The Kingdom of Bretonnia
Bretonnia is a realm of contrasts: a kingdom of noble ideals and deep corruption, where chivalry masks cruelty and faith in the Lady of the Lake holds together a society strained by poverty and strife. Its glittering courts and gallant knights stand in sharp opposition to the misery of its peasants, yet both are bound in a feudal system as ancient as the land itself.
The King of Bretonnia rules in the name of the Lady, though his power is fragile and balanced by the great dukes of the realm. Each duchy is semi-autonomous, governed by its duke, who owes fealty to the crown but often acts as near-sovereign within his borders. These nobles are bound by oaths of chivalry, swearing to uphold justice, defend the weak, and fight the enemies of the Lady. In practice, interpretation of these vows varies greatly, and cruelty cloaked in courtesy is not uncommon.
Peasants form the great bulk of the population, tied to the land and forbidden from bearing arms save for crude weapons in defence of their lord’s holdings. In theory, knights protect them; in truth, many peasants live under crushing taxes and brutal levies, resigned to a life of hardship. Rebellion is rare, for the power of knightly arms and the faith of the Lady keep dissent tightly in check.
The Fay Enchantress, prophetess of the Lady of the Lake, is perhaps the most powerful figure in Bretonnia after the king. Her word is taken as divine law, and no knight dares disobey her without risking damnation. Through her, the Lady’s will guides—or compels—the kingdom, ensuring its continued devotion to ideals of purity, faith, and sacrifice.
Bretonnia’s economy rests upon the backs of its peasants. They till the great fields, tend the herds, and provide the labour that sustains knightly households. Markets exist in towns and cities, but little wealth trickles down; most profits flow to the nobility or the Church of the Lady.
Despite this, Bretonnia produces goods prized across the Old World. Its wines are considered the finest, especially those of Bordeleaux, while its cheeses, truffles, and rich dishes are sought by merchants from Tilea to Altdorf. Horses bred in the duchies of Carcassonne and Parravon are famed for their strength and grace, making them the steeds of choice for many nobles outside Bretonnia.
Trade by river and sea is both blessing and curse. Merchants from the Empire and Tilea bring coin and luxury, yet tolls, tariffs, and piracy plague every transaction. Smugglers thrive along the rugged coasts, and entire villages are rumoured to profit more from wrecking and illicit trade than honest labour.
Still, most peasants see little of this wealth. Their lives are consumed by endless toil, bound to their lord’s will. For them, hope lies in faith and in the protection of knights—though both are as likely to fail them as not.
Bretonnia is defined by its knights. Each noble son is raised to pursue the Grail Quest, seeking visions from the Lady, and until then serves as a chevalier, sworn to defend the realm. They charge into battle with lance and sword, believing themselves the purest champions of the Old World. Bretonnian armies are thus cavalry-heavy, their shining knights supported by masses of reluctant peasants armed with spears, bows, or farm tools.
The kingdom is beset on all sides. To the south, the Orcs of the Massif Orcal raid when snows melt, leaving burned villages in their wake. The forests crawl with Beastmen, cultists, and bandits, striking from the shadows. To the east, Bretonnia’s border skirmishes with the Empire simmer, for though nominal allies, old rivalries linger. The coasts suffer constant pirate raids, while in Mousillon, the curse of undeath still festers, spilling horrors into neighbouring lands.
Yet Bretonnia does not merely defend. Knights march abroad to earn glory in the name of the Lady, riding to crusades in Araby or tilting fields in the Empire. Great battles have been fought along its rivers and plains, the most famous being the campaigns of Gilles the Unifier, who forged the duchies into one kingdom under the Lady’s blessing. Since then, countless knights have perished seeking to emulate his deeds, their legends woven into the chivalric code itself.
Bretonnia presents itself as the most noble and virtuous realm of men: a land where knights defend the weak, the Lady guides the pure, and justice prevails. But beneath the banners of lilies and lions lies a harsher truth. Its peasants are shackled to poverty, its nobles to ambition, and its wars to endless cycles of blood and glory.
For all its splendour, Bretonnia is a realm balanced on the edge of a sword—radiant with ideals, yet haunted by the shadows of corruption, greed, and the monsters that forever prowl its borders.
The Land of Bretonnia
To the traveller, Bretonnia appears a land of beauty and abundance. Its rolling hills, fertile fields, and airy forests seem a stark contrast to the brooding wilderness of the Empire. Yet this fair façade hides darker truths: starvation, lurking monsters, and the corruption of men and nobles alike.
Bretonnia can be divided into six landscapes: farmland, pasture, forest, mountain, coast, and river. The fertile plains yield wheat above all, though oats, barley, and vegetables grow in great strips divided among peasant families. Vineyards and orchards cover the hills, where sheep often graze beneath fruit trees. Peasants labour endlessly, cheerful in fair weather but near invisible in the mire of storm and rain.
The valleys and plains provide crops, while hills favour herds of sheep and russet cattle. Shepherds, and in the south shepherdesses, live dangerous lives, for their flocks attract wolves, Greenskins, and Beastmen. Many carry the Bretonnian Crook, a hooked spear, and those who survive long earn reputations as hard fighters.
The outer woods are exploited for timber, firewood, and foraging swine, leaving open groves and little undergrowth. Yet deeper within, the forests grow tangled and dark, home to Beastmen, cultists, and worse. Outlaws often haunt the edges, a grim yet useful defence against fouler things within. The Forest of Arden is said to conceal entire Beastman cities, though none dare prove it.
The mountains surrounding Bretonnia, and the Massif Orcal at its heart, shine with snowy peaks and roaring waterfalls. Isolated villages cling to their slopes, roofs steep to shed heavy snow. Some worship forbidden gods in their winter seclusion. Further in, Orcs and Goblins bide their time, raiding when the thaw comes. Though they have not marched beyond their peaks in years, many fear they gather strength for the future.
Bretonnia’s shores are jagged cliffs and golden beaches, broken by deltas and safe harbours. Fishing villages cling to cliffsides, while smugglers thrive in hidden coves, evading the crushing tolls of major ports. Treacherous currents, sudden storms, and sea monsters make the coasts perilous, with wreckers in some villages luring ships to their doom.
Four great rivers shape the land. The Sannez, swift and treacherous, carries trade from Couronne to L’Anguille, but its waters hide carnivorous fish that devour the unlucky. The Grismerie, broad and slow, is famed for riverside inns and cuisine, yet it empties into the cursed swamps of Mousillon, where undead rise from the waters. The Gilleau, flowing from the Massif Orcal to Bordeleaux, is guarded by the Gillites, a riverfolk of painted barges, whose monopoly on trade raises whispers of pacts with monsters. Last is the Brienne, sacred to many, its waters tinted blue and pure to drink. Yet once a month, ships vanish without trace upon it, swallowed by mysteries none can explain.
To outsiders, Bretonnia seems a paradise of gallant knights, radiant ladies, fertile vineyards, and fine cuisine. Indeed, its wines and dishes are famed across the Old World. Yet beneath this splendour lies hardship. The peasants toil in poverty, knights hide cruelty behind courtesy, and monsters lurk in darkened woods and mountains. Some call Bretonnia a realm of ideals betrayed by grim reality; others see only corruption beneath a gilded mask. But none who know the land can deny the stark contrast between the dream it projects and the truth it conceals.