Hammerfast, population 12,000! what?

[Kurtomatic]

In my view there are two distinct visions of what Hammerfast is. One is a mighty dwarven citadel and regional trade center...


[rpg.net]

The other is a 32-page product that sells for $15...


[rpgmusings.com]

My answer to this dichotomy is that they are, in fact, two distinct locations. The 'real' Hammerfast is the larger dwarven homeland, and the 32-pager is a lowland trading post dangling a bit downstream. Just find a new name for it; problem solved.

 

[Kelvor Ravenstar]

Snip
Goliaths: There are "Several bands" of goliaths in the mountains. Let's say there are four bands, each with 10 people. That gives us 40 goliaths.
So that is my final population estimate.
1,200 living in the city
500 living in the area around the city

Your numbers look good, except for the Goliaths. Bands are usually defined as several families or kin groups living together, and most often they comprise of 30 - 50 individuals. Band society - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The word Tribe used to describe the orcs is more nebulous in its numbers, but it could be much greater than 50 individuals.

 

[AngryMojo]

Your numbers look good, except for the Goliaths. Bands are usually defined as several families or kin groups living together, and most often they comprise of 30 - 50 individuals. Band society - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The word Tribe used to describe the orcs is more nebulous in its numbers, but it could be much greater than 50 individuals.

Fair enough. I'll revise the goliath number. We'll say 40 per band on average.

As for the orcs, the only reason I put them as being so small is due to the lack of references in the book. They're mentioned once, in the denizens of the mountains, and never mentioned again.

 

[Korgoth]

My answer to this dichotomy is that they are, in fact, two distinct locations. The 'real' Hammerfast is the larger dwarven homeland, and the 32-pager is a lowland trading post dangling a bit downstream. Just find a new name for it; problem solved.

What is the link between Winterhaven and Hammerfast? You guessed it: Mike Mearls!

Basically, Mike Mearls ruined demographics.

He didn't cause me to come down with a fever, however. That I know of.

 

[Kurtomatic]

LOL, WotC has been screwing up setting demographics and map scales long before Mike started working there. Ever seen a thread discussing the demo/scale of Khorvaire (Eberron)?

 

[Korgoth]

LOL, WotC has been screwing up setting demographics and map scales long before Mike started working there. Ever seen a thread discussing the demo/scale of Khorvaire (Eberron)?

Pretty bad, eh?

I'm just poking a bit of fun at Mr. Mearls. He seems to be doing good things there at WOTC. But they could probably benefit from having a little workshop on demographics, just to tighten up some of their writing.