Eberrons bizzare maps

[Yaksha_]

Depends on whether it's the length or the area that's multiplied by 10... From 5000 to 500 is a factor of 100 as far as areas are concerned. What about 1700 miles wide?

Oh.. I guess Keith would have meant area.

But why 1700?

 

[Grimstaff]

The sadly-done maps were the primary reason I never got into this setting. The first time I looked at the poster map for the original campaign setting book my immediate response was "couldn't they have spent more than 15 minutes on it!?"

Admittedly, I'm a map snob, I love maps, and my taste in campaign settings is strongly tied to the utility and inspirationalityness (ok, I made that word up, you busted me) of the maps. I was spoiled early on by the wonderful Darlene map of Greyhawk, and the ever-inspiring maps of Judges' Guild's Wilderlands of High Fantasy, maps I spent hours back in middle school poring over, planning out the amazing adventures I would run/play in there.

Eberron's map elicited none of that yearning for adventure. And that has nothing to do with the edition of the game, btw, I love the new maps for the Forgotten Realms. I wonder what those guys were so busy doing when that pathetic Eberron map was being made?

 

[Vocenoctum]

During the fall a poster sized map of Khorvaire was done and slipped into Dungeon Magazine (another thing I will greatly miss). I remember it since 1. I bought an extra copy besides my prescrip and 2. I have it hanging up beside the computer for travel / location referrences.

I believe that was the unmarked one. The marked one (with cities and such) is in with the DM Screen.

 

[Gez]

Oh.. I guess Keith would have meant area.

But why 1700?

It's an approximate value for 5000 ÷ √10. In fact, an approximate value for 5000/3. Making the computations with more precise tools, I get 1 581.13883, so 1600.

Not that it matters much.

 

[Yaksha_]

Actually I don’t really mind Khorvaire being 9,570,000 square miles (or 5,000 miles wide) – the size of South America - even if it does throw the story out, I can change the story for it. It’s the (lack of) detail in the maps I have the real gripe with.

I found a few other posts regarding geography size and population issues so I won’t rehash but here are some interesting comparisons between the Five Nations of Khorvaire and our Earth (the numbers are in square kilometres unless indicated otherwise):

Thrane 804,671 (500,000 square miles)
Mozambique 801,590
Pakistan 796,095
Namibia 824,292
New South Wales (Australia) 800,642
Texas (U.S) 696,621
Germany 357,021 (Thrane is more than twice the size of Germany)

Aundair 901,232 (560,000 square miles)
Venezuela 912,050
Nigeria 923,768
Namibia 824,292
Italy 301,230 (You can fit 3 Italy’s in Aundair)
Spain 498,506 (Aundair is almost twice the size of Spain)
United Kingdom 244,820 (Aundair is almost 4 times the size of the UK)

Cyre (Mournland) 1,641,530 (1,020,000 square miles)
Iran 1,648,195
Libya 1,759,540
Mongolia 1,564,116
Queensland (Australia) 1,730,648
Alaska (U.S.) 1,717,855
France 547,030 (Cyre is almost exactly 3 times larger than France)

Karrnath 2,172,614 (1,350,000 square miles)
Greenland 2,175,600
Saudi Arabia 2,149,690
Mexico 1,958,201
Russia 3,960,000 (Karrnath is more than half the size of Russia)
California 423,970 (Karrnath is 5 times the size of California)

Breland 2,896,819 (1,800,000 square miles)
Argentina 2,780,400
Kazakhstan 2,724,900
India 3,166,414
Western Australia (Australia) 2,529,875
Europe 10,180,000 (3 and a half Breland’s fit into Europe)


As you can see, Khorvaire is one serious continent...

 

[Lurks-no-More]

I'm not playing in Eberron or running an Eberron game at the moment (though I've been intending to do so for a while now!), but I agree that Khorvaire's too big.

One solution I had in mind was to shrink down the entirety of Eberron and make the planet roughly Mars-sized. (It already has a ring and a whole lot of moons; why assume it's the same size as Earth?)

 

[Paradox]

Personally, I like the large size. It gives me plenty of room to drop my own stuff in there. Old School is back in session!

 

[green slime]

I don't have a problem with it.

I think hellcow's objections aside, people have serious problems with regard to population density. RW population density used to be far lower, until fairly recently. Not only has our life changed radically through the advent of modern medicine (few people die today from blood poisoning while shaving, for instance), urbanisation has seriously skewed things.

Teheran, the capital of Iran, a country listed as roughly equivalent in size as Cyre/Mournland, was home to a mere 300,000 souls in 1930. Today, 70 years later, it is "officially" 12 million plus, and probably closer to 16 million.

India, in 1930, was home to a massive 300 million when part of the British empire. Today, more than a billion.

Germany, as a nation, isn't really that big. The surprising thing is how Europe "managed" to maintain such small diverse, seperate cultures. Probably has something to do with European propensity to run around and slaughter each other every decade or so.

 

[WhatGravitas]

An interesting link: Khorvaire Statistics...

 

[Yaksha_]

Hey thanks for the Stat Link, great minds....

Yep the large size is OK but check out that bridge in Breland across the Dagger River (Five Nations, p.49). It's the equivalent of a bridge from England to France! What's up with da maps?!?

As for population, when I begin playing Eberron, my Sharn will have 2,000,000 residents not 200,000.

Personally, I like the large size. It gives me plenty of room to drop my own stuff in there. Old School is back in session!

That's the way too look at it, only trouble is I'm compelled to redraw the entire map of Khorvaire. Oh God please noooo......

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