zaratan
First Post
Why not use both, as Onix Path did in Storyteller 20 Years?
D&D 5E Localized D&D coming from Gale Force 9
Why not use both, as Onix Path did in Storyteller 20 Years?
werecorpse
Adventurer
10ft is 3m.
apply multiplier as necessary.
done
apply multiplier as necessary.
done
Tranquilis
Explorer
Say what!? When did 5e release? What century are we living in? Is there a high-level management position vacant at WotC/Hasbro I could just walk into?
I apologize to the non-English speaking world on behalf of this bewildered English speaker.
I apologize to the non-English speaking world on behalf of this bewildered English speaker.
ChapolimX
Explorer
5 feet is almost precisely 1,5 meters, a conversion very easy to do on the fly. Divide for 10 and multiply by 3. For instance 30 feet is 9 meters.
The problem I think I have is not really about game balance, so I take that back.
The point is: measure conversions usually bring some issues that most of the time are dealed with rounding some numbers and I like too see the original to decide by myself if the approximation is worth or not in the circumstance.
I'm not thinking only about feets and meters, but all measures that are used in the game and sometimes don't translate easily. There are rules like encumbrance and jump that rely on certain unities of measurement that when converted end with weird fractured numbers.
For instance, if you use encumbrance rules you rely on the weight of the itens that are usually given a round number in pounds or a simple fraction like 1/2. If you want to make it easy for someone who are thinking in the ISU you end with numbers like 453,592 grams for 1 pound. You could round to 500 or half Kilogram, and decide that's good enough, but I'm not sure.
There is also the miles, which convert to approximately 1,6 km, gallons aprox. 3.7 liters, etc...
Perhaps I'm thinking about this because I had some issues with some conversions from Mutants & Masterminds 2e, but that game tend to deal with very big numbers where precision issues can make a diference. Anyway, it might be just a personal taste and perhaps I'm crazy, but I like to look at the numbers "as intended". I'd even manage to do a rationalization that if you're portraying a medieval world, it doesn't make sense to talk in very "scientific" measure unities, but that's just crazy, I know.
So sorry, if my previous comment sounded harsh, but I still prefer conversions as an extra. By the way, Onyx Path did a good job on the V20 book where they kept the Imperial Measures, but offered a approximate ISU conversions side by side.
PS. I having a problem with the reply feature. When I try to compose my comment in the box it doesn't accept empty spaces. That's why I'm not properly quoting comments.
The problem I think I have is not really about game balance, so I take that back.
The point is: measure conversions usually bring some issues that most of the time are dealed with rounding some numbers and I like too see the original to decide by myself if the approximation is worth or not in the circumstance.
I'm not thinking only about feets and meters, but all measures that are used in the game and sometimes don't translate easily. There are rules like encumbrance and jump that rely on certain unities of measurement that when converted end with weird fractured numbers.
For instance, if you use encumbrance rules you rely on the weight of the itens that are usually given a round number in pounds or a simple fraction like 1/2. If you want to make it easy for someone who are thinking in the ISU you end with numbers like 453,592 grams for 1 pound. You could round to 500 or half Kilogram, and decide that's good enough, but I'm not sure.
There is also the miles, which convert to approximately 1,6 km, gallons aprox. 3.7 liters, etc...
Perhaps I'm thinking about this because I had some issues with some conversions from Mutants & Masterminds 2e, but that game tend to deal with very big numbers where precision issues can make a diference. Anyway, it might be just a personal taste and perhaps I'm crazy, but I like to look at the numbers "as intended". I'd even manage to do a rationalization that if you're portraying a medieval world, it doesn't make sense to talk in very "scientific" measure unities, but that's just crazy, I know.
So sorry, if my previous comment sounded harsh, but I still prefer conversions as an extra. By the way, Onyx Path did a good job on the V20 book where they kept the Imperial Measures, but offered a approximate ISU conversions side by side.
PS. I having a problem with the reply feature. When I try to compose my comment in the box it doesn't accept empty spaces. That's why I'm not properly quoting comments.
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Over on the D&DB forums, someone suggested simply changing any mention of "Feet" to meters. So a characters speed is 30 "Meters", they can jump a number of "Meters" equal to their strength score, and spells have a range of 60 "meters". Everything gets a lot bigger, but it is a simple enough conversion to make. Either that or make every square a meter, which actually goes in the opposite direction, but accomplishes pretty much the same goal of putting everything on a single measurement. The point is, as the poster on the other forums put it, that the unit is irrelevant. It could just as easily be "Units", "Cubits", or "Kumquats", so long as it is all kept constant.
PS, you could just mention the posters you are quoting, using @ followed by their name.
ChapolimX
Explorer
@Lanliss
Well, that's a worse idea than I thought. I would not like if they do anything like this.
If that's the point I can't even understand why people care about this.
I mean, if you don't care about the precise representation of units in terms of imaginary distance, weight or volume, why care about the then? They're just words after all. Can't you just do this on the fly? If the book says 2 pounds you pretend it said 2 Kilograms. That's fine if it suits your style. But why mess with the words in the book? Leave than be for those who want to deal with the extra hassle...
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Press release! And we answer some questions which...we asked ourselves.
Why GF9?
Well kids, let's pretend we asked ourselves why would we outsource to TONS of other outlets? That'd be kuh-razee, that's why!
Oh, you wanted to know why outsource at all? Well, we don't know and we're not telling!
Me; 'hey thanks WOTC!'
Why GF9?
Well kids, let's pretend we asked ourselves why would we outsource to TONS of other outlets? That'd be kuh-razee, that's why!
Oh, you wanted to know why outsource at all? Well, we don't know and we're not telling!
Me; 'hey thanks WOTC!'
it assists in tactical terms. Playing ToTM, someone familiar with the metric system will hear "3 meters" and have a general estimate of how far away that is, as opposed to needing an equation to tell them that "10 feet away" means "3 meters".
On the other option, it assists in the same way, but with grid rather than ToTM. Seeing a grid, and knowing each square is 1 meter, so an enemy is 3 meters away from you, helps put a more solid picture in your head than "3 units", which is essentially all "feet" would mean to someone who uses metric.
Lastly, if they are already messing with literally every other word in the book to translate it, I don't see why they cannot go for the extra effort of using a calculator to convert all mentions of the imperial measurement system to metric.
ChapolimX
Explorer
That's not what I understood from your last post. I though you suggested to convert 10 feet into 10 meters. That way you're altering the perception about the reality of the game world. For instance, I doesn't make sense to say a medium humanoid dominates 5 meters of space in combat. So, I can't stand behind this. If you want to do that, you can easily change the words on the fly and that won't mess with any rules, like encumbrance, movement, travel, jump, etc...
Now if you want more clarity, in order to help yours players envision the battlefield for instance, but still have some precision in the conversions, you can't say everything is just a unit after all! Here we come to my previous comment, you have to deal with weird broken numbers, rounded numbers, approximations, etc... And that's fine too. But in this way you have to face you're dealing with a balance between precision and easy of play. That balance is already built into the system and its imperial units. In order to convert this you may have to deal with some compromises in one aspect or the other.
Because there are other units in the game like ounces, gallons, pinch, miles, pounds, and the conversions are not straightforward game-wise. That said, I'm not against the translations including conversion tables or values as I said. I just like to have the original reference in front of me.
