D&D General Need wheat. Too dangerous. (worldbuilding)

[Dire Bare]

that doesnt solve your monster problem though, since now you open your supply lines to be threatened by sahuagin and sea serpents

It's a lot easier to guard a caravan or merchant ship than an agricultural region.

In the real world, caravans or ships that traveled through dangerous regions, where bandit attacks were likely, traveled with armed guards . . . or risked being attacked.

It would be no different if your bandits are sahuagin or the occasional sea monster. And these types of attacks, again, are not common in a standard fantasy setting.

 

[Argyle King]

I'm not sure if this helps at all, but...

Living in rural Pennsylvania, I'm aware that many farmers here struggle against an overabundance of white tail deer. So much so that extra hunting tags are issued to help cull the deer population (and cut down on damage to crops).

It's not sexy, but, in a D&D world, there may be adventures in which the conflict isn't saving the world but protecting Farmer Joe's fields from a creature so that the nearby city (which relies on food from Farmer Joe) doesn't starve this coming winter.

 

[Dire Bare]

I'm not sure if this helps at all, but...

Living in rural Pennsylvania, I'm aware that many farmers here struggle against an overabundance of white tail deer. So much so that extra hunting tags are issued to help cull the deer population (and cut down on damage to crops).

It's not sexy, but, in a D&D world, there may be adventures in which the conflict isn't saving the world but protecting Farmer Joe's fields from a creature so that the nearby city (which relies on food from Farmer Joe) doesn't starve this coming winter.

Nice comparison!

That's essentially what rangers are for . . . . ranging the boundaries between civilization and the wilderness to protect the good folk of the kingdom . . . .

 

[Chaosmancer]

In a standard fantasy world . . . . farmers are not in constant danger of being eaten by monsters.

The occasional monster is a threat, just as is the occasional bandit or natural disaster. But monster attacks are not happening on a regular basis.

We sometimes view fantasy world-building from the lens of the D&D play table . . . . as player characters, we focus on the monster slaying, we rarely interact with farmers unless we're trying to save them from a rampaging monster! It can skew perceptions.

It's the same world-building issue that sees PC classes become common NPCs in the world, with wizards on every corner, selling "rare" magic items in shops in the market of every town . . . . or clerical healing and resurrection magic seen as commonplace . . . .

Now, if you want to build a world with common and constant monster attacks . . . . go for it! There are examples in the literature, for sure.

I just stumbled back on Matt Forbeck's Shotguns & Sorcery setting, which builds a world overrun by the undead, with those left alive retreating to a single city protected by a dragon . . . . this world is overrun by monsters! If I remember correctly . . . the inhabitants of the last city send out armed foraging parties for food and resources, grow crops within the city walls, sometimes utilizing D&D magic to maximize gains. It's a cool setting, but not your typical D&D campaign or fantasy world.

I understand this view, but I always take it with a grain of salt, because when you look at the Monster Manual... that's just too many things.

Just to give a rough example, @nevin mentions that the Polynesian people fish in shark infested waters. That is impressive, because we know that sharks are a dangerous threat.

But oceans in DnD have:

Giant Crabs
Merfolk
Tritons
Sea Elves
Giant Seahorses
Sharks
Giant Sharks
Sahuagin
Giant Octopus
Sea Spawn
Merrow
Plesiosaurus
Sea Hags
Deep Scions
Killer Whales
Kraken Priests
Water Elementals
Dragons
Sea Serpents
Dragon Turtles
Marid
Storm Giants
Krakens
Leviathans


And there used to be more, so you can pull from older editions as well for even more ocean or coastal threats. Now, obviously, it isn't going to be all of these things all of the time... but a lot of these things have large populations, and any of them could pose a major problem for a fishing village.


Now turn your gaze towards "forest monsters" or "surface cave-dwelling monsters" and these numbers swell. And, again obviously, a DM doesn't have to use all of these, but all of them do exist somewhere in most DnD worlds, and while in the real world something like a tiger can't really threaten a village or city too greatly... that's doesn't hold true for giants or a troll which could actually kill an entire village.

 

[BookTenTiger]

I understand this view, but I always take it with a grain of salt, because when you look at the Monster Manual... that's just too many things.

Just to give a rough example, @nevin mentions that the Polynesian people fish in shark infested waters. That is impressive, because we know that sharks are a dangerous threat.

But oceans in DnD have:

Giant Crabs
Merfolk
Tritons
Sea Elves
Giant Seahorses
Sharks
Giant Sharks
Sahuagin
Giant Octopus
Sea Spawn
Merrow
Plesiosaurus
Sea Hags
Deep Scions
Killer Whales
Kraken Priests
Water Elementals
Dragons
Sea Serpents
Dragon Turtles
Marid
Storm Giants
Krakens
Leviathans


And there used to be more, so you can pull from older editions as well for even more ocean or coastal threats. Now, obviously, it isn't going to be all of these things all of the time... but a lot of these things have large populations, and any of them could pose a major problem for a fishing village.


Now turn your gaze towards "forest monsters" or "surface cave-dwelling monsters" and these numbers swell. And, again obviously, a DM doesn't have to use all of these, but all of them do exist somewhere in most DnD worlds, and while in the real world something like a tiger can't really threaten a village or city too greatly... that's doesn't hold true for giants or a troll which could actually kill an entire village.

To me the idea of all these monsters roaming around the wilderness is more Pokemon than D&D.

Your average villager doesn't encounter monsters. When they do, it's an adventure hook for the characters.

The fishing village knows of the sea serpent near the big cave. They either avoid the cave, or bring a sacrifice to appease the serpent.

One day the serpent is charmed by some kuo toa priests, and this is when the adventure begins...

 

[Dire Bare]

I understand this view, but I always take it with a grain of salt, because when you look at the Monster Manual... that's just too many things.

Just to give a rough example, @nevin mentions that the Polynesian people fish in shark infested waters. That is impressive, because we know that sharks are a dangerous threat.

But oceans in DnD have:

Giant Crabs
Merfolk
Tritons
Sea Elves
Giant Seahorses
Sharks
Giant Sharks
Sahuagin
Giant Octopus
Sea Spawn
Merrow
Plesiosaurus
Sea Hags
Deep Scions
Killer Whales
Kraken Priests
Water Elementals
Dragons
Sea Serpents
Dragon Turtles
Marid
Storm Giants
Krakens
Leviathans


And there used to be more, so you can pull from older editions as well for even more ocean or coastal threats. Now, obviously, it isn't going to be all of these things all of the time... but a lot of these things have large populations, and any of them could pose a major problem for a fishing village.


Now turn your gaze towards "forest monsters" or "surface cave-dwelling monsters" and these numbers swell. And, again obviously, a DM doesn't have to use all of these, but all of them do exist somewhere in most DnD worlds, and while in the real world something like a tiger can't really threaten a village or city too greatly... that's doesn't hold true for giants or a troll which could actually kill an entire village.

The D&D Monster Manual isn't a catalog of all the creatures that DO exist in any given fantasy world, it is a toolbox of creatures that MIGHT exist in your fantasy world. And, that doesn't make any of those creatures common occurrences.

If you want your world to be so dangerous that it's crawling with monsters, farming and trade isn't safe . . . . go for it, that can be cool, but . . . . it's not the baseline.

 

[UngainlyTitan]

I understand this view, but I always take it with a grain of salt, because when you look at the Monster Manual... that's just too many things.

Just to give a rough example, @nevin mentions that the Polynesian people fish in shark infested waters. That is impressive, because we know that sharks are a dangerous threat.

But oceans in DnD have:

Giant Crabs
Merfolk
Tritons
Sea Elves
Giant Seahorses
Sharks
Giant Sharks
Sahuagin
Giant Octopus
Sea Spawn
Merrow
Plesiosaurus
Sea Hags
Deep Scions
Killer Whales
Kraken Priests
Water Elementals
Dragons
Sea Serpents
Dragon Turtles
Marid
Storm Giants
Krakens
Leviathans


And there used to be more, so you can pull from older editions as well for even more ocean or coastal threats. Now, obviously, it isn't going to be all of these things all of the time... but a lot of these things have large populations, and any of them could pose a major problem for a fishing village.


Now turn your gaze towards "forest monsters" or "surface cave-dwelling monsters" and these numbers swell. And, again obviously, a DM doesn't have to use all of these, but all of them do exist somewhere in most DnD worlds, and while in the real world something like a tiger can't really threaten a village or city too greatly... that's doesn't hold true for giants or a troll which could actually kill an entire village.

This is the fundamental world building problem in D&D. There are too many monster, to many predators and the cities do not have enough hinterland to support them, most of the Kingdoms cannot secure their borders. You can ignore it, or world build with a curated subsection of the monsters. Or, perhaps, treat the more rarer or exotic monsters as one offs, explained by magic.

 

[Silvercat Moonpaw]

I understand this view, but I always take it with a grain of salt, because when you look at the Monster Manual... that's just too many things.

In Full Monster Manual D&D, "regular people" should be incredibly badass, like your average peasant should look like they stepped out of Monster Hunter.

(Obviously this will go against the tastes of many, which I respect. But it's kind of fun to imagine a world where everyone has had their challenge rating boosted.)

 

[cbwjm]

In Full Monster Manual D&D, "regular people" should be incredibly badass, like your average peasant should look like they stepped out of Monster Hunter.

(Obviously this will go against the tastes of many, which I respect. But it's kind of fun to imagine a world where everyone has had their challenge rating boosted.)

This is pretty much how I imagine everyone living in Eternia or Masters of the Universe. All of them just incredibly muscled and capable of handling themselves in a fight.

 

[Tonguez]

It's a lot easier to guard a caravan or merchant ship than an agricultural region.

In the real world, caravans or ships that traveled through dangerous regions, where bandit attacks were likely, traveled with armed guards . . . or risked being attacked.

It would be no different if your bandits are sahuagin or the occasional sea monster. And these types of attacks, again, are not common in a standard fantasy setting.

I'm not sure how pulling a group of guards is easier than having a settled population of them in your town, especially as I am thinking that in DnD world sea monsters and sahuagin attacks are in addition to the regular storms, pirates and bandits - the dangers of DnD world are amplified compared to real earth. Is strange you think that attacks arent that common in standard fantasy.
Animal attacks were common once, as were bandits and pirates. In a world of orc raids, marauding gnolls, hungry ankhegs and mad necromancers they would be common enough that the arrival of armed mercenaries wandering from village to village seeking adventure, isnt at all unusual.

This is the fundamental world building problem in D&D. There are too many monster, to many predators and the cities do not have enough hinterland to support them, most of the Kingdoms cannot secure their borders. You can ignore it, or world build with a curated subsection of the monsters. Or, perhaps, treat the more rarer or exotic monsters as one offs, explained by magic.

Absolutely this, monsters need to be curated and that is one of the best things about the Birthright setting - monsters were unique. There was only one Kraken, only one Hydra, one Chimaera, one Monstrous Boar, they constitute mythic legendary encounters.