Magical Navigation Made Easy with The Eternities' Map
/The lives of an adventurer is constantly changing. The wandering of immensely described set piece to the place of high action and intrigue can be quite a journey. Personally when I'm at the head of the table, Game Mastering, I love to take my players on the odyssey both inside and outside. The story is always the thing, and the setting is the immense stage that the story lives in.
While a player can have the immense knowledge of the setting they're playing in – whether it be the immense map given by the adventure, or the dream of the GM's imagination, often the character is at a loss. The characters in the game only know as much as the players do about their own surroundings. We know our neighbourhood, do we know what's leagues away? Do we know how far a league is? We need a map...
The Eternities' Map
a character may Never be lost again - Expedition Map by Scott Murphy
It was first devised by the first map makers in the formation of most worlds in your fantasy RPG. In the ancient times when things were better, people put very big, grandiose names on their magical items. Some living people still do that.
When a person first attunes with one of these, they will start off feeling very disappointed. The Eternities' Map starts off as a blank piece of paper, ranging in size from twenty to forty inches on any side, usually a rectangle or sometimes a square. The paper, once magically attuned to whoever uses it, will then begin to fill in by itself. As the owner of The Eternities' Map begins to travel or explore, the lines on the page will slowly appear. They will trace the roads the character walks as they walk it. Labelled names of the buildings they enter will appear on the map as they enter and leave it. Important locations will get those names as they get the visit.
The map itself adds the information based on how useful the adventurer finds it. A spot that the character keeps revisiting will keep its label and details as the surroundings slowly fade. There's no other means to mark the paper. Drawing pencil lines, using ink or paint on the Map has no effect, and fall away as though the surface were completely waterproof. If torn or heavily creased, those blemishes heal themselves when next unfurled. The only way to destroy The Eternities' Map is to burn it in fire from holy oil.
Endless Directions
The compass marker in the top right corner is not static. If an adventurer holds it open to navigate, the compass marker turns to face north as though they were holding a real compass. An adventurer can hold their finger to the map to move the image along to see other areas that may be on the paper. Pinching at the map makes the details zoom in, while the opposite zooms it out. Tapping on a labelled place on the map brings a short few sentences on when you were last there and for how long.
When no choice looks good, think of where you’ve been - Fork in the Road by Jung Park
Everywhere the person has been is remembered by the map. As long as the road was travelled, they will find all they need from The Eternities' Map.
Now we want to hear from you. How would your characters use their Eternities' Map? Where would you Game Masters have these found? Are they rare, or essential gear for those in an Adventurer's Guild? Let us know on our Discord Server or in the comments below!
Adam Ray contributes much for adventurers here on Apotheosis Studios. As co-founder of fantasticuniverses.com, he writes about card gaming and PC gaming to a corner of the internet he carved out himself. On Youtube, he can be found game mastering for No Ordinary Heroes, or editing the antics on The Hostile Atmosphere. Follow his Twitter @IzzetTinkerer.
