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Message: <blockquote data-quote="MerakSpielman" data-source="post: 744997" data-attributes="member: 7464">I for one am willing to admit that the guidelines for determining the number of people in a settlement of x level of x class, as they are written in the DMG, are crap.I think that's what you're wanting, right, affirmation of your opinion that the D&D universe can't possibly exist the way the DMG says?I think most people will, to some extent or another, agree with you on this.That said, let's talk about epic commoners!"Remember ol' Herb? Man that boy was somethin'. He could plow a hundred acres a day, with his bare hands. He could raise a barn with his eyelashes. I know, 'cause I saw him do it all. Without him, we wouldn't have that fancy irrigation network. Set that up on an idle weekend, he did. I sure miss the crusty ol' coot."OK, now lets talk about commoner population. Remember, I just tossed the DMG out the window.In agricultural societies, often 90% or more of the population was rural farmers. With the technology available, you needed that many to support the city folk, who couldn't make food for themselves. Of these 90%, a good chunk would probably have a level of warrior, so they could serve in local defense in times of need. Of those 10% remaining, mostly in the city, many would be experts or warriors or fighters (for the militia and army). Lots would be petty rogues. In a D&D world, I would expect a tremendously small percentage to be other classes.So that's why I think there would be a good number of high-level commoners compared to adventuring classes. Sheer numbers, uninfluenced by DMG silliness.Also, I'd like to add that when the going gets tough, adventurers die and commoners flee, or surrender (taking the risk of slavery). That's why I don't think their death rates would be higher than adventurers. All they really have to lose is their lives, and there's nobody standing by to resurrect them if they screw up. They will live, however wretched it might be, before they give up their lives needlessly.</blockquote>

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