Do the Non-US Players and DMs use the metric system?

[Shadowdancer]

We use US for D&D, and metric for Traveller. Although none of us use metric IRL. I even had to go buy a nifty-keen little calculator that can automatically convert from US to metric, and back. It even does temperatures, F to C or C to F.

 

[robberbaron]

Depends on the system.

Imperial (US to you yanks) for D&D 'cos that's what it says in the rules.
Metric for Star Wars (ditto).

We tend to think in imperial (we're old and that's what we were taught), which confuses the younger players who've only learned metres and kilometres.

Actually, having been in engineering for 15 years and have had to deal with both measurement systems, sometimes on the same drawing!

 

[Mustrum_Ridcully]

I never had a German D&D Book, since they are translated to slow for a regular gamer to wait for the German version, so I didn`t bother. And, besides, I already learned my D&D vocubalary, why attempting to switch to german?
I become really confused when I play Neverwinternights in German - what does "Doppelschlag" mean? (it means - only in game terms: "Cleave", while a direct translation of cleave would be "spalten" - but so would "sunder". And "Doppelschlag" would mean something like "Double Hit" or "Double Strike"..)

Anyway, while we use all the D&D units (feets, pounds), at least I have trouble to really "calculate" with it and have to translate it in "real units" (metric ones). The only non-metric unit I can easily understand is the pound, and that`s only because it is still sometimes used. (with 1 kg = 2 pounds).

Mustrum Ridcully

 

[Kae'Yoss]

I never had a German D&D Book, since they are translated to slow for a regular gamer to wait for the German version, so I didn`t bother. And, besides, I already learned my D&D vocubalary, why attempting to switch to german?

Neither did I, but I know a couple of people who do. That's where I found out that they translated blackguard with "Finsterer Streiter" (which always reminds me of "wer hat Angst vor'm Schwarzen Mann") And a couple of other atrocities.

I become really confused when I play Neverwinternights in German - what does "Doppelschlag" mean? (it means - only in game terms: "Cleave", while a direct translation of cleave would be "spalten" - but so would "sunder". And "Doppelschlag" would mean something like "Double Hit" or "Double Strike"..)

That's why I got the US Version of NWN, too. Ever since that "Gleich gibts mächtich ähn off de Rübe" voiceset in Baldur's Gate, I prefer the English versions of D&D CRPG's.

Anyway, while we use all the D&D units (feets, pounds), at least I have trouble to really "calculate" with it and have to translate it in "real units" (metric ones). The only non-metric unit I can easily understand is the pound, and that`s only because it is still sometimes used. (with 1 kg = 2 pounds).

But you must remember that the Imperial pound is not 0.5 kg, but 0.4536 kg.

The shorter imperial units inch and foot are easy enough: 1" = 2.5cm (not exactly, but close enough for converting a character's height), and the feet/10*3 = meters rule is easy enough, too.

 

[Someone]

Spanish translations of core books also use imperial units. I have no problems with them, but my players sometimes do, and I have to convert distances to meters and kilometers. In combat we use "squares".

 

[Cor Azer]

Mora accurately:
F=9/5C+32
C=5/9F-32
(it's not that hard to do in your head, you know )

Umm... I'm too lazy to look up the correct conversions, but mathematically, those two don't work. If degF = 9/5 degC + 32 (which looks correct given the 0 degC is roughly 32 degF), then degC = (degF - 32) * 5/9 which is not equal to 5/9 degF - 32, but rather 5/9 degF - 160/9 which is approximately 5/9 degF - 17.8.

 

[Kae'Yoss]

Umm... I'm too lazy to look up the correct conversions, but mathematically, those two don't work. If degF = 9/5 degC + 32 (which looks correct given the 0 degC is roughly 32 degF), then degC = (degF - 32) * 5/9 which is not equal to 5/9 degF - 32, but rather 5/9 degF - 160/9 which is approximately 5/9 degF - 17.8.

They're right. My pocked calculator says so (it has a handy sticker with metric conversions on the inside of the lid)

 

[S'mon]

Imperial System all the way, baby! Long live the Queen!

Us Brits are pretty familiar with both, but sharing Morrus' deference to the Queen I like to use Imperial for my fantasy games and Metric for my modern & sf games. This is roughly what US RPG publishers do anyway, by and large. I find kilometers & meters 'wrong' for fantasy, somehow, and miles & yards are obviously silly & anachronistic for sf.

 

[S'mon]

Being fairly familiar with both systems, I find Metric vastly superior for calculations, but Imperial is more organic, being based off measurements of the human body - inches are less fiddly than cm, a pound is a more useful weight than a kilo, a pint is a more sensible drink than a liter (although I'm persuadable there) - feet & yards are more useful than meters, stone are more useful than kilograms, miles are easier to deal with than km - a mile is the distance you can walk before you're 'on a walk'. Although the US apparently doesn't use stone, and measuring people's weight in pounds seems very awkward to me.

 

[Gez]

For everyone who say feet and pounds get the medieval feel better, I have to say...

Why do you use platinum/gold/silver/copper, then? You should use pounds, pence, and shillings for coins (1 pound=20 shillings=240 pence), and guineaus, crowns, sovereigns, halfpennies, and farthings, etc. And financial money (the one used for accounting, loans, debts, etc.) was different and disconnected from the coinage.

Then, to be even more medieval, if you move a two week walk away from a place, you arrive in a land where people speak a different language, or at least a different dialect of the same language. Common? What's this?