Effective Ecology

Nirrum despises stirges and thinks them a blight on the world

I, on the other hand, really just hate mosquitoes.

An Effective Ecology is not hard to make, but can really make a lot of common questions really easy to answer. You don't need to be out in a natural setting to have an ecology either. I believe Jeff Goldblum has something to say on that. Putting together an effective basic ecological model is one of the simplest things that I do when I build a civilization, and for you it can be an easy tool to not only make your world seem more real, but to introduce natural complications into your environments.

One Simple Trick: Biologists hate me!

Understandably, an actual ecological model is complex, by definition it is as complex as the civilization posts I've put up but also for each species and their relationships between each other and then some. But thanks to Tolkien's desire for his fictional world to look a lot like ours, Most settings just have an earth-like ecology. This gives us carte blanche to cheat the system by just adding on top of it. The nature of most enemies that we need to include is that they are aggressive. In this same token, many of them will be aggressive carnivores or territorial herbivores, the sort of things that have stat blocks.

Ultimately, you just need pick a bunch of climate-suitable or at least creatures altered to suit that climate and then ask "what do they eat when adventurers aren't around?"

For a more fulfilled eco-blurb, you'll need to ask a few more.

EcoForumla

Because this is just sand in the sandbox, you shouldn't spend too much time on this. Answers should be rapid-fire and simple, though if something is important or interesting,

1) What is the biome like? There is a lot that can be said on this but in general, look up what you can about the specific area you want to imagine. Clay deserts, salt desert, sandy desert. Look up the country or region that resembles your internal image, Qatar, Bangladesh, Montana, the scablands, the isle of Skye, Hickman's Harbour.
2) What lives here? This part is mostly geared toward plants. If you looked up the area, the region, or the biome, then you should be able to get a decent list of plants that describe the terrain. If the plants include tall trees, be sure to see if they're any good for building.

3) What do the animals eat? You could go for a detailed list here, but really, you're only going to see three or four types of animals that matter, and you only need to think about them by bracket. They should also be in the right proportions

• Small insectivores, scavengers, and seed-eaters (squirrels, rats, lizards, pigeons)
• Small predators that eat those things
• Larger herbivores (they eat the big plants)
• Larger carnivores
• Maybe some fancy birds

4) What are the exceptional creatures? This is where you add in the rare monster. This is where the magical world interacts with the mundane when no one is looking. Dragons eat whatever meat is available, Manticores might stalk anything that moves, Trolls might hide under bridges waiting for goats to pass by.

Really, that's it

Once you have a grasp on these things, you can flesh out your environment quickly, usually in a single paragraph, making cool notes and talking about how it affects your local culture.

 The Gannaga river is well known for its multitude of fish, especially flashpike and Danzuishanese vined lake trout, the latter of which is the symbol of the Maze-hunters, the former of which is a great prank to play on newcomers, as when its skin is pierced, the fish emits a bright and startling flash of light, even after being cooked. It can do this two or three times depending on the size. Gannaga river dolphins have evolved blind to avoid this, as flashpike is their preferred meal.

Nirrum's Note:It is suspected that dolphins arrived on the plane as a result of a terrible war among their people. I am told by the sea elves that I occasionally meet through Durkala Shek that the river dolphins are the sort of goblins of the dolphin world, (Doblins, if you will) while the offshore dolphins are far more sophisticated, though indeed, sadistic.

The region around Danzuishan is subtropical, of mild humidity and of interesting trees. Oak in particular seems to thrive around here, as does willow. The forest has many herbs and some wild potatoes. But is comparatively sparse in edible vegetation compared to the rest of the plane, though it is thick with game, in particular boar, hare, and further south, feral goat. Smaller elephants than those found further east on the grass road also wander the forest. Large Rhinoceros are probably the most dangerous herbivore, owing to their propensity to attack campfires, and thus, camps. All sorts of predators feast on the creatures here, from tigers to phase spiders, to Manticores & Wyverns.  

Kao Wita'u'ab dalke?

-Nirrum