Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="jgbrowning" data-source="post: 1653943" data-attributes="member: 5724">True, population growth would probably be fairly constant in either a mundane or magical world. However, being constant doesn't mean that they would be equal.I'm not certain it would be equal because of the additional deaths caused by magic and the deaths by monsters. Mostly because those additional deaths would have to very common to offset the 1/3 flat-out food production increase from plant growth spells. Even if the net result is only 1/10 more food than in the historical period, the real and potential corresponding carrying capacity of the land at the given tech level dramatically increases which I think results in greater population growth. I don't think that death due monsters and magic would compensate for just plant growth alone.Much of the mortality of infants/children in the historical period was from injury (burns alone account for a large % but that's what you get with an open hearth) that wasn't immediately life-threatening. This allows for a period of days in which a cure minor wounds would prevent a death. Many of the adult deaths were also due to accidents which didn't immediately kill, but which resulted in death eventually. Such things as well would be greatly reduced by having a person who could cast cure minor wounds around.I think cure disease has another population effect. Also, I don't think it that unlikely that holy orders would "stock up" on scrolls/wands for emergency purposes. Considering how our historical orders often filled such roles, I think in a world where healing power was immedietly visable, such an assumption isn't unreasonable.I don't think harmful magic and the presense of monsters would normally be  enough to outweigh the beneficial effects of increased food production, medical care, and disease treatment, although I completely agree that they would have an effect. Another factor in my thoughts is that monsters would tend to exist only in outlying areas (not in the denser kindom centers) which would reduce their effectiveness further.joe b.</blockquote>

Verification