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How much Georaphic Knowledge does a 1st level player know? A 7th level player? Do maps of the Known World exist for the players? How much would a map like this cost?

Maddog wrote:How much Georaphic Knowledge does a 1st level player know? A 7th level player?

depends more an race and class of the player character than on level, Id say. but of course, more experienced characters could have travelled and learned more about the world

Maddog wrote:Do maps of the Known World exist for the players?

as most of the maps in the books are drawn so badly, I usually give the players maps or parts of the maps or re-draw them and leave some details out. cant remember prices, sorry.

Maddog wrote:How much Georaphic Knowledge does a 1st level player know?

Your average first level player will have very limited knowledge of the world. He/she/it will be familiar with his homelands. But beyond that, they have probably heard stories, rumors and news from other people who have come into the area. Bards, merchants, etc will all be sources of info from other lands that many people will find to be of interest.

One thing to keep in mind is that some OCCs may have had a bit more of worldly experience than others. A knight may at one time have been a squire who got to travel a bit prior to becoming a knight.

A 7th level player?

Obviously players will have attained a bit of geographical knowledge as they went on adventures and what not. NPCs will vary. Just consider the background of the NPC and just what sort of role he is playing in the story.. The NPC's background should reflect this.

Do maps of the Known World exist for the players? How much would a map like this cost?

Your gonna get a mix of cartography skills on this. There is no one really accepted way in the Palladium world for cartography. So most everything is gonna be done by hand and not be exactly plot to scale nor even be accurate or correct.

Remember a couple mistakes by the map maker on his land navigation skill or math skills will lead to inaccuracy in the map he's attempting to make. Also keep in mind, unlike most modern maps with nicely drawn lines and coordinates and an accurate birds eye view, map makers of the palladium world are more than likely gonna have a more artistic flavor to them.

Maybe something like this

Seafarers of the Palladium world would have the best maps. Obviously the main focus would be nautticle in nature. Most again will be inaccurate and generally most ships and capitans will have a lot of different maps. Some may have developed a world map. Just to give you an idea.. For Example

That is probably more accurate than most ones would be the result of compiled maps with common reference points. Your best bet to find something like this would be at the Library of Bletherad.. But again the maps are only as accurate as the original source and the skill of the scholar to compile all the maps into a larger world map.

Also the Palladium world has huge tracts of land that are literally unexplored and unmapped. The Northern Hinterlands is a great example, as well as the Norther Wilderness. That Land of the Damned place probably doesn't have too many maps of it either..

Another thing about maps.. Most maps for adventures who are taking the time to map, will have notes and things on them. (Think of the map Thorin had in The Hobbit.) The info could be warnings about local monsters, landmarks, hints and clues about traveling, etc.

Last but not least maps are EXTREMELY valuable to the right buyers. Any ships navigator will jump at the opportunity to compare notes with another map maker. Especially if they are heading in the direction as conditions change. Again being blown off course by a storm may lead to inaccuracies, there is also the human element for error as well.. Keep in mind pirates when raiding a ship will not only want the captain's log (if they kept one) but also the maps.

An even better example! Check out how bad the Americas look in this one!

http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/lewisandclark/images/ree0001.jpg

I like all level 1 players to no minimal about the rest of the world so I can produce surprises for them.

If you were to let the players read the descriptions of the world in the main book and remember what they read then thtas their knowledge. Maybe name a few capitals or major regions but thats it. I let them know a little more (but really not much) about their current (starting place, eg eastern territory). Even if a knight they would be a new knight or theyd be a higher level (IMO).

Most of the players know the world map so again I go by the players ability to remember after their characters has done an IQ roll but remember unless scholarly. seafarer or explorer,ranger,soldier most characters (especially new ones) wont have ever seen a map, let alone an accurate one (perhaps they think the yinsloth jungles are between old kingdom and timiro).

If your Player character is a higher level then you know where theyve been. Where did they travel? What maps did they study? None? No where?-then they know sweet FA!

Cost of maps I still use 1st ed libary of Bletherad (high seas p104). Depends on quality - world and area maps 1-5g with 75% inaccuracy. make your own map is 10g with 80% chance of it being written in a different language than human. Ofc if a general wants a big tapestry of the worls of sailors need large, accurate maps of the coastlines and oceans then they could be 100's.

Maddog wrote:How much Georaphic Knowledge does a 1st level player know? A 7th level player? Do maps of the Known World exist for the players? How much would a map like this cost?

i would base it on their back story, or at least their territory of origin. its never really come up in my games in the form you asked, but one of my players asked a similar question in my last campaign ("would i know about this place?"). in his case, he was born in bizantium, and shipped off to timiro at around 12 years old for his education. i let him know the basics of bizantium, and a considerable amount about timiro and its cities...beyond that (in my game) its up to the players to remember things about the places they go, or to look it up in game (buying maps and books, asking people for info etc). this player is very interested in things like this so he actually maps things out in his character sheet. in game, he bought a world map from a cartographer which only really showed the territorial borders and capital cities. out of game, i let him trace the world map out of the main book for his character sheet. he constantly updates that map when we travel, with new info, notes and locations, as well as making smaller, more zoomed in maps of cities, dungeons etc. its pretty cool in my opinion because to him it makes the world more 'real', as well as acting as a reference for our adventures. in fact, his enthusiasm has spread to my other players, who then asked 'what could my character add to the map?'. we went through all the back stories and then they compiled all their info onto his map as a group (outside of gameplay). it helped to flesh out the back stories, as well as the groups map collection quite a bit when we sat down and tried to figure out exactly what each person would know.

i previously never really got into that kind of thing as a gm, but now it feels like my game would be 'missing something' without all his work and effort. it has become a major element of our campaign.

so to answer specifically, i would say that a 1st level character knows their home land, and anywhere they traveled extensively in their back story, and (for example) a level 7 character would know what they learned during gameplay via maps books and research. in book 2, there are cartographer shops in a lot of the towns, but none list prices...only descriptions like 'this guys maps are expensive, while this other guys maps are moderately priced'. based on the prices of equipment, books and similar things, i wouldnt think they would be very expensive (perhaps 100 gold for the best world map you can find, more likely 20-50 gold, or less for a map of town or a smaller more specific region). hopefully someone else remembers a book/page number with an actual price stated since these are just my thoughts on the matter.