Hobs are governed by the ‘Davichin’ (Father Law), a body of common law that dates back well before the Age of Strife. Authority lies with the oldest members of extended families, with meticulous family trees determining jurisdiction. In general, every patriarch and matriarch involved in an offense or a decision is collected into a Council which must come to a decision. Davichin is predicated on the idea that these elders will act as advocates for their offspring and that the Council will collectively come to a decision appropriate to all involved parties.

Davichin includes no implicit regard for any other legal structure, including Imperial law, which causes a great deal of friction between hobs and their host cultures. Most hob elders only concern themselves with legal offenses if they have some repercussions for hob families. For this reason, hobs are often more worried about concealing crimes from the local Watch than following Imperial law. Hob communities often become havens for criminals of various sorts.

Hobs mostly live in tight-knit communities within large settlements of other Imperial races. These communities generally consist of one extended family, with any hobs from other lineages marrying into the family or establishing their own community in nearby property. Hobs generally buy several nearby buildings to house these family communities in a collective compound called a ‘warren’. Over time the family purchases more buildings and interconnects the compound with bridges, standing walls, expansions, and renovations. Old-growth warrens essentially become independent, separated towns within their host city.

Hobs put a great deal of importance on family honor and reputation. Individual accomplishments are largely downplayed and family members’ actions are considered more in light of their larger impact than their immediate importance.