What is the population of Furrae like

[meltingface101]

What  is  the  population  of  Furrae  like in  terms  of  numbers  for  each  race ?

Also  given  that  inter-dimensional  portals  are  so  common  that  the  average  teenage  girl  can  generate  one along with knowledge that other habitable realms exist  have  there  been  attempts  to  expand  to  other  realms  or  invasions  by  creatures  from  other  realms ?  

Granted places like  Saia exist on there own private planes of existence , and that the ability to create such planes is also
common enough that they are used for carrying trivial things like snacks in the form of a bag of holding ; I would assume that very few races would see reason for territorial expansion besides  acquiring  raw materials .

[meltingface101]

This is a stupid question that I should already know the answer to , isn't it ?

[Jasae Bushae]

Well putting aside that Amber has professed to not being the greatest at scaling numbers, interdimensional as far as I know, have not shown themselves to be common at all in the story. Do you have an example?

[meltingface101]

Aside from Saia , and toasters being used as anchors for pocket realms  the only evidence that beings may possess  methods  of  travelling  between  realms are  the  inter-dimensional  portals  in  the  human  arc  which  might  not  even  be  cannon  anymore . 

Also  summoning  a  WarpAci  requires  the  ability  to  form  a portal to the realm of non-sensation .

[Amber Williams]

I am not capable of mathing such statistics and numbers accurately.  It is not something in which I am good at, and I imagine my attempts at trying it would result in some really off numbers that wouldn't work.

[meltingface101]

I think I remember that you once stated that  approximately  1%  of  furrae`s  overall  population  was  composed  of  demons . I  would  imagine  that  the  population  present  would  exceed  that  of  earth`s  by several orders  of  magnitude , due  to  the  presence  of  widely  available  healing potions , and  weather  control  that  would  completely  change  agriculture . 

[Eboreg]

I would  imagine  that  the  population  present  would  exceed  that  of  earth`s  by several orders  of  magnitude , due  to  the  presence  of  widely  available  healing potions , and  weather  control  that  would  completely  change  agriculture .

Except that the feudal-monarchical system that the world is largely under combined with a strong criminal element would knock things down several orders of magnitude. Add to that the fact that tech is not as homogenously spread in Furrae as on Earth and I would guess that the population of Furrae is lower than that of Earth.

[meltingface101]

I would have presumed that  even with  the  limiting  factors  you presented , the  population would  still exceed  that  of  Earth  due  to  the  number  of  niches  magic  opens  up . There  are  civilizations present  in  the  ocean , and under ground . Earth's surface is 71% water  .

Also I remember  it  was  stated  that  Dragons  where  of extradimensional  origin along  with  the  Fae , are  there  any  other  non-native  races ?  

[meltingface101]

Should  this  go  under Tinfoil hats , due  to  the  fact  that  it's purely  speculation .

[Mao]

It's kinda dancing the line for the tearoom, but I'm not going to be the one to make that call since folks like to complain when I do. ;-)

[llearch n'n'daCorna]

It's kinda dancing the line for the tearoom, but I'm not going to be the one to make that call since folks like to complain when I do. ;-)

I thought that was what you wanted... ;-]

[meltingface101]

I would  imagine  that  the  population  present  would  exceed  that  of  earth`s  by several orders  of  magnitude , due  to  the  presence  of  widely  available  healing potions , and  weather  control  that  would  completely  change  agriculture .

Except that the feudal-monarchical system that the world is largely under combined with a strong criminal element would knock things down several orders of magnitude. Add to that the fact that tech is not as homogenously spread in Furrae as on Earth and I would guess that the population of Furrae is lower than that of Earth.

I  have not  seen  any  evidence  to  support  a  feudal  system , can  you  point  me  to  were  this  is  indicated ?

Also  from  what  we  have  been  shown  magic  can  occupy  many  of  the  roles  that  tech does while  requiring  nothing  more  than  magically  capable  people  and  education  facilities . Tech  despite  being  usable  by  anyone  with  training  requires  vast  amounts  of  infrastructure to  create , which  in  turn  requires  large amounts  of  land  and  resources .    

[Eboreg]

I  have not  seen  any  evidence  to  support  a  feudal  system , can  you  point  me  to  were  this  is  indicated ?

The fact that the highest-level autonomous political unit is the city is a pretty clear indication of this.

Also  from  what  we  have  been  shown  magic  can  occupy  many  of  the  roles  that  tech does while  requiring  nothing  more  than  magically  capable  people  and  education  facilities . Tech  despite  being  usable  by  anyone  with  training  requires  vast  amounts  of  infrastructure to  create , which  in  turn  requires  large amounts  of  land  and  resources .    

The problem with that is that magically capable people can be pretty rare when talking about being capable enough to do some of the more advanced stuff. While infrastructure is necessary for technological objects, mass production is a much smaller problem once it is set up. For example, blowing up a city in Furrae vs. blowing up a city on Earth. In Furrae, there is only one shown instance in which a city was blown up (Cyra vs. M'Chek) and replicating it would take a great amount of difficulty. On Earth, this occasion happened twice within the space of four days and afterwards, people just went nuts trying to build more devices capable of doing this, getting into the thousands and tens of thousands, and even going so far as to build specialized delivery platforms and setting up a whole new paradigm of war around them.

It's one of the major differences between the classic interpretation of magic and the realities of technology, exclusivity vs. commonality, one-time accomplishment vs. universal advancement, individual prowess vs. mass production, power of the few vs. power of the many.

[meltingface101]

Magic  as  it  has  been  presented  in  story  allows  them  to  create  new  living  spaces  out  of  nothing  with  no  space  constraint  and  generate  matter  from  nothing . Even  if  magic  is  available  in  limited  quantities  the  amount  of  people  who  possess  it  will  grow  rapidly in  comparison  to  any  society  that  relies  on  technology given  the  fact  they  are  not  bound  by  conservation  of  mass  or  energy . 

[Eboreg]

Magic  as  it  has  been  presented  in  story  allows  them  to  create  new  living  spaces  out  of  nothing  with  no  space  constraint  and  generate  matter  from  nothing . Even  if  magic  is  available  in  limited  quantities  the  amount  of  people  who  possess  it  will  grow  rapidly in  comparison  to  any  society  that  relies  on  technology given  the  fact  they  are  not  bound  by  conservation  of  mass  or  energy . 

And yet, Beings are still the most common race by far in the world of Furrae. The idea that Furraeans are not constrained by conservation of mass or energy is somewhat dodgy due to the fact that it took a nearly deified 'Cubi tri-wing to set up an entire extra-dimensional university and even then, she may have had help from a Fae. This strongly points to the idea that creating an extra-dimensional dwelling takes an enormous amount of energy.

[Tapewolf]

And yet, Beings are still the most common race by far in the world of Furrae. The idea that Furraeans are not constrained by conservation of mass or energy is somewhat dodgy due to the fact that it took a nearly deified 'Cubi tri-wing to set up an entire extra-dimensional university and even then, she may have had help from a Fae. This strongly points to the idea that creating an extra-dimensional dwelling takes an enormous amount of energy.

They do seem to have less constraints on mass and energy than we do, though as you say, it's not plain sailing.  That said, Matilda, for example, is able to produce magical homes apparently by herself.  SAIA may not necessarily be a comparable case given that Fa'Lina can foresee things - there may be more going on there than we know about.

As for the population, longer-lived creatures tend to breed less regularly and if that holds over to Furrae, it gives the Beings an immediate advantage.

[Tuyu]

And yet, Beings are still the most common race by far in the world of Furrae. The idea that Furraeans are not constrained by conservation of mass or energy is somewhat dodgy due to the fact that it took a nearly deified 'Cubi tri-wing to set up an entire extra-dimensional university and even then, she may have had help from a Fae. This strongly points to the idea that creating an extra-dimensional dwelling takes an enormous amount of energy.

They do seem to have less constraints on mass and energy than we do, though as you say, it's not plain sailing.  That said, Matilda, for example, is able to produce magical homes apparently by herself.  SAIA may not necessarily be a comparable case given that Fa'Lina can foresee things - there may be more going on there than we know about.

The way I think of it is like:  What Matilda does is like grabbing the middle of a bedsheet and bunching it up to make a pouch. Still part of the world, just connected differently.

But SAIA is much closer to being its own reality.

[meltingface101]

The  more  I  think  about  it  the  more  I  realize  how  uninterested  in  inter-dimensional  travel magic  users  might  be . They  have no reason to  care  about  alternate  planes  of  existence  outside  of  curiosity .

Also  I  don't think  Mab's  plan  for  Jyrass  stands  the  remotest    chance  of  succeeding  unless  it  involves  him  deploying  a  weapon  that  can  disable  all  magic  on  the  planet  at  least . I  cannot  imagine  everyone  sitting  idly  by  while  guns  spread .

[Tapewolf]

Also  I  don't think  Mab's  plan  for  Jyrass  stands  the  remotest    chance  of  succeeding  unless  it  involves  him  deploying  a  weapon  that  can  disable  all  magic  on  the  planet  at  least . I  cannot  imagine  everyone  sitting  idly  by  while  guns  spread .

We don't know what Mab's plan is.  We don't even know who Jyrras is intending the guns should be used against.
The Creature Council is assuming that he is their enemy, but what we know that they might not is that Jyrras is very pro-Creature and gets along with them easier than he does with other Beings (mentioned by his mother and borne out by the strip so far).  Indeed, the first person to get the weapon tested on them was a Being, for the purposes of protecting a Creature.

If I had to stake a guess at Mab's plan, I would imagine that she's trying to get all the races to get along, not just favouring one of them.  After all, most of her friends seem to be Creatures - engineering a situation where virtually all of them get wiped out by Beings armed with mass-produced guns would be odd, to say the least.

'Course, if she did manage to stop the races backstabbing each other, that in itself may introduce population problems.

[Eboreg]

Also  I  don't think  Mab's  plan  for  Jyrass  stands  the  remotest    chance  of  succeeding  unless  it  involves  him  deploying  a  weapon  that  can  disable  all  magic  on  the  planet  at  least .

There are those who believe that a 100% natural object would be completely immune to magic. It's the most logical reason for Mab to want Jyrras to develop magic-less items. Jyrras himself noted how hard it is to apply magic to an object that gets more and more natural and such an item would provide the power balance you suggested.

As for Mab's plans, I would like to show a bit of a thought experiment. Take a big burly man and put him in an arena with a wheelchair bound person to sort out their differences. No question of where it's going right? Now, give both of them handguns. It's easy to see that it's an equal match in that case. The great thing about modern industrial firearms is that they provide a significant amount of killing firepower while having a very shallow learning curve in using them effectively compared to medieval-era weapons of the kind seen in Furrae. The inequality becomes even worse when the magical races of Furrae enter the picture.

Now think about all of those times that a Demon has gone on a rampage in Furrae just to showcase his strength. Would he do the same thing if he could very easily get his heart shredded by a guy hiding in a window several hundred meters away with multiple follow-up shots if the first one missed? One then gets on the question of what would happen if the Demon decided to use a gun in the massacre but he is at no more of an advantage than any of the high-profile spree killers we hear about from time to time. Even if he manages to get away, snipers are going to soon try to claim a bounty on his head as an extension of the adventurer concept. Natural selection in action.

[meltingface101]

The  problem  isn't  in  the  guns  themselves so  much  as  there  ability  to  gain  momentum , it  doesn't take  a  very  creative  creature  to teleport  a  few boulders  above  a  factory . The  creature  have magic  powers  that  are  so  far beyond  anything  resembling  our  weaponry  would  still lose .

I  agree  with Tapewolf , the point of introducing  such  weapons  isn't so much  to combat creatures  as  it  is  a  means by  which beings  could achieve  a  standing  equal  to  that  of  creatures . However the  only  situation  I  could  imagine  beings  getting  to  prove  themselves  equal  in  the  eyes  of  creatures  would  be  if  an  external  threat  manifested  that  only  beings  have  the  numbers  to  drive  off .

[meltingface101]

inane musings ahead

I  am imagining  either  a swarm type foe  that  relies so  heavily  on  magic  that  most  conventional  magic  based  attacks  are  rendered worthless , or an  enemy  that  relies  purely  on  non- magical  means  of  assault  . In  the  latter  case  Jyrras'  project may  grow  into  something  resembling  Xcom .