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Population Coverage in Civilized Lands
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<blockquote data-quote="steeldragons" data-source="post: 5741248" data-attributes="member: 92511"><p>Great topic, Kaodi. It is one which I have spent much time in my own campaign setting.</p><p></p><p>When placing settlements, there are a few variables I always look at/take into account.</p><p></p><p>1) Resources. What is in the surrounding are that contributes to people wanting to settle there? How much of what resources is available? Namely, how many people can the resources of the region support?</p><p></p><p>The primary of these, as I understand it to be the most important and common to real world settlements: Water!</p><p></p><p>Is there a river or a lake nearby? One well/central fountain for the whole village or (via some underground reservoir) does each homestead have their own well?</p><p></p><p>The more water, the more people will be willing/capable of settling there, the more numerous and larger the communities. </p><p></p><p>1a) Then I look at terrain. Are we talking nice expanses of arable/farming land? Rolling hills and fields for herding? Or is it a wooded and rocky foothill or mountainous region where the foodstuffs will be seriously different (hunting and gathering likely the norm/as important as what limited herding or farming is possible)...and generally more sparse/supporting less communities.</p><p></p><p>2) Geo-politics. Are these communities in a [relatively] safe/secured nation/kingdom? Is it a frontier borderland? Is it a secluded mountain valley that, while being claimed by this or that ruler, is difficult to get to and generally left to their own devices? Or even a settlement/region that is [for whatever reason] completely independent?</p><p></p><p>Any/all of these will have communities of varying size and frequency...out of simple safety concerns.</p><p></p><p>In safer regions, people will be more inclined to be willing to travel further than "daylight" to get to the next settlement. By the same token, communities there are likely to be larger...since people like to live somewhere known to be safe...and possibly with more frequent, smaller villages or even individual homesteads that are within a couple of hours to a day between them.</p><p></p><p>In less "kept" regions, less secure/more wild, borderland type places, I would expect to see less and smaller communities...and<em> if </em>there are multiple communities they will be prone to be within a day's travel (so as not to be caught "out at night").</p><p></p><p>A particularly dangerous region I would be prone to place only a single settlement...probably behind a wooden stockade within a day or two to the nearest "safe[-er] settlement."</p><p></p><p>As to your question about having a community within every 12 mile hex...I think these two elements must be taken into account. In a stable kingdom/region, with ample water and food sources, I would say sure. Even two or three within 12 miles of each other.</p><p></p><p>If I'm remembering and doing the math right...a league is how far someone can walk in an hour? 1 league=roughly 3 miles?</p><p></p><p>So 4 leagues (12 miles) would be, roughly, a half day's (relatively flat/easy terrain) walk. In other words, you could get to the market/temple/meeting in a neighboring village and get home before nightfall (4 hours to, a couple of hours for your business, and 4 hours back).</p><p></p><p>If all of that is correct, I would also note that settlements large enough to have markets (at least markets of the same products/goods) should be no closer than two hexes apart.</p><p></p><p>I am not particularly famliar with the layout of the Eberron world, so hope some of this helps...and/or can be adjusted for your use, as needed.</p><p></p><p>Have fun and happy settling.</p><p>--Steel Dragons</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="steeldragons, post: 5741248, member: 92511"] Great topic, Kaodi. It is one which I have spent much time in my own campaign setting. When placing settlements, there are a few variables I always look at/take into account. 1) Resources. What is in the surrounding are that contributes to people wanting to settle there? How much of what resources is available? Namely, how many people can the resources of the region support? The primary of these, as I understand it to be the most important and common to real world settlements: Water! Is there a river or a lake nearby? One well/central fountain for the whole village or (via some underground reservoir) does each homestead have their own well? The more water, the more people will be willing/capable of settling there, the more numerous and larger the communities. 1a) Then I look at terrain. Are we talking nice expanses of arable/farming land? Rolling hills and fields for herding? Or is it a wooded and rocky foothill or mountainous region where the foodstuffs will be seriously different (hunting and gathering likely the norm/as important as what limited herding or farming is possible)...and generally more sparse/supporting less communities. 2) Geo-politics. Are these communities in a [relatively] safe/secured nation/kingdom? Is it a frontier borderland? Is it a secluded mountain valley that, while being claimed by this or that ruler, is difficult to get to and generally left to their own devices? Or even a settlement/region that is [for whatever reason] completely independent? Any/all of these will have communities of varying size and frequency...out of simple safety concerns. In safer regions, people will be more inclined to be willing to travel further than "daylight" to get to the next settlement. By the same token, communities there are likely to be larger...since people like to live somewhere known to be safe...and possibly with more frequent, smaller villages or even individual homesteads that are within a couple of hours to a day between them. In less "kept" regions, less secure/more wild, borderland type places, I would expect to see less and smaller communities...and[I] if [/I]there are multiple communities they will be prone to be within a day's travel (so as not to be caught "out at night"). A particularly dangerous region I would be prone to place only a single settlement...probably behind a wooden stockade within a day or two to the nearest "safe[-er] settlement." As to your question about having a community within every 12 mile hex...I think these two elements must be taken into account. In a stable kingdom/region, with ample water and food sources, I would say sure. Even two or three within 12 miles of each other. If I'm remembering and doing the math right...a league is how far someone can walk in an hour? 1 league=roughly 3 miles? So 4 leagues (12 miles) would be, roughly, a half day's (relatively flat/easy terrain) walk. In other words, you could get to the market/temple/meeting in a neighboring village and get home before nightfall (4 hours to, a couple of hours for your business, and 4 hours back). If all of that is correct, I would also note that settlements large enough to have markets (at least markets of the same products/goods) should be no closer than two hexes apart. I am not particularly famliar with the layout of the Eberron world, so hope some of this helps...and/or can be adjusted for your use, as needed. Have fun and happy settling. --Steel Dragons [/QUOTE]
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