• Overview
• Origins
• Racial Types
• Political Structure
• Social Structure
• Military Structure
• Settlement Patterns
  • Commonalities
• Economic Groups
  • Guilds
  • Merchant Houses

Overview

"Ducals" is a loosely defined term meaning the predominant human population of the Duchy. In terms of contemporary Terran cultures they are largely Germanic in nature, and they form the core that the other races and groups operate around in the area.

Origins

The Grand Duchy was settled by no less than five different waves of settlers from various parts of the Empire, but none were larger or more influential than the third wave. This group was very germanic in flavor, and that influence permeates the Duchy to this day.

The first wave was comprised of an Imperial Army and it's followers, and had the mongrel composition typical to the conscripted forces of the Empire. They easily beat back the local barbarians to secure fresh territory for the Empire.

The second wave was settlers from various parts of the Empire, coming in to carve a new life out of the wilderness. Coming from all over the Empire as they did, they were prone to fractious disagreements about how best to develop the lands, how to govern them, and the like. The lands were tough and unyeilding, so comparatively few chose to try to make a new life here.

Then came the largest wave, when the Imperial province of Grauberge? was stricken with plagues and other disasters. Over 150,000 of the people from Grauberge chose to come to Haukmoor, in the hopes of preserving their culture and re-creating what they had lost.

The fourth group was a group of religious settlers fleeing persecution in the southwestern reaches of the Empire. These settlers primarily occupied the lands east of the Spine, finding those in the Vale to be not to their liking. They lived in small, insular communities east of the Tramnicht River?, and rarely communicated with others... until they were overrun by the Unmen in the first wars.

The final large influx was actually not from the Empire at all, but twelve thousand Anurashi from the far south. Their darker skin set them apart from the rest of the inhabitants of the Duchy, and their strange ways set them against those in the Duchy many a time. Unlike the fourth group, however, they did not settle in groups, but dispersed across the Duchy, and have gradually interbred with the markedly caucasian peoples that form the bulk of the populace. Some areas of the larger towns are still somewhat ghetto-like, however, where blond hair becomes replaced with dark black, and the skins shade to a pale brown.

Racial Types

The blood of the Ducals is well mixed after four hundred years as the hinterlands of the Empire, but pockets of various genotypes do continue to exist in certain smaller villages in remote areas, as well as in ghettoes in the larger cities. Despite this, almost every human encountered in the duchy will be of fair to light-olive skin, with a larger than average proportion of curly, blond hair and blue eyes.

Political Structure

Strongly feudal, with clear delineations of land and power from the Archduke down to the most minor nobleman. Larger cities will sometimes have an elected council, but their authority derives directly from the ruling lord of the city in all but guild matters.

Social Structure

A fiercely law-abiding people, given to sacrificing individual benefit for the benefit of the group - so long as what is being asked of them is permissible under the feudal bonds. They are also very concious of the two-way nature of the feudal bond and will be reluctant to sacrifice for nobles who have not been holding up their end of the bargain, especially in terms of defence of hearth and home.

Military Structure

The armed forces of the Duchy are divided into three main groups.

The smallest of the groups is the Imperial army, which has decreased over the years to a mere regiment in size (2500 men).

The next largest is the Ducal army, a full 40,000 men strong. These men are paid from the coffers of the Duchy, and are the primary force that holds the more distant fortresses and passes.

The largest in sheer numbers of men and units, but possibly least effective, are the feudal forces. These are raised and paid for by the nobles of given areas, and range from the division-sized (15,000 men) force of Duke Peter in the Donnerebenen Duchy, down to the hundreds of platoon-sized forces belonging to local minor nobles. These forces vary widely in training and equipment, and are rarely seen outside the holdings of their lords.

Settlement Patterns

There are three main groupings of settlements. The oldest and largest are in the Vale, where people tend to be more conservative and insular. Many of these locations are also poorly defended, as they see the mountains that surround them as ample protection.

Next are the independent, fierce-minded folks on the eastern side of the Spine of the World. They often reject the conservative mindset and tend to be fairly hawkish, as they see the best defense as a strong offense. Most of these places were razed during the last major war, so they aren't as large as the communities in the Vale, but they have still grown to a respectable population. They do tend to be fairly heavily fortified, and the populations are generally competent militiamen.

Finally there are the frontiersmen; those that either reject the feudal rule and think they can avoid it by moving to the fringes, or who want to avail themselves of the possibilities that exist in such untapped lands. There's no set balance in terms of wanting the war to resume, as they know their situation is precarious, and they also don't welcome the attention that large military forces would bring.

Commonalities

The large cities have outlying towns which in turn have clusters of villages and hamlets around them. Raw materials go from the hamlets or villages to the towns, where they may either be processed or sent along to the large cities.

The largest of the cities will have economic impacts hundreds of miles away, where farmers, loggers, and miners work daily to provide for people they will never see.

Economic Groups

Guilds

Merchant Houses