The Republic of Durlach is a colossal, orderly nation, notable for its deadly medical pandemics, ban on automobiles, and avowedly heterosexual populace. The hard-nosed, cynical, humorless, devout population of 2.688 billion Durlachians are ruled without fear or favor by a psychotic dictator, who outlaws just about everything and refers to the populace as "my little playthings."

The government — a sprawling, bureaucracy-choked, corrupt, moralistic, well-organized morass — juggles the competing demands of Law & Order, Spirituality, and Defense. The average income tax rate is 79.6%, and even higher for the wealthy.

The large but underdeveloped Durlachian economy, worth 101 trillion Ducats a year, is driven entirely by a combination of government and state-owned industry, with private enterprise illegal. However, for those in the know, there is a large, well-organized, highly specialized black market in Retail, Beef-Based Agriculture, Soda Sales, and Cheese Exports. The private sector mostly consists of enterprising ten-year-olds selling lemonade on the sidewalk, but the government is looking at stamping this out. Average income is 37,918 Ducats, and evenly distributed, with the richest citizens earning only 2.3 times as much as the poorest.

Jaywalking is punishable by public flogging, weird or unusual crimes merit cruel and unusual punishments, the only legal elections are for student body president, and the populace harbors a fierce hatred of the metric system. Crime, especially youth-related, is totally unknown, thanks to the all-pervasive police force and progressive social policies in education and welfare. Durlach's national animal is the Cat.

Durlach is ranked 219,176^th in the world and 42^nd in Swabia for Largest Insurance Industry, scoring -3.55 on the Risk Expulsion Effectiveness Rating.