PC Map Making

[Stormborn]

Not talking about players mapping in a dungeon or other site.

I have just started a campaign where the PCs were all given extra skill points and class skills related to mapping terrain and/or architecture. They are associated with an organization that makes and sells maps that will pay them for new or better maps.

I was thinking for every day in a new region in game the PCs can make the appropriate Craft check (with aid another being an option). The results would be added up and divided by the number of days they were in a region to produce an average that would be the nature of the overall map.

Map Making DCs would be something like DC 10 Poor Quality, DC 15 Average Quality, DC 20 Good Quality, DC 25 Excellent Quality. The same would apply to surveys of structures or to guide books that the PCs might produce. If what is produced is not better than what exists then nothing would be paid.

1) Does this sound reasonable?
2) What would appropriate prices be for these maps,charts, and logs? I figure a base price is needed for each with bonuses based on the nature of the region or special features.
3) What kind of circumstance modifiers would someone using one of these items get when in the area?

 

[GreatLemur]

Aw, man, the idea of a D&D party serving as explorers and cartographers for a map-making consortium is completely awesome. I like how it makes a Craft skill central to the campaign, and how exploration becomes the party's main source of payout, rather than loot-gathering. And, of course, there are lots of chances for all kinds of adventures and obstacles along the way, and probably a big emphasis on all those easily-forgotten movement skills.

As for how to handle the map-making checks mechanically, I'm not really sure. What if you had two skills, Craft (cartography) and Craft (illumination). The former is used to make the maps more useful, and the second simply makes them more attractive. Both serve to make the resulting map more valuable, but only the former actually contributes to a bonus for Survival and Knowledge (geography) checks or whatever. Maybe Craft (cartography) checks would be made daily, while Craft (illumination) is only attempted once they've got a completed map of a region? Or you could make it a little bit more complicated, and have a skill like Craft (terrain notes) or something be the check-every-day skill (the one which all the characters would contribute to, perhaps), while Craft (cartography) is used at the end to pull all those notes together and produce a usable map. A larger pool of total Craft (terrain notes) check results would, naturally, provide bonuses to the Craft (cartography) check.

I'm just thinking out loud, here. I'm not really sure what the best method would be. I think something worth asking, though, is just what you want this subsystem to offer the players, and how you want them to respond to it. Should it be something that just encourages them to put more points into Craft (cartography), or should there be some kind of strategy in how they use it? Should they be able to choose to stay longer in an area in order to make more checks and get a larger total (ignoring the whole divide-by-the-number-of-days idea for the moment)? Should they do their best to move slowly and avoid combat or other distractions in order to get the best situational modifiers on their daily checks? Maybe the paraphenalia involved becomes important: A telescope or a good set of color inks might offer bonuses on checks, while the resulting stacks of paper one or all party members end up carrying become liabilities they have to worry about defending from fire, water, and theft.

Hm. Maybe the organization they're working for would like some kind of bestiary or naturalist's guide as well as a map, giving them reason to want to encounter--although not necessarily fight--the local creatures. Maybe some kind of Knowledge (nature) check would be required to take notes for that, and then Craft (writing) and Craft (illumination) to actually produce the book?

You could definitely get really complicated with this, if you're so inclined.

 

[Stormborn]

True, it could get quite complicated, but I am not sure thats something that I want to do right now with this group. Basically I am just looking for a baseline price for a map to determine what they get paid and any potential modifiers that might go into the process.

 

[GreatLemur]

You could start with the DMG's suggested adventure rewards. Take the appropriate adventure reward for a party of your PCs' level, subtract some percentage to account for whatever loot they might find along the way, and call that number the average map sale price. That should be the amount get if they get the kind of check result you'd expect from just taking the minimum mapping skills (spending only the extra skill points), and then rolling strictly average (10.5) on all the checks. Then, for every point above that average result, you might increase the value of the map by 5% or 10% (and, of course, decrease it on the same scale for below-average results).

For the actual exploration, you might want to actually break out the old overland hex grid, and let them explore (and roll a check for) one hex per day. Maybe they could stay longer and explore a hex for an additional day if they don't think they mapped it well (that is, got a bad check result). It could be really fun to have the players actually drawing in the features of the region hex by hex as they explore it. Just how many hexes are required to complete a map is up to you, determined by just what the PCs' organization wanted them to explore, and how long you think a single adventure should take.

Man, I'm really loving the sound of this whole thing. I think I'd actually use random encounter tables for a game like this, despite my usual aversion to 'em. They should work really well in something so player-driven.

EDIT: Ah, dang, the DMG only seems to give suggested rewards per encounter, not adventure. Well, that works, too. You've just got to figure out how many encounters you're likely to throw at the PCs before they complete a map. One per day/hex? Maybe a 50% chance of an encounter each day, plus a possibility of multiple encounters each day if they get involved in some plot-based stuff? You could just go with the 13-encounters-to-go-up-one-level thing and multiply the per-encounter reward by 13, on the logic that completing a map should require enough adventuring to level up.