D&D British edition????

NewJeffCT · Nov 26, 2003

I'm not sure here, but could the original poster mean that the book has the measurements in the Metric system (i.e, speeds/ranges in meters) as opposed to the old US 'English' system (speeds/ranges in feet) ?

Carnifex · Nov 26, 2003

NewJeffCT said:
I'm not sure here, but could the original poster mean that the book has the measurements in the Metric system (i.e, speeds/ranges in meters) as opposed to the old US 'English' system (speeds/ranges in feet) ?

The books here in the UK also give all measurements in Imperial, not Metric.

Tsyr · Nov 26, 2003

I think my view can be summed up pretty well like this...

Perun · Nov 26, 2003

Tsyr said:
I think my view can be summed up pretty well like this...

Back in 1999, IIRC, I started a thread on the DND-L (when the game designers still visited the list) asking the WotC to have the metric sizes listed alongside the Imperial ones. It would hardly increase the page count, and would help a great deal to us poor folk completely unused to the antiquated system. There was a somewhat heated discussion, but nothing signifficant happened.

Even after 10 years of playing D&D, I still have difficulties in getting the dimensions right, but I've managed to memorise a couple of referential sizes, so I manage.

Funny thing is, our local feet and inches (we call them "thumbs") are larger than the Imperial ones (IIRC, 1 inch = 2,65 cm). We still use the Imperial ones, though.

On a related note, I prefer British English to American. Although it's somewhat difficult for us non-native speakers, since (except by reading materials dealing with the difference) there's relatively little material readily available using British English.

Anyway, I seem to be babbling randomly now, so I'll shut up.

Hardhead · Nov 26, 2003

Perun said:
On a related note, I prefer British English to American. Although it's somewhat difficult for us non-native speakers, since (except by reading materials dealing with the difference) there's relatively little material readily available using British English.

While I'm American, and probably don't notice these things as much as a Briton, I imagine most of the differences are just going to be of the "our" vs "or" variety or the "ize" vs "ise" variety (incidently, is it just me, or would "ur" make the most sense? That's how I pronounce it, at least). Most of the words that mean different things in American vs Brittish English are relatively new.

Back when Terry Pratchett's books were often a year or more behind coming out in the US, I used to buy the British editions off of Amazon. Besides learning what a "lorry" was, the thing that threw me off the most was the use of the 'single quotes' around words instead of the "double quotes." I never could get used to that.

Zander · Nov 26, 2003

Ranes said:
There haven't been British editions of D&D itself since the period between the end of the seventies and the early eighties...

I don't have my D&D books to hand, but I believe the 1E Fiend Folio was British. I'm pretty sure it used British spelling and that some of the monsters therein originally appeared in the White Dwarf column Fiend Factory. Also, the UK series of modules were British. I don't think there have been any official D&D publications from the UK since.

IIRC the 1E Oriental Adventures was co-written by a Frenchman. Sacre bleu!

johnsemlak · Nov 26, 2003

I believe the 1E Fiend Folio was British.

As were several modules--UK1-7 (the 'UK' series, duh), U1-3 (The Saltmarch Series, and B10)--Night's Dark Terror (a classic, hell, they're all classics

)

johnsemlak · Nov 26, 2003

I kinda think the original poster wasn't asking whether Am English was inferior/superior to British English, or whether the metric system is superior/inferior to the Imperial system. I have a feeling such posts are going to get this thread closed.

Ranes · Nov 26, 2003

I was aware of the British origin of the FF and the UK series of modules but, as I said in my last post, I'm not sure whether TSR UK printed them in the UK or whether they just developed them here. Perhaps someone whose collection hasn't disappeared into oblivion could provide a definitive answer.

Hardhead · Nov 27, 2003

johnsemlak said:
I kinda think the original poster wasn't asking whether Am English was inferior/superior to British English, or whether the metric system is superior/inferior to the Imperial system. I have a feeling such posts are going to get this thread closed.

Ah, it's just some good ol' fashioned thread hijacking. Besides, his question was answered, so we're allowed.

And I don't think anyone is expressing their opinion with rancor. It's like making jokes about policemen in donut shops. Even the policemen generally get in on it, becuase no one is serious. It's just good joke fodder that no one gets offended at.

So, when I say that the English can't spell "color," I'm kidding. (But, when I say they need to drop by the American South and learn what real tea is - iced and sweet! - I'm serious.

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