[Mor's End Discussion] Time to open shop!

[David Argall]

rural-urban

In ancient times, it generally took a rural population of about 10x the urban in order to feed the city population.

So the total population of the area should run around 100,000.

 

[Krug]

I love the idea cuz it's kind of twisted. But if you really hate it then I'll take it out.

I'm fine with it. Halfling and gnome pickle wars anybody?

 

[Lalato]

Re: rural-urban

In ancient times, it generally took a rural population of about 10x the urban in order to feed the city population.

So the total population of the area should run around 100,000.

I wholeheartedly agree... the problem right now is that the city was here before the rural population could take root. Think of Mor's End as a boom town in the frontier. A large town pops up overnight and no one is prepared to support it. That's why we're not seeing a typical rural population.

I think, eventually, the populations will normalize. Perhaps in another 150 years it will be a lot closer to true medieval demographics.

If it weren't for the abundant resources and the caravans, Mor's End wouldn't have survived.

--sam

 

[Krug]

A review of Stonebridge, a city book from Mongoose.
http://www.gameplaynews.com/reviews.php?article_id=583

A good reference to figure out what else we need.

 

[Lalato]

This is cross posted from the Government thread... This is currently the most appropriate thread to discuss history in... so I figured I would post it here. It's very rough... and it still needs to be fleshed out.

--sam

Well I think that might assume too much. Remember it's a plug and play city. A city of 10,000 with a rural population of 100k is 'reaching' by too much. That would have a large influence of the army/militia numbers and I'm not really for that.

One thing to note is that this is NOT a typical medieval city.

Mor's End started as a trading post near a caravan resting point. The only other inhabitants in the area were the dwarves of Kul Moren... and a few tribal Argali sheep herdsman.

The area was frought with danger... raiders of all sorts tried to prey on the smaller caravans. Caravans still used this route because it provided an easy crossing of the Mor River. Here the Mor was somewhat lazy and narrow. Further down stream as other tributaries joined, it became wide and somewhat dangerous... but I digress...

The trading post became a village. They were self sufficient... the started to grow their own crops, they fished from the lake, they traded for sheep with the herdsman, etc.

50 years... and Mor's End is boom town. The sapphire rush is on... and people from all over the known lands are coming to strike it rich with sapphires. These first 50 years are very turbulent. Raiding humanoids attack several times throughout the year... but greed for sapphires has taken hold... and people still come in droves. Around this time, the dwarves of Kul Moren take a vested interest in the boomtown and help build up the defenses. The local herdsman have suddenly been elevated to landed gentry. They can barely keep up with the demand for their flock. City Pop: 1000... Rural Pop: 1000

100 years... Mor's End is still booming... Water Silk is discovered. Clay deposits are uncovered. Magical properties of sapphires are discovered. People continue moving to the city and Enheim in general. Independent villages are formed around Lake Enoria... and inland. The town develops farm land just to the north. Local Herdsman are now fully landed gentry... they control a lot of the surrounding land... they also develop a taste for the finer things coming their way via caravan. As the population grows, the humanoid threat is lessened. The humanoids aren't strong enough or organized enough to attack with any regularity. Mercenaries and adventurers from far and wide make their way to the city. City Pop: 2000... Rural Pop: 3000

150 years... Mor's End is really cooking now... Water Silk is a hot commodity. Artisans come for the excellent clay. The sapphires are renowned far and wide. Lake Kelp is found to be tasty and nutritious. Guilds start forming. Caravans are coming full steam. Humanoids turn away from attacking the burgeoning town... they instead resort to attacking the new caravans and villages. Despite the humanoid threat... people still come in droves, especially for the "free" land available in Enheim. A few nobles from other kingdoms come simply to buy out some of the local squatters. Some sell, and move into the city... others hold out and become farmers, fishermen... or landed gentry. City Pop: 3500... Rural Pop: 6000

200 years... Mor's End is still going strong.... Although guilds had been around, they had no real power... Now is the time they start really gaining in strength. Realizing that their livelihood is being threatened by humanoid raiders. Mor's End offers protection to the local caravan routes and villagers... independent villages and landed gentry pay a tax for protection. Due to the protection from the city... humanoid attacks lessen, but don't ever go away. A very wealthy class starts developing within the city. Tasty sweet pickles are found in the Soggy Bottom Swamp. underground warrens are found on the north side of city. Current Government structure begins to form. City Pop: 5000... Rural Pop: 12,000

320 years(current day)... Mor's End is still growing... It is a rich city-state with many natural resources. The current head of state is Lady Kelvin (not sure how she came into power)... The population growth has steadied in the city... but Enheim is still seeing strong population growth. There are several independent villages in Enheim. There are also a lot of land owned by local nobles (descendents of the herdsman) and foreign nobles (that bought the land from local squatters). City Pop: 10,000... Rural Pop: 30,000

I'm at work right now... so I'm sorry if the above appears like a jumble...

 

[Krug]

Thanks Lalato.

The silk fish might feed on the seaweed. Both are native and exclusive to the region?

I think there should be a few cataclysmic events in the history. A war which almost bought the city to its knees. Who what why when? Perhaps the minister of military affairs might want to take up the challenge...

 

[Lalato]

Perhaps the region is prone to earthquakes, tornadoes or a massive annual rainy season... and the city has been rebuilt a few times...

hmmm.... maybe the weather/earthquakes are tied to the thing in the warrens

Oh yeah... and there is that one time a few thousand humanoids organized and nearly destroyed the city.

and lets not forget the times a few errant catoblepas have decimated the Squats.


--sam

 

[Conaill]

Possibly related question: Why doesn't the city grow towards the lake more? All the coastal medieval city maps I've seen, the city really becomes spread out against the coast because much of the empahsis is on fishing and the sea.

Perhaps the silk jellyfish can use their tentacles to catch prey off the shore? That would probably dissuade people from living right along the coast, but it would make harvesting more dangerous.

And why isn't there a bigger population on the "big island" between the two branches of the river? An earlier suggestion I had was that that's where the special clay is being mined. But it could also be some sort of "radioactive" area: leftover magical energy from an ancient battle? Maybe that's what made the clay special in the first place?

(crossposetd to Geography)

 

[Krug]

Conalli,
I agree. The city should sprawl out and spread itself towards the coast.

So far we've been talking about the city and its walls. Perhaps the city extends beyond those walls? So not everything need be within the walls of Mor's End. Also within those walls might be a keep where the Castellan, the Lady and the Wardens reside.

 

[Conaill]

Krug: I've already drawn the Squats as extending beyond the city wall. Plus of course we have the Outland Rangers, and those White Storm guys (or are those one and the same?)

As for a keep for the Lady, Castellan, etc: check the map in Geography. The central island has a big citadel on it. Grew around the toll gate on the bridges crossing the river.