In this game, maps offer a source of income and a means of discovering new locations.
The party will always be adding new things to a map if the area is unexplored or has been explored but has a subpar map.
Maps can be obtained or created by cartographers, which is any character whether they are a player character or a non-player character, that has the Cartographer trait. Anytime players encounter errors in an existing map or discover things not on an existing map, if they have the Cartographer trait they may fashion their own map with these new additions. For every change or addition to their new map they gain experience and money that can be used for a vast assortment of things. This includes upgrading characters crew members as well as any airships they are flying.
While it is our world there is much of it that is left unexplored due to the changes in geography and the time period that the game takes place in.
This game allows players more freedom than what they do and where they go. The only restriction is the presence of a map improper navigational information that allows them to reach their destination. Is the players do not have a map they roll on a random number table to determine how close they are to their desired destination and to determine where they actually end up. This is the exploration mechanic and is used anytime a proper map isn't present when they are traveling. If I have a proper map they can still choose to explore the area the map covers. What does a discover something new to add to the map depends heavily on how explore the region is. Most explored regions will yield the least amount of new discoveries but these discoveries will often be the most rewarding as they are well hidden for a reason. Venturing out into unknown territory can yield many benefits but the odds of finding something new will decrease with every single new discovery they make.
The way this mechanic works is simple.
Is the Players wanted to get to a particular destination they need three things,
- A general idea of where their destination is, referred to as a rumors. Rumors come from legends and local lore as well as knowledge that such a place exists.
- Navigational information used to find the location. Even if they have a good idea of where the location is it may still prove very difficult to find especially if it is a mythical location. While this is not nearly as difficult to deal with when trying to find a nation such as Japan or Russia it is absolutely essential find more specific and isolated locations.
- The final piece of the puzzle comes in the form of star charts and other attachments that depict the location in question. This is more for mythological locations as well as pretty much everybody knows where the nations of the world are simply by looking at a globe.
When finding these three elements it's important to know that you do not need all three to find your location. Finding all 3 simply makes the guarantee you will find your location where that is missing one or two will decrease the odds of finding a location upon searching for it.
Notice that these coins are primarily focused on more specific areas that are isolated to a very particular region. A good example would be the Vermilion Garden. Finding it involves not only trying to get navigational coordinates and also the proper information on how to get to location but also the knowledge of the location self which many people outside of Ukraine do not even though about the garden.
When it comes to Nations and much larger regions the purpose of this mechanic is to get the players to understand the field of play. Having a map of the region question as well as various points of interest for the players to investigate is essential to making the sand box work.
More information on how sandbox is ran see the rules for the off the cuff role-playing system.
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