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 Mundane Items Every Adventurer Needs...

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T O P I C    R E V I E W
Callmegene Posted - 16 Mar 2016 : 12:36:34
So, since I am getting into the game for the first time since I cut my last wisdom tooth, I am compiling a list of non-magical, what could be essential items for a dungeon crawl. Needless to say, if you have followed Wooly Rupert's tales, I am ensuring that people NOT take alchemist's fire. Also, for those who are familiar with it, I am using "Aurora's Whole Realms Catalog" for inspiration...
So far I have:
1) (Collapsible)10' pole for checking floor/ceiling traps or at the very least, tickling oozes and lurkers.
2) Caltrops/Ball Bearings for when discretion really is the better part of valor.
3) Bag of Flour for when you count five sets of foot steps, hear four, and suspect that the bard did not just goose you.
4) Pitons for securing rope and doors shut.
5) Chalk for marking passageways or scrawling 'Durendal was here'
6) Collapsible grappling hook, for climbing and it makes Batman look kewl
7) Rope for said pitons and grappling hooks (otherwise you just look silly UNLIKE Batman)
8) Fishhook
9) Twine
10) Bell (For when you want to set a simple trip wire, or your character has taken ill, and you want to irritate people every time you need something)
11) Candles, for reading maps, because I am under the impression that you cannot read maps with dark vision unless special ink is used
Also, my character is a Dwarven cleric, so if need be, he also has throwing hammers and axes, but suggestions are welcome.
30   L A T E S T    R E P L I E S    (Newest First)
TheIriaeban Posted - 26 Jul 2018 : 04:50:44
I don't think anyone mentioned a small shovel. Useful to make sure your campfire doesn't start a forest fire, burying a kill so buzzards don't give away your position (assuming you can't burn it), and for digging a latrine (why make it easier for whatever is hunting you to follow you).
Cards77 Posted - 19 Jul 2018 : 15:12:36
quote:
Originally posted by Thraskir Skimper

Don't spells mainly in Wand or Potion form eliminate the mundane. I can understand a Fighter needing a rope or a Thief, tools.

For me the only mundane items are books, with spells written inside. Components kept in individual packets wrapped in waxed paper and stored in a foil or green leaf. Some not wrapped components and the specials wands of eating which are not mundane just used in a mundane fashion.



Every PC without exception uses and requires some sort of mundane item whether of magical origin or not.

Thraskir Skimper Posted - 14 Jul 2018 : 21:31:48
The only other Mundane items a Red Wizard might use are Weapons. A Staff, a Sling, Dagger or a Heavy Crossbow. Occasionally a Flail. Quivers for Bolts of various kinds. Or various clothes before we enchant them. Maybe a sack at lower levels or ???
Thraskir Skimper Posted - 10 Jul 2018 : 04:38:13
Don't spells mainly in Wand or Potion form eliminate the mundane. I can understand a Fighter needing a rope or a Thief, tools.

For me the only mundane items are books, with spells written inside. Components kept in individual packets wrapped in waxed paper and stored in a foil or green leaf. Some not wrapped components and the specials wands of eating which are not mundane just used in a mundane fashion.
LordofBones Posted - 10 Jul 2018 : 02:57:02
quote:
Originally posted by Wooly Rupert

So in other words, no, you don't have anything to add to a discussion about non-magical items.



As a wizard, your non-magical items are other people.

Torches? Clerics.

Healing kits? Clerics.

Boats? Well, what else is the fighter good for?

Prybars and lockpicks? Just tell the barbarian that crate insulted his mother or something.

Bedrolls? That's what the buxom bard is there for!

Tent? The druid can shapeshift into something, can't he? Never heard of a tree-hugger that can't.

Rope? Just sit on the fighter's head.
Kentinal Posted - 10 Jul 2018 : 02:28:02
quote:
Originally posted by Thraskir Skimper

No one said tent?



Yes indeed someone said tent. On the first page of this scroll. A tarp of course can be made into a tent and might weigh a little less.

I or maybe another should go though the items offered by some of the scribes of all the ideas offered.

Not that every adventurer could carry or even want to carry all of them every time. Even a party might not carry the entire list of ideas offered.
Thraskir Skimper Posted - 10 Jul 2018 : 01:02:37
No one said tent?
sleyvas Posted - 08 Jul 2018 : 18:45:27
quote:
Originally posted by Wooly Rupert

So in other words, no, you don't have anything to add to a discussion about non-magical items.



What he's saying Wooly is that he creates whatever he needs using a specific magic item and thus doesn't have to carry everything that people might list. He wants a non-magical crowbar? He creates it. He wants a 10' pole? He creates it. In this way he doesn't have to tote a bunch of items

Mostly, he's roleplaying. Of course, along these same lines, a person could also note everything they carry so that they see them and think about them... and much like the folding both, they go into an extradimensonal space..... along with the 5 weeks of food they're also carrying... the raw meat for their griffon that they keep in a magical refrigerator that's also in that extradimensional space... and the skeletal servants that they keep as well.
Wooly Rupert Posted - 08 Jul 2018 : 13:41:27
So in other words, no, you don't have anything to add to a discussion about non-magical items.
Thraskir Skimper Posted - 08 Jul 2018 : 05:48:48
My Mage is blind, uses magic to see. Carries a wand of minor creation, A folding boat, which works as a bucket, a ladder, a cabin, a bridge... can be used to slide down hills in winter. etc... If you need a pole it has oars. Minor creation, creation, fabricate, stone shape, move earth, Overland flight, gaseous form, fly, teleport, scrying, detect thoughts or ESP. Mount spell. Polymorph other, polymorph self.
Wooly Rupert Posted - 08 Jul 2018 : 04:58:50
You seem to have missed the point of the discussion -- non-magical essentials for dungeon crawls. Perhaps you could add to that discussion?
Thraskir Skimper Posted - 08 Jul 2018 : 04:51:08
OKay I do carry a folding boat. I carry my wands in it. Including a Wand of minor creation.
Wooly Rupert Posted - 07 Jul 2018 : 01:59:43
quote:
Originally posted by Thraskir Skimper

Can't believe you carry all this crap.



Can we safely assume, then, that you've no mundane items to add to this list?

Personally, I think there have been a lot of handy suggestions in this list. Characters need more than just a +2 Sword of Niftiness or a Cloak of Calrissian* when they're not in combat, and it's easy to overlook such things before heading out into the wild.

*It's stylish and provides a Charisma bonus!
Thraskir Skimper Posted - 07 Jul 2018 : 01:20:16
Can't believe you carry all this crap.
Solus Galerion Posted - 23 Sep 2017 : 04:04:08
Every adventure, big or small, needs ink and parchment - to document all.

So Sayeth Solomon Regulus Galerion - Solus for short.
Ayrik Posted - 17 Sep 2017 : 07:17:54
So many PCs never use a machete, happily using their swords to cut and chop their way through jungles, forests, and bush.

This Machete vs Sword article is fairly comprehensive. But it seems to assume "sword" means "big, long sword". Does one really need a proper machete when a D&D-type (thick, stabby, 12" to 18" long) short sword is cheap and commonly available?
sleyvas Posted - 16 Sep 2017 : 15:17:08
quote:
Originally posted by Ayrik

Wizards can make use of the item spell to "tokenize" all sorts of useful objects. Including a lit campfire or a (small) banquet or a sack stuffed full of supplies.

My uncles used to go on "adventures" in the woods, claiming that the "essential" items were a roll of duct-tape, some zip-ties, an axe, a hammer, a crowbar, and a shovel. (And I never understood exactly why although I still find this particular selection of "essential" gear a little disturbing.)




Ummm, I think I can solve that little mystery, though I'd bet I'm wrong. Still..... ummm... Ayrik, were any people suddenly "disappearing" after these adventures on the local news?
Ayrik Posted - 16 Sep 2017 : 05:59:05
Wizards can make use of the item spell to "tokenize" all sorts of useful objects. Including a lit campfire or a (small) banquet or a sack stuffed full of supplies.

My uncles used to go on "adventures" in the woods, claiming that the "essential" items were a roll of duct-tape, some zip-ties, an axe, a hammer, a crowbar, and a shovel. (And I never understood exactly why although I still find this particular selection of "essential" gear a little disturbing.)

"Survival gear" is often overlooked. It depends on the terrain, of course. You won't last long wearing a padded parka or without some water containers in the desert. You won't last long wearing a chainmail bikini or without a source of fire in the arctic. Not every adventure carries one through a generic "Sherwood Forest" setting like Cormyr or the Dales, filled with easy game and burbling streams and sunny afternoons.

Rangers tend to travel light, carrying everything they need to "live off the land" on their person (and/or on their mount).
Paladins tend to require a little pile of holy paraphernalia, although the more militant ones can often incorporate holy symbols into whatever arms and crests they bear.
Wizards and thieves require all sorts of little tools and components to practice their craft. Although part of their craft involves methods to collect, store, carry, repurpose, and even improvise with these sorts of materials.
Dwarves and halflings might argue that a small wagon of ale or beer or mead is needed for survival, although this is debatable.

Anyone carrying any kind of blade (even an eating utensil or carving blade) needs a good whetstone to keep the edge.
Anyone wearing chain can maintain and patch the armor on the field by pulling links (extra links intended for this purpose) from the edges of the sleeves or hems and linking them where needed. Anyone wearing plate can use a stone to pound the worst dents and malformations into rough shape. And anyone wearing these (or even leather) armors would need to regularly apply some oil or wax with a cleaning rag to prevent corrosion. Regular visits to real smiths would be needed for real repairs on these weapons and armors.

PCs are (theoretically) "real" people. They'd need all sorts of small items and games and entertainments, more than just dice for that gambling skill or books for the scholar or poems for the bard. Only the most seriously grim characters would utterly lack interest in anything outside of their quest focus.
Cards77 Posted - 16 Sep 2017 : 03:42:05
quote:
Originally posted by moonbeast

quote:
Originally posted by Cards77 I'm kinda sad now we are approaching 9th level so much of the travel will drop off.



Hmm… what happens to your PCs at level 9 that prevents them from traveling much any more? Do they all suddenly get the Teleport and Fly spell?? Or does the DM decide to bestow them each a Skyship at level 9?

I once GM'ed a Traveller campaign. When the PCs got to a certain experience level where they all could afford to purchase (expensive) Grav Belts… they essentially never walked any more. They used the grav belts to fly at will.



the wizard gets teleport, and everyone generally has numerous ways to drastically reduce travel or eliminate it completely.
Cards77 Posted - 16 Sep 2017 : 03:38:44
quote:
Originally posted by Bulak

We got tired of coming out of the cavern only to find some kobolds stewing our horses, so we got a squire to protect the horses.
Last time we came out of the cavern we found some kobolds stewing our horses and squire...



Not much of a squire if he can't even run off some kobolds....
Kentinal Posted - 19 Jun 2016 : 22:54:48
quote:
Originally posted by moonbeast

quote:
Originally posted by Cards77 I'm kinda sad now we are approaching 9th level so much of the travel will drop off.



Hmm… what happens to your PCs at level 9 that prevents them from traveling much any more? Do they all suddenly get the Teleport and Fly spell?? Or does the DM decide to bestow them each a Skyship at level 9?

I once GM'ed a Traveller campaign. When the PCs got to a certain experience level where they all could afford to purchase (expensive) Grav Belts… they essentially never walked any more. They used the grav belts to fly at will.



Well is some games, reaching 9th level the PCs gain followers and tend to need to set up a domain of some kind. Once a PC has a tower, a guild, tower, glade, or a temple their obligations change. They have territory to protect.
Clearly not all PCs gather followers or establish a base of operations.
moonbeast Posted - 19 Jun 2016 : 19:56:40
quote:
Originally posted by Cards77 I'm kinda sad now we are approaching 9th level so much of the travel will drop off.



Hmm… what happens to your PCs at level 9 that prevents them from traveling much any more? Do they all suddenly get the Teleport and Fly spell?? Or does the DM decide to bestow them each a Skyship at level 9?

I once GM'ed a Traveller campaign. When the PCs got to a certain experience level where they all could afford to purchase (expensive) Grav Belts… they essentially never walked any more. They used the grav belts to fly at will.
Bulak Posted - 17 May 2016 : 08:36:23
quote:
Originally posted by Rymac
While they are not "items", henchmen are useful. They can protect the base camp while the adventurers are exploring the nearby ruin, dungeon, or whatnot.


You're right of course, I was just joking.
On a similar note, donkeys (or other animals of the appropriate size and weight) make excellent trap detectors.

Another useful item: a (small) mirror. You can use it to look around corners, for long distance signaling in the right cirumstances, to trick a medusa, and to check if your haircut survived the last battle.
Rymac Posted - 16 May 2016 : 22:53:00
quote:
Originally posted by Bulak

We got tired of coming out of the cavern only to find some kobolds stewing our horses, so we got a squire to protect the horses.
Last time we came out of the cavern we found some kobolds stewing our horses and squire...



While they are not "items", henchmen are useful. They can protect the base camp while the adventurers are exploring the nearby ruin, dungeon, or whatnot.
Bulak Posted - 16 May 2016 : 22:20:43
We got tired of coming out of the cavern only to find some kobolds stewing our horses, so we got a squire to protect the horses.
Last time we came out of the cavern we found some kobolds stewing our horses and squire...
Cards77 Posted - 07 May 2016 : 03:15:00
quote:
Originally posted by sleyvas

quote:
Originally posted by Cards77

Where we go a wagon cannot follow. We just rely on light and heavy horse. Losing horses to monsters and animals is a major problem. We've been stranded more than once. Bring extras!



This is why there are various mount type spells for upper levels. You get tired of coming out of the cavern only to find some kobolds stewing your horse.



Hence why we got a squire and a camp tender. They are to keep the horses safe. But I like it because it' always in the back of my players minds. They can't stop thinking about if the horses will be gone when they finally get back out.

It's a good time. I'm kinda sad now we are approaching 9th level so much of the travel will drop off.

Traveling is like 60% of my game and we have some many great memories of things that just happened randomly.
sleyvas Posted - 07 May 2016 : 00:03:39
quote:
Originally posted by Cards77

Where we go a wagon cannot follow. We just rely on light and heavy horse. Losing horses to monsters and animals is a major problem. We've been stranded more than once. Bring extras!



This is why there are various mount type spells for upper levels. You get tired of coming out of the cavern only to find some kobolds stewing your horse.
Kentinal Posted - 06 May 2016 : 18:13:43
I like a mule, they can go places a horse can or will not. Though of course can lose them as well.
Cards77 Posted - 06 May 2016 : 15:21:52
Where we go a wagon cannot follow. We just rely on light and heavy horse. Losing horses to monsters and animals is a major problem. We've been stranded more than once. Bring extras!
Wrigley Posted - 06 May 2016 : 14:23:24
quote:
Originally posted by Cards77

quote:
Originally posted by Wrigley

I always find it odd that almost nowhere is mentioned such a simple tool as knife. Yes you could use a dagger but have you ever tried to cut a bread with stabbing combat dagger (historical)?



Real adventurers don't cut bread, we just tear it.

But yes we just assume that most people carry a "belt knife" just like many people carry a pocket knife in real life.

I like getting realist but I try not to go into TOO much obnoxious detail like "so PC how do you plan on cutting up those turnips for dinner?"



We've also started to employ a squire and cook to come with us on our adventures to take care of all the logistics whilst we take care of the monster killing and treasure finding.

We rely heavily on hunting for our food. In our game, we are VERY far afield and carrying enough food for more than a couple of days isn't realistic.



Just like in final animation in Diablo I :-)

My PC's use wagon for traveling an extra heavy horse for reserve so they have plenty of capacity for supplies.

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