How do I build 'The Questing Map'?

[Merlin273]

I'm looking to build a unique magic item for my FH campaign, but am not sure how to do it.  This is what it is and does...

 

The Questing Map

 

When someone wants to use the Questing Map, you just unfold it and state your desire (example: "Map, where is Arandor Larethian?" or, "Map, where is the greatest threat to my life?")

 

The Questing Map (which is an intricate map of the Campaign World will then swirl and finally settle on the subject of the asked question.  This includes even areas of the world not known to the general population.  The visual effect of the map is similar to the A-Ha video "Take Me On", including an animated face of the individual in question (Arandor, for example. The questioner would see an animated drawing of Arandor on the Map).

 

I was thinking of the Images Power, perhaps linked with Clairsentience on a world scale?  A limitation like Invocation (must always start with addressing the Map)

 

Any ideas?

 

Thanks.

[Ndreare]

Sounds like a good idea, as an OAF this could end up being super powerful for a very low real cost.

 

Make sure you want this before you release it to your players.

[Lord Liaden]

I would do this as a Ranged Detect, Discriminatory, MegaScale, with the Detect defined as broadly or over as many categories as you want to cover. IMO the appearance of the map would just be the Special Effect of the Power, although you might want to make it Visible if you'd like other people than the user to perceive what the map reveals. Season to taste with other Limitations.

[Zane_Marlowe]

In fairness, is this something for the players or something for you as the GM? How precise will it be in its results and in the requirement on the precision of the request? If it's just a way to give the players things to do or to deliver ominous portents ("something wicked this way comes!"), then it's really more of a tool for the GM. If it's really a way of giving information for the adventurers, then you might want to have it be something that the whole party contributes some XP to since it's a party resource. Even then, I'd probably constrain the range ("the world" seems too far) and the quality of the information so players couldn't simply explode any mysteries you'd like to write into the game.

[Lucius]

 

Questing Map: (Total: 100 Active Cost, 15 Real Cost) Detect A Large Class Of Places, A Large Class of People and A Large Class of Things 11- (Unusual Group), Discriminatory, Analyze, Increased Arc Of Perception (360 Degrees), Penetrative, Range, MegaScale (1m = 10 km; +1 1/4), Cannot alter scale (-1/4) (100 Active Points); Extra Time (1 Turn (Post-Segment 12), -1 1/4), OAF (-1), Gestures, Requires Gestures throughout (Requires both hands; -1), Perceivable (-1/2), Sense Affected As More Than One Sense [very common Sense] (-1/2), Concentration, Must Concentrate throughout use of Constant Power (1/2 DCV; -1/2), Limited Power Display limited by knowledge of user (-1/2), Incantations (-1/4), Nonpersistent (-1/4) (Real Cost: 15)

 

One of these maps always covers a very large area; a continent, ocean, or entire world. It can and will "zoom" in and out but can never resolve down to, for example, the scale of a street map.

 

When not activated, it will only show, without legend or label, what the person using it already knows; for example, a person familiar with two cities and the road between, who knows that there is a range of mountains to the east and plains to the west and vaguely knows there's a sea beyond those plains, will see symbols obviously meaning "city" where each city is, see the road and the mountains and plains, and a blurry line where the coastline is - and the rest of the map blank. If several people are in physical contact with the map, it will access the knowledge of all of them.

 

If someone holding the map open speaks the correct arcane formula and asks the location of a specific, unique, place or person or thing, that can be located in the map's parameters, waits patiently at least one turn, and makes a perception roll, then a picture appears on the map in the appropriate location. Note that if it is in an otherwise blank part of the map, the user will know where that is in relation to known locations on the map, for example, "Looks to be 70 leagues north of this city," but will not know anything about the terrain at the location.

 

If the perception roll fails, the user may continue, moving a step up the time chart, roll again, and try again.

 

Note that range modifiers apply but at megascale, so detecting something on the other side of an Earth sized planet is feasible, but the location can never be narrowed down below a 10 km radius.

 

Only targets that are physically present within the map's parameters and in the same world/dimension/continuum can be detected. Thus, ghosts and wraiths and similar incorporeal beings are not detected, even though they can interact with the physical realm. Dead people cannot be located by name, although one can ask to find "the corpse of ___" if the target is dead or suspected to be dead. Targets must be specific; "John" would not work, but "my friend John" might.

 

Something scattered to different distant places cannot be shown, but a large region can be; "Sea of ___" or "Kingdom of ___" would show as a large outline.

 

Only one target can be shown at a time, with one exception: "Show me ___ and my current location" will display the target location and a picture of the querents own face at the same time.

 

Lucius Alexander

 

Show me the palindromedary farthest from my own position. Belgium? How did a palindromedary get there?