Country profile: Republic of Archen

The Republic of Archen is a (for its time) technologically very advanced country that features a moderate climate. It is ruled by its richest and most influential property holders and its nobility and is thus an oligarchy. Although it does have a constitution that enforces a separation of powers, this constitution is barely worth the paper it's written upon, with the ruling class constantly disregarding its principles and abusing their power to live in utter luxury.


The View on Archenrat, the Capital of Archen

The lower classes of Archen, on the other hand, suffer from harsh working conditions despite the vast technological advancements of the recent decades that were brought about by the discovery of steam technology. Still, there is very little resistance against the current government at the moment, mostly because of the heavy reactions of Archen's army against any form of civil unrest, but also because the government keeps the general populace comparatively content with the convenience of new technologies and the successes of the army in conquering new colonies for the empire.
The most obvious technological advancement is probably the highly developed train system that seems to run through the whole country and connects all the major cities. The trains are used for the quick transportation of goods and also to make it possible for all the people of Archen to travel from one city to another in a short amount of time. Like most machines, the locomotives which are hauling the trains are powered by steam.


One of Archen's Underground Trains

Archen's navy is well-known and feared in the whole world, having a large amount of steamships and even a small number of airships, most notably the giant SS Pretoria. It is the main driving force behind the colonisation and the pride of the country. The navy has a special unit of soldiers with supernatural powers who are regarded with a mixture of fear and jealousy by the rest of the troops, although they have always played an important role in Archen's military success. Their victories are often downplayed by newspapers since there are still strong prejudices against everything abnormal in the general population, and they just don't seem to want to know about the importance of these "freaks".


Inside of the SS Pretoria

Another reason for Archens success is its heavy use of the multi-purpose "Draugr"-type powered armour, or "Draugr" (pl. "Draugar") for short, on the battlefields. The Draugar are about 5 yards tall, heavily armed robots that can navigate through almost any type of terrain. They have a fully-functional AI and can operate on their own, but also possess the option to be piloted, which can increase their capabilities on the battlefield by quite a lot if the pilot is worth his salt.The pilot sits in an open cockpit on top of the Draugr where he is safe from almost all ground-based attacks on him. Many variants of this machine have already been seen in action, some armed with large power-drills, grenade launchers, guns, chainsaws or a multitude of other weapons on its "forearms". They generally move at a speed of about 10 mph, but can reach a running speed of up to 15 mph. Engineered by the famous mad scientist Killian Emerich (currently locked up in Archenrats high-security prison), there are few things that can stand up to a squad of these deadly machines on the field of battle.


Unarmed Draugr without pilot

There are a number of large cities in Archen. Among the most important are:

Archenrat
Largest city in the country of Archen, has a lot of industry as well as a large military base. The air in Archenrat is highly polluted and there is almost no nature to be seen inside of the city. The government of Archen resides here.

Karensburg
The most important port-town in Archen. A lot of trade is being held here, and the town also features a big naval base of Archen's military.

Rennsheim
This town is well-known for its large number of factories as well as its great university. The steam-train, as well as a lot of other important inventions, was invented here.

Tajemnica
Another important port-town. Also has a naval base for Archen's military. Most well-known for its large castle, which is said to contain a large underground complex of tombs. Due to the large number of hidden traps and concealed pathways, those tombs have never been fully explored.

Since this is where the story will be playing, this is, of course, open for suggestions. Especially concerning religion, which I totally left out although it might get important because of Obs' character. And yeah, the capital needs a name, was too lazy too think of one. Internet going slowly these days, uploading pics was enough of a pain in the ass.

It's looking nicely grim in Archen, I have to say. I already have Ralkin as some kind of eco-rebel (pretty obvious when you read his profile, really), so that works well.
One thing that's worth bearing in mind is that the primary cause for new forms of transport to really take hold is money and the greed - er, NEED - for more. Thus, it will be that most trains and steamships will be used for trade than for moving people (unless they're slaves? hmmm...) or for pleasure.
Of course, the very upper class would have their own pleasure steam-yachts, and none more splendid than that of the ultimate ruler.

Since Archen has steamboats, they must have a decent size coast - perhaps even being an island? However, for trade reasons, the country must not be too distant. Maybe an equivalent to France? Large coast on one side, temperate climate, but plenty of continental borders and loads of space to have all sorts of interesting geography.

By the way, I have an idea for the name of the main city; Archenrat ("ark-en-rat") I pinched the rat from the German word 'rathaus' I know council isn't quite right, but it is a different world. This could be useful for future names in Archen - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_cities_in_Germany

Oh yeah - I love the pics too.

Very nice, very turn of the century (1900 that is). One aspect I'd like to add is the mode of communication. I'm thinking that a morse code/telegraph type of instrument exists where information can be broadcast over wires across vast distances. We could venture into radio being developed, but on second thought...nah!

Really like the pics. It's starting to feel very encyclopedia-ish.

I think steampunk just isn't complete without at least a few robots, so I added some to Archens military force.
Telegraphs sound good, but this seems more like a general information about the world to me, not specifically limited to Archen, so I thought I should leave it out here.

How about airships?

(slaps head)

Added cities at the end of the post.

Updated Draugar entry and added Tajemnica.

Hmmm....a castle in Tajemnica? I think chapter 2 or perhaps the end of chapter 1 lurks in that very castle.