Chapter 1 - Class - Character Kits - Halfling Kits
Cartographer
This character is an explorer and mapmaker who sets out to see the world and wants to return with a good account of his or her adventures. Although such a calling is unusual among halflings the Cartographer exists among all halfling subraces, however rare he or she may be. Indeed, his or her exploits form the great part of many popular legends among the small folk.
Cartographers are, by their nature, very interested in the land and its features. They are inclined to take little note of the occupants of those lands, unless forced to do so. To a Cartographer, a city's setting on a high riverside bluff will seem far more profound than the fact that the guards of that same community have just arrested him or her under suspicion of being a spy or just generally being a stranger.
A Cartographer must have an Intelligence score of at least 13.
Roads to Adventure: The Cartographer is drawn to the road for no other purpose than curiosity of what lies over the next hill--though many a Cartographer has become entangled in events along the way that resulted in fame and fortune.
If the Cartographer enjoys exploring and adventuring for its own sake, he or she also enjoys keeping records of his or her experiences (to reminisce over in his or her old age, assuming the character survives to have one)--primarily by mapping out everywhere he or she goes. He or she has a great interest in new places and will often journey far out of his or her way simply to investigate some unique feature he or she has heard about. Cartographers tend to ignore obstacles created by an area's inhabitants (hence, Cartographers have a high mortality rate) but will be well aware of the difficulties involved in crossing certain geographic challenges, such as deserts, mountain ranges, seas, and swamps.
Role: The Cartographer is a happy wanderer, as comfortable under the encircling limbs of a thick pine as in a goosedown bed. The weariness of the trail may weigh down his or her feet, but curiosity will still propel the traveler over one more hill, around another bend.
The Cartographer doesn't go looking for trouble (i.e., adventure), but it seems to have a way of finding him or her, due no doubt to his or her inexhaustible curiosity. Often a halfling Cartographer will be found mapping a trade route through a war zone or tracing the path followed by an ancient expedition through a forgotten dungeon, oblivious to the arrows flying around him or her!
Cartographer rarely hold any sort of official positions as court mapmakers, with the ironic result that many a trackless land lies virtually unknown to its human or dwarven overlord while some retired halfling Cartographer has a perfectly good map of the place tacked up above his or her hearth. Fortunately Cartographers are often willing--even eager--to show others their maps; adventurers willing to listen patiently to the halfling tell at length of his or her journeys will often gain much valuable information for their trouble.
Unfortunately, it must also be noted that just because a map was drawn by a halfling Cartographer, there's no reason to assume that a map is entirely accurate. Any feature the Cartographer has seen for his or her self will be just as it is drawn; however, some Cartographers are trusting souls and will incorporate features into their maps that they have only heard about second- hand. In such cases, the second-hand information is only as reliable as the source.
Weapon Proficiencies: The Cartographer is a well-rounded character, proficient in at least one missile and one melee weapon. Short bows and short swords are the most popular, though the sling-staff is another favorite.
Bonus Nonweapon Proficiencies: Cartographers gain Direction Sense as a bonus proficiency when the character is created.
Upon reaching second level, halflings using this kit gain a unique proficiency: Cartography. The Cartography proficiency allows a character to accurately render on paper or parchment the distances and directions of features that he or she has personally seen. If a Cartographer sails along a coastline, for example, he or she will be able to chart its bays, points, reefs, and inlets, as well as give a general impression of the shoreline--is it forest or meadow, mountain or plain? However, he or she will not know the shape of inland features such as valleys or the course of rivers and streams.
Cartographers who spend time chatting with local folk will be able to learn about more than the places they see themselves. Such second-hand maps, however, are only as accurate as their source--and even then they will lack a level of detail that the Cartographer can add from the scenery before his or her own eyes. Thus, secondhand maps tend to have more imaginary or inaccurately-described features.
Recommended Nonweapon Proficiencies: A character desiring to be a Cartographer must take the Navigation proficiency. In addition, Modern Language can prove very useful in asking directions, while Weather Sense and Survival can help keep the Cartographer alive in the wild.
Thieving Skill Emphasis: Read Languages skills enable a Cartographer to research old maps and help plan his or her journeys; Climb Walls can help overcome obstacles on the way.
Equipment: The Cartographer feels lost without his or her mapmaking kit: paper or parchment, quills, and ink. He or she will improvise in a pinch, using virtually any material that comes to hand (leather, bark, driftwood, etc.), but will transfer such crude maps to more permanent form as soon as the chance presents itself.
Special Benefits: Cartographers almost never get lost, even in places they have never been before, above ground or below. If confronted with a question like "Which way back to town?"or "Which of these corridors leads toward the surface?" a Cartographer can make an Intelligence check; success means that he or she know the answer and failure means that he or she doesn't know and realizes the fact. Optionally, the DM can rule that on a fumble (a result of 20 on 1d20) the Cartographer thinks he or she knows the way but starts out in the wrong direction.
Special Hindrances: None to speak of.
