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Shared World Geography


Rurik

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Some thoughts on the Shared world geography:

SKY MOUNTAIN

This thing is going to be big. How tall should it be? 1000 miles? If so, how wide at the base? 500 miles? that is a pretty steep mountain, but the sun has to be pretty high up there.

In the map I proposed the ocean goes right up to the sky mountain, so maybe the ocean side could be a sheer cliff hundreds of miles high. This would reduce the footprint of the montain.

MOUNTAINS IN GENERAL

Considering the nature and closeness of the sun, should mountains get hotter the higher up you gi rather than colder? At least near the Sky Mountain.

This of course causes a problem with rivers originating in mountains (melting ice ad such). Maybe all sources of water should be mythical - springs or lakes each with its own spirit/diety.

TEMPERATURE ZONES

The area closest to they sky mountain will be very hot (burning deserts, boiling seas, sweltering jungles...) and as you move out there will be rings of temperature zones, hot, temperate, mild, cold, freezing.

Given how geometry works the area of each zone will increase as you move further outward. The burning zone will be the smallest, the hot zone next smallest, temperate and mild zone a bit larger, and the colder zones the largest as each temperature zone ring will be larger the further out from the sun.

Any thoughts ideas out there?

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1000 miles high and 500 miles wide is more of a pillar than a mountain. Olympus Mons is 16.7 miles high and 332 miles wide, although it does have a fairly shallow slope (only 2-5 degrees). It might be better to make it 2000 miles wide, which at least would give it a more triangular shape and still make it pretty steep.

There are other thing to bear in mind as well. In a semi-realistic world the atmosphere is likely only to be breathable up to 5 miles or so and the boundary between the atmosphere and space is likely to be at around 60 miles or so (assuming Earth like conditions).

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1000 miles high and 500 miles wide is more of a pillar than a mountain. Olympus Mons is 16.7 miles high and 332 miles wide, although it does have a fairly shallow slope (only 2-5 degrees). It might be better to make it 2000 miles wide, which at least would give it a more triangular shape and still make it pretty steep.

There are other thing to bear in mind as well. In a semi-realistic world the atmosphere is likely only to be breathable up to 5 miles or so and the boundary between the atmosphere and space is likely to be at around 60 miles or so (assuming Earth like conditions).

I agree with the pillar thing, which is why I brought it up. But the Sky Mountain needs to be very high - the sun lives at the top of it and lights the world from there. The background for the shared world as decided on a year or so ago was that all things had mythic origins (see the wiki). The Sun is stationary, a god who literally lives at the top of Sky Mountain - when he sleeps it is night and when he wakes it is dawn, etc. You can go visit him with powerful enough magic to keep you from burning up.

So in mapping the world the questions come up - how big is the world and how big is the sky mountain?

If the habitable part of the world is say 8000 miles across, then I would think the sky mountain should at least be 1000 miles high. If the world is only 8000 miles across 2000 miles seems like an awfully big footprint on the world map. Which is why I through out a 500 mile base. Yes it is more of a pillar than a mountain proper, but it seems workable.

1000 miles might not be to bad - it's not like any 'normal' races or creatures can live right under the sky mountain anyway - it is much too hot.

This is all just my opinion, I threw these thoughts out there for the purpose of getting discussions like this going. If people like 2000 miles then 2000 miles it is. Gotta know these things to map the world.

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Guest Vile Traveller

Would it be better to keep the geography and the map discussion in the same thread? The boundaries are a bit blurred (excuse the pun), and what is relevant to the map also affects the geography, and vice versa.

Is it possible to merge these two threads?

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Just a couple of thoughts/suggestions

The Sky Mountain presents an awful lot of problems to future contributers.

(I never could figure out where the Green would lie being far away from established civilization and yet close enough the the mountain for the warm jungle atmosphere).

There should be enough vacant and varied land close to the mountain for people who want to develop desert and warm lands. It seems like one version had the mountain as an island in the center of a Mediterranean-like sea. The more civilized lands could be placed on the shores around the sea and trade with one another in the sea under the shadow of the mountain, of course avoiding the boiling waters around it. (I really love the boiling waters part you suggested). :thumb: There may even be volcanic islands scattered around the island containing the sun.

Of course this does not work very well with the present map or with the Green, but it is just an idea.

294/420

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Would it be better to keep the geography and the map discussion in the same thread? The boundaries are a bit blurred (excuse the pun), and what is relevant to the map also affects the geography, and vice versa.

Is it possible to merge these two threads?

We could. I considered that but ended up with two threads.

The distinction was this thread was for more theoretical questions like "should mountains be hotter as you rise in elevation rather than colder" and "if so what is the origin of mountain rivers?".

The map thread is for more specific things like "I need mountains here and a forest here and a big river here for my part of the world" that directly affect the map.

That was the original intent. If it seems unweildly I can close this one.

Edited by Rurik

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Just a couple of thoughts/suggestions

The Sky Mountain presents an awful lot of problems to future contributers.

Well, for contributors trying to fit existing work into the Sky Mountain world, yes. Content created for the Shared World would be deisgned with the Sky Mountain in mind.

(I never could figure out where the Green would lie being far away from established civilization and yet close enough the the mountain for the warm jungle atmosphere).

I think I can fit your Green map in fine in the right proximity for the climate. We had discussed it's proximity to Portal before. Portal was west of the Green, and wastes created by that bad gate they opened were between the city and the mountains on the west edge of the Green. There is an island off the mouth of the river that Portal is on that has a relatively small population of excellent seafarers (and a few pirates) that have sea contact with the shores of the Green. That all can be preserverd and the shape of the Green as well. The Green and Portal will move to the Northern Hemisphere but that's ok. Mind you 'Northern' and 'Hemisphere' are both terms that don't make much sense with the shape of the world...

There should be enough vacant and varied land close to the mountain for people who want to develop desert and warm lands. It seems like one version had the mountain as an island in the center of a Mediterranean-like sea.

That early map was the Mediterranean - the idea was to use the familiar shape for the world. General concensus though was to go with a completely original map. I think Triff had a map with an island as well. I am open to that. Part of the reason I went with the current shape of the world was to have both land and sea around the Sky Mountain, just as there is both land and sea at the edge of the world, for maximum variety.

There may even be volcanic islands scattered around the island containing the sun.

But of course! Volcanic Islands are always cool.

Of course this does not work very well with the present map or with the Green, but it is just an idea.

The present map is very fluid based on the needs of contributors and may be scrapped altogether. I just feel that if there is something concrete to look at/consider it is easier to get discussions going.

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Some thoughts on the Shared world geography:

I thought that had died a death, but ...

SKY MOUNTAIN

This thing is going to be big. How tall should it be? 1000 miles? If so, how wide at the base? 500 miles? that is a pretty steep mountain, but the sun has to be pretty high up there.

It's as high as the Sky. What's that in miles? Haven't a clue. Higher than Mount Everest but without as big a footprint.

In the map I proposed the ocean goes right up to the sky mountain, so maybe the ocean side could be a sheer cliff hundreds of miles high. This would reduce the footprint of the montain.

Sounds good to me.

MOUNTAINS IN GENERAL

Considering the nature and closeness of the sun, should mountains get hotter the higher up you gi rather than colder? At least near the Sky Mountain.

The Sky Mountain is certainly hotter the further up you climb. I don;t think a normal person can climb too far up it, because they will burn to death.

This of course causes a problem with rivers originating in mountains (melting ice ad such). Maybe all sources of water should be mythical - springs or lakes each with its own spirit/diety.

Or the Sky weeps around the mountains that thrust their way into the air.

TEMPERATURE ZONES

The area closest to they sky mountain will be very hot (burning deserts, boiling seas, sweltering jungles...) and as you move out there will be rings of temperature zones, hot, temperate, mild, cold, freezing.

That's how I see it - the edges of the World are made of Ice and the climate gets cooler the closer you get to the edge.

Given how geometry works the area of each zone will increase as you move further outward. The burning zone will be the smallest, the hot zone next smallest, temperate and mild zone a bit larger, and the colder zones the largest as each temperature zone ring will be larger the further out from the sun.

Sounds fine to me. There may be various local differences, warmer around the volcanoes, colder around some mountains.

Simon Phipp - Caldmore Chameleon - Wallowing in my elitism since 1982. Many Systems, One Family. Just a fanboy. 

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I thought that had died a death, but ...

It might have. I'm seeing if I can make a DI roll to save it...

I've been away from gaming and this site cause that nasty real life intruded, but now that I'm getting back into it I was looking at my bulging unfinished projects folder and there was a bunch of stuff for shared world that I liked so I figured I'd see if there was still interest.

I liked the background and myths of Sky World alot. There are some good ideas, and the world already has a unique feel to me. Most of the information is very general and abstract though, I think some more specific and concrete material would help generate interest. I plan on an area map and city map of Portal and a few cults, maybe even a scenario.

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  • 1 month later...

Our top beetle posed over in the Name? thread:

Flat disc floating in a void with a huge vulcano housing the sun in the middle.

Anyone who has a name suggestion for Shareworld?

SGL.

Does it necessarily need to be a disk with Sky Mountain in the middle?

Why not irregular shaped with Sky Mountain closer to one edge? There could be icy cold edges and hot deserty edges and all kinds of edges in between.

My biggest reservation is I like the bit about Snow Trolls having (supposedly) visited the edge of the world.

Still, I figured I'd throw it out as a thought. It is good to see others are still thinking about it.

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