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Arnold
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Population

Fri 23 Nov 2018, 18:32

As i´m beginning to plan a campaign in the forbidden lands, i´m asking me some questions about the population here.

How many people colud live there?
How many people live in villages, and are there major settlements with perhaps 1000+ inhabitans?
Is there a village or a small cottage in every hex?

Or is everywhere a huge wilderness with only a few thousand inhabitans in the hole land?
 
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pellejones
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Re: Population

Fri 23 Nov 2018, 19:29

I'm leaning towards smaller villages to the east and bigger stuff to the west.
 
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The1TrueFredrix
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Re: Population

Sat 24 Nov 2018, 00:25

The adventure site generator suggests 400 is the largest village population. 
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Gangir
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Re: Population

Sat 24 Nov 2018, 01:08

Since all all villages are self-sufficient and you can only use what us within 1/2 (or less) then you will only have small villages; I think I read before the roman roads the villages was at the most 150-300 people in northern europe IF they did not have sea/big lakes to support them. So with that in mind since most villages will be landlocked the maximum population will be around 200 people. Maybe bigger if they have good soil and alternative food sources like fishing. Also bringing wood/fire wood/building material will be of shortage due to the 1/2 rule. 
 
Rasmus
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Re: Population

Sat 24 Nov 2018, 14:30

This is my setup for the campaign. Im going for the huge wilderness, with stark contrast between villages and the untamed land inbetween.

Besides the inhabited adventure sites (all the villages, maybee 1/3 of the castles and 1/5 of the dungeons) im only going to add small farmsteads, tradingposts and such inbetween the villages on the map. I’ll use the generic stickers to add extra hamlets/villages and castles on the map, not replace the existing ones. Since I have two sets of stickers this gives me the possibiity to add 10 extra villages. I’ll also use these to create a frontier feeling with settlers reclaiming the land and establishing new villages. I’ll use the ”size of the village” table for population (20-400 for hamlets and villages).

Then there’s the nomadic/semi-nomadic people (Wolfkin, Goblins, Orcs and the Galdanes). I’ll divide these into maybe 2-3 packs/tribes each (the orcs are already divided between Urhur, Roka and Isir).

All in all it’s going to be a very sparsely populated land. This’ll create a challange for me as a gamemaster, as I’ll have to constantly reuse people and villages and It’ll force the key players in Ravens Purge to operate on a very limited map. I’m excited to see how it playes out.
 
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Brior
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Re: Population

Sat 24 Nov 2018, 15:21

I like Rasmus' approach which is in line with my initial thinking for the setting, even though I'm fine with GMs going for a more dense population and organized areas. Different styles, that's all – there is no right or wrong, only whatever works is fine!
 
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Klas
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Re: Population

Sat 15 Dec 2018, 19:10

I felt that the setting should have a town somewhere. Just one, to emphasize that this is not normal. I gave it a bit over 1000 inhabitants and placed it by a river to increase the availability of food to support such a large population.

It would be interesting hear typical census counts for dwarven reigns. I get no idea from the books how large they might be.
 
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andarp
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Re: Population

Sat 05 Jan 2019, 09:54

I felt that the setting should have a town somewhere. Just one, to emphasize that this is not normal. I gave it a bit over 1000 inhabitants and placed it by a river to increase the availability of food to support such a large population.
While I don't dislike this idea, I'm worried that introducing a place like that will automatically make all "important" things center around it. At least in the players' heads. Having a singular larger town, I think it would be important to make it clear that it's not a center of power or rule ("a stinking mess of farmers, rotten fish and manure - interesting in the same way as shoving your face into an anthill is interesting"), and not place any major institutions there.

Obviously this is just based on how I view the setting :-)
 
hariman
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Re: Population

Fri 25 Jan 2019, 20:57

I'm considering adding a town with Alderling (whatever they are called in the English version :) ), since it seems to me that they would have the strength and inclination to form a larger settlement. That also for me solves a bit of an economic riddle in the campaign, namely who would buy all the gemstones found? After playing one of the caves, the players ended up with useless but fairly valuable gemstones? Who would buy them, if everyone is in small villages trying to survive, and there is no "middle class" at all? OK, yeah, I guess dwarfs and elves could buy them if they were interesting enough (but thy would be rather picky) or perhaps mages for experiments, but it still felt like the adventurers would flood the market of useless valuables. Can't have that, can we? :)

So, I felt that a town would be an interesting variation. Also, my daughter with whom I am playing has a merchant character that is rather fresh from Alderland, and it would be nice if she has a more townlike setting.

I am thinking a town ruled by an enterpreneurial Alderling in alliance (perhaps marriage) with a clan of aslen riders. It would be like a miniature feudal society, where the Aslen riders are the knights who have sworn fealty to the enterprenurial Alderling. I am thinking maybe a bit more than 1000 inhabitants, a decent set of craftsmen and traders and a fairly large area around the town to support it with the Aslen riders to protect and control it. Which will be interesting now, since many of the Aslen riders are taking off to Zertome for religious reasons :)
 
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Arnold
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Re: Population

Sun 03 Feb 2019, 22:34

As the forbidden lands are a really huge landmass with roundabout 70.000 qkm2, i am planing to make the population a little bigger.

I´m thinking of ca. 70.000 people from the different playable kins. 

There will be a few larger settlements in form of adventure sides, as amber peak from the aslene, Vond from the rust brothers, stonegarden and dragons tooth for the dwarfes and the eye of the rose  for the uhur orcs which all have between 500 and 1000 inhabitans. 

Perhaps i will give one or two other bigger villages to that, another alderlander town or a larger halfling settlement for example.

The most of the goblins, orcs and wolfkin are  half-nomadic hunters without larger settlements, and the elfes, elvenkind and aillanders live in smaller wood communities. 

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