The State of Tancred is a gargantuan, safe nation, renowned for its state-planned economy, compulsory military service, and absence of drug laws. The hard-nosed, cynical population of 22.947 billion Tancredians 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, moralistic, socially-minded, well-organized morass — juggles the competing demands of Law & Order, Spirituality, and Defense. It meets to discuss matters of state in the capital city of Capital Heights. The average income tax rate is 77.4%, and even higher for the wealthy.

The large but stagnant Tancredian economy, worth 337 trillion betales a year, is driven entirely by a combination of government and state-owned industry, with private enterprise illegal. The industrial sector, which is highly specialized, is led by the Arms Manufacturing industry, with major contributions from Furniture Restoration, Automobile Manufacturing, and Pizza Delivery. Average income is 14,695 betales, and distributed extremely evenly, with practically no difference between the richest and poorest citizens.

Punitive tariffs protect local industry, organ donation is compulsory, thieves are flogged in public for their crimes, and Tancred has designated Capital Heights as its capital city. Crime, especially youth-related, is totally unknown, thanks to the all-pervasive police force and progressive social policies in education and welfare. Tancred's national animal is the deer, which frolics freely in the nation's many lush forests.

Tancred is ranked 54,292^nd in the world and 1^st in Malabo for Most Beautiful Environments, with 667.32 pounds of wildlife per square mile.