Duran'Gal
I. CORE OVERVIEW City Name: Duran'Gal Common Epithets: The Hearth-Hulk Population: 90,000+ people Dominant Species: Dwarves 50% Orok’s 10%(Orcs with underground lineage), Deep Gnomes and Duergar 10%, 10% Mechano-Kin (warforged,auto-gnomes,Rogue Modrons) , 10% Humans, 5% tieflings. 5% other Government Type: Theocratic-Corporate technocracy. A Theocratic-Corporate Technocracy is a hypothetical, hybrid political system combining the rule of religious elites (theocracy), the management of experts (technocracy), and the efficiency and influence of large corporations. This system would be led by a combination of religious figures and highly skilled professionals who make decisions based on scientific and corporate principles, while a large-scale corporate structure handles the administrative and economic functions. Such a system could be designed to control society using both religious dogma and technical/corporate expertise, potentially leading to high efficiency but also risks of concentrated power, lack of accountability, and the suppression of dissent.
Power Ideology: Power through profit. A holy union of state, faith, and corporation — where profit is piety and inefficiency is sin.
Mood & Atmosphere: Duran'Gal the Hearth-Hulk looks like a factory embedded into the largest mountain you have ever seen. Pipes, and chimneys, generators, and oil rigs, so abundant, they look like moving metal hair and pumping arteries on the mountain. The city has five distinct layers which cascade in quality and ‘flashiness’. The upper district, the middle district, and the lower district are a part of the mountain. Then the polar opposite sections of the city. The Pinnacle District and the Sump.
The Upper district is flashy, with gold and colorful paint over every building. Cloud scrapers, mansions, towers, and churches, that stretch the entire height of the mountain. There are flashing lights and music so abundant, the city streets are more akin to the red carpet through a casino than a road through neighborhoods. Balloons and airships. Advertisements, and holovision screens that display to the citizens and the outside world.
Symbols of different corporations tower above everything. The Bank of the Auric Vault, The Gear wright Company, WaggleCo., SomaServ, Profit News, and the G.R.U.D.G.E. (Grand Regulatory Union for Defense, Governance, and Enforcement) building. The largest building of all of them, the Spine of Duran'Gal: The Godshaft. An elevator through the whole city, a pylon of Aether-ore power, a generator, and a symbol of the Divine Machine.
The Middle district is the most populated part of the city. Most of the city's tourists and inhabitants live here then commute to either the upper district if you're a Corpo or the sumps or gears if you're a laborer. It's called the middle district because many of the buildings use the center of the tallest structures as their own space. For example the Gear wright company building, a corporation that manufactures firearms and military vehicles for the Profiteers and anyone with enough coin, is 1000 feet tall. At the top of the Cloudscrapper lies the offices, the bottom contains the industrial factories, and the middle acts as entire neighborhoods for workers. The suns can hardly be seen between the gaps of the largest buildings. This is where the front gates and entry way of Duran'Gal lead to.
The lower district is below the buildings and mountains. There is no sky in the lower district, only a ceiling to the foundation of the middle district. Buildings and makeshift houses out of the trash and rubble from construction of the cities above cling to the sides of the cavernous ravine that forms the largest part of the lower district. Below this district is the sump.
If one follows the wastewater down stream, you'd find the Sump. The Sump is a section of the city that is a labyrinth of pipes and sewer systems, cables, and cavities of broken machinery, and trash. Where the deranged, the broken, and the mad live. A guilty man in Duran'gal does not fear the gallows, nor the coldest dungeon of the mega-prison at the Grudgehold “employment” center. He fears being released with no citizenship and no labor. To be rendered “ineffective” and unprofitable and sent to the Sump.
Where it's not cold in the sumps, you'll find the gears. The Gears are home to the largest prisons and dungeons in Duran'gal. Slaves, criminals, and enemies to the Republic fuel the fires that power Duran Gal'.
Lastly, The Pinnacle. This part of the city is a gigantic warship. Which acts as an aircraft carrier for the many fleets of Aetherships for the Profiteers and as the home of the richest and most powerful in all the Republic.
Recent History and inciting events: Most recently, the city has been declared to be in state of a national emergency. The political assassination of a controversial figure, the sudden imprisonment of a rich inventor, and squashed protests everywhere were more than enough of a reason to give President, CEO, Gundir Grimson the excuse to create his perfect police state. Where rewarded neighbors cry ‘commie!’ and scheming grifters and bounty hunters get rich playing the blame game. Tensions are high, the eyes of Gundir and his sons are everywhere, and getting in unnoticed is difficult. The olde heart of the forge in Duran’gal dies, but its embers grow everbrighter, waiting for the first flare…
I. Foundational Amendments — “The Core Directives” For the preservation of industry, order, and eternal gain. Amendment 1 — The Prime Directive of Continuance
The Company must survive beyond all things. The survival of the Company ensures the survival of civilization.
Amendment 2 — The Law of Efficiency
Every process must achieve the maximum economic effect from the minimum expenditure of capital, time, and human resource.
Amendment 3 — The Sanctity of Ownership
Ownership defines worth. Those without property or equity possess no voice in the affairs of civilization.
Amendment 4 — The Divine Market Principle
The free market is the only true expression of divinity. To hinder commerce is to blaspheme the Machine.
Amendment 5 — The Doctrine of Infinite Growth
There exists no ethical limit to progress, only logistical ones. Nature must be corrected to achieve profit.
Amendment 6 — The Creed of Productivity
Idleness is treason. Leisure unlicensed by profit is inefficiency, and inefficiency is decay.
II. Citizenship & Labor Amendments Defining who is entitled to exist beneath the Company’s grace. Amendment 12 — The Labor Compliance Statute
No being may engage in legal labor or receive corporate protection without verified citizenship.
Amendment 13 — The Citizenship Investment Requirement
Citizenship is purchased through service, investment, or bloodline contribution to the Company.
Amendment 14 — The Ownership Franchise Law
Only landowners and shareholders possess the right to vote or challenge corporate decrees.
Amendment 15 — The Wage Stability Act
Wages are the property of the Company, distributed at its discretion to maintain economic harmony.
Amendment 16 — The Profit Responsibility Clause
Workers are responsible for ensuring their own profitability. Poverty is evidence of personal inefficiency.
III. Magical Regulation Amendments Magic is a tool — and all tools are corporate property. Amendment 20 — The Arcane Licensing Mandate
No individual shall wield, manifest, or channel arcane energy without an officially sanctioned license.
Amendment 21 — The Arcano-Industrial Integration Act
All discovered spells, rituals, or enchantments are automatically patented by the Company upon creation.
Amendment 22 — The Anti-Witchcraft Regulation
Unregistered spell use is considered corporate theft of intellectual property.
Amendment 23 — The Divine Alignment Clause
Only clerics who pledge tithe to the Divine Machine may perform sanctioned miracles.
Amendment 24 — The Elemental Appropriations Act
All natural spirits, elementals, and magical entities are to be cataloged and assigned industrial function or disposal.
IV. Social & Behavioral Amendments Amendment 31 — The Anti-Sedition Clause
Criticism of the Company, its Saints, or the Divine Machine constitutes treason by inefficiency.
Amendment 32 — The Truth Harmonization Initiative
All media, art, and written works must align with the approved message of productivity and faith.
Amendment 34 — The Cultural Efficiency Law
All traditions, religions, or practices that do not yield measurable economic benefit are to be replaced with corporate approved ritual to provide and equal and product workplace environment.
Amendment 35 — The Non disclosure Protocol
Whistleblowing is categorized as “data leakage” — punishable by profit liquidation.
Amendment 36 — The Information Correction Act
Facts are subject to revaluation in accordance with quarterly profit reports.
VI. Faith & Ideological Amendments Profit is prayer. Production is worship. Amendment 50 — The Machine’s Manifest truth Law
The Divine Machine is infallible and eternal; its calculations define moral law.
Amendment 51 — The Saint Algorithm Decree
The Algorithmic Saints and other PDM's approved by the corporation interpret divine data — their proclamations act as the word of the D.M.
Amendment 52 — The Blasphemy of Nature
The natural world is imperfect and inefficient. It must be improved through refinement, automation, and control.
Amendment 53 — The Holy Dividend
The faithful who contribute their labor to the Machine shall be rewarded in the next quarterly afterlife. The Gold made today shall pass with thou to the next life VII. Economic Control Amendments
A well-regulated market is a moral universe. Amendment 60 — The Debt Sanctification Act
Debt is sacred. To owe the Company is to exist within its grace.
Amendment 61 — The Market Purity Clause
Competing markets, barter systems, or unions are acts of heresy.
Amendment 62 — The Asset Inheritance Restriction
All property reverts to the Company upon death, ensuring eternal circulation of wealth.
Amendment 63 — The Human Capital Conversion Policy
Every citizen is both an employee and asset. Value is measurable in output, not existence. VIII. Enforcement & Penalty Amendments
Sin has no profit margin. Amendment 70 — The GRUDGE Authority Charter
The GRUDGE Core serves as judge, jury, and collector of inefficiency.
Amendment 71 — The Thought Containment Act
Dissident thought patterns detected through surveillance shall be corrected via re-education.
Amendment 72 — The Zero-Waste Justice Policy
All criminals are to be repurposed into productive functions upon sentencing.
Profiteer Core Corporate Groups:
1. The Grudge Core
Leader: Grudge Marshal Seraphine Vexlaine
Domain: Homeland Security, Policing, and Faith Enforcement
Formal Title: G.R.U.D.G.E. – Grand Regulatory Union for Defense, Governance & Enforcement
Purpose:
To protect the heart of Duran’gal — not from enemies, but from dissent. They act as the police, military police, and inquisition rolled into one.
Duties:
Enforce religious and corporate law Suppress rebellion and worker strikes Conduct “Faith Audits” on citizens suspected of inefficiency Guard all central corporate infrastructure and CEOs Doctrine: “Order is Faith. Faith is Profit.” They see chaos and individuality as heresy. Every emotion is a malfunction to be corrected.
Symbol:
A brass shield embossed with a single all-seeing gear-eye.
Common Uniform:
2. The Drill Core
Domain: Subterranean Industry, Mining, and Deep-Earth Exploitation
Formal Title: The Drillborne Division of Resource Expansion
LEADER: Director Kranvek Deepborne of drilling operations.
Purpose:
To extract the bones of the world — metals, oil, stone, even ancient artifacts. They are both prospectors and conquerors beneath the ground.
Duties:
Conduct deep mining expeditions for valuable ores
Seize underground ruins and convert them into profit zones
Subjugate deep-dwelling creatures or enslaved earth elementals
Maintain subterranean rail lines connecting profit colonies
Doctrine:
“The Deep Belongs to the Profitable.”
Symbol:
A downward-pointing drill biting into a golden coin.
Common Uniform:
3. The Sky Core
Domain: Air Supremacy, Aerial Expansion, and Propaganda Broadcasting
Formal Title: Skyborne Expansionary Fleet Command
Purpose:
To dominate the skies, ensuring the Profiteers’ reach extends beyond borders. They serve as both military airforce and messengers of faith.
Duties:
Command vast fleets of floating dreadnoughts and zeppelins Bomb “unprofitable” nations and annex their assets Broadcast sermons and corporate news via airborne transmitters Escort merchant fleets through hostile skies
Doctrine:
“Above all others — in faith, in flight, in profit.”
Symbol:
A winged gear with a brass halo, surrounded by clouds of smoke.
Common Uniform:
4. The Anchor Core
Domain: Naval Supremacy and Maritime Profit Protection Formal Title: Anchor Division of Maritime Expansion & Compliance
Purpose:
To control the seas, enforce trade, and pirate the pirates. Every ocean route belongs to the Profiteers.
Duties:
Protect shipping routes and seize “unlicensed” vessels Occupy coastal nations and industrialize their ports Transport military cargo and divine machinery across oceans Convert sea elementals into power for ships
Doctrine:
“All waters flow to profit.”
Symbol:
A heavy anchor wrapped in golden chains.
Common Uniform:
5. The Aether Core Domain: Ground Warfare, Industrial Expansion, and Resource Seizure Formal Title: Aether Expansion Corps — Division of Surface Prosperity
Purpose:
To expand across land and surface territories, “civilizing” wilderness and destroying resistance — the Profiteers’ land-based military arm.
Duties:
Deploy armored land-rovers and mechanized infantry Set up oil rigs, logging stations, and surface refineries Establish new colonies and production zones Crush rival pirate nations and resource hoarders
Doctrine:
“The Earth Yields to Efficiency.”
Symbol:
A cogwheel sun rising over a burning forest.
Common Uniform:
6. The Forge Core Chief Innovator Yarrick Coalveil (Head of Research)
Domain: Science, Weaponry, Alchemy, and Divine Innovation
Formal Title: Forge Division of Applied Profit and Advancement
Purpose:
To create the next evolution of war, profit, and control — the scientists, alchemists, gunsmiths, and engineers behind every divine invention.
Duties:
Design new weapons, augmentations, and divine technology Experiment with soul-reactors, chemical pacifiers, and synthetic faith Produce the Algorithmic Saints and maintain their network Study forbidden magics for “patentable divinity”
Doctrine:
“Innovation is the purest worship.”
Symbol:
An open gear surrounding a candle of molten metal.
