The player is a Cartographer. Cartographers organize expeditions, control information, retain shortcuts, buy/sell intel and build reputation.
They carry a distinctive three-dimensional compass. Its mechanism is UNDEFINED / DO NOT RESOLVE. Visual grammar: lighter equipment, parchment, scrolls, satchel, compass.
HARD CANON: the Cartographer is not visible on the combat stage. The camera is the Cartographer's observational position. Visible allied battlefield units are 4 fighters + 1 Porter. The Cartographer can flee if a battle becomes unsalvageable. Amended X-09 This means the Cartographer survives a wipe; it is not a player command, and there is no retreat mid-combat (GAMEPLAY §24).
Amended D-278, D-279, D-282, D-301 The Cartographers' Guild.
- Cartographers hold a monopoly on navigating the Tower, and it makes their Guild wealthy. No expedition without a Cartographer is known to have returned.
- Cartographers keep their notes and maps secret. Some who need money sell a piece of what they know through the Guild. A report may be wrong because it is old, or because its seller meant to mislead.
- People argue whether the Tower truly changes or whether Cartographers spread that belief to protect the monopoly. It is never answered (§2).
- Respect inside the Guild comes from experience and reputation, above all the highest floor reached. Private aims differ: height, profit, or preying on other parties. Nobody asks for an explanation.
- The Guild has no authority over its members. It has a council, which insiders call the Lodge, and its purpose is unknown.
- Amended D-316 The Guild rules the city, though not its own members: through open offices it runs the city-state's affairs, holds the treaty's terms and banishes offenders (§35). What the Lodge really wants stays unknown.
- The Guild is distinct from the guild hall, the town's crowded hiring hall where recruits, Porters and sponsor letters are found.
- A person becomes a Cartographer by knowing how to use the compass; how anyone learns is a mystery. A compass may pass to a child, a friend or a stranger. The player follows a lineage of Cartographers under one name (§10).