Cartographer's Tools
Cartography is the science and art of creating maps. These maps are useful to help ensure you never get lost out in the woods, document hidden treasures or keep track of all the places you've seen. Maps are highly valued among traveling merchants, nobles and even other adventurers.
Cartographer's Tools
Cartographer's tools consist of a quill, ink, parchment, a pair of compasses, calipers, and a ruler. Proficiency with this kit allows you to add your proficiency bonus to any checks you make for creating or studying maps.
The tools weigh 6 lbs and cost 15 gp.
Crafting a Map
To craft a map, you must have proficiency in the use of Cartographer's Tools and you must know the region for the map you wish to draw. You can be actively traveling through the region and drawing your map.
At the end of the day, the Cartographer must spend 1 hour to finalize their map requiring no check.
Types of Maps
Over the course of an adventure, there may be chances to draw maps of all sizes. Below are the different standards for map sizes along with how quickly one can walk across their depicted regions on foot.
Map Sizes
| Map Scale | Slow Pace | Normal Pace | Fast Pace |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dungeon (1 sq. = 10ft.) |
20 sq./min. | 30 sq./min. | 40 sq./min. |
| City (1 sq. = 100ft.) |
2 sq./min. | 3 sq./min. | 4 sq./min. |
| Province (1 hex = 1 mi.) |
2 hexes/hr., 18 hexes/day |
3 hexes/hr., 24 hexes/day |
4 hexes/hr., 30 hexes/day |
| Kingdom (1 hex = 6 mi.) |
1 hex/3 hr., 3 hexes/day |
1 hex/2 hr., 4 hexes/day |
1 hex/1.5 hr., 5 hexes/day |
| Continent (1 hex = 60 mi.) |
1 hex/ 3.33 days |
1 hex/ 2.5 days |
1 hex/2 days |
Exploration
Being able to travel the world is key to being a good map maker, and it helps provide a sense of understanding when it comes to geographic terrains. By understanding how geography works, this will allow a map maker to help guide their companions through the wilderness, the mountains and other environments.
This is assuming you are using the rules laid out in the Dungeon Master's Guide for D&D 5th Edition, though this can be easily adopted to any travel system.
Travel Speed
While traveling across the lands, and you are working on your maps and have your Cartographer's Tools on you, you can help the Navigator by keeping them appraised of the terrain and providing suggestions on where to move across the geography. By succeeding on a Wisdom (Cartographer's Tools) check at the beginning of every day, you can increase the pace you are traveling from Slow to Normal, or from Normal to Fast without losing the benefits from traveling at the original pace.
The DC is determined by 10 + half the number of people traveling (including yourself).
Pacing
| Slow Pace | Normal Pace | Fast Pace |
|---|---|---|
| +5 on Navigation checks |
- | -5 on Navigation checks |
Typically, Navigation checks are based off of a Wisdom (Survival) check, but it also includes using Navigator's Tools while out at sea or another check, per the DM's discretion.
Becoming Lost
If you and your companions become lost, you can make a free check at the end of the day to determine where you are on your maps, you must be working on your maps and have your Cartographer's Tools on you.
You must succeed on a Wisdom (Cartographer's Tools) check versus the DC of the Terrain. Upon successfully making the check, you are no longer lost and the party can reorient themselves. You can repeat this check at the end of every day you are lost.
If you are proficient in Survival checks, you can double your proficiency bonus for this check.
Example Terrain DC
| Terrain | DC |
|---|---|
| Forest, jungle, swamp, mountains, or open sea with overcast skies and no land in sight | 15 |
| Arctic, desert, hills, or open sea with clear skies and no land in sight |
10 |
| Grassland, meadow, farmland | 5 |
Assisting
While you are working on your maps, and have your Navigator's Tools on you, you can help the Navigator while traveling. The Navigator, even if it is you, has advantage on their Navigation checks against the DC of the Terrain.
Planar Travel
Per DM's discretion, the terrain in the planes may be too chaotic or unaligned with how the Material Plane's terrain functions and you can not use your Cartographer's abilities on those planes of existence. You can still draw your maps at the end of each day, and after a certain amount of time exploring the planes you can get your abilities back.