By: Talfinius

If I remember correctly, Kara-Tur is mainly dedicated to the Celestial Bureacracy. Think of it as a large govt for the deceased. It's based on a 9 main immortals with many immortals under them all ruled by an Celestial Emporer. Remember that the world reflects the Celestial Heavens, or something like that.

Also, when a person dies, depending on how good he/she lived, that person will enter Heaven and will be given a duty. For example, Tora the Bushi led a semi-honorable life and was killed defending a village from evil spirits. He was a good man but not very virtous. Because of his life style, after all the paperwork and waiting in the Heavens, the Emporer or an Immortal might let him become Lord of the Horses (a fancy title for stable boy for the dead).

Kara-Tur is heavily based on the oriental cultures of our Earth. The basic idea behind the kingdoms and lands can is somewhat set up like this:

Shou Lung = China

Koryo = Korea

Tabot = Tibet

Plain of Horses = Mongolia

That's all I can remember. You can get more info by reading the appropriate mythology because they come real close. Hope that this helps you in any way.