Vellum of Surveyance

A Vellum of Surveyance is an automated device for taking detailed notes on the events in a designated area. Depending on their calibration, they can observe things nearby or much further off, and can range from a visual description to a full sensory experience including sight, sound, smell, taste, texture and temperature, which can provide odd trivialities, for example:the taste of an explosion.

Mechanics & Inner Workings

A Vellum of surveyance has two chief components: a scrivener to record the notes a focus to define the targeted area.

Scrivener

The scrivener looks like a small writing desk, about 3 feet wide and 2 feet front to back. A compartment at the front of the desk can be opened to reveal a custom designed scroll, which the operator stretches across the desks surface during use before placing the top end of the scroll in a matching rear compartment. These scrolls are sold in 10, 20 and 50 foot lengths, and are most commonly available in lightweight paper rather than the vellum one might expect. An arm extends up from the left hand side, curving to a point approximately 2 feet above the center of the desk, from which a crystal pen is suspended, supplied with ink using a sizable ink reservoir built into the front right corner of the desk, and stored in a sheath on the mounting arm when not in use.
Once activated, the pen dances across the page as if being used by an invisible scribe, scrawling its detailed notes at a speed few can hope to match. Devices within the desk turn the scroll as needed, providing a steady supply of blank paper to write, and a minor enchantment heats the paper at the top of the page enough to ensure the ink dries before it begins to wind itself onto the top spool of the scroll. In the event that the scrivener has more notes to take than it has paper and ink to write on, the pen will tap impatiently next to the inkwell, waiting for someone to remedy this deficiency.
Additionally, higher end models of all range classifications have the ability to provide detailed ink drawings of a snapshot in time, upon the operator uttering a designated command word (typically a short command such as "sketch"). Most of these primarily provide simple line art, but the most expensive models can provide shading using hatching, stippling, or other such artistic techniques.

Focus

The focus is a set of calibration devices used to define the extent of the observed area. Close range models use a set of 3 to 7 focal targets, detached hemispheres, which must be within 60 feet of the scrivener to function, while long range units use an array of cylindrical rods that are pointed at points on the ground some distance away. A close range model is typically capable of capturing a perimeter of roughly 40 feet in a volume within 10 feet of a plane determined by the positions of the focal targets, while a long range model may be capable of covering up to a quarter of a square mile, and up to 100 feet from the surface, depending on its design.

Close Range

Close range models are designed to be highly adaptable, intended primarily for observing magical experiments, and can be calibrated in how much detail they take based on the number of focal targets used and how far off from defining a regular polygon they are. An array of 7 targets arranged in an absolutely perfect heptagon is theorized to be capable of producing an report of infinite detail.
Indeed, one Vellum of Surveyance in the country of Indegron has been producing ever more incomprehensible details for 15 years, describing the effects of a spell that granted a planar aspect to a warrior for single minute. Many scholars believe that its operator accidentally produced an exactly perfect array, and some believe the secrets of the nature of all creation can be discovered with proper understanding of these notes. Most, however, simply view the device as one of many magical oddities, and the device has been moved to a venue where it is kept on public display; those sufficiently curious may pay 5 gold crowns to approach the scrivener and read a few lines of what it has written, though in recent years some have needed a few moments to recover from the experience.

Far range

A far range model is designed for more specialized purposes, such as spying on a specific point from a distance, or creating a faithful description of a battle for tactical analysis. Spying models are generally used at fairly short ranges - no more than 500 feet or so, and these are targeted with a set of 3 to 7 cylindrical rods that are sighted on the corners of an area the operator wishes to observe. Often this is used to get a description of anyone who walks up to a specific doorway or other such bottleneck; some scandalmongers are known to use one to spy on their victim's bedchamber, occasionally sparking duels in noble courts of many realms. More expensive models, such as those intended for tactical analysis, use a set of 3 to 7 small spyglasses, marked with a reticle allowing the observer to precisely mark the predicted edges of the battlefield from a safe distance.
These far range devices can only provide visual and audio portrayals as observed from their location - if they are positioned too far away to hear, then no sounds are recorded, for example. They are further limited both by the volume being observed - a shape extending from the focus array to the surface sighted by each focus rod, meaning a narrower target area or a closer one will produce more detail than a wider area or one further distant. Finally, the details provided are calibrated to a degree by the enchanter. For example, a Vellum of Surveyance designed for spying will record distinguishing features of individuals and their activities, while one designed for tactical analysis will describe formations based on number of individuals, uniform and armament rather than describing the appearance of individual soldiers.

Weight

~40 lbs

Dimensions

3' by 2' base, ~5' tall