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Message: <blockquote data-quote="fusangite" data-source="post: 2779884" data-attributes="member: 7240">Here's the basic problem you are confronting:The rules of ecology that exist for our world won't work for the D&D world because(a) They are premised on our world's physics, chemistry and biology. We know for a fact that these things are not true in D&D. D&D has four elements, not 100+. D&D physics can sustain creatures made out of elements, devoid of circulatory systems and individual organs. The list can go on ad infinitum.(b) If one looks at the Monster Manual and contemplates the attributes of the various creatures contained therein, there is just no way to shoehorn this number of massive predatory creatures into a single global ecosystem. So, the sensible question to ask is not: how can I create a D&D environment that complies with real world physics/ecology -- because we know no D&D environment is going to do this, what with spells going off, undead walking around, etc. The sensible question to ask is: what set of ecological rules need to be true for the environment I am building to make sense?I recommend you look at some pre-modern theories of ecology that are likely to be compatible with a world containing a four element system, dragons, elementals and spells. Aristotle is, in my opinion, where it's at; Pliny the Elder may also be a help, although his theories are not as explicit.</blockquote>