Dwilight players, we are Mongols!

[D'Espana]

So, call me a freak if you wish, but I was playing with Dwi's current numbers a bit and, well, how do I put this... Supposing Dwilight was at FULL population, we would be playing in Mongolia. Why am I saying this? You'll see it soon enough.

I added up every region's max population and surface, then compared it to this excellent website that every medieval history lover and RPer must know: Medieval Demographics Made Easy (http://www222.pair.com/sjohn/blueroom/demog.htm). The results were quite interesting, to say the least.

As it stands, Dwilight at max population has 3,244,440 people, which measured against its 598,141 square miles leaves us with a whopping 5.42 people per square mile. I will insert this quote from the previously cited website for you to understand how ridiculously low this value is:

The average population density for a fully-developed medieval country is from 30 per square mile (for countries with lots of rocks, lots of rain, and lots of ice-or a slave-driving Mad King) to a limit of about 120 per square mile, for a land with rich soil, favorable seasons and maybe a touch of magical help.

And, if we check Wikipedia (I know, I know, maybe not the most reliable source of the Internet, but hey, I'm not getting paid for this, you know. It has been greatly improved in the last few years as well, so it should be enough for the time being) we can see that, funnily enough, the one country that most fits with the data for a FULLY developed Dwilight is, in fact, very close to that of current Mongolia. Not only is Dwilight just slightly smaller than Mongolia (Dwi's 598,141 square miles against Mongolia's 603,909 square miles), but the population density is also very similar, with Dwilight having it somewhat higher than Mongolia (Dwi's 5.42 people per square mile against Mongolia's 5.04 people per square mile). Very, very similar indeed (total population is obviously very close as well, Dwilight's 3,244,440 people are just above Mongolia's 3,042,511 people as of 2015).

That's pretty much it, folks. Never again RPing a peasant crowded realm, that for sure. In fact, we very well should start RPing riding for miles and miles of arid, barren land. Statistics have spoken. All hail the Dwilight Mongols!

EDIT: Substract from Dwilight's count 60,000 people and 1,800 square miles and you have it, I checked it just in case and those numbers are in excess. My bad!

[Constantine]

Averaging population density of the entire continent doesn't tell you anything concrete. Saying that Dwilight is like Mongolia is the same as saying that Earth is like Uzbekistan.

You have to look at actual nations. For example population density of Dragon isles is ~14.5 people/ square mile which is comparable to early medieval British isles.

[JDodger]

idk whats nerdier, scholarly research on a fictional worlds population density or calling dhara the dragon isles...

[D'Espana]

Averaging population density of the entire continent doesn't tell you anything concrete. Saying that Dwilight is like Mongolia is the same as saying that Earth is like Uzbekistan.

You have to look at actual nations. For example population density of Dragon isles is ~14.5 people/ square mile which is comparable to early medieval British isles.

Which is exactly the point I was trying to make. D'Hara is just comparable to early medieval British isles, when it is generally viewed as one of the most populated and overcrowded realms of Dwilight together with Luria Nova. That means it should be quite closer to 80 or at the very least 60 people per square mile, not a meager 15 people per square mile. You would have to look at a considerably intense combination of war, famine and disease to see a continent as depopulated as Dwi is at FULL population. Heck, even the Great Famine and the Black Death in the Late Middle Ages didn't drop the population density of Europe below the 10 people per square mile threshold.

idk whats nerdier, scholarly research on a fictional worlds population density or calling dhara the dragon isles...

RL self-confessed fiction and fantasy freak and currently developing my own world, so yeah, researching and comparing with other resources I know sounds quite like me  ;D

[Vita`]

I think this is the point where we point out that while BattleMaster has a medieval setting, it is not a medieval simulator (which in reality, would be incredibly boring and very harsh to players). It's still interesting info. Somewhere in an old forum thread is a comparison of BM island square mileages to country square mileages.

[D'Espana]

I think this is the point where we point out that while BattleMaster has a medieval setting, it is not a medieval simulator (which in reality, would be incredibly boring and very harsh to players). It's still interesting info. Somewhere in an old forum thread is a comparison of BM island square mileages to country square mileages.

For sure, never asked for more realistic numbers, I understand that couldn't be less trivial right now, and quite likely not particularly easy to code. Just did it for the sake of it, I like demography and have become more interested in it as of lately. I'll just try to leave some space in my RPs for an overall emptyish and hollowish feeling of the land I travel through, nothing past that.

[Ketchum]

We are the many tribes of Mongol? Yee-har! :o

[D'Espana]

Because we're so cool  8)

[pcw27]

I guess that would mean most of its rurals are primarily wilderness.

[JDodger]

which makes total sense, and also shows why region descriptions should spend less time droning on about the "rugged hardy peasants" and their economic activities and more on actually establishing a setting, unless you have some genuinely cool and unique ideas for culture in the region

[D'Espana]

which makes total sense, and also shows why region descriptions should spend less time droning on about the "rugged hardy peasants" and their economic activities and more on actually establishing a setting, unless you have some genuinely cool and unique ideas for culture in the region

Agreed. Most include at least some sort of reference to a realm or lord, and focus quite less than I would like to on the region itself.

[JDodger]

yea i forgot that part, all those outdated mentions of some character you never heard of and his realm that no longer holds the land...