Canonfire!

Tue Sep 14, 2010 4:50 pm Mountain heights

Does anyone know of any source material that mentions the height of any mountains in the Yatils, Lortmils, Barrier Peaks, or Crystalmists? Most of the information out there only mentions how tall certain ranges are in general or relative terms ("low," "tallest in the Flanaess," etc).

Tue Sep 14, 2010 5:48 pm

The only elevation reference I've seen is that the Yecha Hills reach at least 3000 feet (Glossography, p. 23).

Wed Sep 15, 2010 9:34 pm Crystalmist Mountains

The Crystalmist Mountains are the highest of the mountain ranges in the Flanaess, the highest peaks reaching to a height of well over 70,000 feet. They divide the Flanaess from the Baklunish West. The Hellfurnaces are the heavily volcanic southern portion of the same range.

http://annex.wikia.com/wiki/Crystalmist_Mountains

Thu Sep 16, 2010 1:29 am

70,000 feet. So, nearly 2.5 times the height of Mount Everest, eh? Nothing needing oxygen is going to be living up there to be sure. Well, it is a fantasy world, right? Laughing

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Thu Sep 16, 2010 12:00 pm

Although the word -- "ridiculous" -- does come to mind in this one "fantasy" instance, Ceb. Wink

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Thu Sep 16, 2010 12:05 pm

Keeping in mind that I know next to nothing about mountains, height and its effects, etc......perhaps they added an extra zero by mistake and just meant 'well over 7000 feet'?

Thu Sep 16, 2010 12:13 pm

Thu Sep 16, 2010 1:29 pm

I suspect the claim of 70,000 feet is unsourced, and probably made up by the anonymous editor who added it, as it isn't present in any of the article's references: http://annex.wikia.com/index.php?title=Crystalmist_Mountains&diff=327207&oldid=327205

Mouse, are you aware of the Greyhawk wiki hosted here?
http://www.canonfire.com/wiki/index.php?title=Main_Page

Thu Sep 16, 2010 2:26 pm

According to Against the Giants: Liberation of Geoff Rungnirheim stands out in the northern Crystalmists 'not only because of its height' suggesting that it is taller then many of the other surrounding peaks, and yet the only danger mentioned about it the cold (while on really high mountains such as Everest oxygen deprivation is just as dangerous (and should have been mentioned if that was a danger). Also the level of cold indicated on the mountain in the module, while cold, is not cold enough for the mountain to be nearly 70,000 feet in elevation.

It does mention that the 'highest parts of the Crystalmists are snow covered year around' which I take to mean that the taller peaks are glaciated... but given that the Crystalmists were modeled on the Rockies, I would expect their altitude to be more in line with them, than with a figure such as 70,000 feet.

Thu Sep 16, 2010 7:30 pm

Thu Sep 16, 2010 8:35 pm

Since we are talking about a world where a 12 ton dragon can maintain flight with no difficulty, it is really that great a stretch of imagination to have breathable atmosphere at 70,000 feet?

Both of those ideas defy what we may consider logic, but in this case, there's always the old fantasy dodge "The gods did it!"

Fri Sep 17, 2010 7:49 am

Since the Crystalmists and Hellfurnaces provide an almost impenetrable barrier to passage, I modeled them more on the Sierra Nevadas. In other words, a very limited number of treacherous passes. The Sierras, much like the Rockies, have a max elevation of 14,505 ft, which would be quite daunting for any medieval mountain climber. I kind of rolled the Barrier Peaks in with the Crystalmists.

As for other mountain ranges:

Yatils: The Swiss Alps, since Perrenland reminds me of Switzerland. These max out at 14,911 ft.

Lortmils: They are referenced as an old and low mountain range if I recall correctly. I think the Appalachians would be appropriate at 6,684 ft.

As for the Griffs/Corusk range, I chose the Scandinavian Mountains (what a surprise), peaking at 8,100 ft.

All elevations from Wikipedia.

Fri Sep 17, 2010 12:30 pm

Nowhere does it mention the mountains have been climbed but the term impassable is used. Perhaps the elevations are an obvious misnomer as the ancient greeks believed mount olympus stretched to the vault of the stars. Then again given spells perhaps some mage found a way to tabulate the elevation without climbing them.

If the inhabitants and travelers simply scurry around the trails at the base - ie 10,000-15,000 then the lack of air above would by definition make them impassable without tremendous effort. Of course given spells and magical items nothing is truly impassable.

Sat Sep 18, 2010 3:54 pm Mountain Heights

IMC, the mountain range that separates the Draconic Empire of Lynn and The Celestial Imperium is home to Oerth's tallest mountains. The top elevations are around 35,000 feet with the tallest peak at a little over 41,000 feet. (Note: Olympus Mons on the planet Mars is about 89,000 feet tall.)

Sun Sep 19, 2010 2:52 pm Re: Mountain Heights

Thu Sep 23, 2010 11:33 am Mountain Heights

Crag, we must be looking are two different maps. The elevations are from my own invention, hence the term IMC (In my campaign). Smile

Fri Sep 24, 2010 9:44 am

Fair enough;
I reference the OJ continental map within the postings - it seems to have become the defacto GH map for most on the board.