The Militarised Empire of Old Blackwood is a colossal, environmentally stunning nation, ruled by Tex Blackwood with an even hand, and notable for its museums and concert halls, avant-garde cinema, and stringent health and safety legislation. The hard-nosed, humorless population of 7.581 billion Old Blackwoodians have some civil rights, but not too many, enjoy the freedom to spend their money however they like, to a point, and take part in free and open elections, although not too often.

The large, corrupt government juggles the competing demands of Education, Defense, and Law & Order. It meets to discuss matters of state in the capital city of Ironwood. The average income tax rate is 73.9%, and even higher for the wealthy.

The all-consuming Old Blackwoodian economy, worth 687 trillion Foxens a year, is highly specialized and led by the Information Technology industry, with significant contributions from Arms Manufacturing, Tourism, and Book Publishing. State-owned companies are common. Average income is 90,658 Foxens, and distributed extremely evenly, with little difference between the richest and poorest citizens.

Home renovation shows are increasingly popular, funeral directors are frequently looking at their watches during funerals, nuclear submarines have been deployed to protect the nation's banana supply, and military chiefs are predicting extra funding in this year's budget. Crime, especially youth-related, is totally unknown, thanks to a very well-funded police force and progressive social policies in education and welfare. Old Blackwood's national animal is the Fox, which frolics freely in the nation's many lush forests.

Old Blackwood is ranked 15,969^th in the world and 656^th in the Rejected Realms for Most Advanced Defense Forces, scoring 7,311.28 on the Total War Preparedness Rating.