Map Reading

You've learned how to extract more information from maps than other people could. Through your understanding of the geology and topology of the world along with analysis of the cartography used, you can discern where the terrain may be difficult, points of interest and areas to avoid. Once you have acquired a map of a region, you can spend time to read over it and make notes.

For small maps that can be covered in a day such as a town, ruins or a dungeon, you need to spend 8 hours analysing it. This time may be broken up into intervals as necessary. You can analyse a map during rests while retaining the benefit of the rest; a completed short rest will give you 1 hour's progress towards the understanding of a map, while a completed half or full rest grants you 2 hours of progress. For maps that describe larger areas, you need to spend 7 days analysing it, which can be part of a long rest with Gritty Realism. Once you have fully analysed the map, you gain the following benefits while in the map's area:

• Difficult terrain doesn’t slow your group’s travel.
• Your group can’t become lost except by magical means.
• Even when you are engaged in another activity while traveling (such as foraging, navigating, or tracking), you remain alert to danger.
• If you are traveling alone, you can move stealthily at a normal pace.
• When you forage, you find twice as much food as you normally would.
• While tracking other creatures, you also learn their exact number, their sizes, and how long ago they passed through the area.