Gunterland

**Overview**

The Island of Gunterland is a place filled with feuds, schemes, gnomes, and opportunities. On its coast and between the Acha river are several small cities each boasting their own innovative guilds and artisans. At the end of the river is the bay area, which boasts the region’s capital and largest city Ainosare. On the other side of the river are various rural estates. On these estates the region's grains are grown, though that has recently fallen out of favor in lieu of cash crops such as tobacco. Finally in the very heart of Gunterland are deep forests. These forests are claimed by no civilization but the Druids who fiercely protect them. Surrounding Gunterland is the Archodasc, a sea current which threatens any inexperienced or ignorant sailor with its erratic movements and chaotic nature. Only calming down at seemingly random intervals, this current has kept outsiders from being able to intervene for most of the island’s history. Has a population of 2 million.

**Continent History**

Gunterland was the second continent to be created, long after Firestland had originally perished but before the dragons had fully died out. It is said that Gunterland is the corpse of a gnome god.

**Brief History**

Gunterland was an isolationist island split between several petty kings across its river. The only port with significant contact was the port city of Avosba, which was the starting and often only point of contact with the outside world. The “kings” of this age were quick to set up claims on the natural resources of the island, setting up monopolies that still persist to this day. Many forests, mines, and other natural resources were claimed and maintained through force of arms by the feuding lords. The cities of this age were often cut off from nearby resources without paying extortionate tolls, and so they focused on trading with each other across the river in an attempt to bypass the terrible tariffs. The status quo would shift when the Elegrinelma of Avosba pulled off a foolish scheme, he invited the Draconic Forces toward the island to act as mercenaries to depose some of the local lords. The army was quick to accept and took their time amassing in force with the aid of the native Guntians. However after defeating some lords, they chose to stay rather than leave, marking the end of Guntian independence.

The joining of Gunterland into the empire has caused significant shifts in the local area. The cities export their goods to the empire, and the rural aristocracy has shifted toward growing cash crops such as cotton and tobacco to fuel their coffers. Many brave souls have tried to migrate to the island during one of the current’s calm spells to learn from the master artisan’s and engineers of the island, to various degrees of success. Gunterland is a land of protected privileges, and it is very hard to get anywhere without either significant cash, native friends, or something new to bring to the table.

**Factionalism and Flashpoints**

The Nobles: The Nobles of Gunterland are fairly reclusive when it comes to the greater empire, choosing instead to focus on regional affairs. When they do involve themselves in the parliament, it often is to lobby for policies that let them be as de-facto independent as possible. Resistant to change they continue to feud amongst themselves on who owns what scraps of land, resources, and who has the better beard. Should the nobles find their privileges and autonomy threatened, there is a real risk of open rebellion. Finally, while less common in the modern day there are still the occasional reports of fighting destroying disputed settlements.

The Guilds: The guilds of Gunter primarily import raw materials and export expertly crafted, or in some cases mass manufactured goods. With the most advanced cities in the empire they are a major producer of textiles, paper, and other everyday consumer goods. With the local nobles being so fickle, many cities rely on imports to make due and should the shipments fail, go missing, or be ransacked by pirates then they would be in financial peril. In parliament the guilds of Gunter use their wealth to lobby for lowered internal tariffs and increased tariffs for foreign manufactured goods to maintain their competitive edge.

The Aithgwer: A fanatic group of druids who have gone rogue after the nearby nobles and cities funded massive deforestation efforts to make way for farms and urban development respectively. These druids have no lawful representation within parliament, but make themselves known by occasionally launching raids at noble estates and the nearby cities in terrible eco-fascist attacks.

The Baltbar: The Baltbar are descended from the soldiers and their families sent by the empire to occupy and pacify the nobles of Gunterland. Composed of several different races, these settlers marked the first wage of immigration to Gunterland and unlike the future generations were granted conquered plots of land from some of the deposed nobles. These lands would form into small estates of free farmers and the city of Goldbalt. With no restrictive privileges on the local area, the Baltbar benefit from a great degree of individual freedom. This has led to tensions with those in the cities and the noble class as over time the city has grown in both skill and settlers.