Kingdoms & Politics
Wars, treaties, intrigues—and the coin that moves them.
Overview
The Continent is a sprawling landmass of shifting borders, fragile alliances, and long-standing rivalries. Politics is not just a matter of kings and thrones, but of guild masters, priests, mages, and rebels pulling strings in the shadows. Kingdoms rise and fall on the strength of trade routes, battlefield victories, and whispered betrayals in royal courts. At its heart lies a struggle between tradition and ambition. The Northern Realms cling to their independence and noble customs, while the Nilfgaardian Empire seeks to impose order through conquest, law, and centralized rule. Between them, small duchies, free cities, and borderlands constantly change hands, their people caught in cycles of war and uneasy peace. The common folk rarely see stability. Tax collectors, mercenary companies, and marauding bands sweep through villages as easily as kings’ armies do. For peasants, loyalty is pragmatic—owed to whichever lord’s banner is raised today, and abandoned just as quickly when the next conqueror arrives. Religion and ideology fuel the flames: the Eternal Fire stirs zealotry and witch-hunts, while nonhumans rally under the banner of Scoia’tael commandos, seeking vengeance for centuries of oppression. Merchant guilds and crime syndicates, meanwhile, weave their own networks of influence, quietly steering wars with coin and shadowy deals. In this chaotic web of rivalries, treaties are parchment-thin, peace is fleeting, and political power is as dangerous a weapon as any blade or spell.
Major Powers
Nilfgaardian Empire
Vast, centralized and relentless. Nilfgaard pushes north through conquest and vassalage, enforcing imperial law and trade.
For more details, visit the Nilfgaardian Empire page.
Northern Realms
A patchwork of kingdoms—Temeria, Redania, Kaedwen, Aedirn—united only when threatened. Intrigue is their favorite sport.
For more details, visit the Northern Realms page.
Skellige Isles
Jarls and clans rule the seas. Their raids, oaths and ancient traditions shape Northern trade and warfare.
For more details, visit the Skellige page.
Free Cities
Novigrad and Oxenfurt wield coin and clergy. Guilds, syndicates and witch‑hunters compete in shadow and light.
For more details, visit the Novigrad page.
Factions & Movers
Brotherhood & Lodge
Mages steer policy from behind thrones—until coups scatter them.
For more details, visit the Brotherhood of Sorcerers page.
Scoia’tael
Nonhuman commandos waging a bitter, partisan war across the North.
For more details, visit the Scoia'tael page.
Religious Orders
Eternal Fire and others drive pogroms, censorship and witch‑hunts.
For more details, visit the Eternal Fire page.
Syndicates
Trade cartels and crime families tilt city politics for profit.
For more details, visit the Syndicate page.