Ecological Development

The last few issues of Johnn Four's Roleplaying Tips have run a little piece on building histories for various critters that you don't normally think about building histories for when you're worldbuilding. The example they gave was for orkish history, which got me thinking a lot about the ecology of the less civilized critters on Ae'rinus.

Ae'rinus, being the turbid world that it is, has seen massive changes in location and magic over the last two millenia. Therefore, the world is still largely in a state of flux in regards to its ecological stability. Humans and elves have prospered and covered much of the surface land, and intelligent humanoid monsters are comparatively rare. The goblinoid races, though still plentiful enough to worry about are largely in decline due to their inability to adapt to the harsh environmental changes that have occurred upon Ae'rinus (Prime Material Plane -> Ethereal Plane -> New Prime Material Plane. Also the Age of Terror, destruction of Que'Taan and Arconia, and the recent fall of magic in 1600 all are key factors). Most Goblinoid races have pulled as far from civilized society as possible; they live in the deep dark forests, hills, wastelands and mountain passes that fill the space between countries. Goblinoids do have potential to rise up to a more powerful position if they were to unify. Unity nearly happened in the Balok mountains near Drachmaar during the late 1590s; however, the demonic insurgance brought on by Drevissh sundered most of the tribes, killing many to near extinction.

Since the fall of magic, there have been an increased occurance of magically altered beings, especially hybrid creatures. Many wizards were physically transformed by the fall of magic, and those that survived the transformations have begun to reproduce, creating new races and "monster" types throughout the land. The wild lands west of Ikathia, particularly, are full of such abominations. About 35% of the new "monsters" retained their intelligence (with others becoming animalistic in their behavior), and may or may not be reasoned with.

The abomination process seems to have been somewhat dependant upon the local terrain and the wizard's previous spell knowledge. One such area that has been the focus of particular study is the River region heading westward into Ikathia from Mercacci. Many took on the appearance of Naga, lizardmen, goblins, cockatrice, or living plant matter. Other variations have been noted. These races are new introductions to the river ecosystem, and, strangely, they seem to be living in perfect concert without destroying the surrounding nature. Sages believe that since magic was elven in creation, and thus tied closely to nature, when it fell out of the sky, it forced certain "nature friendly" modifications upon the landscape.