How big across is Sharn? - Downloaded from the Wizards Community, all coding removed by Solauren

How big across is Sharn?

Post/Author/DateTime Post
#1
aeryk08
Aug 19, 2010 11:32:46 I couldn't find a scale for the Sharn maps, so I looked up New York City and it has a population of 8.4 million and 305 sq miles (or 17.5 miles wide). So if we go with the corrected population for Sharn at around 2 million that's about a fourth of NYC, which gives us about 76 sq miles or 8.7 miles wide. Does that sound about right?

Also it looks like there are between 10-20 blocks to a mile on average in NYC. So that would be 80-160 blocks across for Sharn. Seems kind of small, but then I'm having trouble visualizing how long these blocks are.

A football field is 100 yd or 0.056818 mi. So that would be 153 football fields. Still not helping. Anybody have a frame of reference that would help?
#2
aeryk08
Aug 19, 2010 13:46:15 Okay, I found this thread which points to Sharn being about the same size as Manhattan but twice as tall, giving you the population around 2 million. So Manhattan is 22.96 sq miles or roughly 4.6 miles across.

With the earlier figures it gives it 46 blocks across or 229-458 sq blocks. Of course this is multipled by several levels. The question is how many levels is in each vertical section of Sharn?
#3
AvonRekaes
Aug 19, 2010 14:14:35 Sharn is roughly six miles across, and (I believe) about a mile high. The official population is only 200,000. This just doesn't jive with a lot of people (me included).

For me the correct answer, to paraphrase Hellcow, is that Sharn is "crowded". However many people need to be there for it to feel "crowded" is how many people are there. However many levels per tier of the city there need for it to feel "crowded" is how many levels there are.
#4
aeryk08
Aug 19, 2010 15:09:00 6 miles is a good compromise. Looks like I was in the right ballpark at least. Thanks. Which book is this in? Or did I miss it in the Sharn book?
#5
m4kitsu
Aug 19, 2010 23:44:22 Honestly, I'd make Sharn as big and as densely-populated as you need it to be. Exact size doesn't matter -only "big" and "crowded." The locals joke that whether you're going up two levels on the same tower or all the way across town, it takes about an hour to get where you're going.

I'm in the same camp as Avon and Hellcow on this one. Exact measurements don't matter -the flavor of the city and pace of your narrative are the important things.
#6
AvonRekaes
Aug 20, 2010 8:57:50
6 miles is a good compromise. Looks like I was in the right ballpark at least. Thanks. Which book is this in? Or did I miss it in the Sharn book?

I'm pretty sure I got that measurement from the Sharn sourcebook.

#7
Madfox11
Aug 21, 2010 8:44:48 Well, if exact numbers matter to you or your players, you can always use service corridors, sewers, and the like as an excuse to fill in some space. There are ample of adventures that are set in sewers, or abandoned corridors, and placing these service corridors even at the higher levels of the towers at least saves you the problem of setting all these adventures at ground level. Not that there is not enough space, just that sometimes you want to get a quick contrast between abandoned alleys/dirty sewers and crowded streets. Also remember that unlike in skyscrapers in RL, there are actual streets running through the buildings, and those take up a lot more space then corridors and the like.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 aeryk08 Aug 19, 2010 11:32:46	I couldn't find a scale for the Sharn maps, so I looked up New York City and it has a population of 8.4 million and 305 sq miles (or 17.5 miles wide). So if we go with the corrected population for Sharn at around 2 million that's about a fourth of NYC, which gives us about 76 sq miles or 8.7 miles wide. Does that sound about right? Also it looks like there are between 10-20 blocks to a mile on average in NYC. So that would be 80-160 blocks across for Sharn. Seems kind of small, but then I'm having trouble visualizing how long these blocks are. A football field is 100 yd or 0.056818 mi. So that would be 153 football fields. Still not helping. Anybody have a frame of reference that would help?
#2 aeryk08 Aug 19, 2010 13:46:15	Okay, I found this thread which points to Sharn being about the same size as Manhattan but twice as tall, giving you the population around 2 million. So Manhattan is 22.96 sq miles or roughly 4.6 miles across. With the earlier figures it gives it 46 blocks across or 229-458 sq blocks. Of course this is multipled by several levels. The question is how many levels is in each vertical section of Sharn?
#3 AvonRekaes Aug 19, 2010 14:14:35	Sharn is roughly six miles across, and (I believe) about a mile high. The official population is only 200,000. This just doesn't jive with a lot of people (me included). For me the correct answer, to paraphrase Hellcow, is that Sharn is "crowded". However many people need to be there for it to feel "crowded" is how many people are there. However many levels per tier of the city there need for it to feel "crowded" is how many levels there are.
#4 aeryk08 Aug 19, 2010 15:09:00	6 miles is a good compromise. Looks like I was in the right ballpark at least. Thanks. Which book is this in? Or did I miss it in the Sharn book?
#5 m4kitsu Aug 19, 2010 23:44:22	Honestly, I'd make Sharn as big and as densely-populated as you need it to be. Exact size doesn't matter -only "big" and "crowded." The locals joke that whether you're going up two levels on the same tower or all the way across town, it takes about an hour to get where you're going. I'm in the same camp as Avon and Hellcow on this one. Exact measurements don't matter -the flavor of the city and pace of your narrative are the important things.
#6 AvonRekaes Aug 20, 2010 8:57:50	6 miles is a good compromise. Looks like I was in the right ballpark at least. Thanks. Which book is this in? Or did I miss it in the Sharn book? I'm pretty sure I got that measurement from the Sharn sourcebook.
#7 Madfox11 Aug 21, 2010 8:44:48	Well, if exact numbers matter to you or your players, you can always use service corridors, sewers, and the like as an excuse to fill in some space. There are ample of adventures that are set in sewers, or abandoned corridors, and placing these service corridors even at the higher levels of the towers at least saves you the problem of setting all these adventures at ground level. Not that there is not enough space, just that sometimes you want to get a quick contrast between abandoned alleys/dirty sewers and crowded streets. Also remember that unlike in skyscrapers in RL, there are actual streets running through the buildings, and those take up a lot more space then corridors and the like.