World
Game is set in Terus, a fictional game setting created by Rob Keys with a number of collaborators. Detailed information on the setting is available at the link above, but for the purposes of this game one only need know the following:
- The game takes place somewhere around 225 years after the Human Race's return from it's over 2000 year exile to the Northern Wastes.
- The Ruling class of the Dwarves, the Ærugar, have abandoned the surface of Terus and thier Hill Dwarf cousins for nearly 4 millenia now, leaving the labyrinthine places below Terus to be infested by Goblins and thier kin.
- Except for the occasional incursions by the 'savage races' the world is at peace.
The Local Scene
The game takes place within The Shire of Furrough, which is located some 200 miles south-east of the Twin Cities (which themselves rest in the center of the known world). It represents the Western edge of Graeys County, of which it is part, and borders Easton County. It consists of five Wards, or Hundreds, ruled by Wardens that hold that position either by birth-right, or at the pleasure of the Sheriff, who is the ruler of the shire. The Wardens are responsible for the land only, seeing that their tenant farmers produce to the best of their ability, and then taking 25% of the yield at the end of the season (of which they keep 75% before passing the rest onto the Sheriff, who kicks up to the Count and so on). The Sheriff is in charge of law enforcement within the shire and levies fines (of which he must kick up 25%) and hands down prison sentences against law breakers.
The shire itself is around 80 miles long and 40 miles wide, and contains nearly 5000 square miles. Around 40% of the land is devoted to agriculture, roughly 30% is forested in varying degrees of density, 10% is covered in streams and wetlands, around 15% is unused grassland, and less than 5% is covered in roads, villages, and various other man-made structures. There are 19 villages within the confines of the shire and generally are no more than a days walk from any one of it's neighbors. Near the middle of the shire is the only city for 100 miles, Guyns.
The Seriff, Archibald Graey, is the 5th Graey to rule the shire since it was taken over from it's Halfling occupants some 200 years ago. He is generally thought to be a just and fair Sheriff by those in the shire, and is certainly known to be good at his job, as his force of Constables are quick, reliable, and have a reputation for honesty and integrity.
