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Culture and Economics of Korovia
CULTURE Korovia is a cold and mountainous country with myriad castles, tiny villages, ruins of castles, long lineages of kings and pretenders, gypsies, cossacks, warlords, knights, vagabonds and more. Women in Korovia are roughly equal to men and there are no shortage of women in the military and there are even a few 'Amazon' tribes whose lineages date back to before the First Demon War. Some men are more patriarchal than others, but in general most Korovians treat women equally. Food wise many Korovians eat a mixture of vegetables, fruit, venison and whatever other meat is available. Mammoth is rare. Bison is uncommon. Cattle, sheep and goat are relatively common. (Note: The minotaurs of Tuirn are vegetarians and all forms of meat are prohibited within the city limits.) Alcohol wise Korovians drinks ale, grape wine, elven apple blossom wine, vodka, dwarven mead and a variety of other less common beverages. For music the bagpipes, drums, guitar, mandolin and violin are the most common sources of entertainment + folk singing. The gnomes have invented something similar to an accordion, but it sounds ghastly. Storytelling is a popular past-time and many traveling bards will resort to telling stories and legends (often to rhyme or song) in order to pay for their food, drink and lodgings. Being a bard is a rare vocation however so its considered a treat when a good quality bard comes to a small town. Crime in Korovia can be quite high depending on the city or location. Koastmark is known for its open embrace of pirates. Weyvin is known for its pickpockets and street gangs. Oraknev tends towards organized crime. See the individual city descriptions but when in doubt assume the city has an average level of crime (but that doesn't mean it can't spike a bit during your story).
 ECONOMICS During times of war the economy of Korovia is often dismal. Trade between the cities was weak due to the constant threat of war, bandits roamed the hills and mountains in broad daylight and the price of weaponry and armour was skyrocketing. (Note: When prices go up so does the cost of repairs too.) During times of peace trade opens up, patrols of soldiers are sent down roads and the bandits often give up, moving to regions where the pickings are slimmer, but their chances of being captured or killed are significantly lower. If captured bandits are sentenced to hard labour in stone quarries making bricks for roads. Roads and bridges were improved dramatically over time and new settlements sprang up, ie. Trollhaven really flourished on the road between Kost and Sylvania. The establishment of a Royal Navy also cut down on piracy, which meant improved trade with the Azagolian Empire and other realms. The Korovian mint in Oraknev produces 4 types of coins and 2 types of bars.
The mint also produces gold and platinum bars which are mostly used by wealthy merchants and rarely by anyone else. 1 gold bar (stamped with the face of Queen Kasiya) is worth 50 gold coins. Likewise 1 platinum bar = 50 platinum coins. Silver bars also exist, but are significantly more rare as they are more likely to be melted down for making jewelry. Value wise a cheap longsword is 10 gold, a riding horse is 25 gold, and a set of platemail is 200+ gold. During times of war expect the prices to double or triple in value. Prior to Queen Kasiya gaining the throne and uniting the people's of Korovia there were multiple mints operating and coinage varied wildly. Older coins still exist from the era of the warlord Derek the Deadly and may be stamped with the faces of Derek, an elvish prince, a dwarven hammer or other things. Much older coins from centuries past are also sometimes used, but ultimately usually end up in the hands of moneychangers or jewelers (the moneychangers send them to the royal mint and the jewelers melt them down for jewelry).
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