Intelligent Beings

[Ovinomancer]

Sorry, but are we trying to understand how evolutionary forces and the unlikelihood of multiple intelligent species developing in parallel in the same biosphere is applicable to a pretend-elf game with magic and dragons and actual heavens and hells? I get that everyone has their buttons, I'm just wondering how it is you got past dragons flyiing, magic in general, pantheons of gods existing, the outer planes, even flumphs, to land on 'hey, it seems against our modern understanding of the development of intelligent species and available biosphere resources to have multiple intelligent species codevelop' as your suspension of disbelief breaker.

 

[Morrus]

Sorry, but are we trying to understand how evolutionary forces and the unlikelihood of multiple intelligent species developing in parallel in the same biosphere is applicable to a pretend-elf game with magic and dragons and actual heavens and hells? I get that everyone has their buttons, I'm just wondering how it is you got past dragons flyiing, magic in general, pantheons of gods existing, the outer planes, even flumphs, to land on 'hey, it seems against our modern understanding of the development of intelligent species and available biosphere resources to have multiple intelligent species codevelop' as your suspension of disbelief breaker.

I was way more succinct.

 

[Ovinomancer]

I was way more succinct.

I had flumphs. Seems a tie.

 

[John Dallman]

Sorry, but are we trying to understand how evolutionary forces and the unlikelihood of multiple intelligent species developing in parallel in the same biosphere is applicable to a pretend-elf game with magic and dragons and actual heavens and hells?

In my case, I'm having trouble with the idea that lots of competing intelligent species have co-existed for long periods of time without the aggressive ones wiping out the others.

 

[Morrus]

In my case, I'm having trouble with the idea that lots of competing intelligent species have co-existed for long periods of time without the aggressive ones wiping out the others.

But you’re OK with beholders?

 

[Doug McCrae]

How many intelligent creatures do we get from Greek myths?

The Greek writers didn't worry about how their creatures evolved, whether they can consume enough calories relative to their energy expenditure, their ecological niches, whether enough of them exist to form a viable gene pool and so forth. We inhabit a different conceptual world.

 

[Morrus]

The Greek writers didn't worry about how their creatures evolved, whether they can consume enough calories relative to their energy expenditure, their ecological niches, whether enough of them exist to form a viable gene pool and so forth. We inhabit a different conceptual world.

And D&D writers do? Or Star Wars writers? Or Star Trek writers? Or Tolkien? Or Marvel’s Avengers?

I mean, there are plenty of ‘realistic’ games out there. D&D isn’t one of them. Maybe try a different game?

 

[John Dallman]

But you’re OK with beholders?

If they're sufficiently rare, yes. I'm applying somewhat different standards to outright monsters, likely created by foolish wizards or malignant deities. For creatures like orcs that have a culture, breed, and generally have some relationship to economics and population dynamics, irrespective of their origins, I prefer higher standards of plausibility.

 

[Doug McCrae]

In my case, I'm having trouble with the idea that lots of competing intelligent species have co-existed for long periods of time without the aggressive ones wiping out the others.

The aggressive ones are monsters such as orcs and ogres? I think the answer is that elves, gnomes and the like have superior intelligence, magic, and technology, along with better cooperation and organisation due to good/lawful alignments.

 

[Morrus]

I'm applying somewhat different standards to outright monsters, likely created by foolish wizards or malignant deities.

Well, yes. That was my point.