The Gap

Terrain: A mix of open, rolling grasslands (former battlefields) and three massive, dense forests (1,600 sq miles each) that serve as "islands" of danger. 

History: This land was the "Northern Front" of the war against Belial and Levistus (Y31-Y66). Every village sits on top of old trenches or demon graves

• Race Position (Communities): Clannish & Pragmatic. (Trust is based on village loyalty, not race).

• Race Position (Segregation): None. (Poverty and danger are the equalizers; if you can hold a spear, you are welcome).

• Race Position (Rights): Might Makes Right. (Rights are enforced by the sword or bought with coin; there is no higher court).

• Languages: Common, Infernal (lingering from the War), and Thieves' Cant.

• Literacy: Very Low. (Oral traditions dominate; reading is for "City Folk" or Cultists).

• Technology Level: Dark Ages / Salvage. (They possess high-quality steel/weapons dug up from the Northern War, but lack the infrastructure to make new ones).

• Industries \ Trades: Battle-Scavenging (Peat/Iron), Logging, Charcoal, Smuggling, and Toll-Keeping.

• Arms \ Equipment: Mismatched Masterwork. (It is common to see a peasant in rags wielding a rusted, ancient +1 sword or wearing a single pauldron of Demon-Plate).

• Government System: Fragmented Warlordism. (A mix of Independent Councils and Feudal Tyranny under Baron Vark).

• Ruler(s): Baron Vark (Central), Local Elders (North), Cult Leaders (East/West).

• Came to power by: Brute Force, Mercenary Contracts, or Inheritance of "Veteran" status.

• Social Alignment: Chaotic Neutral (Survivalism) to Lawful Evil (Vark's Territory).

• Civilization Archetype: Post-War Frontier. (Think "The Wild West" meets "The Somme").

• Settlement Type(s): Fortified Hamlets, Scavenger Camps, and Motte-and-Bailey Forts.

• Settlement Population: 50 to 800 per settlement.

• Cultural Archetype: Veteran-Clans. (Descendants of the disbanded Aasimar battalions who "went native").

• Rebelliousness: High. (They view Astra as "soft" and refuse taxation).

• Brigandage: Very High. (Travel is impossible without an armed escort, except within Vark's "paid" territory).