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Message: <blockquote data-quote="AnonymousOne" data-source="post: 3732512" data-attributes="member: 50316">Alright so I figure we'll go ahead and throw up the rest of the campaign setting.  Prepare for FLUFF!            Areen“Bureaucracy goes hand in hand with democracy; government simply gives the people what they ask for. How fortunate for us that we get to inform the people what they should desire.” –Marcus Burke, political lobbyistPolitics    Areen’s political structure is something that has evolved from the founding of the country through years of war.  The political system was born out of a necessity to represent the various conquered peoples within the Areen government.  This has led to a system similar to a democratic republic.  This has led to a whole system of special interest and lobby groups influencing the government system and gaining influence within various districts and regions.  The entire government is riddled with corruption and putting money into the right hands will get your voice heard and your desires fulfilled, so long as they can be spun in a way to seem as if the people are being helped.  Subsidies for key industries are common, as are heavy tariffs and quotas on imported goods.  This is seen as “protecting” the Areen consumers and the local businesses.  Several groups have criticized this kind of mercantilist activity but they are quickly silenced by detractors who appeal to the “social aspect” of life and how preserving Areen’s values is more important than trading with countries that “seek to undermine our great state.”    The political realm is divided among two major parties:  the People’s Party and the Conservative Party who both struggle for control of the state parliament and the Prime Minister’s office.  This struggle has moved to fighting over the smallest percentage of those who are allowed to vote in Areen.      The People’s Party is considered the progressive party.  They want to see social equality in Areen coupled with a system where the income is more equally distributed.  The party seems to have some loose ties to Lumen, who see some of the more radical members of the people’s party as fellow revolutionaries who seek to put their country on the path to enlightenment.  Many of the members of the People’s party see their neighbors as preying on them.  Much of this angst is directed at the Garic City States who operate under a very free-market system and have begun trading with many of the Areen border towns.  This economic invasion has led to many of the People’s Party representatives to call for military action to be taken against the Garic cities.  This movement is slowly gaining ground as some Areen businesses now have to compete with Garic firms.  Though the threat of force seems great, the army of Areen is still recovering from its last series of wars with both Skarl and The Garic City States.  As such the People’s Party is calling for a great increase in the military power of Areen so as to deal with this new threat from the Garic City States.      The Conservative Party is less interested in the social equality of its citizens and seems to care more about bringing back the glory days of Areen.  They seek to return Areen to its imperialistic ways.  This conquest mentality does not necessarily mean subjugation of conquered people, but rather the idea that Areen will bring the conquered people under their democratic system, giving them a voice in the government.  Though more free-market than their main opposition, the Conservative party does make sure that its largest contributors of political funds are in fact very well looked after and protected.     Though these are not the only political parties or views held, these two are in the majority and those that hold differing opinions are often brushed to the side because they believe something rather different from the mainstream. -------------------------------------------    Players who wish to play as a native of Areen may play as a character of any     political view.  Keep in mind that your character’s Wisdom and Charisma scores     will depend on whether or not your character will put himself or his party in an awkward situation, be it in a meeting with a legislator or tossing back an ale at a tavern.  Brawls over politics are not uncommon in the cities, but are nearly     unheard of in the countryside.-------------------------------------------Social Structure    The social structure of Areen is not unlike that of modern countries.  There is a relatively steady distribution of wealth along a typical bell-curve.  There are few in the ranks of the super rich and there are relatively few people in the ranks of the complete destitute.  Historically there has been a strong sense of trade within Areen which has led to a steady rise of the middle class.  As such, players within the borders of Areen are likely to come across people of all different social strata.      Despite the rather typical distribution of wealth in Areen, there has been a great push for income equality that has caught much popular support.  Many of the poor see the rich as having taken advantage of them in the past and want amends made for this.  This idea has been picked up by many politicians who see this as their ticket to success in political campaigns.  ------------------------------------------Diplomacy, Sense Motive, Gather Information, and Bluff rolls take the following modifiers in various social strata depending on PC appearance and how they carry themselves.<img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v301/AnonymousOne/chart.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " data-size="" style="" />------------------------------------------    The Areen Middle class is a diverse group and would include individuals from various industries, the Areen military, owners of large farms and a great number of government bureaucrats.  The Middle Class, though a large voting block in the country tends to be the most politically apathetic.  Though there are certain hot-button issues which will get them into the political process, there is little for them to gain by participating in the political process.    There are various religious entities within Areen and churches and shrines to various gods and goddesses dot the countryside while giant arching cathedrals proclaim the power of the clergy in major cities.  Most of the deities one will find openly worshiped are non-Evil as those organizations have been deemed “undesirable” by the state.  This has not however prevented the rise of various cults and sects of worshipers who meet in secret to worship as they please.  There have been rumors that various politicians have made pacts with various extra-planar entities in exchange for power, wealth, and control, though whether this is nothing more than political mud-slinging is difficult to determine.  As magic is highly controlled, obtaining the help of a cleric of a specific order or deity often requires a writ from a local lawmaker or official giving you the ability to obtain the services of a given clerical order.  As these are relatively restricted a huge black market in what are known as “healer cards” has sprung up.  Various clerical orders have taken it upon themselves to heal those they can under the radar of the state.  These rogue groups of clerics are rare and are hounded by the state that sees this as a direct opposition to their power.     Justice and Law in Areen is a complex and often convoluted issue, so much of law has come about from the rulings of previous judges so that those who know how to work the legal system or those that have political clout or the funds to obtain a very efficient legal team are more likely to get off than a poor individual who does not possess the ability to pay the high price for competent legal representation.  Cities are typical draws for the poor who seek better jobs and often find themselves in no better a position than the small farm they left.  This has led to a rise in organized crime in Areen.  These criminals often control large swaths of the cities in Areen and operate in the open.  These groups, known as Families are often more of a protection organization which funds its operation by gambling and prostitution activities among other operations.  These groups of less than legitimate businesses and even legitimate businesses will pay to ensure that their interests are protected by the families.  These Families often struggle to increase the control they exercise in various areas, though outright hostility is usually avoided as it would draw much unwanted official attention to the operations of the various Families.      Open war between Families is rare, though as the economic situation in Areen continues to deteriorate, this is becoming more likely.  These groups operate in the country as well as in the cities.  In a small country town, because of the lack of official police presence, a group may take a town under its protection and ensure that crime, outside of those engaged in by the Families is kept at a minimum, while demanding payment from various officials and businesses.  These groups tend to be well accepted within the towns and show the limitations of official control within the Areen Empire.  In the cities things operate slightly differently as various families can exist in the same city and fight for control of territory.  These activities are often limited to the middle and lower class parts of towns, though connection with the underworld is not uncommon for wealthy individuals who see the Families as a means to gather information and impose their controls on various parts of the city for payment.      Theft is not a common aspect of Family control as it is seen as a violation of the protection ‘contract’ which the families have with their people.  Any thief in Areen is actually more likely to have enforcers from a Family on his trail than the City Watch, especially if the theft occurred in an area heavily under the control of a Family.  This however does not prevent the Families from stealing from each other’s stores of bullion, magical items, and other rare goods.------------------------------------------Players may desire to contact various Families and perform services for them including enforcement and extortion in order to gain protection of the Family.  Those players who come from Areen are most likely aware of the underworld or even running from it.  PCs who venture into the cities of Areen are almost assured of coming into contact with Family representatives because Adventurers are often looking for goods and services in the country which cannot be legally obtained without the proper political or less-than-legal connections (i.e. magical healing, resurrection, various magical goods).------------------------------------------Though Police forces exist in the major population centers of Areen, their activity is limited and the nature of the criminal underground has forced an uneasy truce between Law Enforcement and the Families. ------------------------------------------Players attempting a Bluff or Intimidate check against an individual that is part of a Family or under Family protection takes a -2 to their roll.------------------------------------------ PopulationHuman: 68%Halfling: 23%Gnome: 7%Elf: 2%------------------------------------------Players playing Elven Characters take a -2 Circumstance Penalty to all Social Interaction rolls unless they are dealing with members of a Family who might be sympathetic to their plight, or other Elves.  This is because Elves are seen as natural allies of the Garic City States and many people in Areen harbor a grudge against those Elven dominated cities.------------------------------------------</blockquote>

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