The Empire
The Empire is ruled by the young Emperor who was granted the mandate of Heaven to rule the whole of the Thunders. He is protected and served by the Twelve Tigers, powerful heroes of the people. The Empire is a mix of ancient tradition and new technology.

The culture of the Empire is similar in feel to The Last Samurai without the open warfare between internal factions.

The Capital City is Maroto Musaki, the 6 other important towns are Heian, Nara, Ishikawa which are provincial capitals and Kisu, Otani and Ichijo which are major merchant towns. Also within the region is the Water Margin home to the rebels called the Open Hand which formed during Monarch wars, this is still a no go area for imperial troops.


Imagawa Shogunate
This is a land ruled by the Shogun, as such it is more like ancient Japan where Samurai rule. Heavy on mystical abilities and ancient arts of war, technology is almost outlawed as the Shogun seeks to recreate the order of the past.

Daimyo are allowed to war on each other but only in secret with assassinations and raids common and the Shogun will punish those who are caught or are foolish enough to leave sufficient evidence to prove the guilt of the perpetrator.

The Shogun is elected by the Daimyo from one of the five great families, the Imagawa, the Mori, the Assegai, The Kamabushi and the Kublai. Peasants do what they are told in the hope they will be born into a higher station when they die and the most shameful death is by hanging.

The Capital city of the Shogonate is Yang-Tse, other than that the other five cities are each named after one of the great families. In the mountain is a stronghold of thieves and freedom fighters called Furi-damu


The Sanctuary
The final land is Kinryoku or The Sanctuary. This land is ruled by peasants and the Samurai are outlawed; any Samurai found within this land with his swords is put to death.

This is a land ruled by bureaucracy and headed by a council of three, each representing one of the branches of government:- the military, the bureaucracy and the judiciary. The military control the army, the bureaucracy civil matters, while the judiciary enforce the laws set by the other two branches of government.

The current heads are Shika, Kuboji and Winter (Mitsuhide Akechi the founder of Kinryoku) respectively. Every position is elected and political parties battle for supremacy.

This land has thrown away all the traditions of the past and is looking for a new path.

The capital city is Kohei, and three other city each controlled by a arm of the elected rulers these are Kohei (the judiciary), Kanryou (the bureaucracy) and Guntai (the military).  The remaining major towns are Busan, Daegu, Sokcho and Ulsan are controlled by various merchants.


The Kuragari
In the middle of the three lands is a great wall around the Kuragari. Manned by troops from all three factions this land is filled with various types of undead, demons, oni, human warlocks, and crazed cannibalistic warriors.

No one knows who or what rules this place (if anything) but it is the only thing preventing all out war between the three factions who would rule the Thunders as they all fear what is within the wall too much to remove their troops. Player characters do not come from this region.

The Five Thunders Background

The lands which form the Thunders or Five Thunders are host to a people who's culture, traditions and costume have a distinctly Far Eastern feel.

Originally known as the Courts of the Five Thunders, this land was long split into five realms each held by a separate emperor: the Courts of Jade, Iron, Jet, Gold and Silver. Repeated wars, invasions and political upheavals have torn this land and it is now split between three warring factions.