ road wardens to serve their own interests, such as protect inns and coaches.
Similarly, whilst towns and cities employ a civil police force, the Watch, others also employ their own local forces, particularly wealthy city areas, who wish to keep out the riffraff, and merchant
areas, who wish to deter thefts. Your character has to be careful which type of official he is dealing with, especially as many are nothing more than hired bullies.
Imperial society is not a literate one. Since most people are illiterate, information is obtained by the spoken word and not the written one. Most people are likely to be awed by parchment writing, seals and the like, but will obtain their news and information from criers.
Cities and towns employ public criers to disseminate public information, but private criers will also be found proclaiming whatever they have been paid to say. Use criers as a source of
general information – including jobs.
Currency in The Empire is standardised at 1 Gold Crown = 20 Silver Shillings = 240 Brass Pennies. You should note that despite this uniformity coins are minted locally at approved mints, and are only technically valid in certain areas and/or businesses. Similarly, providing a customer with change requires a licence; Middenheim accords this to all businesses registered within the city, and Imperial
edict allows change for payments to Imperialist operatives or franchised businesses. Coins are also liable to counterfeiting and clipping; poor quality coins may not be accepted.
Most beer throughout The Empire is brewed in local town breweries or in individual roadside taverns, and is extremely variable. Similarly, food is likely to be extremely variable, and most Old Worlder diets will consider food that we consider as inedible as perfectly palatable.
Most households have few basics and even fewer luxuries. For example, it is rare anywhere in The Empire for anyone other than a rich head of household to sit in an armchair. For most, benches and stools is the best seating that can be hoped for. What does an Old Worlder think when they look out of their window, assuming they have one? An Old Worlder must see the world as a hostile, alien place in which they scramble to find a niche where they will be able to live in peace, provided
they abase themselves before their “natural” superiors and work themselves to their physiological limits – and beyond.
Certainly chaos is enough to worry the Old World, but to most life itself is enough of a hardship.
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