Since this is a fantasy game, one way to resolve the problem of metric or imperial is to use fantasy units of measure. I suggest the following
A "fingernail" of about 2 mm or 1/12 inch A "palm" of 100 "fingernails" (about 200 mm or 8 inches) A "jump" of 100 "palms" (about 20 metres or 66 feet - the distance that a superhero can jump) A "walk" or 100 "jumps" (about 2 km or 1.2 miles). These units of measure will not offend anybody and might even encourage people to use systems of units that have easy multiples. The observant reader might notice that a "palm" is actually a "link" and that a "jump" is actually a "chain". When Gunter introduced the units of links and chains in 1620 (before Wilkins had written his paper), he had in mind 100 links equalled one chain, ten chains equalled one furlong and ten square chains equalled one acre. His motivation for introducing these units of measure was to exploit the new mathematical developments called logarithms and trigonometry when doing land surveying. According to the 1773 edition of Encyclopeadia Britannica, the standard was of surveying land was to convert lengths to chains and links, work out the area in square chains and then convert the area to perches, roods and acres [to keep the lawyers happy]. From: USMA <[email protected]> On Behalf Of Howard Ressel Sent: 14 October 2021 13:19 To: 'Jim McClellan' <[email protected]>; 'USMA List Server' <[email protected]> Subject: [USMA 1816] Re: Hasbro, Dungeons & Dragons and the metric system I wonder what percentage of those who play D&D (I sadly never got into it) are math/science geeks who would be very comfortable with metric and very supportive (hence the fan driven petition). Going 100% metric would very likely appeal to their fan base and not offend many. Howard From: USMA <[email protected] <mailto:[email protected]> > On Behalf Of Jim McClellan Sent: Wednesday, October 13, 2021 9:45 PM To: USMA List Server <[email protected] <mailto:[email protected]> > Subject: [USMA 1815] Hasbro, Dungeons & Dragons and the metric system There's recently been a "buzz" about D&D players creating a petition to have Hasbro, makers of the very popular Dungeons & Dragons game create a metric version of the Dungeonmaster guides. https://nam10.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cbr.com%2Fdnd-metric-system-petition%2F&data=04%7C01%7Cusma%40lists.colostate.edu%7Caa61f30db1d34a2db10b08d98f556066%7Cafb58802ff7a4bb1ab21367ff2ecfc8b%7C0%7C0%7C637698419118665947%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C1000&sdata=viZS%2FjR4ASfsrvHDRLHOg1oUmuhBOphV81OTirOE6WA%3D&reserved=0 <https://nam10.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cbr.c%2F&data=04%7C01%7Cusma%40lists.colostate.edu%7Caa61f30db1d34a2db10b08d98f556066%7Cafb58802ff7a4bb1ab21367ff2ecfc8b%7C0%7C0%7C637698419118675946%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C1000&sdata=tutev6dDHEjw4JkXpCYmTDIFgQN%2F7hDgzYOHy4CVOS8%3D&reserved=0 om%2Fdnd-metric-system-petition%2F&data=04%7C01%7Cusma%40lists.colostate.edu %7C9a320da4d5454d3b369a08d98f0cc37f%7Cafb58802ff7a4bb1ab21367ff2ecfc8b%7C0%7 C0%7C637698107249331841%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoi V2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C1000&sdata=S31ViTIK2D9vjZQoVUXrGuwI 9S%2BOJGEbSGTsXJwqPwA%3D&reserved=0> I emailed Hasbro at [email protected] <mailto:[email protected]> expressing my opinion that not only should they produce their books using metric units but NOT to include a "special needs nation" version at all. This is ridiculous, people. This is only one minuscule example of how one nation can wreak unnecessary havoc for no justifiable reason whatsoever other than because we CAN. Here's the body of my email: (I wrote it quickly so it's not my best work but maybe you can garner some inspiration anyway) As a red-blooded American who also games, I would like to add my support and strongly suggest not only that you use International metric units in the DM guides for D&D, but do not include an "American" version using quaint, antiquated and otherwise obsolete units that the rest of the world is trying to distance themselves from. Isn't that costing you a lot of extra money and time? You are not only dismissing 95.5% of your potential customer base by writing DM guides in units of measure they cannot comprehend, you're doing nothing to further Americans familiarization and acclimation to a system of measure we should have transitioned over to decades ago. We failed as a country to go metric. -YOU- can make a difference and it would be greatly appreciated. Go metric, America! What are you afraid of?
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