Size of Absalom inconsistency

[Inquisitor Thrace]

Has anyone else noticed the maps of Absalom in the Guide to Absalom and PFS Field Guide have massively different scales?

To give an idea of the size difference, using the scales, the length of Pilot Island is approx.: 4600ft (GtA), 400ft (PFS FG).

Which is correct? Is there another map to confirm this (or even give a third size)?

[James Jacobs]

In all cases Absalom... bigger is more accurate.

[Ms. Pleiades]

Kinda like Racoon City in the Resident Evil series. It was supposed to be a small industrial town totally dependent on Umbrella corporation (and that part hasn't changed) with a few thousand people. However as the game series went on, the number of separate civic buildings and facilities that served the same purpose such as hospitals, transit centers, and schools, the implied population has gradually ballooned into the millions.

Of course, Absalom was always meant to be the biggest.

[LazarX]

James Jacobs wrote:

In all cases Absalom... bigger is more accurate.

As long as they don't eat pizza with a fork.

[Mark Moreland]

We specifically changed the scale of the map for the Pathfinder Society Field Guide because it was too small in Guide to Absalom, so the latter scale is the one to use.

[Steve Geddes]

Hmm. Maybe my brain is defective but did you just list them in reverse publication order?
which is the latter?

[BlackOuroboros]

Mark Moreland wrote:

We specifically changed the scale of the map for the Pathfinder Society Field Guide because it was too small in Guide to Absalom, so the latter scale is the one to use.

James Jacobs wrote:

In all cases Absalom... bigger is more accurate.

Wait.. what? The Guide to Absalom has the scale at Pilot Island at 4600 ft, Pathfinder Society Field Guide has it at 400 ft.

[Christopher Rowe]

Interesting catch. Are there other places where maps of Absalom have been published, I wonder?

[LazarX]

Absalom used to be bigger, but then I put it in the hot cycle in the dryer.

[LazarX]

Christopher Rowe wrote:

Interesting catch. Are there other places where maps of Absalom have been published, I wonder?

First Steps had a map of Absalom in it, if I recall correctly.

[Christopher Rowe]

LazarX wrote:

Christopher Rowe wrote:

Interesting catch. Are there other places where maps of Absalom have been published, I wonder?

First Steps had a map of Absalom in it, if I recall correctly.

It does! First Steps I: In Service to Lore page 6 has almost the exact same map as that in the Pathfinder Society Field Guide, absent just a few labels but with the same scale, showing Pilot Island as about 400 feet long, east to west.

[Inquisitor Thrace]

Mark Moreland wrote:

We specifically changed the scale of the map for the Pathfinder Society Field Guide because it was too small in Guide to Absalom, so the latter scale is the one to use.

That doesn't make sense, I thought Guide to Absalom was printed first but it has the bigger scale.

So for the moment I'll go with:

James Jacobs wrote:

In all cases Absalom... bigger is more accurate.

That makes more room for the Keeps, palaces and manors within the walls, none of which are small.