I have been thinking about the magical creature issue. It has been mentioned that it is quite possible maybe even probable) that these legendary creatures will be hunted to extinction, and there has been discussion of how to fill this void. So I was wondering how to handle the limited number of these creatures, the players affect on their population, other sources of harm to their population, and their history. First I looked at it from the perspective that these animals were doomed to die eventually, which I believe is the common thought process. Slow reproductive rate, player shows up and wipes them out. Then I started thinking, well, if they were that inviable, they should have died earlier, after all, when you get to DF there is already a significant history, one which does not include dragons dying out. One could argue that the mortal creatures (including elves even I suppose, so maybe humanoid is better) have been expanding more and more, pushing the legendary creatures out and taking their life and land. However a common theme in fantasy is that their are generally large civilizations which have existed in the past, and collapsed since then, dragons, hydras, etc lived through this period of dwarven/human/even domination, even though the size of the empire is often larger, and it was more powerful, than it is now. So how have they survived?
One answer, of course, is that they didn’t. At the beginning of the world there were more dragons (for example) than they have ever been, they steadily declined (maybe substantially, such as in the time of the historic Empire) until now, when there are few left. Alternatively the population is relatively stable, dragons are robust creatures after all, and their extinction is nowhere near assured. As great an Empire as the player makes, there have probably been large Empires in the past as well, in DF you exist in the world much more often than you dominate it. For every adventurer that slays a Dragon there are dozens who are torn apart by lions, scorpions, and groundhogs. Look at Copperblazes, that shows you that some players will make extraordinary things that probably have never before been seen in the world, but it should take a player like that to topple one (or more) of the mythical races, not an average one. Now let’s look at a couple ways Dragons can survive over the years, including how they apply to Adventure and Fortress mode.
1. They are very, very powerful. They are naturally armored, have powerful attacks, including ranged attacks, and they can fly. This means that not just any rabble can take them out, it takes a very powerful (and very rare) hero, or a sizable imperial force.
2. They are intelligent. This means a couple things, one, they are able to communicate, make deals, make friends (depending on Toady’s vision of dragons, the amount in which they can do this may be extensive or quite limited). This also translates to tactics as well. A zombie well hobble straight into 5 armed knights, a troll may as well. A dragon is smart enough to realize when it should back down. It can run away from a fight, fight dirty, ambush, and attack from behind. Its maneuverability assists it in these things. They also generally have a good idea about what is going on in their territory, giving them the opportunity to attack (or run from), maybe not the lone sneaky adventurer (although maybe if he brings some friends), but definitely a small army.
3. They do reproduce, just a little slower than normal races. The particular amount they do so (and how quickly and how many stages they go through while growing up) varies a little bit in fantasy, so there is wiggle room for game balance, but dragons having a batch of 2-3 children every 2-3 centuries sounds pretty reasonable. Let’s say the game world has 20 dragons, even if only 4 of them reproduce regularly you would still be able to run through 4 dragons a century and everything would balance out.
Now 4 dragons a century doesn’t sound like very much. As an adventurer I myself killed two dragons in what was probably not even a couple weeks, however, thinking like this is forgetting that dragons are intelligent; as more of them die off they will get the word and start behaving differently in ways that make them harder to kill. The precise ways in which they realize that they are starting to be killed off could vary, but it is definitely not illogical to assume that many of them would get the memo.
Dragons in general would be on their guard more, they may patrol their surrounding lands more so that they are not taken by surprise. Instead ambushing the attacker outside, where they can make full use of their flight and long range. Forest fires are an excellent defensive mechanism. If the dragons are more intelligent they could trap their mountain a bit, or make a pack with another entity to provide mutual protection. A good dragon may offer to protect a Dwarven Fortress in exchange for them protecting him, an evil dragon may enslave/ally with goblins or trolls. (Not like the random cave monsters you fing in dragon caves now, a real fortress and military) A dragon could be assumed to know something about the killer, perhaps visiting one of the old caves, sniffing around (literally) and looking at the remnants of the fight (spent arrows maybe) would let him know whether it was a human, elf, or dwarf responsible. Then he may go to the nearest band of those and either torch it, or make inquiries. Lacking that he may just go to the nearest town or large city. A less intelligent (or just very angry) dragon, for example, may destroy it. A more intelligent one could make peace with the king who sent the adventurer, threaten to destroy the palace/town/king unless he gives up the location of the Adventurer, or something else.
If instead of an adventurer an empire/army is responsible it would be much easier to identify the culprits. In this case the consequences would be even more dire. Generally dragons are solitary, however as they start being killed they will feel more vulnerable, and more likely to group together for protection. Therefore it would be perfectly logical for Several dragons to show up at the doorstep of the Kingdom which has slaughtered five of their kin. (Think of when the Ents finally decided they were sick of Saruman killing them off) The kingdom would be hard pressed to fight that off. This isn’t only a problem for Fortresses. An adventurer who has killed several dragons, (and has someone avoided being snuffed out by them, avoiding the destruction they have caused looking for him) May find that the next cave dragon he hunts down has adopted the buddy system and now has a friend to watch his back.
A few additional points, dragons the whole world over may become more paranoid and aggressive, feeling threatened by the humanoids near them and trying to drive them away, also as a last resort the dragons may simply evacuate, leaving for islands or other far off locations that other things can’t get to. Also, the help the mythical beasts get may not be from themselves. A god may decide you are disrupting the natural order of things, or one kingdom/race may like what you are trying to mow off and rise to its defense. Also, other, more powerful legendary beasts may rise to protect their distant cousins or servants.
Lastly, this guide mainly focused on dragons, these are intelligent creatures, and at least slightly social, even if they prefer to be isolated. Thus many of the things talked about may not apply to all legendary creatures. Hydras, for example, may indeed have no idea that most of their race has been hunted to extinction, or may realize it far later than dragons would. Also, there reactions may be limited. A hydra can be more alert, and attack nearby towns and villages, but it probably can’t reason with or blackmail a king.
[ May 11, 2007: Message edited by: Yonder ]
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Topic: Legendary Creatures Population Control (Read 1087 times)