Quite possibly one of the best investigation tools in the game right now. Not only does it have built-in skill boost and clue compression like Fingerprint Kit, but also come with three traits that already have a ton of support and synergies. Here are some of them I personally found interesting:
Item Synergies
- This is a very competitive investigation tool for Bob Jenkins even when pitted against Thieves' Kit or Lockpicks (1).
- Can be tutored with Backpack (and its upgrade).
- Throw it, bash someone over the head with it or crack boxes with it at +3. Unconventional Method
+ Nautical Charts can be overkill though, unless you're playing 3-player and want to get clues in multiples of 3is more a novelty though, since you can usually achieve the net +2 boost through less destructive means (see below). - Skill boost with Jury-Rig or Reliable. You can potentially get a lot of mileage out of the latter.
Tome Synergies
- It's an eligible target for The Raven Quill. Interwoven Ink is especially interesting as the on Nautical Charts is not limited by uses (compared to Grim Memoir which uses secrets for example).
- Double tap with Abigail Foreman.
- Full tutor with the Quill's Supernatural Record or Research Librarian. Also Whitton Greene.
- Throw it, this time to fight, at +3.
- +2 boost with Sleuth and Mystic Vane from the Quill.
Tool Synergies
- Wilson Richards can test at 5 at the very least and the charts is a valid target for Ad Hoc.
- Tool Belt, Tinker or Scientific Studies Grant to hold it. (Also Detective's Colt 1911s if Joe somehow got his hands on one of these)
- Fine Tuning to use it twice, though two discards a turn can be a little hard to keep up with.
- Pushed to the Limit to recur in a pinch if you dropped both in the discard and missed the Scavenging test to get one back.
- Nose to the Grindstone and Crafty for further +2 boosts.
Nautical Charts is perfectly serviceable as the Survivor's answer to Fingerprint Kit (0), but it has immense potential to get better and you'll be rewarded with a tool that can last you the entire campaign if you take the effort to build around it.