| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| Shadowlord |
Posted - 21 Mar 2004 : 03:22:03
Abeir-Toril: Round or Flat? I was rereading Twilight Falling by Paul S. Kemp when it hit me; The object Cale carries is round. Think of the possibilities, though. This may mean that a PC can sail from Kara-Tur to Evermeet, just by sailing west. A Zakharan might be able to sail to Waterdeep without going around Faerūn. What is your opinion? |
| 30 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| cpthero2 |
Posted - 30 Sep 2018 : 16:10:56
Master Shadowlord,
haha...I loved seeing this. I never thought I would see flat-earth theory arrive in the Realms (not saying you are one), but seeing that was epic! You win sir, you win a lot!
Best regards,
quote:
Originally posted by Shadowlord
Abeir-Toril: Round or Flat? I was rereading Twilight Falling by Paul S. Kemp when it hit me; The object Cale carries is round. Think of the possibilities, though. This may mean that a PC can sail from Kara-Tur to Evermeet, just by sailing west. A Zakharan might be able to sail to Waterdeep without going around Faerūn. What is your opinion?
|
| The Sage |
Posted - 22 May 2004 : 09:23:59
What do you mean Richtin?
|
| Richtin |
Posted - 22 May 2004 : 09:14:08
Couldntit be that"these learned sages" are influenced a deity???
|
| The Sage |
Posted - 08 Apr 2004 : 02:38:02
All worlds have some kind of axis of rotation Shadowlord - that is, all spheroid celestial bodies. Most of the SJ material states that these worlds have a spin of some kind. The "world" of Garden for example, doesn't. Only the clusters of earth rotate around a central point, but the clusters do not have an axis themselves.
The main issue here would be to determine whether the most learned sages of Faerun would have access to such knowledge. Since the mechanics behind a theory of an axis of rotation would require an understanding of several disciplines of study outside of what these most learned sages of Faerun would know, I would think that such information is beyond them.
Knowledge of spin and rotation, would of course be familiar to any native who studies the celestial heavens above the land of Faerun, but this would only be knowledge gleaned from insight into the notion of whether or not the world is round or flat - at least to begin with. Given time, and the evolution of knowledge, such a notion could generate a basic understanding of a theory of axial rotation.
Perhaps it has already...
|
| Shadowlord |
Posted - 08 Apr 2004 : 02:19:47
It seems that my question has been answered. Abeir-Toril: Round or Flat? Most Definitely Spherical. Now, on to my next question. Abeir-Toril: Does it have an axis? |
| The Cardinal |
Posted - 07 Apr 2004 : 07:32:28
Isn't that kinda switching sides? 
Ah... the fields... English (Lit, Poetry, etc), Social Studies, Philosophy, Religion, Superstition, some Psychology, with a smattering of Biology those we understand. Mathematics, Chemistry (Not to be confused with Alchemy) and the most important to our arguement physics those I never did get, more or less We've always loved the ideas behind all those deep thoughts in physics, the impossible made possible etc..... it's the fundamentals that bored us... Anyways, thanks Sage but I doubt your such a miracle worker so... I have some very heavy reading for awhile,
* Pulls out and dusts off 'Understanding Physics by Issac Asimov'*
Our little bible that allowed us to go down with a fight in our old physics Class  .... we failed misserably but went down fighting none the less
...
...
...
No one happens to have any theories on how an object's Image can be bent do they? Or perhaps the page number in the Textbook? |
| The Sage |
Posted - 07 Apr 2004 : 05:01:06
....\'a collection of fields that I have no real grasp on'...Maybe it's something that I can help you with Cardinal...?
|
| The Cardinal |
Posted - 06 Apr 2004 : 20:21:39
I shall have to concede this one for the time being, for we are still attempting to work out our second piece of evidence (which is part of a collection of fields that I have no real grasp on... too many laws attempting to explain things). We do provide that no creature (Deity or mortal) as ever gone around the world to simply state it is round, but that is no arguement... when we finally formulate a theory dealing with prisms, light, illusions and the bending of rays... then we'll post it.... ... .... I figure we should have something like that in several years... |
| Richtin |
Posted - 06 Apr 2004 : 19:06:12
im going to have to go with bookwyrm and sage, do you have substantial evidence for a different theory???
|
| The Sage |
Posted - 06 Apr 2004 : 12:21:05
quote:
Originally posted by Cardinal Deimos
...
Or does it?
MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
Yes, if you have an alternate view Cardinal (well supported by evidence I hope), then I'd like to hear it...?
|
| Bookwyrm |
Posted - 06 Apr 2004 : 08:44:12
Sorry, Cardinal, but you're outvoted.  Unless, of course, you can think of a better argument than maniacal laughter.
You shouldn't do that, anyway. That's Rule # 20. Despite its proven stress-relieving effect, it makes one susceptible to being distracted. Like in regards to that rogue whos sneaking up behind you. |
| The Cardinal |
Posted - 06 Apr 2004 : 07:32:35
...
Or does it?
MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! |
| The Sage |
Posted - 06 Apr 2004 : 04:08:54
Richtin, I'd already mentioned that the Realmspace tome says that Toril is a spheroid-shaped celestial body (shaped like Earth, if that helps...). So that, should answer your heavily questioned-marked query...
|
| Arivia |
Posted - 06 Apr 2004 : 04:07:41
Thanks Sage, and Bookwyrm...this scroll now makes slightly more sense...although some of it still makes my head hurt... |
| Richtin |
Posted - 06 Apr 2004 : 04:01:24
??????????so which one is it??????????????????? |
| The Sage |
Posted - 06 Apr 2004 : 03:57:02
It happens...
I once modelled a location (inside a Dyson's Sphere) for use in one of my BattleTech games...The only problem was the poor calculations that I'd first used to originally create the sphere in terms of hex-grids...
It wasn't until I found this FAQ, that I realised how 'off' my workings had been...
|
| Richtin |
Posted - 06 Apr 2004 : 03:55:49
so are you saying aber-toil is flat, spherical, dyson sphere or torus shaped?? too many choises!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! |
| Bookwyrm |
Posted - 05 Apr 2004 : 16:55:12
Good link, Sage.
Looks like I had two too many extra zeros, though.  |
| The Sage |
Posted - 05 Apr 2004 : 14:10:58
quote:
Originally posted by Arivia
quote:
Originally posted by Bookwyrm
Really? I remember the Spelljammer books visited a crystal sphere that was a natural Dyson sphere. Now there's a world you could explore forever!
What's Garden, by the way? I'm drawing a blank.
And I'm drawing a blank on what a Dyson sphere is. Sorry if my scientific knowledge just isn't as wide as yours...
Arivia, you may want to look over one of the most accurate Dyson Sphere FAQ listings that I could find. It should provide you with enough basic information.
Bookwyrm, Garden is part of the Torilian system in Realmspace, the seventh 'planet' orbiting the sun. The reason I made a comment upon this earlier is because, officially, Garden isn't a spheroid, or a planet. It's a cluster earth body. These clusters of earth lay relatively close to each other, and they are said to be anchored in place (and to each other) by the roots of a gigantic 'Yggdrasil'-type tree.
|
| Wooly Rupert |
Posted - 05 Apr 2004 : 06:58:40
I've seen a couple of Dyson spheres in Sci-Fi tales... One was called Big (Illegal Aliens) and another was called Light Trap (the Black Hole Travel Agency books). |
| Bookwyrm |
Posted - 05 Apr 2004 : 06:05:31
That's okay.
Dyson was a guy who had a bit of time on his hands, and thought about how the sun was rather wasteful. After all, it's pumping out energy in every direction, and the only part that's getting any use is the stuff headed our way. (Of course, this defines "useful" as "doing humans some good," but most people get the idea.)
So he said that to fix this problem, people in the future should build a sphere around the sun, thus potentially puting all of the star's energy to work. If you made it as large in diameter as Earth's orbit, you'd have around ten billion times (give or take) the surface area of our home planet.
Of course, Dyson's sphere has a few obstacles. For one, there would be almost no gravity to the inhabitants. You could "hang" the habitats so that the star is actually at your feet (this is how the Dyson spheres in Howard Tayler's SF comedy Schlock Mercenary work), but even then the gravity would be very light. This can be solved by shrinking the diameter, but that also increases the amount of energy per square increment that your new home has to absorb.
Finally, the biggest obstacle is the price tag. And you thought your first house was bad?  It's no accident that the Dyson spheres in the above tale carry an alien name that roughly translates to "This was expensive to build." |
| Wooly Rupert |
Posted - 05 Apr 2004 : 05:57:19
quote:
Originally posted by Arivia
quote:
Originally posted by Bookwyrm
Really? I remember the Spelljammer books visited a crystal sphere that was a natural Dyson sphere. Now there's a world you could explore forever!
What's Garden, by the way? I'm drawing a blank.
And I'm drawing a blank on what a Dyson sphere is. Sorry if my scientific knowledge just isn't as wide as yours...
A Dyson sphere is a constructed sphere that totally encloses a star. |
| Arivia |
Posted - 05 Apr 2004 : 05:45:34
quote:
Originally posted by Bookwyrm
Really? I remember the Spelljammer books visited a crystal sphere that was a natural Dyson sphere. Now there's a world you could explore forever!
What's Garden, by the way? I'm drawing a blank.
And I'm drawing a blank on what a Dyson sphere is. Sorry if my scientific knowledge just isn't as wide as yours... |
| Bookwyrm |
Posted - 05 Apr 2004 : 05:40:33
Really? I remember the Spelljammer books visited a crystal sphere that was a natural Dyson sphere. Now there's a world you could explore forever!
What's Garden, by the way? I'm drawing a blank. |
| The Sage |
Posted - 04 Apr 2004 : 09:41:13
Just to add a little note of finality to this scroll...
The Realmspace tome clearly defines Toril's planet type as, spherical earth body.
On a slightly related note, I remember reading something a while back that stated (in 2e terms) that Crystal Spheres could only contain spheroid-shape celestial bodies.
But I found the argument to be unsupported by direct evidence. I mean, one need only look to the "planet" of Garden in Realmspace to see that such a perspective has no basis...
|
| Wooly Rupert |
Posted - 04 Apr 2004 : 02:11:32
quote:
Originally posted by Cardinal Deimos
Be at peace friend Richtin, you are more or less correct. Many seem to agree that Toril is spherical in shape, but it has yet to be proven. Things that are believed now can yet be disproven. Ideas that are accepted may yet be found wanting. Besides if it is a Sphere in shape, then how large is the sphere? It may just be so large that one could never sail around in in their life time. Who knows, keep you thoughts but always remember that they may never be right... of course what do we know, we're stark raving mad.
I'd think that the fact that people have been in orbit around Toril, and have seen that it is, in fact, a sphere, kinda conclusively proves it. |
| Richtin |
Posted - 04 Apr 2004 : 01:56:23
my dear freind cardinal deimos any more can you be unlogical and logical at the same time??? hahahahaha!!!! too true, to true!!! |
| Kuje |
Posted - 04 Apr 2004 : 00:31:27
quote:
Originally posted by Cardinal Deimos
Be at peace friend Richtin, you are more or less correct. Many seem to agree that Toril is spherical in shape, but it has yet to be proven. Things that are believed now can yet be disproven. Ideas that are accepted may yet be found wanting. Besides if it is a Sphere in shape, then how large is the sphere? It may just be so large that one could never sail around in in their life time. Who knows, keep you thoughts but always remember that they may never be right... of course what do we know, we're stark raving mad.
What's to prove? Realmspace clearly says its a sphere. Spheres are round last I knew...... |
| The Cardinal |
Posted - 03 Apr 2004 : 22:58:44
Be at peace friend Richtin, you are more or less correct. Many seem to agree that Toril is spherical in shape, but it has yet to be proven. Things that are believed now can yet be disproven. Ideas that are accepted may yet be found wanting. Besides if it is a Sphere in shape, then how large is the sphere? It may just be so large that one could never sail around in in their life time. Who knows, keep you thoughts but always remember that they may never be right... of course what do we know, we're stark raving mad. |
| Wooly Rupert |
Posted - 03 Apr 2004 : 21:26:44
quote:
Originally posted by Richtin
But if it was as an odd shape like that, with so many educated people wouldnt some one have said some where that this "torus" shape was or was not Aber-toril's shape?????
It is clearly stated in more than one source that Toril is round.
Though I no longer have any Planescape stuff, I do recall it being stated that the city of Sigil was built on the inside of a torus. |
