Wonderland - Jags

The standard of living is reliably at about the 16th to 18th century level:
gaslights, gunpowder, no real understanding of natural science (which
makes sense: it doesn't work so reliably anyway).
There are no factories and no means of mass production. Instead,
there are guildsmen who work natural materials (metal smiths, leather
workers, clothes makers, bakers, and so-on), and artisans who create
more incredible things through painting or sculpture. The best of the
artisans are patronized by the aristocracy which has a never-ending
appetite for the wonders they make.
A step above skilled laborers is the merchant class, those who buy and
sell and trade in currency rather than skill: shop owners, landlords,
money-changers, and the like. Also there are those who trade in
knowledge or an elite, university-learned skill (yes, there are colleges;
they teach what they have always taught, since curiosity and a thirst for
discovery are traits that gets one ostracized at best, killed at worst, on the
Third Chessboard): academics, barristers, pharmacists and doctors. It is
a cliché that the more successful the business man, the more petty, banal,
small-minded, and fearful he is.
There is much to be scared of: just as a serf would be eaten by wolves
for planting in the wrong season or wandering from the path, those
transgress against the social mores and standards of city life, those
who suffer significant humiliation or are 'outcast', lose the unspoken
protection of society and discover that the civilized world has its own
wolves in the steam-drenched, lamp-lit streets.
The Aristocracy
If Chessboard Three is a place of great, dull drudgery and stifling
monotony for those of the middle and lower classes, it is a stage of great
pageantry and spectacle for those at the top. The aristocrats rule (they
say) by design – which begs the question (never asked) of a designer
– but when you’ve a party to throw, who has time for philosophy?
And the parties are grand. There are Winter Festivals, Autumn Balls,
Midsummer Weddings, and Springtime Coronations and on and on.
These are not simply celebration: like all classes, life on Chessboard
Three requires strict adherence to ritual. The aristocratic life is no
different however the clothes and the food are somewhat better. The
Aristocrats see farther and deeper than those below them (although the
merchants see a great deal, too). They know more of the mysteries of
their land, and although they are loath to talk about it with outsiders, they
have some knowledge of the deeper secrets that underlie them.
And so, for the aristocrat who missteps and invites the wrath of the
darker forces of Chessboard Three and below, there are the greatest
punishments. Endless sleeps spent in the deepest of Night Terrors.
Terrible transformations–the becoming of a monstrosity. Horrible curses
upon loved ones; upon entire fiefdoms. And so on. You know the stories.
The Strange Royalty
Travelers on Chessboard
Three will find a variety of
communities ranging from
hamlets to fiefdoms, to large and
complex urban centers. Although
there is great variety (free-towns
and independent city-states
are far from uncommon), the
“civilized” areas of Chessboard
Three are largely under the rule
of an aristocratic class with most
communities paying fealty to
a distant Lord or King, while
dealing directly with the local
authorities.
Those who study the powerstructure
in enough detail to
scratch the surface will discover
another similarity to the Europe
of the Dark Ages; there is a
secondary power structure along
side the primary, “secular” one
- an authority that comes from
the strange cathedral-like castles,
temples, and ruins scattered
across the landscape. This is not
religion (as it would commonly
be defined): these structures
house at least the appointees of a
twisted, alien royalty.
The actual nobility itself is
often rarely or never seen and
may be completely ordinary
looking or monstrous in the
extreme (reports, where they
exist, vary). Many Chessboard
Three communities consider
themselves to live under the rule
of these beings, however remote
they may be.
In many cases insane laws
are enforced by the bizarre
functionaries of the castles
(Punches, massive jack-in-theboxes
are common but just
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Deeper Mysteries - Chessboards