The first one is what is the state of cartography in it? I have the giant map folio of the Inner Sea, and the nice smaller poster map that came in the back of my Inner Sea World Guide, but I highly doubt that the people of the Inner Sea are pumping out high definition full color maps on glossy paper.
For frame of reference here's a cursory look at Earth's cartographic history: Map History
Next question: What's the state of mass market books in the Inner Sea? There are books (Craft: books, anyone?), obviously. Are any books published in mass quantities and sold to the general populous? Are there books of fiction? Are the books all written by individuals making any book you find anywhere completely unique? If there books published in mass quantities what are they usually about? Theories of magic, theories of the planes, practical knowledge of adventuring? Etc. I'm just looking for some en masse opinion on what these two things might look like. Partially out of curiosity, but also partially out of an interest in possibly having an NPC that is relatively famous as an author of some kind. (Possibly an author that is also a cartographer :)
I cannot give you exact answers, but I would say that maps would be more accurate in general, though some would still be as off as a typical medieval real world map could be. After all, the ability to fly is available, as are various methods of magical scrying, so at least some people would be able to make very accurate maps. As for books, the overall equivalent to Earth for Golarion is late medieval to early renaissance, though some countries are more advanced and others are less. So at that time in the real world the printing press was just getting invented and being put into use. Now, without looking for it in the Inner Sea World Guide, I am honestly not sure if the printing press has been invented yet, or if books are created by hand and/or magic.
I figured the magical flight would definitely have an affect on maps, I mean if you can see something from 500 feet (let's not get into a Perception skill discussion here, this is purely for flavor) you can probably create a pretty nice image of it. Although you're not likely creating the image in the air. Of course not every cartographer is of equal talent as any study of its history would evince.
Now for another question... Could magic users use Mage Hand and or Prestidigitation, or perhaps a combination of the two to mass reproduce a written work? I can see a wizard (a la Fantasia) using these spells to get a bunch of inkpens to copy something that is already written. In which case a printing press becomes much less important because through magic a few wizards could reproduce books, for a cost of course.
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Inner Sea World Guide, pg 257 - so the books could be about anything....they could even contain hidden messages in the text or images, think The 9th Gate
One of the sidebars in the guide to Ketapesh is for Farouq. in that sidebar it mentions that 'bookwriters of Ketapesh' worte many versions of Legends of Lucky Farouq If you want a incomplete list of titles mentioned in pathfinder books see The list of works wiki page, it has plays/books/songs/ect
Inner Sea World Guide, pg 257 - so the books could be about anything....they could even contain hidden messages in the text or images, think The 9th GateOne of the sidebars in the guide to Ketapesh is for Farouq. in that sidebar it mentions that 'bookwriters of Ketapesh' worte many versions of Legends of Lucky Farouq If you want a incomplete list of titles mentioned in pathfinder books see The list of works wiki page, it has plays/books/songs/ect
Thank you!
I figured the magical flight would definitely have an affect on maps, I mean if you can see something from 500 feet (let's not get into a Perception skill discussion here, this is purely for flavor) you can probably create a pretty nice image of it. Although you're not likely creating the image in the air. Of course not every cartographer is of equal talent as any study of its history would evince.
Now for another question... Could magic users use Mage Hand and or Prestidigitation, or perhaps a combination of the two to mass reproduce a written work? I can see a wizard (a la Fantasia) using these spells to get a bunch of inkpens to copy something that is already written. In which case a printing press becomes much less important because through magic a few wizards could reproduce books, for a cost of course.
I think the main constraint on that is time... the speed would be no greater than a trained monastery scriptorium. Newton's The Scriptorium and the Library at Monte Cassino (1999) contains evidence that a trained copyist did about 42 lines a day. This may seem really slow but accuracy is important - there isn't room for erasing anything. Neither spell, moreover, provides the technical skill to be a good calligrapher and Prestidigitation specifically states that the results are crude.
I'm sure higher level spells might exist (not usually selected by PCs) that allow quick copying. But they would have inherent costs that make books more expensive. A printing press is probably still more economical. There is evidence of them existing - broadsheets and chapbooks and printed posters are mentioned (here is an example mentioing presses, in fact).
I figured the magical flight would definitely have an affect on maps, I mean if you can see something from 500 feet (let's not get into a Perception skill discussion here, this is purely for flavor) you can probably create a pretty nice image of it. Although you're not likely creating the image in the air. Of course not every cartographer is of equal talent as any study of its history would evince.
Now for another question... Could magic users use Mage Hand and or Prestidigitation, or perhaps a combination of the two to mass reproduce a written work? I can see a wizard (a la Fantasia) using these spells to get a bunch of inkpens to copy something that is already written. In which case a printing press becomes much less important because through magic a few wizards could reproduce books, for a cost of course.
I think the main constraint on that is time... the speed would be no greater than a trained monastery scriptorium. Newton's The Scriptorium and the Library at Monte Cassino (1999) contains evidence that a trained copyist did about 42 lines a day. This may seem really slow but accuracy is important - there isn't room for erasing anything. Neither spell, moreover, provides the technical skill to be a good calligrapher and Prestidigitation specifically states that the results are crude.
I'm sure higher level spells might exist (not usually selected by PCs) that allow quick copying. But they would have inherent costs that make books more expensive. A printing press is probably still more economical. There is evidence of them existing - broadsheets and chapbooks and printed posters are mentioned (here is an example mentioing presses, in fact).
Thanks for that. I'm wondering then, are the printing presses the kind Benjamin Franklin would have used. The kind where it took a good day to print as many copies as you needed for your subscribers? Or are they more in line with Isaac Doolittle's steam powered presses. Perhaps the "steam" is magic?
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Thanks for that. I'm wondering then, are the printing presses the kind Benjamin Franklin would have used. The kind where it took a good day to print as many copies as you needed for your subscribers? Or are they more in...
I think one of the blogs had a picture of a Golarion printing press, you might be able to use that to guesstimate this information
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Hurm. On the one hand, the year is 4711 AR, giving plenty of time for different scholars to produce map projection systems. And I believe that the civilized peoples of the Inner Sea Region are at least passingly familiar with the printing press. (I would stray away from steam-powered presses, myself, just to keep from complicating things or making information exchange too 'modern'. Simple manual Gutenberg presses.)
On the other hand, not all the continents have been fully explored, and magical shortcuts have been employed in navigation and exploration.
On the third hand, military activity in the Inner Sea has been quite extreme, especially of late, and the Pathfinder Society would have their own interests in fostering the development of more precise and accurate cartography. And from a metagame perspective, players want/expect accurate maps because they are already dealing with an abstract world and having to deal with an inaccurate abstraction of an abstract world just leaves them frustrated.
On the fourth hand, that same military activity that makes better maps more highly valued screws up the very subject matter being mapped and probably has led to the slaughter of many many scholars.
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I think, for my canon at least, here's where cartography sits:
1. The best old maps are the old Taldan Empire's surveys of the territories. The Taldans invented the first land-survey methodology, and likely applied old Azlanti learning to the task of understanding space and place. These maps provide the best understanding of the underlying terrain, and likely were focused on depicting the resources and travel times of their imperial provinces (and prospective acquisitions). Parallels the height of Hellenistic cartography.
2. Chelaxian maps are probably the second most accurate for the continent of Avistan. Cheliax has always possessed a need to understand the political geography of Avistan, and has benefited from the experience of their Ulfen cousins -- great proficiency in mapping coastlines. Plus, most of these maps are probably accurate to about a century ago. More recent maps possess the possibility of deliberate misinformation. Expect an early coordinate system, and changes in survey methodology. Probably some TO maps, too, giving the first proper notion of how the Chelaxians see themselves as the center of the world and how knowledge of the physical world has grown. Height of medieval cartography.
3. Pathfinder Society maps have an early Mercator-style coordinate system and have begun to carefully account for distortion related to map projection. For mapping at the far ends of Garund and around the poles, there are no more accurate maps in existence. All of the continents and their spatial relationships are well understood, and there are standardized cartography practices and shorthand taught to new Pathfinders to ensure that they are creating useful documents that can be integrated with existing work. This may be a major source of revenues for the society, the publication of maps, and it is likely that the Royal Cartographers of different kingdoms are beginning to consult with and employ the practices of the Pathfinders if they are effective.
4. The cartography of the Padishah Empire of Kellesh has likely stagnated for two-thousand years or so. The empire seems more prone now to internal conflicts than external, and why waste the effort making your cartography more sophisticated when a wizard or djinn could simply conjure up a representation for whatever you are doing just now?
5. Tian Xia and Garundi maps are quality for the inhabitants of those places -- managing provinces and navigating jungle and savannah, lets say -- but the lack of powerful maritime traditions (that we have been shown) in those places probably places them behind Pathfinder Society maps. Lots of indigenous knowledge though.