Mutual Dependencies (Communities)

As well as dependencies between individuals, create dependencies between communities. Again, the simplest way to do this is economically: The elves make the bows and arrows that the humans use to hunt boar so they can sell the meat to the elves. It doesn’t have to be this clear cut, though: The sorcerers and the necromancers keep apart so as not to contaminate each other’s magic wells.

Dependencies that are threatened can give cause for conflict. If humans cut down trees to make fires on which to roast their boars, this may impact the elves. If there are so many sorcerers that a single magic well is not enough, they may need to set up a second well nearer the necromancers.

Dependencies are about resources. Although some won’t be physical (“the secret of fire”), most will be. Miners convert land into iron; blacksmiths convert iron into swords; soldiers convert swords into land. Characters can be resources: Priests convert worshippers into powers ¹.

Economics and related issues are discussed in Chapter 4, “World Design.”