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Message: <blockquote data-quote="MGibster" data-source="post: 9534030" data-attributes="member: 4534">While I'd like to give the appearance of the world turning without the presence of the PCs, in truth I don't bother filling in all the blanks because focusing on things that don't matter to the players is not the best use of my time.  Instead I tend to focus on the things that might matter to the player characters.  Does it matter how this particular kingdom makes its money?  Not really.  Not unless it matters for a particular scenario or campaign.  If magic were real, we'd see some sort of equilibrium eventually.  Additionally, it would depend on how magic works in the game.  In some settings, magic is difficult, not wholly predictable, and may incur some serious cost of the caster based on how power the effect is.  You could also use magic to justify some oddball stuff.   In Prachett's Discworld series, some rats become intelligent and gain the ability to speak and use tools because of their proximity to magic at Unseelie University.  In Dark Sun, the use of certain types of magic is what led to the desolation of the setting.  i.e.  The very act of casting those spells damaged the environment.  For a game like D&D, I don't take such concerns too seriously.  As Harrison Ford once said, "It's not that kind of movie, kid."  I can happily play The Keep on the Borderland and not be overly concerned that the Caves of Chaos don't make a lot of sense.  From an ecological perspective, there are some powerful spells that can, uh, spell ruin for entire cities.  Control Weather is an 8th level spell and you can take a calm, sunny day and turn it into a torrential rainstorm within two hours and let that rain fall for up to six hours.  Do this during the wet season and you could flood a city or a village.</blockquote>

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