Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="Chaosmancer" data-source="post: 8188591" data-attributes="member: 6801228">Because Central California has the same climate as Germany? It's that "not get too cold" part that is the stickler. And, you know, maybe they could have used different spices, but instead people wanted to accuse me of all sorts of things. I guess I could see them seasoning with things that aren't salt and pepper, and those things being rare treats. Instead we have archdruids and gods falling over themselves to make special plants so that the hlaflings don't have to leave their shires, which are perfect little paradises in the middle of the world that no one can find.You know it is funny you have gone to the 10th century. That is the 900's. Generally people think of DnD as being closer to the Renaissance in the 1300's But, when I typed 900 AD into Google, I found a fun little fact: "The east coast of Africa is impacted by trade and Arab, Persian and Indian traders mix with the indigenous Bantu. Many of the coastal Bantu adopt Islam, reaching as far south as Sofala (Mozambique)." Traders from the Indian Subcontinent reached and dealt with the people of the East Coast of Africa. International trade was a big deal. And, listen to what you said, right here "Villages trade to exchange their own excess stock for someone else's excess stock" Now, I have, as I keep reminding people, never said that the Halflings couldn't survive without trade. Of course they could. I'd be an idiot to think that a single farm can't grow enough food for people to survive. My point has always been that the depiction of halflings doesn't make sense if they don't trade with the outside world. Trade isn't generally necessary for survival, but it is generally done anyways for other things. Like Glass, like paper for books, like ceramics, like tea, there are things we just casually imagine halflings having. Pipeweed (AKA tobbaco) is another big example. Now sure, I could make up a million fantasy plants that halflings could have, so that they could have every single thing under the sun in their ideallyc paradises... but it is easier to imagine they trade for some of these things. The problem is, if they trade, then they have contact with the outside world. And the outside world can find their villages. And if they can find their villages, now we are back to wondering, how do they defend themselves?</blockquote>

Verification