Do you think interactions between monsters in your favorite RPGs are neat? Come listen to a PhD talk about it! We'll go over basic ecological principles that you may already be familiar such as niche fulfillment, ecological equilibrium etc. and how they can be used to create interesting monsters and stories. Then, we'll spice it up with lesser known concepts such as: the types of symbiosis everyone forgets about, trait diversity and how that shapes species distributions (e.g. which spiders are more likely to become cave spiders?).
Ecological Principles in Monster Design
Vasco Branco
Hall 3a1, – (1 h 45 min)
Content warnings: Possible mention of anxiety inducing animals such as rats, snakes and arthropods (spiders, ants, etc.) as well as biological and ecological processes that may be uncomfortable to some (waste matter, predatory and parasitic species, reproductive strategies) although it's very likely none of them will be described in graphical detail.