| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| ShadowKing |
Posted - 17 Apr 2014 : 12:27:03
Did compass exist in the last decades prior to the Spellplague?
How did explorers reach Maztica?
If cumbersome compasses were used on board ships, were there pocket compass spread among the common people?
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| 3 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| Ayrik |
Posted - 17 Apr 2014 : 23:06:55
Compasses did exist. They were standard gear available for purchase in AD&D 1E and 2E handbooks. Cartographers of the Realms certainly used compasses and sextants and perhaps even accurate clocks, although their items likely used different measures of angles and distances. (Then again, maybe their measures were much the same as ours, given how often they appear in Realms fiction and adventures.)
Compasses were known (and used) on our own world by ancient civilizations - Greek, Roman, Persian, India, and the Orient. Phoenician sea captains held them as badges of their rank. Although few of these seemed compelled to travel all the way to the magnetic North Pole, which seems odd to me, why not see what that needle is always pointing at?
Pre-industrial societies lacked the ability to manufacture magnets, they had to mine lodestones and pyrite and magnetite wherever these could be found. Much occult lore and superstition once attributed various interesting properties of attraction to magnetic stones. |
| Eilserus |
Posted - 17 Apr 2014 : 20:52:58
Use of a lodestone perhaps? |
| Kentinal |
Posted - 17 Apr 2014 : 19:32:56
I did some searching, however really can not say for sure I can offer a correct answer.
It appears possible that a magical compass could exist in 3.5 Realms. I base this on the SRD 3.5 spell Know Direction. I have not found an old fashion compass as equipment in 2nd or 3rd, at least not yet. |
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