Scouting around the land, scout-maps and their uses

Scouting is one of the cornerstones of good military and fieldworker action and the gathering of information can tip battles, spare defenders under siege, or allow invaders access to bypass the best-laid plans of their opponents. Scouting is mostly performed and used by legions and you should be aware of the contents of HELP SCOUTING for detailed command/goal information on orders and dispatches relating to information gathering, conveyence, etc. Players, however, can perform a significant ground-level function here too: they can either make scout-maps using high level Labours or, perhaps more pertinently, they can act as scouts (rather than employing the relatively weak and certainly more vulnerable CCC runners). The scout gathers information, encodes it on a scout-map and subsequently lets the map be used by a specified legion... enhancing the legion's alacrity, pace of operations and chances of success inordinately. Below are documened the Itemlore and Labours abilities relevant for scouting.

REQUIRES RESPECTED ITEMLORE:

Syntax: SCOUT MAP/SCOUT <map number> to attempt to extend a scout-map, or

Syntax: SCOUT <legion name> [<map number>] to commence a new scout-map.

Commencing a new scout-map requires the papyrus-originated map to be freshly made or, at worst, used only to record code for the same legion you wish again to declare an association with. This association defines the code used on the scout-map - a private scheme of holes and slits, known only to the members of a certain legion. It is these codes which, when properly scouted out and subsequently given to the designated legion, allow that legion to move far more quickly and effectively about the land.

Once you have commenced your scout-map and designated it as associated with a specific legion, you are then ready to daisychain as many locations as you wish (in code) to plot routes through the land - routes which a legion can follow at far greater speed, with more awareness (therefore safer) and quicker reactions whenever dangers occur. The advantages of a strong topographical knowledge should never be underestimated.

It can be a hazardous business, that of playing scout-map creator around the land - especially if you elect to plot routes deep into enemy territory. For this reason folks often use their legions to gather the information. See HELP SCOUTING for further details on this.

REQUIRES POST-LEGENDARY LABOURS:

Syntax: MAKE SCOUTMAP

The scout-map is a piece of extremely thin, whittled papyrus - so thin that it is almost too delicate for use. However, this delicacy enables a skilled hand to use it for encoding purposes; pinpricks or tiny holes in the papyrus used to hold information in a coded fashion. This is the typical method used by legions to record scouting information: topographical details used for later marches about the land. You need one papyrus and a sharp knife to make a scout-map. See HELP SCOUTS for further information on the practical use of the scout-map finished product.