Thu Aug 27, 2009 4:00 am
On the accuracy of maps, and whatnot
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To the discussion of who has maps, who doesn't and why, I would offer the following ... it is exceprted from The Adventure Begins, TSR, 1998. It goes a long way toward explaining - in character - about why there's no entirely accurate maps, let alone of the whole world.
- Master Cartographer Jawan Sumbar
Guildmaster of Cartographers, Free City of Greyhawk
from An Inspection of the Nature of Oerth
| Jawan Sumbar wrote: |
But what is the appearance of the whole? This age-long mystery is slowly being resolved. It is a cruel irony that even tales that ring of truth, told by explorers who have conquered these trifles and set foot on the shores of alien lands, are not always believed. So many liars and charlatans prey upon public gullibility and hunger for knowledge of the world that it is impossible for common folk (and even those with access to magic) to distinguish between truth and illusion. The desire for fame is intense in the adventuring world, and some gain it by deceptive means. It is also understood that magical illusions are cast by wizards, monsters, or gods to conceal the existence of certain regions, and explorers themselves do not always share the same standards by which they measure the world. What one explorer would call a savage might be called noble and civilized by another. The existence of magic, monsters, and many deities some of whom are actively involved in affairs on Oerth - distorts even the most carefully documented accounts. "Magic," the priests of Boccob are fond of saying,"makes the world stranger than we could possibly imagine."
Nonetheless, advances are made. An explorer of repute might deliver a map to our University that shows certain major features of the whole Oerth in common with similar past maps. Some adventurous souls claim to have flown over parts of the world by means of rocs, magic carpets, dragons, magical ships, winged boots, and so forth. Several wizards have created spells that allow them to spy down upon the world from on high, using spells similar to wizard eye or allowing the mages to see through the eyes of summoned elementals or genies. Once in a while, the gods pass along limited information through divination spells or wishes on the nature of the world, though these divine authorities are strangely reluctant to do so. And clever experiments have been designed that give us a very accurate idea of the size of Oerth without even leaving our homes.
Over the centuries, we have accumulated many maps and tidbits of information, and the majority show agreement on certain points that we have come to regard as representative of our Oerth's true appearance. … though most are poorly rendered or labeled. (If all explorers could only be taught to spell!)
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Whenever I have had this issue come up with gamers ... whether or not in GH, I often ask them to read the sections that serve as the intro to The Adventure Begins. It gives them more of a perspective of the whole thing, and it's in language that makes it seem authentic. Especially since I use the whole Oerth in my game, and sometimes they want to know why Western Oerik doesn't know hardly anything about the Flanaess, and vice versa.
Anyway, I hope that this little tidbit helps, and that you might be able to use it to get your players grounded in the setting.
Icarus
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