The Grand Duchy of The Serpent Tail is a large, cultured nation, notable for its barren, inhospitable landscape, frequent executions, and keen interest in outer space. The hard-nosed, hard-working, cynical population of 189 million Serpent Tailians are ruled with an iron fist by the corrupt, dictatorship government, which oppresses anyone who isn't on the board of a Fortune 500 company. Large corporations tend to be above the law, and use their financial clout to gain ever-increasing government benefits at the expense of the poor and unemployed.

The medium-sized, corrupt, moralistic, well-organized government juggles the competing demands of Defense, Law & Order, and Industry. Citizens pay a flat income tax of 37.8%.

The frighteningly efficient Serpent Tailian economy, worth 17.9 trillion Dong a year, is fairly diversified and led by the Retail industry, with major contributions from Arms Manufacturing, Information Technology, and Trout Farming. Black market activity is frequent. Average income is 94,757 Dong, but there is a large disparity between incomes, with the richest 10% of citizens earning 401,218 per year while the poor average 14,457, a ratio of 27.8 to 1.

Sofas are perpetually on sales that Must End Soon, the internet has been placed under government control, a recent "genocide prevention" campaign includes murdering children based on their DNA, and skateboarding is punishable by heavy fines. Crime, especially youth-related, is totally unknown, thanks to a well-funded police force and progressive social policies in education and welfare. The Serpent Tail's national animal is the Puff Adder, which teeters on the brink of extinction due to widespread deforestation.

The Serpent Tail is ranked 52,487^th in the world and 2^nd in The Grand Council of the Beard for Most Developed, scoring 76.73 on the Human Development Index.