Metric system or Imperial?

[StrongArm]

Okay, so I was wondering about the units of measurement I should use in a fantasy novel. I am American, and we use the inefficient imperial system. Most of the world uses Metric. I could say that 'the orc was 6 ft tall' or I could write that 'the orc was almost 2 meters'. Does metric system make sense in a fantasy world?
This site is pretty multi-national, so I imagine a lot of readers dont know imperial units of measurement as well as metric. Would they have to stop to look it up if i said the distance of the street was 300 yards? Conversely, my fellow americans would probably have to look it up if I wrote 'the object weighs 45 kilos'.

Can this break immersion? Or is this just a minor thing i'm overthinking?

 

[CadmarLegend]

Okay, so I was wondering about the units of measurement I should use in a fantasy novel. I am American, and we use the inefficient imperial system. Most of the world uses Metric. I could say that 'the orc was 6 ft tall' or I could write that 'the orc was almost 2 meters'. Does metric system make sense in a fantasy world?
This site is pretty multi-national, so I imagine a lot of readers dont know imperial units of measurement as well as metric. Would they have to stop to look it up if i said the distance of the street was 300 yards? Conversely, my fellow americans would probably have to look it up if I wrote 'the object weighs 45 kilos'.

Can this break immersion? Or is this just a minor thing i'm overthinking?

Just do it man. It’s your story, go and write it out before starting to nitpick. These minor details are supposed to be sorted out after a suitable draft is created. Don’t get stuck on one specific thing, it will break you. That, or you will become a procrastinator like me.

 

[CarburetorThompson]

inefficient imperial system.

take that back you commie

http://imgur.com/a/sllCdid

 

[CupcakeNinja]

Okay, so I was wondering about the units of measurement I should use in a fantasy novel. I am American, and we use the inefficient imperial system. Most of the world uses Metric. I could say that 'the orc was 6 ft tall' or I could write that 'the orc was almost 2 meters'. Does metric system make sense in a fantasy world?
This site is pretty multi-national, so I imagine a lot of readers dont know imperial units of measurement as well as metric. Would they have to stop to look it up if i said the distance of the street was 300 yards? Conversely, my fellow americans would probably have to look it up if I wrote 'the object weighs 45 kilos'.

Can this break immersion? Or is this just a minor thing i'm overthinking?

people use both, metric is only used when you need precise measurements. But height and other general measurements? Use imperial.

 

[CarburetorThompson]

In all seriousness it’s a fantasy setting, you don’t have to use either, especially if you’re writing from pov. You could say things like ‘height of six hands’ or ‘The weight of ten men’ to describe things. In a fantasy setting no one but craftsman are really gonna have accurate measuring tools, so it’s more realistic for me at least to measure based on comparison to other things.

 

[LORD_SHAXX]

It's sucks for me as a brit because we use this weird hybrid of both for example I would say that character was 6ft tall and weighs 600 kilos. He ran at 400 mph whilst drinking 3 liters of water.

 

[NotaNuffian]

In all seriousness it’s a fantasy setting, you don’t have to use either, especially if you’re writing from pov. You could say things like ‘height of six hands’ or ‘The weight of ten men’ to describe things. In a fantasy setting no one but craftsman are really gonna have accurate measuring tools, so it’s more realistic for me at least to measure based on comparison to other things.

So you are going full American.

"That orc is taller than a man and half and judging by how deep his footprints are, weighing at least a washing machine."

 

[Deleted member 54065]

If your audience is international, go for metric.

 

[LORD_SHAXX]

That orc is taller than a man and half and judging by how deep his footprints are, weighing at least a washing machine."

His hands where the size of 4 mc doubles

 

[Chaos_Sinner777]

I'm, a mess on this subject. I've done both even. In one of my worlds, Isekai is a common occurrence and the Metric system was introduced by a reincarnator.

 

[NotaNuffian]

His hands where the size of 4 mc doubles

Dick the size of horse with freakish glans of an anteater.

 

[gaylolis]

he ordered two number 9's
a number 9 large
a number 6 with extra dip
a number 7
two number 45's
one with cheese
and a large soda.

 

[TotallyHuman]

orc was two heads taller than me
I could not see the end of the city as it escaped beyond the horizon
The house was two stories tall
the street took ten minutes to walk across
orc was huge but not as huge as your mom

 

[avaseofpeonies]

The other day I read the first few chapters of a terribly translated CN novel. It described someone as 9ft tall and 135lbs, and someone definitely miscalculated that translation of measurements.

To answer your question, though, I am an American who loves CN novels, and I have no idea what a li or a catty or a tael actually are, but when they come up in a story I just infer the gist from the context and move along with my reading. I don't need to know exact measurements. I think most readers will do the same, and if you come across one who wants to nitpick, they'll find anything to nitpick. Just go with whichever system you're comfortable with.

 

[Paul_Tromba]

I use metric except when the character would normally use the imperial system. For example, American characters would use the Imperial system while others probably wouldn't. For narration purposes I use whatever my target demographic uses or just use what feels the most comfortable.

 

[Prince_Azmiran_Myrian]

I keep measurements simple, vague, and relative. I myself am bad at visualizing size in terms of numbers, so specifics don't do much for me.

 

[Kenjona]

Meh, use whatever. But FYI Metric is good for easily converting between its units in powers of 10; so it is easier to use math with it. However Imperial has its benefits in buildings and other measurements where you solely need an measurement of a "type" or where fractions can come into play easier. Rise and run for those building walls is easily converted using feet and fractions for most people. 1 Pint is the easiest handled amount of measurement that most adults need to drink to be satisfied. It is why it came about as a standard measurement after all. For every 4 Adults having a drink; 1 gallon pitcher please. Using metric nice cold glass of similar size Cider is 475ml (473.176ml), you need a pitcher of 1.892.704 liters. So now they have to increase or decrease the glass size a bit 450ml or 500ml; the pitcher for four now needs to have 2L in it.

What you use does not really matter; just be consistent in the story. you could use it to denote the feel of different "time" periods or cultures. Feet and yards for Western feeling Fantasy; Metrics for sci-fi; Li, Chi, Cun for eastern (Chinese based) flavored measurements.

Oh and most people cannot give accurate measurements anyway so being vague can work to.

 

[TheEldritchGod]

Don't you mean Metric Units or FREEDOM units, COMRADE???

He ran at 400 mph.

I prefer to use Furlongs Per Fortnight. I find it adds a certain ZING to my descriptions.

 

[Ilikewaterkusa]

Okay, so I was wondering about the units of measurement I should use in a fantasy novel. I am American, and we use the inefficient imperial system. Most of the world uses Metric. I could say that 'the orc was 6 ft tall' or I could write that 'the orc was almost 2 meters'. Does metric system make sense in a fantasy world?
This site is pretty multi-national, so I imagine a lot of readers dont know imperial units of measurement as well as metric. Would they have to stop to look it up if i said the distance of the street was 300 yards? Conversely, my fellow americans would probably have to look it up if I wrote 'the object weighs 45 kilos'.

Can this break immersion? Or is this just a minor thing i'm overthinking?

Imperial because I’m an imperialist.

 

[CapitaoCaverna]

Well, objectively speaking, metric system is nearly always superior because it was made to be that way, nice, easy multiples of 10.

If distance and other measures are crucially important for your story, then I say to use the one most of your audience understands, if more than half your readers are americans use imperial.

On the other hand, if it isn't important to the plot, use whatever you're most comfortable with. If you had to convert the distance every time you're writing it, that's gonna slow you down and drain a little of the joy away from your writing.

I myself am from Brazil and only use metric but, when someone says a dude is 6ft I still know what it means, Distance and weight are a little bit harder to understand, but I still get a rough idea of it and don't have to convert it unless it's a really important part of the plot.

If you think it's gonna bother people then just indicate what their reaction should be, if an object is heavy don't just tell us its weight, show us how heavy it is, like someone having trouble lifting it or almost dropping it on their foot and being scared of the damage.

If your MC faces someone tall, say he has to look up to his eyes and then tell us his size, it'll make the reader understand the guy is a giant and they will almost never need to look it up.