Population explosion in World of Greyhawk?

[Quasqueton]

In reading the Living Greyhawk Gazetteer, I kept getting the feeling that the Flanaess was a bit more crowded than what I used to think.

One reason I love(d) WoG so much was the feeling of lots of wide open, wild, unsettled territory. The land was ripe for exploring and adventuring. But now it seems so thick with people.

In my curiousity, I brought out my old World of Greyhawk books from the 1983 boxed set. I compared the populations listed for the various nations. Wow! There has been a population explosion in the Flanaess.

Two population examples:

Furyondy of 576 CY (1983) = 350,000

Furyondy of 591 CY (2000) = 1.5 million

Keoland of 576 = 300,000

Keoland of 591 = 1.8 million

These two are not the largest nations, nor do they show the largest jump in populations. They are just two random examples.

Though I have read the history of what happened between 576 and 591, with the Greyhawk Wars and such, I haven't seen the national "stats" during that time. What caused the tremendous jump in populations?

I know Erik Mona and other WoG insiders and "historians" read this board, so I don't want to sound like a nitpicker. It's not that there is a difference between the old and new, it's just that the difference is so huge. Why?

Thanks.

Quasqueton

 

[BiggusGeekus]

OK, fess up.

Who gave Viagra to the Flanaess?

 

[Frosty]

What caused the tremendous jump in populations?

The half-orcs became citizens.

 

[Quasqueton]

<<Who gave Viagra to the Flanaess?>>

<<The half-orcs became citizens.>>

Hoo boy. <sigh>

You guys are the best comedy team since Starski and Hutch.

;-)

Quasqueton

 

[Henry]

Why so many people?

The War ended. Soldiers came home.

Enough Said.

 

[dcollins]

I know Erik Mona and other WoG insiders and "historians" read this board, so I don't want to sound like a nitpicker. It's not that there is a difference between the old and new, it's just that the difference is so huge. Why?

Basically, some designer(s) circa 1990 or so decided they didn't like the original population figures -- that they were too low, compared to real-world medieval kingdoms.

I recall that around that time some TSR publication asserted that the population figures in the original Gygax works represented fighting males only, not total population figures (clearly the opposite of what was said in the original works), but I'd be hard pressed at this point to find a specific quote.

 

[S'mon]

Yeah, the Living Greyhawk stuff annoys the heck out of me. I went to it for data on Duchy of Urnst where I was running the game, and found they'd turned a small duchy into a vast kingdom with lots of Counties etc. The populations all seem to have been multiplied by around 6. I had to throw it all out and go back to my '83 boxed set.

I don't think the WoG '83 set populations are too low for the societies represented in them. If there's a problem it's more that the area covered is vast, so the poulation _densities_ are somewhat low. As has been said though, this gives a more adventurous, frontier ethos. Rem it's only been 1000 years since the Flanaess was largely uninhabited, pops have probably not yet reached stabilisation levels - it's more like Europe 500 AD than 1500 AD in this respect.

 

[Rashak Mani]

Just for curiosities sake... how do Forgotten Realms countries compare in terms of Population ? Overcrowded too ?

 

[KnowTheToe]

Why so many people?

The soldiers came home and all of the major churches are against contraceptives, Duh!

 

[Rashak Mani]

Why so many people?

The soldiers came home and all of the major churches are against contraceptives, Duh!

Because your Momma was happy to see your Daddy after the War ? Who ever obeys what silly Priests say anyway !?