D&D General Here's What A 5' Square Actually Looks Like

Over on imgur, a user called DoofusDad created a real-life five-foot square to illustrate what it actually looks like.

 

[Vaelorn]

I don't like that idea. Feet are easier to grasp.

For a minute there I thought you meant "reaching down and grabbing his foot"!

 

[Arvok]

Same reason the game uses a decimalized currency system. It’s more convenient.

Yeah, I didn't like it when they went to the decimalized currency system. It was part of the drift away from a medieval setting to a modern setting with people dressed up in medieval clothes.

 

[S'mon]

Yeah, I didn't like it when they went to the decimalized currency system. It was part of the drift away from a medieval setting to a modern setting with people dressed up in medieval clothes.

I just assume the official currency is an abstraction, since counting coins isn't very interesting. In my Thule game I'll sometimes mention the Margish Silver Krakens, Nesskians Fangs and Quodethi Double Peacocks, but it's mostly a flavour thing.

 

[doctorbadwolf]

I just assume the official currency is an abstraction, since counting coins isn't very interesting. In my Thule game I'll sometimes mention the Margish Silver Krakens, Nesskians Fangs and Quodethi Double Peacocks, but it's mostly a flavour thing.

Yeah I’d really hate to have to reference the various strange exchanges of value between coins, and to get realistic you have to change the exchanges and values from place to place and year to year.

No thanks.

 

[MoonSong]

The Aztecs apparently used a base 20 numeric system, but it's one I still think is still based on fingers.

Not apparently, they did -except the names still are in decimal, not surprising as the Nahua people were relative newcomers that adopted local customs-. And not only them, all of Mesoamerican cultures had 20 as the base. It may have fingers as a base, but it makes for a cool divider for the year and the period of human gestation.

Fun fact, ancient Mesoamerican astronomers used a square 20x20 grid to make astronomic observations, and since it was used to register the skies, both the grid and the number 400 became metaphors for the heaven and infinity.

One hundred metres is:

One one-hundred thousandth of the distance from the equator to the north pole.

The length of 165076373 wavelengths in vacuum of the radiation of krypton-86.

The distance light travels in a vacuum in the time of 3.33564095e-7 seconds.

Or 131 of my steps. Pretty convenient my steps happen to roughly be 2-1/2 feet/30 inches. Of course, if you happen to be taller than me -and odds are you are- then this is useless as a number. But hey! I'm my own 5x5 square!

I've been toying with the idea of creating a fantasy measure unit using this number. I call the area I can cover with one step a Rose (not my most humble moment there, but I also like the metaphor of one circular spot where you can comfortably dance in that kinda looks like a flower's petals). Also I call 200 steps/the length of 100 aligned Roses (about 150m) a Rose Field.

 

[doctorbadwolf]

Not apparently, they did -except the names still are in decimal, not surprising as the Nahua people were relative newcomers that adopted local customs-. And not only them, all of Mesoamerican cultures had 20 as the base. It may have fingers as a base, but it makes for a cool divider for the year and the period of human gestation.

Fun fact, ancient Mesoamerican astronomers used a square 20x20 grid to make astronomic observations, and since it was used to register the skies, both the grid and the number 400 became metaphors for the heaven and infinity.



Or 131 of my steps. Pretty convenient my steps happen to roughly be 2-1/2 feet/30 inches. Of course, if you happen to be taller than me -and odds are you are- then this is useless as a number. But hey! I'm my own 5x5 square!

I've been toying with the idea of creating a fantasy measure unit using this number. I call the area I can cover with one step a Rose (not my most humble moment there, but I also like the metaphor of one circular spot where you can comfortably dance in that kinda looks like a flower's petals). Also I call 200 steps/the length of 100 aligned Roses (about 150m) a Rose Field.

That is rad as hell.

 

[Doofusdad]

So, I'm op. I'm sorry if I caused any arguments. I was just stoned and cut four 5 foot lengths of board.

 

[S'mon]

So, I'm op. I'm sorry if I caused any arguments. I was just stoned and cut four 5 foot lengths of board.

Thank you for your sacrifice!

 

[Doofusdad]

Thank you for your sacrifice!

We'll call it that, yes.

 

[BookBarbarian]

So, I'm op. I'm sorry if I caused any arguments. I was just stoned and cut four 5 foot lengths of board.

That's more productive than my usual "highdeas".