Maps

January 7th, 2016

We start a new weekly Top Ten article today, which is a spin off article of one of our favorites from Magic Market last year, where we provide you with a list of 10 items. This week I will be discussing maps in various forms to get players started on their adventures!

A timeworn piece of soiled parchment with crude sketches. This crude map features a poor, child-like sketch of a large house with an arrow pointing towards a series of wavy lines, possibly meant to represent a river, in the middle of which is a large, diamond-shaped object. The map has no frame of reference and the objects depicted in it could be anywhere. Given the apparent age of the sketched map, it is likely that whatever treasure it leads to has long since been plundered, leading to questions about why the map still survives.
A detailed map etched into a sheet of steel. A finely crafted map hand-chiseled into a thin 4-foot-by-4-foot sheet of steel. The map features meticulous details of a strange, possibly alien or undiscovered continent, and the tiny chiseled letters are in a unknown script. A comprehend languages spell allows the script to be read, but yields only more confusion as the lettering refers to unfamiliar places. The artistry and level of detail accomplished in this map is impossible with contemporary tools, leading to the belief that it was created by magic.
A fine tile fresco made from multicolored tiles arranged to depict the surrounding area. The map features large, beautifully detailed illustrations of important landmarks in full color. Though the map is beautiful and quite accurate, it is also curious that the tiles can be easily removed from their place in the wall, revealing a hidden map beneath, which, though lacking in artistry, features a single cave not seen on the tile map.
An apparently simple map of the surrounding area in a plain hand. This map appears to be quite ordinary, reflecting the local area and written with a plain hand and a simple, functional set of symbols. When viewed under starlight, however, the map changes suddenly, revealing a path in bright silver running through three mountains featured on it.
A full-color map of the known world. This vast sheet is over 12 feet long and 4 feet high, designed to be hung upon a wall. It features a detailed, full-color map of the world as it was 1,000 years ago. Though somewhat dated, the map still provides a useful reference to would-be explorers. On the back of the map is a list of famous places, some of which have a check mark next to their name.
A small but finely carved treasure map on a bronze statue. This map is easy to miss, having been carved on the inside thigh of a statue of a famous warrior. Though speculators have long claimed that the map, which depicts the city in which the statue is housed, is somehow a treasure map, unless viewed in the light of a magical fire it is impossible to decipher where the map leads. Those viewing it under such a light note a very thin blue line which connects the statue to the central fountain.
An apparently blank page. This atypical map was clearly created by wizards, and a detect magic spell or similar reveals a faint divination aura. When burned, those who carefully observe the smoke note that it depicts a map, with glowing green dots indicating apparently random places in the wilderness. The smoke map lasts only a few seconds, though searching the ashes reveals the original blank page, whole and undamaged by the fire.
A detailed map of a city or town written by the Cat. These fine maps are quite rare, and were purportedly written by the famous burglar known only as the “Cat.” Each map features a city or town which at some point was victimized by the criminal, and it is accurate and highly detailed, with places that were robbed by the Cat circled in red ink. Occasionally, these maps also feature red ink circles around places the Cat was not known to have visited; whether these were future targets or the sites of crimes not made public is a subject of much debate, and the Cat, now long dead, is not talking.
The Atlas of Otherworld. This exquisite red-bound volume contains hundreds of pages of detailed maps and lengthy details about the author’s explorations to a place called Otherworld. Though the author’s name is not listed, the maps are exceedingly well-crafted, and the text plain and scientific in nature. Though most scholars claim the atlas, which has been republished and translated from the original Gnome, is a work of fiction, a small minority claim that the work is genuine and that by following the detailed, dangerous, and arduous steps contained in the early sections of the atlas, one could reach this Otherworld and visit the fantastic places detailed in the atlas.

A map of the world by Oliver Drake. This exceptionally crafted map is something of an oddity, found on the body of a man in strange clothes presumed to be Oliver Drake. The map, which proclaims a date nearly 400 years before the present, shows the world in striking and seemingly impossible detail, given the thoroughly mundane nature of the map. The details of the map are slightly off, however, showing several rearranged borders, new nations, and a massive landmark called “The New Rift,” which seems to bisect the world. The map features beautiful symbols, though those for cities are strange, as is the analog for boats which sail the seas, though both of these are adequately explained in the map’s extensive legend.