The Pastoral States of Vadour is a mammoth, safe nation, ruled by Malcolm Graves with an iron fist, and remarkable for its national health service, pith helmet sales, and complete absence of social welfare. The hard-nosed, hard-working, cynical, devout population of 6.164 billion Vadourans are kept under strict control by the oppressive government, which measures its success by the nation's GDP and refers to individual citizens as "human resources."

The medium-sized, well-organized government juggles the competing demands of Defense, Law & Order, and Education. It meets to discuss matters of state in the capital city of The Immortal Bastion. The average income tax rate is 34.4%, but much higher for the wealthy.

The powerhouse Vadourian economy, worth 578 trillion silver pieces a year, is broadly diversified and dominated by the Arms Manufacturing industry, with significant contributions from Tourism, Furniture Restoration, and Retail. State-owned companies are common. Average income is 93,780 silver pieces, and evenly distributed, with the richest citizens earning only 2.1 times as much as the poorest.

Heathenry has been named as Vadour's national religion, those found guilty of illicit affairs are jailed, graffiti artists spend lengthy periods of time in jail, and sex education has become an intricate maze of stick figures and complex metaphors. Crime, especially youth-related, is totally unknown, thanks to a well-funded police force and progressive social policies in education and welfare. Vadour's national animal is the Highland cow, which frolics freely in the nation's many lush forests, and its national religion is Heathenry.

Vadour is ranked 126,817^th in the world and 5^th in Magna Aurea for Largest Insurance Industry, scoring 1,590.14 on the Risk Expulsion Effectiveness Rating.