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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Umbran" data-source="post: 2890745" data-attributes="member: 177">That assumes that someone else got "there".  Note how traditionally the D&D races are frequently associated with particular terrain types?  If nobody else ever tried to settle that terrain, the native race will remain unchallenged.It also assumes that the contact happens between cultures who allow that competition to occur.  A sentient people can choose to cooperate, rather than destroy.  In addition, as noted, the paucity of sentient species on Earth may very well be a recent thing, so that our current state may be a bit misleading.  It is important to note that one data point does not in any way mark a trend - you cannot generalize that our situation is the most likely one just because it happened once to us.If you look at other (non-sentient) species, you will often see multiple species filling similar niches side by side:Example 1: The African savannahs hold several herding, grass-eating herbivore species, herds side by side or even intermingled.   Example 2: In the Americas, there are several different species of canines - in the same forest you can find foxes, coyotes, and wolves. They hunt slightly different prey, and thus manage to avoid direct competition.  The two are slightly different cases, each of which might be a suitable analog to your arrangement.</blockquote>