So, my players are off of 237, and a new assignment awaits. The wolrd i'll be plopping them on is as follows. feedback appreciated.
World: Rattoria, Imperial World
Tithe: Exactus Majoris.
Pop: ~ 11.2 B. The majority of the population has concentrated in urban areas, and at least one major hive looks to be forming in the capital of Hadren. None the less, a sizeable portion still lives in rural and semi-rural areas. In general these areas have either been specifically reserved for agriculture or resource extraction, or have been deemed incapable of sustaining major growth.
The population are all members of one of the fifty seven major clans that developed when the world was cut off from the Imperium. The importance and concentration of this particular aspect varies greatly depending on advancement. In Hadren, a clan name is little more than an identifier, and the population a heterogenous mix of all. In less developed areas, clans form the basis of local power, with great respect and influence being given to clan elders and leaders rather than government authority. It is not uncommon to see large swathes of land effectively populated by only one clan. This effect is mirrored in all the major cities, though each city typically has only five to seven major clans that make up the population base.
In addition, many citizens owe loyalty to one of the twenty three cities, which were major city states prior to Unification at the hands of an Imperial expedition. The level of nationalism varies, and has been on a steady decline, but still plays a large role in the interactions of local trade and politics. In addition, these city-states, born of clan alliances, were major backers of industry and mercantile pursuits, meaning many of the agencies wealth have direct monetary ties to one city or another. Combined with clan structure, this forms an intricate web of responsibilities, duties, loyalties, and traditions that outsiders find maddeningly confusing and frustrating. It, of course, makes perfect sense to the residents.
Geography: Rattoria consists of a single panaceaic continent in a large temperate zone, surrounded by a scattering of twenty seven small islands; fifteen to the north, twelve to the south. The poles also have substantial land masses, but are buried beneath substantial amounts of ice and permafrost. It is theorized that increased sea levels are responsible for this rather unique geography, as beneath the waves there are indications of what have once might coastal plains.
Air flow from the poles to the coasts tends to create choppy and stormy seas as a norm, and warm air coming from the center of the panacea meets the cold fronts over the coastal regions. They are inevitably rainy and subject to frequent changes in weather. As a result, sea lift is particularly expensive and dangerous, and interior lines of transport have been developed.
Twenty-three major cities dot the landscape, typically concentrating in proximity to resources and arable land, or along key junctions at interior rivers and other transport hubs.
Hadren, the capital, is seated in a unique position giving it access to a major river, substantial arable land, and a nearby mountain range still rich in minerals. Its position near the range’s major passes and the river ensures it remains a major transportation hub.
There are two spaceports on Rattoria, one in Hadren, and the other across the world in the city of Quinlan.
Government: Constitutional Despotism. The government of Rattoria is headed by the Lord Protector, who is also the Planetary Governor. He wields substantial power over every aspect of Rattorian policy, though he is naturally assisted by a burgeoning bureaucracy.
None the less, the Protector is advised by an Assembly of fifty seven representatives, each representing one of the planet’s original major clans, and twenty-three Councilors, each representing one of the city-states that were unified under Imperial Reclamation. Though technically both groups only have the right to advise the Lord Protector, and demand his audience once every half year, they represent powerful interests and their presence keeps an otherwise factional people unified. As such, the balance of power between them and the Protector is always in flux depending on circumstance and personality.
The Lord Protector must, upon his ascent to the position, select a successor from a different city and a different clan. Usually he selects a protégé from an allied pairing with similar interests, to ensure his own long life.
Planetary Governor: Lord Protector Jastilus Serghar (of clan Serghar, and the city state Transab)
Adept Presence: All common Imperial agencies retain some form of representation in each major city, though Hadren typically sees them operating on a grander scale.
Trade: Rattoria has reached a high technological and industrial standard, though it pales in the face of a true hive or forge world. All of the common staples of Imperial Society can be found here, from cogitators and servitors to las guns and security measures. Naturally, most of this tech is located in the cities, or is specifically dedicated to mining and industry sites. Less developed areas benefit from its offshoot, but are rarely capable of replicating it themselves.
Internal trade, regulated by the cities and the clans, flourishes, though the planetary government effectively controls all offworld exports (albeit, usually by buying up local trade at a rate no considers disadvantageous enough to cause more than an angry speech.) Each city retains a basic industrial base from its pre-unification days, though the modern Rattoria shows an ever increasing trend towards specialization.
The economy has done so well that the administratum has been able to levy significant tithes in metals, radioactives, and money. Rattoria’s tithe has greatly contributed to the governance of the Josian Reaches.
Military: The Lord Protector is the Warmaster for a large and well armed PDF. Nearly five million men under arms flesh out the PDF across the world, and it is replete with mechanized forces, artillery support, and a substantial aerospace corps. The PDF is also responsible for manning ground based macro batteries for orbital defense. It is considered a high honor to serve in the PDF, and a direct mark of servitude to the Emperor.
The protector is also supported by a four hundred thousand man strong Corps of Adjudicators, who in addition to serving as a military force, also house the planetary intelligence agencies and enforcer organizations. The Adjudicators also have several business interests on planet, used as both a means of influence and funding. As the adjudicators continue in this role regardless of the Protector in power, they are viewed with suspicion, and are often resented by both those in and out of power. Which, to date, has not stopped them from continuing to increase in influence and power.
Each city-state, may, by the dictates of Unification, maintain a para-military police force of up to seventy thousand, though heavy weaponry is limited to fixed defenses for the city, and a small armored force. The quality and primary role of these forces vary wildly from city to city, but is a matter of prestige and religious observance to keep them at their full number.
Each clan, though technically not authorized to do so, maintains militias ranging from well organized paramilitary forces to loose raider bands. Heavy weaponry is rare, coordination is minimal, and tolerance for casualties tends to be low. Still, a heritage and religion based on war tends to make every clansman a warrior, at least in his own eyes. This is particularly prevalent in less prosperous regions.
As with politics, attempting to discern the nature of hierarchy and role of these separate forces is a task outsiders usually fail at. This, perhaps, explains the infrequent recruiting of guard regiments from an otherwise prosperous, and militant, world. When recruited, they tend to make fine shock troops, and their faith in the Warrior Emperor makes them excellent candidates for Inquisitorial Forces.
Religion: The population venerates the Emperor as the Great Conqueror, using holy War and Hate to uplift mankind in common cause just as the clans and cities were united by his warriors. While clans and cities may argue and disagree on many things, the particularly strident measures of the Imperial Creed are universally respected. The Ecclesiarchy is particularly militant, and no career on Rattoria goes far without a stint as a chaplain for one of the various fighting forces.
History: Rattoria was a lost colony, though exactly when it was lost has been a matter of debate since no surviving records exist from that time. It was found again a mere seventeen hundred years ago.
The Explorators who found the planet found twenty three city states in a state of perpetual skirmish. Further delving revealed that after the planet had been cut off by warp storms, society had degenerated to a near feral state, with the last vestiges of civilization being preserved by Mechanicus holdouts.
Eventually, fifty seven major tribes emerged from the chaos, and these in turn became the clans. The clans warred for resources, for land, and for precious pieces of preserved technology, but no one side ever managed to emerge dominant. It is theorized this is because with the fighting force directly coming from the same clansmen who farmed, hunted, and smithed, no one could afford a decisive battle.
Inevitably, a web of alliances were made, and with the passage of time, some of them became permanent. These slowly grew into cities, as regional hubs became power bases. The secrets of the Mechanicus, at least those few that had been preserved, began to re-emerge as commonalities.
Slowly, a peace broke out. Cities continued to raid and skirmish throughout a long cold war, but each side was too busy trying to build itself up to what it had lost to truly dedicate itself to conquest. While untold millions died over this long period, their deaths were, from a historical perspective, irrelevant, as were the petty conflicts they fought in. Civilization advanced in spite of, not because of, them. The city-states each fiercely retained their independence and their own culture, while clan ties further prevented any unification. This is the state the Explorators found Rattoria in.
After identifying the potential riches of the planet, the subsequent Imperial invasion was a matter of time. Despite fierce opposition, the city states never unified of their own right, leading to their rapid demise. Within twenty years the planet was pacified, and the cult of the Emperor as Warmaster was quickly adapted by those who had spent their people’s history in some form of conflict, and saw His influence as the only way their proud warrior traditions could have been over thrown.
In the following millennia, with increased imperial presence, Rattoria began to develop quickly, and has since turned into a staunch, and rich, Imperial world. While still not unified culturally, its population is devoted to the Emperor, and loyal to the Imperium.
Since you place that much afford into something that will be over in mere minutes, I am eager to see what you brewed up for what will have to hold the players attention for some hours of gaming.
