Let's say I'm using the points on a compass to tell people where to go and they don't know the cardnal point, how would I put a cumpass into the game that shows on the screen? Not on the map or in the invantory. Just a picture of a compass that can be turned on and off in the game to help those unfamiluar with or not very knowlagable of directions

you could make an inventory item with the name compass, and if you use it, it triggers an image to appear. The compass would always point in he same direction though

And how would i go about doing that?

For yannes's idea you would need to make a common event that shows the picture of the compass for some time. When you make the item, make sure the common event is listed. ^^

I suggest this website:
http://rmxp.tigerseye.uk.com/sitemap.shtml

if you want the item to appear when it is chosen from inventory, use the maps, lists, and paper tut...
Otherwise if you want it to appear in the corner or something... I might suggest the picture tut

Hope this helps!