‘Dungeon Ecology’ is a great concept. It is not only about the plants and animals to be found in a dungeon. It is about all the denizens of the dungeon and the sustainability of their lifestyles.
This is where realism has to go out of the window for 99% of those rpg dungeons to exist. This blog is an exploration of applying realism to the concept of dungeon ecology.
The primary question to ask is:
What is the dungeon for?
The correct answer is:
For a gang of adventurers to go in there, dodge traps, kill everyone and steal whatever they can find.
You would’ve thought people would give up having dungeons by now with all that going on.
The ‘Why would a person want to live in a dungeon?’ Table
1-2 they are mad.
3-4 they are a monster who cannot find anywhere else to live.
5-6 some other really good reason.
The ‘Really Good Reasons To Live In A Dungeon’ Table
1 can’t find a way out.
2 nowhere else to go.
3 born there.
4 paid to be there.
5 looking for something specific.
6 is a dungeon builder.
That’s enough of good enough reasons.
Dungeon Ecology is about how it’s denizens interact with each other. It’s about their food sources and waste management. Lastly it’s about what they do to prevent themselves from going stir-crazy with boredom. Not very different at all from any urban environment.
Most supplies and resources are not manufactured in the dungeon. They are imported into it. This relies on ‘Trade & Raid’ interactions with the outside world.
Attaining necessary supplies requires at least one denizen dungeon dweller to have skills involved with successful raiding and/or trading with outsiders.
What do dungeon dwellers have to trade with, in exchange for the supplies they require?
From where do they go to acquire those supplies?
Do they buy in bulk and stockpile sacks of dry grains or tins of pulses? Do they source fresh fruit veg and dairy products daily?
It is useful to be aware we have grown up in generations of affluence the likes of which history has never seen. We have better diets and eat more regularly than did mediaeval kings. While we know it is not sustainable to continue doing things the way we inherited from the 20th century, it does not stop us from continuing that lifestyle regardless. One must surely wonder who are the real monsters.
Most dungeon dwellers, as with most people throughout history and even alive in the world today, are for most of the time hungry. Only wealthy people eat daily. Most people do not. That is the harsh reality of the matter. It is the social and living conditions to which people adapt. Malnourishment.
Let’s face it; the adventuring party are probably only going in there at all because they are hoping to make some money so they can eat tomorrow themselves.
Oh yeah there’s that undead warlord wearing a magickal doohicky to save the world from but you ain’t gonna want to do that on an empty stomach, surely?
Next up: What plants live in dungeons?
Answer: Gross-tasting sprouts covered in psychotropic mold. Probably.
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