Do the Non-US Players and DMs use the metric system?
- Thread starter dreaded_beast
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Psionicist
Explorer
I am comfortable with both. In Sweden we use the metric system but in-game both systems are used frequently. We tend to use the imperial system for technical details, such as for spells, combat etc, and the metric system when describing things while gaming (except for character height/weight).
The Hungarian translations of the corebooks use miles, feet and inches, although the metric system is in use in RL. (I think this is okay, miles and so have a more medieval feeling.)
We during game use a strange mix of imperial and metric mesures. In dungeons and similar environment we usually declare distances in feet, to make the use of a battlemat or similar things easier, but for longer distances we usually use simply meters or kilometers. (But to keep things simple we usually simply say: 3 feet = 1 meter [the truth would be something like 3 feet = 0.9 meter or so])
But we never would use Fahrenheit, converting F into C is really to difficult to compute it regulary in your head.
(I know that the German versions of the core books have meters and centimeters.)
We during game use a strange mix of imperial and metric mesures. In dungeons and similar environment we usually declare distances in feet, to make the use of a battlemat or similar things easier, but for longer distances we usually use simply meters or kilometers. (But to keep things simple we usually simply say: 3 feet = 1 meter [the truth would be something like 3 feet = 0.9 meter or so])
But we never would use Fahrenheit, converting F into C is really to difficult to compute it regulary in your head.
(I know that the German versions of the core books have meters and centimeters.)
the_mighty_agrippa
First Post
I would say that unless everyone in the game is military or European, then you're screwed.
Imperial!!!
Imperial!!!
BlackMoria
First Post
Canada uses the metric system with old hold-overs from the imperial. A sort of mish-mash system, a form of weights and measure bilingualism. 
For short measures (like a person's height or weight), most people use the imperial system. For long measures, like distances to another town or city, we use kilometers or time. Yes, time, as in how long it takes to drive there.
Not surprising, this carries over into our game. So our group mixes feet, yards, metres, kilometers, miles, and hours freely when discussing distances within the game. And pounds and kilograms for weights. Pints, quarts, liters, milliliters for liquid measure.
Since everyone can usually convert easily in their heads, mixing units of measures are not a problem for us. So, while we use a 5 ft squares, in an encounter, I may state the target is X yards away, X metres away or X bowshots away (a 'bowshot' is based on the English longbow and is about 200 yards)
For short measures (like a person's height or weight), most people use the imperial system. For long measures, like distances to another town or city, we use kilometers or time. Yes, time, as in how long it takes to drive there.
Not surprising, this carries over into our game. So our group mixes feet, yards, metres, kilometers, miles, and hours freely when discussing distances within the game. And pounds and kilograms for weights. Pints, quarts, liters, milliliters for liquid measure.
Since everyone can usually convert easily in their heads, mixing units of measures are not a problem for us. So, while we use a 5 ft squares, in an encounter, I may state the target is X yards away, X metres away or X bowshots away (a 'bowshot' is based on the English longbow and is about 200 yards)
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Zappo
Explorer
We use the metric system. There's no serious alternative really, noone understands imperial units here, except roleplayers who buy English books.
Italian manuals adopt the convention of 10 feet = 3 m, and multiples thereof. Since lots of frequently-used measures are multiples of 10 feet, there are generally no problems. The exception is the 5 feet of the combat grid of course, which become 1.5 meters, which is a bit annoying. We solve this by reasoning in term of squares for short movement.
Italian manuals adopt the convention of 10 feet = 3 m, and multiples thereof. Since lots of frequently-used measures are multiples of 10 feet, there are generally no problems. The exception is the 5 feet of the combat grid of course, which become 1.5 meters, which is a bit annoying. We solve this by reasoning in term of squares for short movement.
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johnsemlak
First Post
Either in Metric or Imperial I still can't understand Han Solo's definition of how fast the Millenium Falcon is.Joshua Dyal said:
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johnsemlak said:
I don't recall where, but I heard that Han's comment about parsecs was meant to illustrate that he basically doesn't know what he's talking about. I suspect that that was just an excuse because the writers goofed.
As to the subject at hand, while I live in Canada, and much prefer the metric system, I tend to game using the Imperial system, since I'm too lazy to convert distances in my head.
Oh yeah, and we use time as a measure of distance. I have no idea how many kilometers it is to the other city on Prince Edward Island, but I know it's about a 30 minute drive.
