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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Dr. Strangemonkey" data-source="post: 1997911" data-attributes="member: 6533">On the first point, I'm glad to see that we both agree that given a truly tremendous apacalypse and the destruction of the 'normal' DnD social patterns we would likely see a shift away from, I feel there is a word from this but my technical ingnorance will force me to rely on description, single species social systems with the occasional group of other species hirelings or parasites, bugbears and goblins for instance, or social alliances, elves and humans, to societies where multiple species who were not dominant are forced to rely on each other.  There are a lot of logical reasons for organizing things this way in the first place, so let's say that the adaptation occurs as a result of the initial power grabbers then developing strategies for keeping the 'naturally' dominant humans down.Second Point, if I let you have the first word it was simply because we had moved on to other conversations.  Further, the fact is that I think we are simply deriving two very different uses from the category of literature.  I would argue that mine is more accurate, but I don't think you're entirely wrong, save for maybe on the essential nature of DnD but there I think you recognize your limitations and are going with a preference, and I think your perspective is very useful.But my point in terms of the druids is that a society with that level of technical expertise on flora and fauna in their own right has been exceedingly rare and, in the case of lizardmen, is expected to be supremely exotic.  As a result it wasn't my thought that the lizardmen would reject agriculture so much as that their version of it would likely be very tangent to the way it developed in human models.  The nearest comparison I could come up with in my own head would be an exceptionally swampy and green version of the idealized modern French system of agriculture with lots of small scale farm holdings supporting a lot of people individually very well as a result of deliberate attempts to create fairly unique and appropriate farming circumstances, with a huge variety of food stuffs being created even on each individual plot, and a very high degree of both local expertise and central planning/organization.In the system, the lizardmen themselves are sort of a protected group for the system functions both as a rather boutique means of food production, which fits the tastes of the dragons nicely, and as a retirement system for the lizardmen as the military caste of the reptilian empires.  Thus the system also functions both as vast communities of small scale lizardman style villas or less urban versions of Roman retirement colonies and as a sort of rural academy system for young lizardmen being raised to be soldiers.  Humans are brought into the lizardman areas occasionally as raw labor from time to time and thus kept handy but not in the lizardman areas as they no doubt offend their druidic sensibilities of how people ought to live.  Further keeping them out allows the lizardmen to occasionally organize large scale raids in order to train their young in group warfare.  Sparta with water, relish, and nicer gardens.third. I thought Yuan-ti for the beauracracy/human managers for two reasons:  1.) they have a higher potential for personal power than individual kobolds and thus could prove more useful to Dragon overlords yet are still far enough beneath dragons to pose no threat. 2.) they already have a parasitic relationship to humans, there are going to be Yuan-ti there anyway you may as well, from the dragons point of view, make them part of the system.   High level Kobolds can be in charge of the Kobold proletariat and the industrial/mercantile portions of the economy where Yuan-ti dominate the service and labor portions of the culture.  I like them as the high advisors and officers, sort of Magi or Medes to the more conventional lizard races Persians and Babylonians.fourth.  My point was not to make it sound egalitarian in the sense of right and justice so much as egalitarian in the sense that each of the species is equally obligated to the dragon overlords.  Keeping them in seperate deliberatives prevents the client species from developing aristocracies outside of the dragon system, keeps them busy with internal politics, and keeps them divided into their own interests.  Naturally the Dragon emperor would still be the ultimate arbiter.Fifth.  I agree on this point, though I would think it foolish of the Dragon emperor to not guarantee these contracts himself.  This gives him an indepent stream of revenue from a universe of highly dependent minorities and a series of convenient scape-goats to personally massacre should it prove necessary in the course of public relations.Sixth.  Senatorial patricians is what I had in mind the whole time.  Though I might argue that given the new nature of things dragons might be willing to have hatchlings at higher rates.  A corps of very young dragons or half-dragons could easily function as gentry or knightly class.  Further, it would enforce a system of adoption/patronage for the royalty and high aristocracy as all ranks beyond that of 'knight' would be dependent on age and ability.Further it works out well, as Dragons thus become a more or less independent but superior branch of the government.  For all the constitutional elegance they might enforce on their subject peoples, a single dragon may undue any law or accomplish any project.  They capitalize on their great might and minimize their small numbers by making themselves the ultimate ombudsmen.  It is certainly possible for the lizardmen to accomplish great things on their own and within the system, but it's so much easier and more wonderful to invoke the aid of a dragon and simply get it down.  Certainly, at that level of organization it becomes very easy to envision the dragon emperor as divine, and for him to enforce that vision.</blockquote>

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