(TFT) Agraculture (was Re:TFT Digest V3 #914)

["Jay Carlisle" <selfinflicted_wounds@boardermail.com>]

> On Aug 27, 2007, at 8:26 PM, Sethkimmel@aol.com wrote:
> 
> > n an agricultural society I'm guessing
> > that 80-90% of the inhabitants would be farmers. Of course this  being ITL,
> > perhaps magic and/or increased mundane knowledge could increase  
> > crop yields and/or
> > improve animal husbandry...

80 to 90% + of the population to feed the total population in a hunter/gatherer society from my figures and those tribes seem to top out at about 30 people in general. The whole idea of agraculture is to increase yealds while decreasing the nessacary work thus freeing more of your population for other things (even adventureing). I pulled the initial stats from the encyclopedia britannicas article on agraculture (I'm reduced to a world book right now).
The main thing is (and/or increased mundane knowledge could increase...) which sounds like a research/tech tree to me.
 
> Yes, maybe the Mnoren brought them the most amazing food crops from a
> hundred worlds, and they chose the very best farmlands on a world
> many times larger than the Earth.
> 
> --Scott

This statement touches on some of the ideas I'm trying to float here. I want to address this part of the issue here first.

A 'Game Master' etc. is in a posistion quite unique in the entertainment industry. He has to be what I call a "spur of the moment renasance man". ANYTHING I can come up with to tie the rules to common referance materal is a boon to my style of GMing. A writer, director, artist or just about any other creative field I can think of, are able to live with their work until they deem it READY. A GM has a rough set of rules (guidelines) and has to make snap decisions (don't wanna BORE your players, elseif ya'll be a GM with no players) according to PC whim. This is NOT an easy thing to judge ("I start digging") and having access to BASIC data that I can use that we've all been indoctrinatied to agree on from kindergarten seems advantageous to myself. 

I told ya that one to tell ya this one...

I am NO farmer. The only way I have a way to gage the likelyhood of a players success roll is to have some VAGUE idea of how the thing works in the real world. I am an expert in NOTHING. I don't wanna be an expert. I wanna have a way of useing my $5 encylopedias and my .50cent  Alamanic etc. to get the basics solved "Third Party Wise". Any non-wacko artical on the history of agraculture will talk about how it needs to be pretty FLAT land for good farms (erosion) and then there are what I think of as 'High Maintance' crops like most vegatables, and 'Low Maintance' crops like grains, and a few vegatables like potatoes.

Of course the Mnoren brought their BESTEST stuff. However....

1st. There do appear to be limits. The tallest Humans seem to max out at about 9ft. These limits are what make a Human diferant from a Giant.

2nd. I have to be able to make the best judgement to ANY action no matter how bizzar and offer that judgement PROMTLY. If I can point to a non-biast athority like a book... well then so much the better for the players (GM not making absurderitys happen just to further his plotlint) and for me if I have to take a PC in THEIR world.

some thoughts

Jay


-- 
_______________________________________________
Get your free email from http://www.boardermail.com
=====
Post to the entire list by writing to tft@brainiac.com.
Unsubscribe by mailing to majordomo@brainiac.com with the message body
"unsubscribe tft"