Each clipper force is captained by a regent. A baron maintains power through an army of young men and women called clippers: highly trained and loyal warriors, clippers are forbidden from marrying and having children lest their loyalties be divided. Each baron is served by a massive workforce of slaves called cogs, as well as a prostitute class called dolls. Barons control land and monopolies over commodities like opium and fuel, trading amongst themselves to maintain the peace. In a territory known as the Badlands, encompassing several states located between the Rocky Mountains and Mississippi River, a feudal society has developed to fill the power vacuum left by the war. Some elements of technology, such as electricity and ground vehicles, have survived the apocalypse but society now shuns firearms, leading to a reliance on melee weaponry and crossbows.
In a post-apocalyptic world approximately 500 years in the future, war has left civilization in ruins.