Comments

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  gnunn

  Posts: 423 August 2010

  Check out this handy-dandy "generator":http://www.rpglibrary.org/utils/meddemog/ that can help do just that!
  
  Also, "Medieval Demographics Made Easy,":http://www.io.com/~sjohn/demog.htm which is the source material behind the generator. I've found it very handy in my campaign.
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  Meadhands

  Posts: 5 August 2010

  @gnunn
  
  I can't get the generator to work, but the Medieval Demographics article is amazing! It has even brought up things I hadn't thought about for my country, such as the actual size of it. I'm still reading through it, but the information within is incredible. Thanks for the link!
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  arsheesh

  Posts: 850 August 2010 edited August 2010

  Those are both great resources. In addition to those, I would also recommend checking out Terminal's excellent article on "Cartographical Economics and Demographics":http://www.cartographersguild.com/showthread.php?8305-Cartographical-Economics-and-Demographics-A-Guide-to-Realism over at the Cartographers Guild. You might have to sign up as a member (it's free and _well_ worth it) to download the article.
  
  Another great free resource is "A Magical Society Guide to Mapping":http://paizo.com/store/downloads/free/v5748btpy82tc&source=search which has all sorts of good info on this and related topics.
  
  Cheers,
  -Arsheesh

  Post edited by arsheesh on August 2010
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  Curufea

  Posts: 161 August 2010 edited August 2010

  Medieval demographics only apply to no magic or low fantasy settings. You do need to factor in the wandering monsters versus the benign peasant magic variables. In general I think the designers of D&D had the wild west in mind when creating the setting. So large areas that are wild with outpost- like towns. Rare big cities that had active armies to keep them safe.
  
  Unless there is some kind of simple spell every NPC learns that wards off wandering monsters.

  Post edited by Curufea on August 2010
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  Meadhands

  Posts: 5 August 2010 edited August 2010

  @gnunn and arsheesh: These resources are totally awesome, guys. I finally got the generator to work, but I unfortunately can't use it since the calculations are clearly meant for small to medium sized countries, and I am working on a continental scale (14,400 active castles seems a tad unreasonable). Regardless, using Mr. Ross' information for my own manual calculations will be invaluable, and there are a handful of smaller countries that may find themselves run through the calculator.
  
  A lot of things don't apply, but a lot of things are brought up that I haven't considered, so I can definitely make some improvements on things as they currently stand. I am going to make my lands come to life.
  
  @Curufea Honestly, a lot of my adventures have been pitting the players against intelligent humanoids or, at the very least, pets and creations under their direct control. There are Dragons, but they are not the sort to ravage the countryside, and the Gaints have been extirpated from Nilriel. Most of the natural beasts I have left are fairly harmless, and aberrations and other such horrors aren't free-roaming. Your comment has made me realize these things. I am not sure precisely how I can alter the world to mix things up without utterly disrupting the lives of my fictional people. I will take it into consideration.

  Post edited by Meadhands on August 2010
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  Curufea

  Posts: 161 August 2010

  Once you start working on things such as population and looking at adding realism to your setting, taking it away for the pulp melodrama style - where only the PCs matter and minor details are unimportant (I've run Fantasy Hero games this way) - that's when you have to start retconning the world to fix the mistakes of the assumptions you've already made and the players are familiar with. At least I've found that :)
  
  Mind you, I also find it fun to creatively solve the problems that I made.
  
  Solutions can include ward stones, hunting grounds, race memories (ie dragons were wiped out there so they don't ravage that countryside anymore), curses, lack of a particular kind of magic that sustains the monsters in that area, or possibly even just a very active ranger guild that helps protect the local NPCs on a daily basis (ala the Sharing Knife books).
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  arsheesh

  Posts: 850 August 2010

  Hm, I like the way you think Curufea. I might have to steal some of those ideas.
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  Meadhands

  Posts: 5 August 2010

  @Curufea I do try to, whenever possible, not create contradictions in my work, though I'll admit it can be tough and I have failed on at least one occasion. I've run plenty of games where the game has kind of been "Here are some enemies, swing your swords at them," but this is the first I have really put intense effort into sustaining it as an actual world. I hope, if possible, to avoid any pitfalls that may damage it or poorly stitched together ideas that may show the seams of the world. My players seem to be really enjoying it so far, which definitely feels good.
  
  @gnunn Thanks to the info you've given me, I have my demographics set up, though they are still very rough. I will sand and polish it as the story moves along, but I now feel I have a very good grasp of what future interactions will be like, racially speaking.
  
  @arsheesh The stuff you pointed out is pretty badass, particularly that cartography book. I'm not sure how useful ocean currents and celestial maps would be for me, but I can't but be super interested in them now. I'm filled with girlish glee at the idea of building a world that actually functions like a planet rather than a flat plane on which there are things to kill.
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  Curufea

  Posts: 161 August 2010

  @Meadhands - I've found the harshest critics of continuity in a setting have always been the designer of the setting. Unless a player specifically wants to do something that is logical, common sense and scientific in the setting and they can't because it's been previously established otherwise - or just not thought about - that's the only time a player will ever think about the realism of a setting. It's fairly rare. While it's fun, as a world designer, to be able to know how your setting works just in case a player does something realistic, rather than dramatic - it often isn't necessary.
  
  I've found world detail to be fun for its own sake generally - but otherwise the players don't care.
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  Poutine_Paladin

  Posts: 285 August 2010

  Yeah, I find you only run into problems when someone rightly says something like "wait, how come he can do that (thing x), when I couldn't do (thing x-ish) last game? It is a fantasy world, after all.