Eberron`s internal consistency.

[Gez]

Yep, children are classless. They are not counted in demographic figures.

 

[Melkor Lord Of ALL!]

Yep, children are classless. They are not counted in demographic figures.

So we can assume that real population is around 1/3rd if not 2 times bigger than listed? I assume average lifespan won`t be higher than 50 years and many children die before achieving maturity?

 

[Gez]

It probably depends on the availability of magical healing. In a town where you have someone who can cast cure wounds and remove disease, and who doesn't charge money for it, you will probably have a much higher life-expectancy and a much lower child mortality rate than in a city (where they're too many people to run a disinterested healthcare service) or in another village without such a blessing.

 

[fuindordm]

It probably depends on the availability of magical healing. In a town where you have someone who can cast cure wounds and remove disease, and who doesn't charge money for it, you will probably have a much higher life-expectancy and a much lower child mortality rate than in a city (where they're too many people to run a disinterested healthcare service) or in another village without such a blessing.

I think Keith's said that such is not the case. Most of the commonly available healing comes from one of the dragonmarked houses, which charges hundreds of gp for such spells. Your average peasant's life doesn't partake of much.

On the other hand, a single miracle-working priest that decides to set up their temple in a small village could do wonders for the local community. I get the sense, though,
that most of the miracle-workers are off doing more interesting things.

--Ben

 

[Feyd Rautha]

Just a note (and if you have a problem with the numbers listen up), but it could be very likely that (as per medieval times), only the men are being counted. While this would go against the general idea that DnD has been leaning towards (equality of the sexes), it would almost treble the population numbers.

Just chalk it up to a demographic submitted by the rulers of the land (chauvinism still DOES exist in fantasy realms despite WotC's efforts) and that they only counted able bodied males. Adding the old, young, and women there could easilly be 50 million persons on Khorvairre.

 

[Feyd Rautha]

It probably depends on the availability of magical healing. In a town where you have someone who can cast cure wounds and remove disease, and who doesn't charge money for it, you will probably have a much higher life-expectancy and a much lower child mortality rate than in a city (where they're too many people to run a disinterested healthcare service) or in another village without such a blessing.

Gez, read up on the section on Clerics and "corruption". Eberron takes from the real world where the church can be more important than the faith as it were. The churches are likely MASSIVE organizations stretching across the entire continent and able to exert control in all but the most desolate of areas.

With that in mind, there will be no parish priest casting free spells anywhere. Yeah, he might do it for a short period of time, but he would be outcast from his church. Regardless of intentions or power, the churches cannot withstand the political pressure that would be placed on them by House Jorasco. Also, a priest would likely be lynched and burned the first time he ran out of spells and a child died. He'd be hailed as a prophet and a miracle worker (because he refused money), but if the church didn't sack him and punish him severely and House Jorasco didn't get to him before that, he'd be swarmed with people bringing their sick and their dying and when he couldn't heal one more person, he'd incite a riot against the church he represented as not caring about little Timmy.

This is all dealt with in the books... Now as for accepting the truth of it that's another story. You can lead a horse to water and all...

Peace.

 

[Knight Otu]

It doesn't say that anywhere in my 3.0 DMG - are you assuming this because of the "everyone else is a 1st level Commoner" bit?

Page 137, the footnote on table 4-40, says so, but it might only apply to towns.

 

[Incenjucar]

1) There's no reason to believe that Eberron has 'Chauvenism rules'. Children may not have been counted, but women surely have been.

2) In general, an effective socio-economic model for D&D has been in demand for nearly 30 years. Whoever actually comes up with a "D&D By The Numbers" guide, and does it effectively, factoring in all basic D&D conceptual possibilities, will make some -serious- money.

 

[S'mon]

Page 137, the footnote on table 4-40, says so, but it might only apply to towns.

Thanks, I see - it says add 10-40% for children. Cheers.
I prefer to give my populations as "all people" rather than "all adults", I didn't realise Monte did it differently.

 

[Dr. Strangemonkey]

200,000 is a very large city. At the very least it's more than enough to be considered a metropolis.

Rome is an exception that broke an empire and London doesn't take off till a long while out of the population dynamics we are discussing.

Mind you can always end up with someplace like the Valley of Mexico, but that practically was a magical event.

And it's not like Sharn is really set up to be a population dump, it strikes me as more the very high-powered working sort of city with a crazy class system that you need to have come through every once in a while.

I've always assumed the following for most fantasy models:

Almost non-existant frontier style rural settlement. If you run into the lone cabin in the wilderness the person in it will assuredly be a bad ass or a protected holy hermit. But it's the sort of lifestyle you afford rather than choose.

Fewer but larger village style settlements. Defense is just harder you're going to want to optimize that, reduce the scope of the transportation network, and exploit your ability to get more crops from a reduced area.

Urban areas are far more stable and cool and complex, but they also don't get that large. Magic can keep the operation going, but it doesn't really need labor and urban markets don't seem to be something it's optimized for.

I assume most of the population is either going to be in areas immediately surrounding these towns, ala the happy valley style phenomena, actually spread around encastellations or pretty well developed polises ala the developmental periods of Greek and Roman history, gathered around or into the castles of various higher powers or...

...organized into various alternative lifestyles.

Nomadism is awesome. If magic were arround to boost it up so that you could have a far more powerful mobile infrastructure you would do it.

Living in magic elf trees is probably also very pleasant.

Thing is I see lots of people choosing to live and fighting to defend those lifestyles and none of them being as prone to population growth or density as the rural agricultural stuff we're used to looking at.

I mean, heck, if I could get heal disease on my side as well as some bad assed local champions, I'd drop way beyond nomad to hunter gatherer.

Ya work less, ya develop cool languages and awesome games, and you're generally happier.

Civilization is pretty much a sucker's bet cept that it takes everyone else in child production, can really spruce up a river valley, and is pretty competitive in a fight. Magic evens out some of those scores and I don't why cities would be that popular afterwards.

C'mon, you have to be crazy, desperate, or rich to want to live in Sharn. If magic really makes life generally easier than there's less desperation and that just leaves you with crazy and rich.