The waterfall plummets 1000 feet...

Trevalon Moonleirion

Explorer

• Sep 6, 2011

• #21

Even something as simple as sprawling dungeons underneath cities-- pretty standard fantasy fare--has real world counterparts. Chicago has a huge network of abandoned freight tunnels running underneath it, and that's not even counting the sewer and subway lines!

The Coliseum in Rome could be flooded to stage small naval battles for spectators. Seems almost unreal!

Do a google image search for sinkholes. There's one that opened in Guatemala that seems disaster-movie large, but it was real.

Fantastic thread! Keep sharing, everyone.

 

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Blackbrrd

First Post

• Sep 7, 2011

• #22

Standing on the top of Høgronden in Rondane, Norway.
You can see about 200km on a clear day, and it was at the time.
Map FINN kart - en ledende norsk karttjeneste
Picture of the mountain (to the left) http://fjelletibilder.no/pictures/11/2005081400200020.jpg

In some ways, it's not so high 2114meters, but at the same time, trees don't grow over about 1000meters in Norway, so you have some snow even in the middle of summer and the typical summer clouds are at the same level. Standing on top of the mountain makes you feel really small.

 

Agamon

Adventurer

• Sep 7, 2011

• #23

How about a supervulcano, like the one at Yellowstone?

DM: The ground rumbles terribly as a huge vulcano erupts far off in the distance.

Player: Cool, can we see the ash plume?

DM: Wait...just let me set my watch to how much longer you have to live.

 

Man in the Funny Hat

Hero

• Aug 2, 2012

• #24

Arise forgotten and undercontributed thread!

To my earlier list I will add:

Mount Rushmore
Meteor Crater
Great Falls of the Missouri R.
Mormon Rocks (think any great outdoor fight scene from Star Trek)

and maybe a few natural events such as the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami.

 

billd91

Not your screen monkey (he/him)

• Aug 2, 2012

• #25

For skeptical players, National Geographic is your friend. I also collect photos off the interwebs on my iPad to show players to help set the atmosphere.

 

SkredlitheOgre

Explorer

• Aug 2, 2012

• #26

Crater Lake in Oregon, US

Crater Lake - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Some of the drops into the crater are around 1,000 feet (and hooray for being afraid of heights!) and there's even a Wizard's Island (the actual name) in the lake and the top of Wizard's Island is the Witch's Cauldron.

There are no river into or out of the crater, which I think could add a bit of mystery to an adventure.

 

Sammael

Adventurer

• Aug 2, 2012

• #27

The Pyramids of Giza are incredible and larger than life. If you visit them early in the morning, they are concealed by the fog that rises off the Nile and you really can't perceive their true size until you're standing a couple of hundred feet away - and when you finally reach their base, it's awe-inspiring.

The Temple of Abu Simbel is likewise incredible, moreso because it was originally built at a site which was pretty much inaccessible by the majority of the population, at Egypt's border with Nubia. It primary purpose - a testament to power made to scare the hell out of anyone who thought to invade Egypt from the south. Remember Argonath from LOTR? Well, something like that.

Of the natural wonders I've recently seen, I'd have to single out the Chot El Jerid - Sahara's largest salt lake. Sahara is an incredibly varied place, with practically all types of desert represented, from rocky moon-like surfaces to the great sand dunes. But this incredibly huge salt lake that changes every time you visit it due to the ongoing battle between sand, salt, and water is incredible. When I visited the lake, it was filled with a shallow layer of water.

Chott el Djerid - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

Dannyalcatraz

Schmoderator

Staff member

Supporter

• Aug 2, 2012

• #28

Smoss said:

Less geophysical and more geopolitical, one of my PCs looked at one of my countries that has 19 separate cult controlled (but allied) areas and said something like:

"You cant have 19 things like that, the only example in the world is the US with its 50 states."

I had, of course, done research on my world to keep it feeling real - Pointed him to details on Iraq - Which is about the same size as the country I created. Iraq has 18 provinces. 18 vs 19 for about same land area. I think I hit the number about perfectly for a real world feeling.

I'll just call the PC a little too misinformed about the world outside the USA.
Smoss

Click to expand...

Hell- Germany has 16 states, and is 300k sq miles smaller than Iraq.

 

Last edited: Aug 2, 2012

Stormonu

Legend

• Aug 2, 2012

• #29

Lake Ponchetrain bridge - one of the entryways to New Orleans. It's about 24 miles long and when half-way across, there is no land to be seen. If you're afraid of drowning, this thing is absolutely terrifying.

The Gulf Coast. Being originally from California, the ocean I'm used to drops off the continental shelf after a few feet - it quickly goes over your head. However, you can wade out several hundred feet into the Gulf Coast (especially during low tide!) and it might only be up to your neck. It's a bizarre sight to see people like 50' feet out in the water and only up to their waists.

 

Hand of Evil

Hero

Epic

• Aug 2, 2012

• #30

Canoeing here in South Carolina, river travel is interesting and terrain can be different from swamps and rivers.

A place I want to see (on my bucket list) is the Wieliczka Salt Mine - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia



and 1500 year old Angel Oak in Charleston (Johns Island), South Carolina (something to see)