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Cartography as an Artisan Class
Cartography
A hypothetical new artisan class.
Information about one surrounding is always valuable. This class takes this concept to its end conclusion. Cartography.
The world is unknown to players as they first enter. Those who have an adventuring spirit and wish to discover every nook and cranny of their world will be able to have a class that synergies well with that.
The new world is constantly in flux, with nodes developing (and de-leveling during wars), trade routes, resources specific spots, topographical maps for warfare, dungeon maps, and more this artisan class will be your guiding hand in telling you where to head to.
Skills
Creating general maps of surrounding (higher the level the more detail/larger on the map)
Shows caravan routes (and maybe which routes have high raiding to avoid)
Shows specific resource spots
Draw maps regarding dungeons
*From youtube* Treasure maps (if treasure maps are encrypted cartographers are able to decrypt it)
Warfare cartography: Can link (in guild chat or something) a map that cartographers can draw on (in-game) so to direct the flow of their guild in battles. Maybe even be able to show “waypoints”.
And more!
Where the original discussion was had.
#011 Ashes of Creation Discussion Round
https://youtu.be/ZaZ-93K84_4?list=UUa8p_tU0dJ37CCE0R0OX3wQ&t=1161
Thoughts on such a artisan class?
Comments
There might be specializations that allow the cartographer to make detailed maps of battlefields, another for oceans, resource, even dungeons, and ruins. If each of these was a specialization within a skill tree with enough points to only focus on one.
I'd be interested in any other ideas that could be added to it to make it a more fleshed out artisan class.
Maybe make it something more like a "Scribe", and make it a sub-profession tree.
Scribes could make maps, magically binding contracts(player created quests?!?) or enchantments and runes, which you could use to create barriers etc.
Maybe give them the ability to identify objects? (which would open another can of worms = unidentified objects could be interesting ;D)
The contract aspect would be interesting to see used in-game, i'd love to see some iteration of that.
I like this idea.
Higher levels of Cartography could allow the mapmaker to include more information on the map. This information could be revealed by mouse-over showing such things as:
Areas of enchantment on the map
Details of the mobs located on the map
Information about the towns...mayor, guilds, buildings
Information about buildings and their contents, spells, history, NPC locations and what the NPC does....
I am sure the reader will think of many more possibilities.
What would also be interesting is that the mapmaker could embue magic into the map. For example, if the one looking at it was an enemy (guild, city, etc.) then the magic would not work or might show locations incorrectly. While if the user of the map was a friend, it would show more. Maybe some things on the map would only show up if the user had completed some quest (or a task for the cartographer) or reached a certain level.
Maybe the mapmaker could put other spells on it, so that the map would self-destruct if opened in an enemy city, or if the bearer killed a guild member of the cartographer, or after two weeks.
I think that there are all kinds of interesting possibilities, good idea!
All the best, TT
Then we could have a "main map", where you can see the roads and cities (which everyone has) and then we have the crafted maps, where you can see more details (higher level maps give more details), which would fill in the blank spaces.
If the game intends to have player initiated quests, there could be cartographer quests like this:
- get quest from mapmaker NPC, get box from NPC
- go bury box of something up in some wilderness, make a map where it is
- Give map to NPC
- Player 2 gets quest from NPC and map, recovers something from wilderness, gets to keep it
- Cartographer player gets reward from NPC.
Certainly the quest could be more interesting than that, but having multiple players involved in both setting up and solving quests could go all kinds of ways.
I personally don't mind getting ambushed or vice-versa (more likely I would be ambushing
I try not to speculate around PvP at the moment but i do try to liven the potential for world PvP up where i can. I understand that Honour is key to Steven's plan and i do believe that grief maps won't be a thing but i do like to speculate sometimes lol
Also most of the big pvp will probably take place during node sieges
I ran a Bounty Hunter/Mercenary Guild in Age of Conan and will most likely get my open world kicks being a Bounty Hunter in Ashes.
https://aocwiki.net/PvP#Open_World
Sea Charts. Ocean Currents, Shoals, Reefs, Sea Monster territory. Knowing where such things are can make or destroy one's ship and having routes planned out to take advantage of the currents can make up for wind blowing in the wrong direction.
Afterall, going into "Uncharted Territory" was a thing of fear in the dark ages.
So.... unicorns ?
Now i want a upwards flowing river ingame....