| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| Dennis |
Posted - 30 Nov 2011 : 15:48:07
I'm currently editing a friend's manuscript (in exchange for a huge favor). There's an intriguing aspect of the story... A race of half-demons (who are more in touch of their humanity than their demonic nature) is in the brink of extinction. A wizard of unmatched power (whose sheer whim dictated him to regulate the spread of demonic blood in the mortal world) cursed their ancestors: a female could bear a child only after a million mating. So just imagine how many times they have to do it in a day... It sounds bizarre, I know, but there's a rather long explanation for that which I'm not inclined to bore you with... So, now, let's go to my question...
Not considering demons and devils, what do you think is the most sexually active race in the Realms? Is such activity for them simply for pleasure? Do they do it primarily to avoid extinction (for reproduction)? Is the reason based on or specific to their faith, like an expression of surrender and devotion to their deities? |
| 30 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| Dennis |
Posted - 27 Sep 2012 : 08:12:01
A joke that may bear a shred of truth. I vaguely recall reading many years ago (back in grade school) an anthology featuring a short story about a wizard who's supposed to create the first unicorn. On the day of said creation, he was drunk, grab a goat instead of a horse, cast the spell at the same moment his assistant entered his lab, and poof! A satyr! |
| Eldacar |
Posted - 27 Sep 2012 : 07:52:34
quote:
Originally posted by CorellonsDevout
While I agree that humans are certainly one of the more lusty races (other than goblinkin, orcs, and drow to an extent), centaurs and merfolk weren't actually created by a mating between a human and horse or human and fish.
It was a joke. You can't deny that they certainly look like a cross (or perhaps a wizard getting drunk and playing mix-and-match with body parts... which would explain the owlbear, too), hence the humour.  |
| Dennis |
Posted - 27 Sep 2012 : 07:25:56
It occurred to me that perhaps Telamont had once decreed population control in Shade prior to annexing Sembia and sweeping Anauroch of its unwanted denizens. It would make sense. Shade is a small city. Where else would the excess population go? |
| CorellonsDevout |
Posted - 27 Sep 2012 : 06:08:04
quote:
Originally posted by Eldacar
Almost certainly humans. Well, they're willing to sleep with virtually anything, at any rate. Some examples:
- half-elves
- half-dragons
- half-elementals
- half-dwarves
- tieflings (see Tisha Swornheart, and it becomes quite understandable)
- aasimar
- half-fiends (because evil creatures are more "willing," shall we say)
- half-drow (could give succubi a run for their money)
- half-orc
- centaurs
- mermaids
- lich-loved (yes, you read that right)
- half-illithid (ew...)
- medusa (grand-mummy dallied with a snake, I see!)
I'm sure there are others. 
While I agree that humans are certainly one of the more lusty races (other than goblinkin, orcs, and drow to an extent), centaurs and merfolk weren't actually created by a mating between a human and horse or human and fish. |
| Emma Drake |
Posted - 27 Sep 2012 : 04:57:54
I tried to find a place with age categories listed for half-fiends and most sources that I came across say they don't age. They can be killed, but if not killed, live forever.
So say a half-fiend has sex 4 times a day - that's a million times in 750 years. 3 times a day over 1000 years. We should all be so lucky.
Should immortal beings really be reproducing more than once or twice... ever? I don't think so.
I'm not really sure what race is the most sexually active though.
quote:
Originally posted by Varl
A million matings, huh? How does one track that? Heh.
I don't think you would track it if you have an unlimited lifespan. It happens when it happens. |
| Dennis |
Posted - 27 Sep 2012 : 03:55:36
Had there been a dwarf who dared mate with a giant? Or vice-versa? |
| Wooly Rupert |
Posted - 26 Sep 2012 : 16:06:28
quote:
Originally posted by Eldacar
Almost certainly humans. Well, they're willing to sleep with virtually anything, at any rate. Some examples:
- half-elves
- half-dragons
- half-elementals
- half-dwarves
- tieflings (see Tisha Swornheart, and it becomes quite understandable)
- aasimar
- half-fiends (because evil creatures are more "willing," shall we say)
- half-drow (could give succubi a run for their money)
- half-orc
- centaurs
- mermaids
- lich-loved (yes, you read that right)
- half-illithid (ew...)
- medusa (grand-mummy dallied with a snake, I see!)
I'm sure there are others.
Dragons are quite Zeus-like, too, in their desire to sleep with anything... In 2E, we had a handful of half-dragon types, all humanoids, and all fathered by dragons that could naturally polymorph. 3E made "half-dragon" a template that could be applied to anything, resulting in potential weirdness like the vampiric half-troll, half-dragon lycanthropic fiendish snail. |
| Eldacar |
Posted - 26 Sep 2012 : 14:12:29
Almost certainly humans. Well, they're willing to sleep with virtually anything, at any rate. Some examples:
- half-elves
- half-dragons
- half-elementals
- half-dwarves
- tieflings (see Tisha Swornheart, and it becomes quite understandable)
- aasimar
- half-fiends (because evil creatures are more "willing," shall we say)
- half-drow (could give succubi a run for their money)
- half-orc
- centaurs
- mermaids
- lich-loved (yes, you read that right)
- half-illithid (ew...)
- medusa (grand-mummy dallied with a snake, I see!)
I'm sure there are others. |
| Dennis |
Posted - 04 Dec 2011 : 09:02:31
Good point. I guess more is better than less, in most cases. Any race can extract some advantage from their extra population, or other rival races can. |
| Ayrik |
Posted - 01 Dec 2011 : 15:25:49
Population is self-regulating. Large populations attract predators (or exterminators), consume all available territory and resources and food, and begin to compete within themselves. In extreme cases desperate populations engage in warfare, kick down each other's monuments, and resort to cannibalism. It's an equilibrium of sorts, when there's too many kobolds they're forced to become more aggressive and expand their activities across wider territories, which in turn attracts kobold-killing heroes/mercenaries (or kobold-eating monsters) to reduce kobold numbers down to manageable quantities. In old D&D kobolds were basically reptiles who laid large clutches of eggs.
Other forms of population control are artificial, and generally do not apply to any populations who reject the authority or compact which arbitrarily defines the regulation. |
| Markustay |
Posted - 01 Dec 2011 : 15:19:51
AFAIK, Thay only imported slaves, not exported (except, perhaps, on a very limited case-by-case basis).
Why would a nation that loved to create undead bother to sell-off their population, when they can turn their slaves into slightly less efficient - but less resource-draining - slaves? Plus, the Zulkirs strike me as the types who would rather use excess people for target practice, then sell them to someone who may benefit by them.
As for the subject at-hand, we have no RW thing to base this on (except modern-day China). If anything, medieval and/or 'primitive' cultures tried to have as many children as possible, because the infant mortality rate was so incredibly high. RW we also had things like wars and plagues to keep population down, so it never became an issue 'back then'. It was also a sign of wealth in most cultures - the more wives you could afford, the more children you would have. Think The King and I.
And going by RW biology, normally the longer-lived a race, the longer the gestation period and the lower the birth rate (isn't nature a wonderful balancing act?) Tiny races like Jermlaine and Kobolds would breed like rodents, but things like Dragons and Elves would take centuries between parenting. Once again, RW biology can be applied - in certain circumstances, the normal behavior is deviated from when a species is in peril... like when the Elves first arrived from Faerie. Within a century or two, their population increase exponentially. I don't think the Elves were having more sex - I think they have an inner ability to control their own biology (to a point); I covered this in my Elven Netbook articles. When the need arose for a higher birthrate, the Elven woman simply decided (consciously or subconsciously) to be 'more fertile'. This is similar to how certain tree-frogs can change their sex if needed - it may just be an automatic thing they have no power over.
The rest of the races are controlled by the populations of the other races, just like RW - Orcs are one of the greatest controlling factors on the North (and the other races on them). When there isn't enough prey, predators die-back, and then the prey get a population explosion during the down-turn, which later causes an upswing back in the predators. Once again, nature is a beautiful thing - in a setting where druids are common (and nature gods), I would imagine artificial measures wouldn't be needed.
In fact, druids may have been behind some of those Orc-Hordes... did you ever think of that?  |
| Dennis |
Posted - 01 Dec 2011 : 03:38:00
quote:
Originally posted by The Sage
quote:
Originally posted by Dennis
On a similar note, what race actively "regulates" reproduction due to overpopulation or some other reasons? (In other words, the China in the Realms.)
I'm not sure there are any races in the Realms which actively regulates their own individual population growths.
Kobolds, as Ayrik suggests above, would be a convenient example. But even with their numbers, I'd expect that while there may be regulations in place to control their numbers, it's a policy harder to put into practice.
Didn't the old Thay sell their "excess population" as slaves to other realms? That sounds like a form of regulating population. |
| The Sage |
Posted - 01 Dec 2011 : 00:56:41
quote:
Originally posted by Dennis
On a similar note, what race actively "regulates" reproduction due to overpopulation or some other reasons? (In other words, the China in the Realms.)
I'm not sure there are any races in the Realms which actively regulates their own individual population growths.
Kobolds, as Ayrik suggests above, would be a convenient example. But even with their numbers, I'd expect that while there may be regulations in place to control their numbers, it's a policy harder to put into practice. |
| Seethyr |
Posted - 01 Dec 2011 : 00:48:56
My college roomate, Wilt Chamberlain and Gene Simmons of Kiss...oh wait wrong forum...
I'll certainly have to go with orcs because their tendency to form hordes is imo a form of naturally controlling their own populations.
I'd much rather think it was drow of course, but the way they backstab each other so often, I can't imagine they'd want to be so ehhh close and in such a disadvantaged position so often.
Though the subject isn't really brought up much because of the general PG D&D rating, I'm sure Nymphs and Satyrs would be at the way top of the list as well. |
| Ayrik |
Posted - 01 Dec 2011 : 00:34:38
There are some humans scattered through the Realms who possess a "giantkin" surname and unusually large physical stature. I'm not sure if they are in fact descended from jotun blood. |
| Varl |
Posted - 01 Dec 2011 : 00:19:16
I'd think giants or some other egotistical, "preserve the racial purity" species similar to giants would want to destroy any mongrel births they discover in their tribes in order to keep the blood lines of the race as pure as possible, thus, controlling citizens of the tribe through threats of banishment or worse on how often couples of this species breed. |
| Ayrik |
Posted - 30 Nov 2011 : 20:12:08
Kobolds. |
| Wolfhound75 |
Posted - 30 Nov 2011 : 19:17:57
I'd speculate that a case could be made for Thay controlling their population though not through laws like the 'China of the Realms' as Dennis suggested. You could, depending upon your point of view, consider their penchant for converting living to undead as a form of population control. Even government-sponsored population control when viewed through the right shade of rose-colored lenses.
Idle speculation for an idle lunch at work.
Good Hunting! |
| Wooly Rupert |
Posted - 30 Nov 2011 : 19:08:15
quote:
Originally posted by Kentinal
quote:
Originally posted by Dennis
On a similar note, what race actively "regulates" reproduction due to overpopulation or some other reasons? (In other words, the China in the Realms.)
Hmm I can not think of any clearly indicated. If there is one, it might be Dragons. The one reason Dragons might limit would be only so much treasure in the World.
I don't think dragons do that -- their numbers are limited enough without any form of self-imposed population control. |
| Kentinal |
Posted - 30 Nov 2011 : 18:12:51
quote:
Originally posted by Dennis
On a similar note, what race actively "regulates" reproduction due to overpopulation or some other reasons? (In other words, the China in the Realms.)
Hmm I can not think of any clearly indicated. If there is one, it might be Dragons. The one reason Dragons might limit would be only so much treasure in the World. |
| Dennis |
Posted - 30 Nov 2011 : 17:18:17
On a similar note, what race actively "regulates" reproduction due to overpopulation or some other reasons? (In other words, the China in the Realms.) |
| Dennis |
Posted - 30 Nov 2011 : 17:16:25
quote:
Originally posted by Varl
Yeah, any humanoid species needs to replenish their numbers often enough to be found in the quantities they are found in must be enjoying (or laboring under) quite the sex life.
"I'm not going any farther until we've had a breather!"
Understandable. But I suppose a race or two tower the others in terms of being obsessed with mating/reproduction.
quote:
A million matings, huh? How does one track that? Heh.
I'm afraid the answer to that is rather R-18. So instead of posting it here, I will PM you. |
| Varl |
Posted - 30 Nov 2011 : 17:07:01
Yeah, any humanoid species needs to replenish their numbers often enough to be found in the quantities they are found in must be enjoying (or laboring under) quite the sex life.
"I'm not going any farther until we've had a breather!"
A million matings, huh? How does one track that? Heh. |
| Dennis |
Posted - 30 Nov 2011 : 17:02:23
How about elves (especially the drow, I guess)? |
| Wolfhound75 |
Posted - 30 Nov 2011 : 16:58:23
I'd go for 'monsters in general' because no matter how many of them we kill in all our groups, there are always more of them ready to take a chunk out of our collective hide whenever we feel the urge to go delving into unknown places.
Not really a specific answer as the OP requested, but consider it today's contribution from my wry sense of humor.
Good Hunting!
Wolfhound |
| Yoss |
Posted - 30 Nov 2011 : 16:37:44
Definitely orcs or goblins. They're worse than rabbits. |
| Chosen of Asmodeus |
Posted - 30 Nov 2011 : 16:12:14
Orcs or goblins. Gotta keep up that fighting population. |
| Dennis |
Posted - 30 Nov 2011 : 16:04:36
quote:
Originally posted by _Jarlaxle_
Succubi if you hadn't excluded demons and Sune priests/priestresses if it wouldn't be race specific imho
Precisely the reasons I made my question a little bit specific.
quote:
But a race as a whole? I don't know maybe dwarfes because they have to try so often until they find an acutal women among their kind 
Oh. They struck me as a race who would rather spend much of their time drinking and forging weapons than mating. |
| _Jarlaxle_ |
Posted - 30 Nov 2011 : 16:00:47
Succubi if you hadn't excluded demons and Sune priests/priestresses if it wouldn't be race specific imho
But a race as a whole? I don't know maybe dwarfes because they have to try so often until they find an acutal women among their kind |
| Imp |
Posted - 30 Nov 2011 : 15:57:10
Goblins? Or maybe mice? |
