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Economics of Monsters

     Analysis of monster listings was a hobby for a while, until the Eternal Lord hired me .  I was surprised to notice how many creatures have environmental and/or behavioral comments in their description.  The categories I found in the literature, are listed here with a few notes.    The only contribution I can make at this time is about the economics of some monsters. As the Eternal Lord has instructed I set down this crude overview for the training of new Dragon Keepers.

     The first point of interest is that the only category that is actually called monsters is also the only category that is smart enough, besides Humanoids, to enchant magic items.  I wonder if there is any connection.  Of course all the humanoid races can own and operate a wizard's lab. But they all answer to the Guild.
     The second point of interest is that only humanoid races hold jobs, and by extension pay Guild dues.  As tempting as it may be, no one hires a Demon, or a Troll, as a police recruit, or a Dragon as a mercenary.  It could almost be said that by definition a monster is an intelligent creature that can't hold a job.
     The third and final point of interest are the beings that show up as material components.  A surprising number of items require dragon's dung.  This became such a difficult component to get, before I was hired, that one Handler started drugging sheep with reptile poison and leaving them for the dragon.  Not enough to kill the dragon outright, but enough to make it sleep the next day or two. This way he could collect dung unbreathed on.  Listed here are the potions and item that require dragons.

    The average produces 16 grams of dung a day, per point of ST the dragon has. So a 1-Hex dragon produces 192 grams a day, where a 14-hex dragon produces 1.6 kilograms a day. But this is just the average. Dragons are very irregular eaters. They will go long periods without, and then one week fly about eating all the livestock and fish (all dragons are amphibian.) A Dragon will go without eating for up to a week for each hex they have. So a 1-Hex dragon eats every other week, but a 14-Hex dragon can get by with eating only every 15^th week. Here is a table.

    There is not such a great variety in the size of Dragon Fewments, being only 500g to 1kg per pile, from the smallest to largest. The infrequency of a dragon eating, and the requirement that their dung be relatively fresh (2-3 days old) makes collecting the ingredient in the wild problematic. Add to that the great intelligence of dragons and their hatred of guns and the task becomes nigh impossible. After 3 days the dung will be completely dried out and only weight 10% of it's original mass.

Some other facts about dragons.

Eggs incubate in the mother for 3 months.

2-10 eggs per clutch depending on breed. Some lay 4-10, others only 2-6, it varies a good deal.

Eggs will not hatch after being lain if they get cold.

Dragons do not tend their young.

Dragons grow 2 ST per year. For example it takes 3 years for a 1 hex dragon to reach 2 hexes.

Lifespan in captivity is 20-30 years with one exceptional record of 41 years. This is not nearly enough time to reach 14 hexes on average, and seems to indicate a maximum lifespan for captive dragons of no more than 7-Hexes.

Dragons in the wild on the other hand seem to be immortal.

At 2-hexes in size the Dragon mother becomes fertile. For each egg lain roll 3D vs. IQ to see if placement was wise and the egg will hatch. After reaching 4-hexes in size the successful placement of eggs is almost certain. A failed roll of 16 or higher means predators or vermin got the egg instead.

A wild male dragon will not mate with a captive female, being more likely to kill it instead.

Any captive dragon will not accept its captivity and continually try to escape or kill it's Handler.

The only dragons that ever cooperate with each other are a breeding pair in the wild, so if any captive dragon ever escapes it will not ''free'' the other dragons but just leave as quickly as possible.

If any captive dragon manages to kill a Handler, on the other hand, the others will start to do what the killer tells them too. It is strongly recommended that if a Handler is ever killed by a dragon that all the captive dragons must be put down. There is a famous incident where a competitor kidnapped a rivals head Handler, and then released him a week later after all 116 dragons had been slain. Now it is common practice for a missing Handler to be verified by using a trance spell before putting down the entire stock. Fine Plate with fireproofing is standard gear for Handlers, which also assures that at least the armor will be found.

    -    The following magic items need the potions listed above as components.

    -   The second most commonly used ingredient is the Gargoyle gallbladder. Of the three potions below that use gallbladders notice that fireproofing is included. So before someone can safely start collecting dragon dung they may need quite a few gargoyles to die for the cause.  Poor gargoyles.  No wonder they are suspicious of strangers intentions.

   To sum up: one suit of fireproofing takes five weeks to make and uses one dose of fireproofing potion a week. This means 5 gargoyles have to give their gall, and thusly their lives, for each suit. And then only if the wizard doesn't fail any DX rolls, otherwise more gargoyles must die. In the process of setting up for a regular supply of dragon's dung one may very well find they are at war with the mountains around their area. It is a necessary first step. It is unfortunate that the gargoyle's do not seem to forget and will periodically fly over the town raining stones, but by building you labs underground your work can continue uninterrupted.

   One last note. For some strange reason the Eternal Lord insists that the heart of each and every slain dragon be brought to his personal alchemist with the utmost haste. I am not sure what is being done with these hearts but the Eternal Lord can become quite wrathful about the issue. I do not think I will look into it any further.

Addendum

    -    the other creatures used as components are...

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