If Avernum were real...

[Tyranicus]

This is entirely idle curiosity. I can envison how most of the spells in Avernum would work in the real world, but how exactly would Far Sight work? I mean, it's not like people have an automap in real life.

[Lilith]

They may not have an automapper, but there's every reason to assume that the player characters make maps as they travel. Presumably, on casting Far Sight, the mage gets a vision of the surrounding area for long enough to sketch it on the map before it fades away.

[Naga]

Ssssssss But that makessss little sense, assss far sight, in no matter what level, revealsss the surroundingss permanently. But I still disagree with Tyranicus (sssorry) because I think casting far sight addssss more area to the memory of our adventurersss. (I think Auto-map indicatesss the memory of the adventurers.)

[Lilith]

I don't buy the argument that the automap indicates what the party can remember -- there's no way they could recall the exact geography of every place they ever visited without actually making a physical map. Therefore, it's most reasonable to assume that the party actually makes a physical map of the places they visit, even though it's not explicitly treated as an inventory item.

[Naga]

No, I just wanted to bring out the point that it is also nearly impossible for adventurers to make maps of each and every outdoor section and town they visit and keep them. Afterall, many of us in real life may not find it supernatural to remember the way to a place in our town even if we've just been to it only once.

[Lilith]

It isn't necessarily unreasonable to carry around a bunch of maps. A few dozen sheets of paper wouldn't take up all that much space in a backpack.

 

Admittedly, it does stretch credibility that the party can make maps equally well whether taking a leisurely stroll about town or fleeing for their lives from bloodthirsty monsters. Oh well.

[Raiden]

but avernum is not based on real world anyways,its fantasy world,so anything is possible,maybe far sight lets mages spirit fly out of his body so he can scout area?

[Alorael at Large]

I've always liked the automap in the unremarkable game Dungeon Master 2. It's a literal, physical map enchanted to record everywhere the adventurers have been, but it will only show a certain area in the vicinity of the party when it's viewed. Just like Avernum's automap!

 

So there you go. Farsight makes this magical map behave as though you'd viewed somewhere you hadn't actually been.

 

—Alorael, who would like to know if blessing and hasting before a sporting event is considered illegal use of magical substances and if there is a test for it.

[Icshi]

I always find these kinds of debates amusing, trying to infratextually reconcile the game's interface with the game world.

 

It's like those people who try to explain, within the story, why the first Doctor looks so different in The Five Doctors than he did in The Dalek Invasion of Earth.

[Kelandon]

Or what the heck happened to the Klingons between Star Trek's original TV series and everything ever after that.

[Icshi]

Exactly.