ALICHAINS'S PROFILE

Saying that's how the world is not the same thing as getting the sense that the world is bigger. If everything revolved around the empire, if the empire is all anybody cares about, then regardless of how the world is supposed to be, it's still going to feel like the only thing in the world that matters is the Empire. If you don't want that, well, your going to have to add some other things.
Of course you don't want it distract too much from the main plot. Add a couple of books in a library, maybe an optional side quest or two, minor dialogue from an npc, nothing that forces your attention away from the main plot if you don't want it too, but something that introduces a bit of world building. That's one of the beauties of an RPG, you're not, in general, forced to proceed with the main quest if you don't want too. You can level grind, you can walk around dungeons you don't really need to be in at the time. There's room to add these things. In a book or movie, there isn't. If a book spent or a movie spent time on irrelevant things, it would be tedious because the medium doesn't allow you to experience it on your own pace, so it just gets in the way.
That said, things that are just there for world building should be near the end of the priority list, as they are extra flavor for the game and not a core part of it.

Thanks for the advice, I'll definitely consider allowing equipment changes and the statistical suggestions.

Those are some small trees.

Did some more work on the house. I reduced the size of the rooms. I should note that this is a fairly well-off merchant's house that 11 people live in, so the average household probably isn't the best baseline.

Some images of the Hero's Manor.