In a game system one must wonder why
bother to have rules to for reproduction and a lifespan. In truth, it
is not needed. Unless you intend on creating a world with a dynamic population of species. A world that once the last of a
species has been killed they are then extinct.
But population plays a bigger role in
the real world than people give it credit. A population that grows to
quickly can face issues of starvation, disease and the overuse of
resources like water supplies. A population the does not grow quickly
enough can be outpaced by their competitors. These issues can lead to
war or even crime.
Dragons, the canon of fantasy rpgs, are
often the target of adventures for the fame and fortune contained
withing their lair. But what if this was the last dragon? Using the
classic western dragon archetype, that being a powerful force of
destruction, do you still seek the end of an entire species?
I'm not trying make a moral point. I am
trying to raise the questions of the role that a population plays in
the greater scheme of life and to this end I feel the need to justify
the existence of a creature in the Red Ash World Engine.
As a game mechanic Red Ash will use
life span and its stages of life, plus the rules for reproduction to
determine the population points that a species has during the
creation processes and the pace that a population can grow. Implementing these new rules will require me to
remake the defined species and this will take some time.
