A level & demographic question

[Zenodotus of Ephesus]

I think you've gotten some sound advice and have this very well in hand now. Is the court made up mostly of merchants and military leaders? Mostly of noble birth and a few who came up through the ranks?

 

[Quickleaf]

Most belong to the royal Sachaid dynasty, and are called "dehqan." There are a handful of nobles who serve as military advisors, chancellors, and ministers in government. Many have levels in this new class:
http://www.enworld.org/showthread.php?t=138008

The main figures are:
Shah Ariaramnes (Dehqan 8, Fighter 8/LG)
Prince Ardeshir, royal ambassador (Dehqan 10, Demagogue 5/LE)
Prince Jahandir, minister of intelligence (Dehqan 9, Conspiracy Leader 8/NE)
Prince Sanjar, general in chief (Dehqan 4, Fighter 8, Barbarian 2/LE)
Princess Rhysa of Hamaveran, royal horsemaster (Dehqan 12, Ranger 2/NG)
Manu, the royal vizier (Bard 1, Wizard 16/LG)

Their family members play important roles. The Shah's parents are still alive. Ardeshir has a wife and 2 children. Likewise, Jahandir is tenatively married and has 3 daughters; his wife Haoma is a major figure. Sanjar has an illegitimate son by an ex-prostitute. Rhysa has ties to the old court she was adopted from.
And then there are their servants. Sanjar has a barbarian as a bodyguard, who owes him a life debt. Ardeshir has tricked a paladin into helping him, and he is also served by a bodyguard (actually loyal to Jahandir). Jahandir has a spymaster with ties to the ministry of intelligence and a vast information network.

 

[howandwhy99]

Howandwhy, mind telling me a little about how you're using Sassinid Persia in your adventure? I'd love to swap ideas.

Well, mostly I am using it in the construction of maps for both above and below ground structures. The temples they used to build were sort of a precursor to what is commonly thought of as "fantasy Persia", but you probably know this already. Everything else is either commonly used items to fill the rooms and art (mainly bas-relief and statues) similiar to the period.

I have found a number of good websites that could tell you more than I ever could. Here are a few, but I don't know how useful they well be. It was not to hard to find them.

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=Sassanid+architecture
http://isfahan.apu.ac.uk/glossary/concepts.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sassanian_Empire
http://encyclopedia.lockergnome.com/s/b/Sasanian

 

[Man in the Funny Hat]

Okay, the DMG section (a sub-sub heading) on "Demographics" comes in the chapter "Campaigns" under the sub heading "World-Building" and then is followed by the sub-sub heading "Generating Towns". The first paragraph of "Generating Towns" reads: "When the PC's come into a town and you need to generate facts about that town quickly, you can use the following..."

Really, honestly, TRULY I do not think that section of the DMG was EVER meant to be given the weight that people REPEATEDLY give it. It's a rapid, AND RANDOM method of generating some data that by rights is DEMONSTRABLY too complex to be handled seriously in a half-dozen charts on three pages. Why people insist on trying to base ENTIRE CAMPAIGN WORLDS around that random system intended only for use IN A PINCH is just beyond me.

So, yes it IS way off base - but then it wasn't intended to be use AS the base without at the very least a good deal of consideration for other factors. Use it as a STARTING point. Use it if it isn't going to be terribly important for it to fit a mathematical formula that the rest of your game world will adhere to - and you also don't want to simply pull numbers out of your backside. I.E., use it for what it's good for and what it was intended for and it'll work just fine. For the rest of it you're better off making it up as you go along, IMO.

 

[Quickleaf]

I have found a number of good websites that could tell you more than I ever could. Here are a few, but I don't know how useful they well be. It was not to hard to find them.

That Isfahan link is really good! Thanks! My favorite part so far are the "pigeon towers" for collecting pigeon dung for cucumber and melon crops.

You can also find some great ideas from Persian history at this site:
http://www.livius.org/persia.html

 

[S'mon]

So, yes it IS way off base - but then it wasn't intended to be use AS the base without at the very least a good deal of consideration for other factors. Use it as a STARTING point. Use it if it isn't going to be terribly important for it to fit a mathematical formula that the rest of your game world will adhere to - and you also don't want to simply pull numbers out of your backside. I.E., use it for what it's good for and what it was intended for and it'll work just fine. For the rest of it you're better off making it up as you go along, IMO.

I agree - the DMG system is usable for determing the highest level NPCs in an area, nothing more. Although it gives too low results for small settlements and too high for large settlements IMO, but it's workable.

For demographics IMC I use: 1% of population are PC class, 50% of those are level 1, 25% level 2, etc. So eg in a typical city of 36,000 you have 360 PC-class; something like 180 1st 90 2nd 45 3rd 22 4th 11 5th 6 6th 3 7th 2 8th 1 9th.