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Message: <blockquote data-quote="steeldragons" data-source="post: 6391862" data-attributes="member: 92511">There are a few general things to consider...1) The settlement has a reason for being there. Farming is the most common, but far from filling all of the needs of society. Maybe it's a village in some timberlands for logging. Herding! Everyone always forgets the herding! Where is meat coming from? What types of meat? Wool for fabric and tapestries. Mining? What other goods of society can the common man provide from the outskirts of civilization?Why do I bring this up? Because there is no formula for "monster density." The settlement has a reason for being there. The monsters need to have one too.This, initial factor, would have a great impact. For a mining community, kobolds could be a recurring (if not constant) hazard. Mines that might be too wealthy or "delve too deep", well, we've seen what happens then. Dwarves and/or gnomes might be interested in "helping" and start moving into the area in significant numbers. Maybe a miner, unexpectently sinks a pick into a sleeping stone giant's toe. He's none too pleased to be awakened.Farmers? Herders? Loggers? Probably not having these troubles.Wolves (and dire wolves) will be a consistent threat to herding pastures. This might bring along or come with goblins who are interested in some fresh meat they don't have to feed/care for themselves. Or ogres...or hill giants. Were they already there or coming because they heard/found there was meat to be had?That trading "town" (just an outpost, really) at the crossroads in the middle of nowhere, near Greymurk swamp, may have to worry about lizardmen or trolls (who are not pleased by their neighbors) or an odd reptilean infestation that occurs when the ancient black dragon moves in -or awakens, having slept through the last fifty years of the humans building their little matchstick outpost- completely unaware or unconcerned by the humanoid settlements nearby. So, the first thing<s> in determining how many monsters are in the area:</s><s>1) What monsters were in the area before the settlement?</s><s>and 2) Preexisting or new arrivals, WHY are there monsters there at all?</s><s></s><s>The next thing...particularly important in world development and making the idea of a formula kind of impossible...monsters can MOVE.</s><s></s> <s>Maybe there weren't any threats when the village was founded. Maybe some "founding father" hero type "cleared the wilderness" [in good old school form] and made it safe...twenty/fifty/a hundred years ago. But now...</s><s></s><s>...an owlbear has wandered into the woods for a new hunting territory...then the woodsmen report seeing two..then five in a day...just like what Old Man Pappy said happened when he was "a spry young thing"! The village happens to be abutting a traditional mating area and, as every chimeric-creature sage will tell you, owlbears only mate every 20 years.</s><s></s><s>Other predatory beasts, e.g. manticores, griffons, etc... might just be "moving in" from a different area. Sure, their lair is miles away in the Onthehorizon Mountains. But flyers have/need huge swathes of hunting space. When young grow up they, typically, have to find their own territories.</s><s></s><s>Maybe the dryad and pixies just decided to keep themselves hidden from the locals and retreated deeper into the woods...or left for the woods over the next hill. Now these pesky humans are starting to build new homesteads over the hill. They moved once. Now they're ticked...and they've sent word to the druids to come "fix" things.</s><s></s><s>Maybe some orcs are moving through the region en route to some traditional wintering ground -the village is easy pickin' for supplies n' killin' stuff is always fun- or hobgoblins on a foray to assault the castle of the baron for their dark lord half the world away -this village just has the misfortune of being on the war path.  </s><s></s><s>There might be a 'monster density" of "0" when the village is created...but in a living breathing world it doesn't stay that way.</s><s></s><s>A place with a preexisting "high monster density" simply wouldn't be settled...unless there was some crucial resource -or legendary power worth fighting/risking one's life for...in which case you understand that every day you are taking your life in your hands by walking outside. Such a territory might warrant an attempt to "conquer", maybe [see above regarding "clearing" the territory]...but not settled until threat levels were lowered.</s></blockquote>

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