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 Coordinates and the Realms
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Veratyr
Acolyte

2 Posts

Posted - 12 Jul 2016 :  23:27:59  Show Profile Send Veratyr a Private Message  Reply with Quote  Delete Topic
Sorry if this has been covered somewhere, my search could find nothing.

I guess my question is twofold centred around an xy coordinates system for the realms.

1) Are there recorded coordinates on a map or written for locations in the realms to be found somewhere?

2) Do the inhabitants of the Realms have the knowledge to find a location based on the numeral coordinates?

For specific example, would it be reasonable for an animal messenger (25 word limit) to convey the location of a hidden village by listing xy coordinates? Would a message recipient be able to track down those coordinates?

Anyways, thank you in advance, and sorry if this is a newb question but I can't seem to find an answer to this on my own. thanks!

Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
Moderator

USA
36798 Posts

Posted - 13 Jul 2016 :  01:08:07  Show Profile Send Wooly Rupert a Private Message  Reply with Quote
The Realms does not have a unified system of coordinates. That requires more coordination and cooperation between nation-states than the Realms has, more accurate measurements of time and distance, and a unified system of measures, as well.

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The Sage
Procrastinator Most High

Australia
31726 Posts

Posted - 13 Jul 2016 :  04:28:09  Show Profile Send The Sage a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Not only that, but as Ed has noted in the past, given magical effects and other arcane disruptions/disturbances across various parts of the Realms, it would be somewhat difficult to establish a reliable system of co-ordinates that could also account for any landscape/map-shifts caused by miscast/gone-awry Art causing havoc in previously mapped regions.

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Bakra
Senior Scribe

628 Posts

Posted - 13 Jul 2016 :  14:46:41  Show Profile Send Bakra a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Also the occasional deity changing the landscape for a brief period of time could affect things too.

I hope Candlekeep continues to be the friendly forum of fellow Realms-lovers that it has always been, as we all go through this together. If you don’t want to move to the “new” Realms, that doesn’t mean there’s anything wrong with either you or the “old” Realms. Goodness knows Candlekeep, and the hearts of its scribes, are both big enough to accommodate both. If we want them to be.
(Strikes dramatic pose, raises sword to gleam in the sunset, and hopes breeches won’t fall down.)
Enough for now. The Realms lives! I have spoken! Ale and light wines half price, served by a smiling Storm Silverhand fetchingly clad in thigh-high boots and naught else! Ahem . .
So saith Ed. <snip>
love to all,
THO
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Artemas Entreri
Great Reader

USA
3131 Posts

Posted - 13 Jul 2016 :  16:03:17  Show Profile Send Artemas Entreri a Private Message  Reply with Quote
My GPS had a hell of a time finding Halruaa after the Spellplague. *Recalculating...

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Veratyr
Acolyte

2 Posts

Posted - 13 Jul 2016 :  18:07:51  Show Profile Send Veratyr a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Haha ok, well that is a logical explanation. I thought I remember people mentioning magical teleportation by coordinates when the spell caster has not been to the particular spot but I guess that can be explained in other ways.

thanks guys
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Ayrik
Great Reader

Canada
7989 Posts

Posted - 13 Jul 2016 :  20:41:12  Show Profile Send Ayrik a Private Message  Reply with Quote
I imagine a lot of people (and monsters) in the Realms also lack literacy and numeracy. A GPS-like coordinate system would be utterly unreadable and incomprehensible to many.

You might find it worth researching historical maps and survey documents at a library: the methods used by land surveyors (and tax collectors) to measure and define lands and borders could often be quite arcane and complex, seemingly just as arcane and complex as a magical teleport, lol.

[/Ayrik]
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