Exploration

Exploration of the wilderness is one of the major themes of the West Marches. Each province has a status rating that starts at wilderness and ends at civilized, with various milestones representing the progress of a province through these stages. The first, and most important, step on the path to civilizing a province is exploration which takes place during the wilderness stage of a province.

=Stages of Exploration=

Visited
The first time a character visits a province they are rewarded one experience point. At this level of exploration the landmarks in the province are visible and can be traveled to by the character. This is the lowest level of exploration and requires no special skills.

Mapped
Once a province has been visited it can be mapped. Mapping represents a focused exploration of the province to discover it's important features. This requires the cartography skill and an amount of energy, the difficulty and energy cost varies based upon the province's terrain. To map a province, a character must have a blank parchment in their inventory and then type "+map here". The program will inform the player how much energy it will take to map the province, how much energy their character currently has, the difficulty to map, and ask how much energy they want to spend on mapping. A success on this check will create a map of the province in their inventory.

Characters who do not have enough energy to fully map a province in one go will get a partially completed map. When they have recovered their energy they can continue to make more mapping checks until they have a complete map. Groups of characters can pass around a partially completed map until it is finished. Each time a character participates in mapping a province for the first time they will receive two experience points.

Mapping a province will also reveal province features, which will be visible to anyone who has participated in a successful mapping project or who possesses a map of the province. For more information on maps see the Maps page.

Surveyed
After a province has been mapped it can be surveyed. A survey represents an in depth study of the province's resources and detailed examination of anything of interest. The survey of a province requires the surveying skill and energy, the difficulty and energy cost varying based upon the province's terrain. To survey a province, a character must have a blank parchment and the type "+survey here". The program will inform the player how much energy a survey requires, how much energy their character currently has, the difficulty to survey, and ask how much energy they want to spend on surveying. A success on this check will create a survey of the province in their inventory.

Characters who do not have enough energy to fully survey a province in one check will receive a partially completed survey. Like with a map, this can be completed later by the same character or others, making the use of groups to complete surveys particularly useful. Each character who participates in surveying a province for the first time will receive three experience points.

Surveying a province will also reveal province secrets, which will be visible to anyone who has participated in a successful survey project or who possesses a survey of the province. For more information on surveys see the Surveys page.

=Dangers=

Exploration of wilderness provinces has several dangers. Random Encounters are far more common and dangerous in wilderness regions. Failed mapping or survey attempts can also generate random encounters if the failure is severe enough. Characters interested in exploration are encouraged to travel in groups, especially if they are traveling a great distance away from potential help or rescue.