kartular

Kartular is a fictional term used in worldbuilding and role-playing contexts to describe a class of portable, modular mapping cards. In the imagined settings where it appears, the kartular system functions as a practical alternative to scrolls or bound atlases, designed for fast reference, sharing, and fieldwork.

Etymology and conceptually, kartular combines a root related to cards or cartography with a suffix that marks the item as a tangible object. The term is typically applied to both the physical cards and the organizational framework that governs their creation, exchange, and compilation.

Design and usage are central to the kartular concept. Each kartular is a compact card, roughly the size of a credit card, printed with a fragment of a map, geographic notes, and metadata such as scale, terrain notes, and compass clues. Cards can be linked through magnetic or adhesive connectors, enabling explorers to assemble larger maps on demand. In practice, kartulars allow rapid distribution of updated information, modular updates, and selective sharing among guilds, caravans, or scholarly networks.

Historical context within its fictional worlds often places the kartular system in the hands of cartographic guilds, explorers, and librarians who value portability alongside precision. The system spreads through trade routes and scholarly exchanges, influencing navigation practices, record-keeping norms, and adventuring workflows. Variants exist with enhanced durability, encrypted data fields, or color-coding schemes to indicate reliability or region.

Kartulars appear in various media and game settings as a tangible symbol of portable knowledge, collaborative mapping, and the evolving craft of charting unknown spaces.