D&D 4E Should 4e convert to metric?

[hossrex]

Ugh... as an American... I voted Metric, just because its an awesome system that I can think in... but why associate that with the French?

Base 12/3/5280? Or base 10/100/1000?

I wish there weren't so many people who only think "gosh... Imperial Units are the measurements that I know, so it must automatically be the best".

 

[MRick]

I'm French but I voted for the imperial system !

I find the imperial system fits very well in a medieval setting. I do believe Imperial system is old fashionned and archaic, but it definitly has a medieval flavour.

For me, the metric system is something modern, rationnal and assiociated with scientists.

On the other hand, the Imperial system is old, intuitive (we are talking about feets and inches) and is associated with wizards and warlocks.

In modern writings we do use metric system, but when telling faerie tales, we talk about Ogres that are 10 feet high, not 2,5m !

For me D&D has more to do with faerie tales than modern writings.

Hossrex : The metric system is associated with the French because it was invented by French scientists.

 

[Ahglock]

Imperial.

I don't know how many cubic meters my trunk is but I got me a 3 body trunk.

Honestly I don't think its a big deal either way, in games you will rarely measure in weights below pounds or even KG and you likely wont be getting up to tons. Distance will almost always be in the meters or yards and really who figures out precisely how many miles they have based on feet or how many feet they have to go based n miles, so the math part of it is largely irrelevant.

As for the baking thing weight vs volume thing. Professionals like to claim weight is the way to go. Having baked extensively with both I'll say IME it really doesn't make a difference for home bakers but you do get to feel snootier while doing it in America. And god I've seen some book take it way to far, weight for everything. And I'm like yeah who has a scale at home that measures weights that small with any degree of accuracy, and in a professional kitchen you are not baking in small enough untis for that size of measurement to show up.

 

[Ahglock]

Ugh... as an American... I voted Metric, just because its an awesome system that I can think in... but why associate that with the French?

Base 12/3/5280? Or base 10/100/1000?

I wish there weren't so many people who only think "gosh... Imperial Units are the measurements that I know, so it must automatically be the best".

Really how often do you need to know the distance of a mile is 5280 feet. Once you are past a certain distance of easy feet or year reference its a1/4 of a mile or 1/2 a mile or something. You just don't use this kind of math in either system for it to make a difference in every day use or for use in a game.

 

[Ahglock]

Hmm. I am not sure if American house building is enough for me. I always see these houses blown away in TV shows and the news. I prefer German house building, and that uses the metric system.
So, if there was a German D&D, it should use the metric system.

In a way, Das Schwarze Auge / The Black Eye / DSA is the German D&D. And (as I told already) they use archaic (or archaic sounding) names for metric units. See - we can have our cake and keep it!

Spoiler

Now, if the system could also stand up against D&D 3E or 4E in playability...

I'd like to see how houses in Germany stand up to the weather we get that knocks down our houses. How many tornadoes roll through Heidleberg?

 

[Ahglock]

Most office building corridors I've ever been in were about a metre across.

My point was that a square meter sounds about right for space you can control with a dagger or your own fists - about the smallest weapon possible.

Actually, the real reason for it? I play with Australians (and my American wife, but we live here), and I'm a little tired of saying "about twenty feet down the corridor you see a door." If we're working in square increments, four squares = four metres will do me.

I'd probably go with a square being 2 meters/yards personally, a single meter just seems to small of a unit of measurement when people more on average 6 of them in a combat turn.(assuming the combat turn is the same length in 4e as 3e)

 

[Mustrum_Ridcully]

I'd like to see how houses in Germany stand up to the weather we get that knocks down our houses. How many tornadoes roll through Heidleberg?

I'd like to know myself, but only in a theoretical capacity.