Cartographer

Cartographers are some of the most relied upon and respected professionals in the world. With landscapes and borders constantly changing, new maps are in constant demand. Even old maps are considered extremely valuable if the cartographer has a good reputation. They tell of what was and where secrets could be in reference to the current day, even with complete changes. Kings and tyrants alike pay cartographers handsomely, usually giving more than they ask.

Topography Maps

For those that have access to the sky, they tend to stick to topography maps, leaving borders and landmasses to cartographers on foot. These are primarily used to map mountains and valleys, allowing nations to find hidden caves and resources or new lands to send settlers. It also gives a clear pathway for the safest routes to travel to these destinations. Aarakocra almost have a monopoly of this aspect of the profession, but they make deals with those that have skyfaring mounts so as to not interefere with other people's business. The most prominent Aarakocra topographers reside in Asin Acoma built into the cliffs of the Irongate Mountains. They have been mapping the eastern continent for centuries and use it as their main means of trade.

Mapping the Unknown

The most well paid cartographers are the ones not afraid to go into dangerous territory. Most would say that the frontier of this kind of mapping would be on the southern continent, known as the Land of Beasts. These tribal cultures have found little need to map their territories, using landmarks in these hostile environments rather than maps. They will often be hired as guides, taking a cut of the profit from the cartographer they assist, usually spending it immediately on necessities fo rtheir people. These cartographers mainly look for changes in land masses and borders and recording them, as well as reaching completely unmapped regions to mark areas on their maps for adventurers to potentially explore. These maps usually are worth a large sum of money because of the lack of guarantee that these hidden locations are just small caves, because more often than not they turn out to hold treasure of historical or monetary value.

Sea Charts

These are probably the most valuable maps of all of Malgrave, and they are usually made by navigators of the various ships. The bravest sailors travel the globe as it is, using it as an opportunity to create maps of the safest channels, locations of dangerous monsters and even exploring hidden treasure locations. Those that are wise will often hire merfolk and other aquatic beings to map the ocean floors and will make overlays with the surface maps to gain a full understanding of the ocean in its entirety. Pirates will often hunt down vessels specifically to find updated or better sea charts.

Player Background

Skill Proficiencies: Perception, Survival
Tool Proficiencies: Cartographer's Tools
Languages: Two extra languages
Equipment: A map case, a spyglass, a set of traveler's clothes and a pouch containing 15gp.