I've been trying to find info on the location of Nurvatchta for a homebrew 2e campaign I'm playing in. I'm writing backstory for an Anadi homebrew character, and I'm trying to figure out where Nurvatchta is in relation to the equator. The only information I can find is that it is in Southern Garund. How south? South coast, or perhaps somewhere near the equator or just past what is visible to us on current maps?
The main reason I'm asking is for the holiday celebrated by Anadi, "Longwalk". It's said to be celebrated on the date of Nurvatchta's Winter Solstice, which would be around Kuthona 21 if its north of the equator, or Sarenith 21 if it's south of the equator. The area south of what we have on maps right now is so huge it could be anywhere. Think this may be a question for James Jacobs, and maybe he or someone else can answer or weigh in.
According to this page, Sargava/Vidrian is located between 18 and 20 degrees north latitude, and Nurvatchta would have to be somewhere south of there. So I can't say for sure which hemisphere it is in, but if it is in the northern hemisphere, it is definitely tropical.
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Given that it's referred to as southern Garund I think it would be safe to slice the continent of Garund into 3 roughly equal sections North, Central, and South. If it was just off the current map that would be central Garund. Looking at the image we have of the world map it appears like the equator also runs through central Garund. Therefore, I think it's safe to assume they're in the southern hemisphere. That's obviously my personal guesstimate, hopefully you can get an official answer.
Here's the ask James Jacobs thread if that helps:
Given that it's referred to as southern Garund I think it would be safe to slice the continent of Garund into 3 roughly equal sections North, Central, and South. If it was just off the current map that would be central Garund. Looking at the image we have of the world map it appears like the equator also runs through central Garund. Therefore, I think it's safe to assume they're in the southern hemisphere. That's obviously my personal guesstimate, hopefully you can get an official answer.
Here's the ask James Jacobs thread if that helps:
Thanks! Yeah those have been my thoughts as well up to this point. Thanks for the link to the thread!
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One point I would add is that any society that actually celebrates a winter solstice should be far enough away from the equator to actually notice that event. Determining the shortest day of the year can be tricky if you are in a location where all days are very close to the same length all year round.
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Here was James Jacobs' answer to keep the info in one thread:
"We haven't yet fully detailed the continent of Garund south of where the Inner Sea Map region exists. I've always imagined Nurvatchta to be not too far south of where the Inner Sea Map ends, somewhere on the west coast close to or even on the equator, but its exact location isn't something we've had the time or the product to explore in detail yet. Not sure when we will, to be honest. In any event, this is a good example of something that you as the GM should feel free to place where works best for your home game. If we end up doing something different 5 years later, your game will have a 5 year head start on us for you and your players being comfortable with that and so your choice would replace ours.
Waiting for us to have an official answer will only mean that part of your game will stagnate for a long time, alas."
"They'd celebrate it on the date of the solstice wherever they were at. It isn't a globally organized same-day-event."
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In the real world, there are two dates for the winter solstice -- one for each hemisphere, with the winter solstice in one hemisphere coinciding with the summer solstice in the other. At the equator, the two hemispheres meet, and the concept of a solstice is meaningless. Near the equator, identifying the solstice could be tricky unless they arbitrarily pick one or the other (depending on whether the people in question settled near the equator from the north or the south, for example).