RE: Re: Tribal size

From: Jeff Richard <richj_at_...>
Date: Tue, 4 May 2004 11:46:25 -0700


> > Most of their food comes from cultivation, then comes their
livestock,
> > and finally comes hunting (which is much less a source of food than
of
> > furs).
> That's a reasonable point, but it still requires a certain amount of
> wildland. And that the Heortlings have three or so hunter cults
> indicates they put a significant cultural importance on it, if
nothing
> else. (Unless like Humakt and Babeester Gor, every hunter cultist in
> Sartar is a PC...)
 

And there is a fair amount of wildland for hunting. Again, let's just look at the Colymar lands: we have the northern half of the Starfire Ridge, the Colymar Wilds (from the Big Starfire Ridge to the Thunder Hills), the Thunder Hills and the Oakland Back, not to mention other small woods and copses. With some provisions, there is always the Quivin mountains themselves or, for the daring, there is the Dragonnewt Wilds or beyond. Certainly enough wildland to support about a hundred full-time hunters and several hundred occasional hunters.  

As I said, geography is the main difference between the Sartarites and the Heortlanders - there's more arable land per square mile in Heortland than in Sartar. Hence more people per square mile. However, pretty much all the arable land in Sartar is now (c. 1600) under cultivation, and there has even been population movement away from rural Sartar (to the Pavis and the River of Cradles, to Alone, and into the cities). Short of killing Delecti and draining the Marsh, Sartar is probably "full". Same thing with Heortland (whose settlers cut down the Steal Woods and the Wilds during the Second Age).  

As for whether the Bronze Age or Iron Age is the appropriate comparison - Dragon Pass is sort of Bronze Age, sort of Iron Age. Gloranthan Bronze is probably a better metal than terrestrial bronze but not as good as terrestrial iron. Then again, it is more plentiful than iron was in the terrestrial Iron Age.  

Jeff    

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