D&D 3.5 Adventuring Gear: The Essentials

[Zach J.]

I was wondering what posters thought were the must-have items for adventuring. I'm making a character for a game and due to my insistence on using an expensive weapon I'm afraid I don't have a lot to spend on extra gear.

[Darwin]

Rope, you will need rope. Period.

[Optimystik]

In before 10-foot pole

Bag of Holding! (If your arms are spindly, like those of most characters I play.)

[Zach J.]

Haha, I'm afraid that we're starting out at 1st level so a Bag of Holding is a wee bit above my price range.

[The Random NPC]

Crowbar, Flint and Steel, and Rope at a minimum.

[Zach J.]

So a crowbar, flint and steel, rope and a backpack to put it all in. Sounds good! Thanks guys.

[The Random NPC]

Remember you can use those things for more then its intended purpose. For example, the crowbar can be used as a digging tool, a club, a grappling hook, and more. Be creative.

[Zach J.]

Thanks for the tip! :smallbiggrin:

[Saph]

Essentials:

Weapon.
Backup weapon.
Backup backup weapon. (Try to make your backup weapons ones with different damage types - bludgeoning, piercing, slashing.)
Rope.
More rope.
Food and water.
Fire. Ie a way of making fire (flint and steel) and ways to create more fire (torches and oil flasks). When in doubt, kill it with fire! (If fire doesn't work, use more fire.)

[Zach J.]

Thanks, Saph. That was a very helpful list. Alright I've managed to spend the majority of my gold pieces now. Here's a list of my equipment.

Two-Bladed Sword (My main weapon and yes I know they're silly and yes I know they wouldn't really work. My character is an elf fighter. That's silly too.)
Dagger (My back-up weapon. My fists will be my back-up, back-up weapon starting at level 3 when I take Improved Unarmed Strike. All elves should know a little kung-fu.)
Studded Leather Armor
Signet Ring (My character comes from a noble family so this is purely for RP purposes.)
Monk's Outfit (Included for free. He's not a big one for acting showy - minus the ring.)
Peasant's Outfit (A spare set of clothes is never a bad thing.)
Backpack
Bedroll
3 Days' Rations
Waterskin
100 ft. Hempen Rope
2 Flasks of Oil
3 Torches
Crowbar
Flint and Steel
2 Pieces of Chalk

I have 5 cp left. How's that look?

Edit: Still a light load too. Neat!

[Lysander]

In addition to everything said above:

An explorer's outfit. Cause ya don't wanna be naked! Maybe your DM will throw in the clothes for free. You should also have a change of clothes or two. To save money you can make your backups peasant outfits - they're cheap and you can use them to fit in if necessary.

A bedroll, unless you want to sleep on the dirt each night. A blanket too, depending on where you are.

Chalk. Why not, it's 1cp and you might need to write something on stone someday.

A few torches, unless you'll always have a continual flame or magic light. Or a lamp and oil. Or both.

A waterskin (aka canteen).

Quarterstaves have no listed price, I assume because you can just cut one for yourself. Why not carry one, even if you aren't proficient with the weapon, as a walking staff/trap checker?

A sling. It's nice to have a ranged weapon that can use pebbles as ammo. You can use it for hunting.

A horse maybe?

[Zach J.]

Hmm, I remember reading in the PHB that you get the clothes on your back for free, but a spare set wouldn't hurt. I also completely forgot about a bedroll!

[Kurald Galain]

Fire. Ie a way of making fire (flint and steel) and ways to create more fire (torches and oil flasks). When in doubt, kill it with fire! (If fire doesn't work, use more fire.)
Of course you should fight fire with fire. You should fight everything with fire!

:smalltongue:


Also, carry belt pouches and flasks, and parchment and extra quills. You never know what you might need to carry, or draw.

[Zach J.]

Haha, well I'm afraid I can't really buy anything else. I'm down to five copper pieces at the moment.

[Kol Korran]

nothing to add to the topic really, just wanted to wish you good luck with your game. elven fighter with a two bladed sword who takes improved unarmed strike? sounds like you have a concept in mind. go for it!

but seriously though, this level or another, listen to Saph: fire is a wonderfull thing. a player of mine playing a rogue still chose to "burn first, ask questions later" even at 10th level. he always kept looking for orphanages....

also, i'm not sure how much it cost, but a whistle helped me out a few times.

as to weapons: have a morningstart as your backup weapon if you can (bludgeoning and piercing) and dagger/hand axe/other light weapon for tight quarters or when you get swallowed up.

[Tar Palantir]

If you can move around a bit of cash, I'd recommend replacing the 10ft pole with one from Dungeonscape: a collapsible pole that maxes out at 12ft long, and can combine with others you may purchase in the future, all for 20gp.

[BRC]

Rope (With Grappling Hook) and Fire are total necessities.
Smokesticks are very useful for getting out of tough spots.

For a Backup Weapon, I'd get a Dagger and a Quarterstaff. Since you use a Double Sword you know how to fight with double weapons anyway, and a Quarterstaff deals bludgeoning damage, in case you run into skeletons.

[FishAreWet]

Quaterstaffs, slings and clubs are free.

who doesn't want free firewood and leather straps?

[kestrel404]

My adventurer always carries the following, regardless of system:

A dagger
A length of rope (generally 100ft)
A source of fire (F&S, usually)
A pre-made torch (doubles as a club, or flaming club at need)
A small mirror (if your GM argues that this is expensive, take a single silver piece, pound it very flat, then shine it up real good. Oh look, a small reflective surface that costs no more than a silver piece!) This is for looking around corners, signalling to allies, or as a backup source of fire.
A heavy winter blanket (With the addition of a woven reed mat, this becomes a bedroll. At need, it's a towel. With a short length of rope, it's a cloak. Or a sack. If you get desperate, it gets shorter and you get either more rope or some bandages)
A change of clothes
A canteen/waterskin

Additional equipment added to suit personal tastes, some of this list may be modified for the less resourceful types (a bedroll instead of a blanket, etc.)

[gorfnab]

Here is a link for a Batman inspired tool belt for D&D that has a very nice list of adventuring gear. The Utility Belt (http://brilliantgameologists.com/boards/index.php?topic=4400.0)

[Erom]

Rope, fire source are pretty key.

Honestly, I usually leave behind most of the mundane items in order to scrape together enough cash for an everburning torch. I play 4e, where an eTorch is just a flashlight (can't light things on fire with it) so I don't remember if this is practical or affordable in 3e. All the same, you need light at least as often as you need rope.

[Claudius Maximus]

Marbles are very useful.

You might as well carry around one or more clubs. Never forget that you can throw them.

[ericgrau]

You already have a real nice equipment list. Make sure you know all the rules for each item. For example, if you run into a swarm of critters, splash it with some oil and then swing your torch at it. If you have 5 sp and some carrying capacity leftover, I'd get more oil or other fire relating things. You can never have too much fire. Or rope for that matter. Hmm, I'd find a way to squeeze a grappling hook onto your list.

[Dragero]

Remember you can use those things for more then its intended purpose. For example, the crowbar can be used as a digging tool, a club, a grappling hook, and more. Be creative.

EPIC IDEA!!!!!

GORDON FREEMAN!!!!! The crowbar could be an improvised.......Club? Mace?

[deuxhero]

*Insert link to the toolbelt handbook on BG here*


edit
Here (http://brilliantgameologists.com/boards/index.php?topic=4400.0)

[Vizzerdrix]

You should squeeze a sling onto that list.

[Vaecae]

One weapon of each damage type, which is cheap to come by if you take the right stuff, and at least one ranged. Like most everyone else here I suggest a source of fire, rope, and something to trip traps with like a pole or quarterstaff. A blanket is great for many things most already listed above.

The extra thing I have to mention is that there are many alch items that are great to have beyond the everburning torch. Oil and a vial of alch fire can do wonders if you need to keep something at bay and don't want to loose your torch. Taking alchemy as a skill and crafting some of your own extras can even save some money if your dm wants to let you go that route. It can also give you a leg up on identifying things you come across later on and might even save your life. Don't underestimate the power of knowing what is actually in that bottle you just found in the middle of nowhere.

[strider24seven]

Don't forget the 11-ft pole for when the DM's a you-know-what.

Marbles are awesome. Kills any Frenzied Berzerker that can't make a Will save, i.e. 90% of non-player-built ones. Mildly useful against anything else. Caltrops work wonders too.

Chalk is useful (and cheap too). Mirrors are good.

Always keep an empty flask or vial. You never know when you need to analyze a goo. Or get more water.

Alchemists' fire, Acid Flasks, and Holy Water (depending on how your DM will handle undead "fear" of Holy Water) can all be useful.

As you get wealthier, a Decanter of Endless Water is godly. So is anything that creates something from nothing.

At the middling levels, Trollbane from Dungeonscape is essential to surviving any PK-happy DM. Trolls, bah. Demons, meh. Tarrasques, pheh.

And no matter how much money you have, take as many clubs, quarterstaves, and slings as you can carry. You never know how useful all that wood is until you set it all on FIRE!!!!!

[Zach J.]

I never knew just how useful fire was until I started this thread. I think we might actually start playing tonight. I hope I get a chance to use some of these ideas. Thanks a lot for all of the suggestions everyone!

[oxybe]

a few things i keep in my bag of holding or backpack:

a fishing gaffe: effectively a 10ft pole with a hook on the end.
crowbar: the fighter's lockpick and so much more.
dagger: sidearm and generally useful to have around. adamantine if possible since that cuts through hardness like a flaming sword through a butter golem.

PS: also bring a club. both the dagger & club are close ranged weapons and cover all 3 damage types. it might not be the most effective weapons, but they work when needed. also bringing a sling can be your backup to an actual ranged weapon.
flint & steel: makes fire. fire = good. if fire doesn't solve your problem, use more fire.
oil: good for making the aforementioned "more fire". also a lubricant.
rope, and lots of it: so many things you can do with rope. an adventurer's best friend.
grappling hook: rope's best friend.
a yard of canvas: very nice to have for quick repairs & other things. note if your GM allows a waterproof canvas, you can make a makeshift umbrella using it.
a towel: like canvas only not as tough, but generally quite absorbant and soft. don't forget to bring a towel.
a hand mirror: signaling, last minute hair check & many other uses
pitons+hammer: markers, muck up mechanisms, ect... also: claw hammer if your GM allows since it's like a crowbar but not really.
chalk: 10/1sp, so get multiple colors. generally used to outline things or write on the hard dungeon areas
flasks/vials: you never know when you'll find fluorescent moss, some dragon bile, or other liquid
torch: it's a moving source of light + fire. nice to have
everburning torch + scrollcase:poke a hole in the bottom of the case. stick in torch. instant flashlight and replaces the torch as a light source.
waterskin: 2, one full, one empty. the empty one is filled only when going out of civilized areas for "backup water". can also be used to hold large amounts of a liquid
blanket: another nice thing to have as it keeps you warm at night and has other uses, like when wet can help protect you inside a burning building
candle: for when you need a small source of light instead of the big & obvious torches. also source of wax.
trail rations: even if you're trained in survival, it's nice to have some backup jerky, if not for you, for someone else.
spellbook: 100 pages of parchment in a bound tome, 5gp cheaper then 100 actual pages of parchment. go figure. good for taking notes.
ink & inkpen: for writing in your book.
spade/shovel/pickaxe: you will sometimes need to dig up things... or people. stupid party necromancer, grumble grumble...
sacks: to carry things in. duh. i recommend putting a small sack around your neck and carrying all gems & loose coin in there. harder for cutpurses to get to.
belt pouch: to carry things within immediate reach.
whetstone: keeps your sharps, sharp.

a lot of these aren't "required" but should eventually be picked up. even if you have the magical equivalent of them, you might not want to waste a charge or happen to be stuck in a "no magic, lol" zone.

[AslanCross]

The Standard Adventurer's Kit in PHB2 is only worth 15 GP:
Backpack
Belt Pouch
Bedroll
Flint and Steel
Hempen Rope (50 ft)
2 Sunrods
Trail rations
Waterskin

It's good that you have a dagger. For some reason, my players refuse to carry backup weapons. It baffles me to no end. :smallsigh:

As soon as you can afford it, get a Handy Haversack.

[CockroachTeaParty]

If carrying capacity is a real issue, and you can't afford a donkey or mule, you might want to consider twine instead of rope. 1 sp for 50 ft., and it has negligible weight. You can use it to tie people up, etc., although it probably won't support you if you need to climb stuff.

That said, a tiny character might be able to use twine instead of rope for climbing... Another thing added to my future jermlaine cleric of Erythnul...

The stuff in Dungeonscape in general is really interesting: magnets, drills, hacksaws, rubber balls, and pouches of flour all have their uses.

[Adrayll]

Always remember that as a last-ditch, worst-HAS-come-to-worst weapon, arrows and bolts can be used in melee.

[deuxhero]

And if you make them Spellstoring, they can acctually be quite useful.

[tyckspoon]

They're also a really cheap way to get an adamantine weapon for all your object-opening needs.

[Coidzor]

It's good that you have a dagger. For some reason, my players refuse to carry backup weapons. It baffles me to no end. :smallsigh:
What? That's like the golden rule of adventuring. Always have at least a dagger on you, since they're useful for so many things above and beyond a weapon of last resort.


You might as well carry around one or more clubs. Never forget that you can throw them.

Clubs are made of wood, flammable, and free. :smallwink::smallwink:

[balistafreak]

No love for a light crossbow and twenty bolts?

ESPECIALLY at low levels... there is always a time and place for a crossbow. As DM, I forced them to take light crossbows, one and all. No exceptions.

Turns out that in even a medium scale combat, you sometimes will be around three move actions away - too far to charge, too close to profitably spend a turn moving a full speed. Solution? Move action drawing crossbow, standard action fire. Next turn, charge.

And a prepared action to shoot a crossbow at something is always good, especially when you don't want to be near a doorway when something comes through it.

When my players insisted that ten-foot poles were too unwieldly (and as "nonadventurers" they'd feel silly for hauling specialized equivalents around), I rolled my eyes and had the Warlock take Eldritch Glaive. It's also an at-will ten foot pole. Think of all the applications :smallbiggrin:

I don't think it's been mentioned that unlike "cold" sources of light, torches and lanterns kill swarms. You haven't seen fear until you've watched a 1st level party (of mostly melee types, no wizards) realize that they have zero ways of dealing damage to a single swarm of bats. (Incidentally, by the swarm description there are 1500 bats in a ten-foot cube swarm. THAT'S A LOT OF BATS.)

It's doubtful you'll run into invisibility, but the aforementioned flour is always useful. Cooler is bright colored paint (luminesence optional), but that's more difficult to throw at an invisible target and more expensive. But paint has its own uses, so you might want to add it later.

The next item is not quite starting equipment, but close. If one of you has the Create Water cantrip, though, remember you can create it at range. This has anti-invisibility applications as well as weapon-like ones. It's like adding a heavy weight to something from nowhere, and probably has trap-springing applications like the ten-foot pole.

Find a guide on Prestidigitation. Hand it to someone who has it. Watch as everything becomes that much cooler. (I gave all caster types in my campaign Prestidigitation at-will; it really cements the "magic" aspect.) If you don't have it, your first purchase with your first gold should be an at-will (heck, even a mere two-use (hour)-a-day eternal wand) item of this. It rules. A lot.

Got a lock/window and don't want to make a lot of noise bashing it away? A small flask of acid can melt it away with minimum fuss. Usually.

Any sort of extradimensional space is priceless, especially ones with creative methods of retrieval, but that's higher level.

There are a lot of underwater-type items, too, that are absolutely priceless in that sort of situation. But if your DM is sane, he'll avoid putting you in pools of water the same way he played Super Mario Bros. - it either insta-gibs you and therefore he avoids it at all costs, or you have super not drowning skills through magic. So yeah.

[dragonfan6490]

Of course you should fight fire with fire. You should fight everything with fire!



Especially Fire Elementals. You should definitely fight Fire Elementals with fire.

[gallagher]

when you have 4000gp to spare, marvelous pigment rocks

[AslanCross]

What? That's like the golden rule of adventuring. Always have at least a dagger on you, since they're useful for so many things above and beyond a weapon of last resort.


I know! A dagger is good; a short sword is better if you can wield one. They should be glad that they killed the behir in RHOD faster than it could digest them.

[Vizzerdrix]

when you have 4000gp to spare, marvelous pigment rocks

If you want to give the DM a headache, go into a wagon and paint a room :)

[gallagher]

If you want to give the DM a headache, go into a wagon and paint a room :)

or find a way to get into the room below people that you want to capture/interrogate and paint a hole in your ceiling/their floor.

[Taelas]

Especially Fire Elementals. You should definitely fight Fire Elementals with fire.

If you are particularly smart, you can even fight Fire Elementals with their OWN fire!

[Zach J.]

To Everyone who suggested I bring Fire:

THANK YOU! We had our first session last night. Our characters Sir Jet, a Don Quixote-esque Knight in his fifties, Elias, a Human Swashbuckler, and Calidor, an Elven Fighter, met up in a village that was being attacked by barbarians. After we helped drive them off we were asked by an elderly gentleman named Albert to retrieve his daughter Berthette from the barbarian tribe who had made a camp next to the village. We immediately set off but not before meeting a Halfling Bard (DM). Convenient and it explained the little crossbow bolts sticking out of some of the barbarian corpses.

We found the camp without too much trouble. It was just a mess of tents around a central bonfire. Near the outskirts was a ruined building with what looked like a cellar door in its foundations. We quickly surmised that this is where the girl would be held and thought it would be best to sneak to the door. Calidor decided that it might not be a bad idea to have a distraction. The Bard offered to stay behind and shoot a couple of the barbarians if we needed an escape. So we entered the dungeon...

After a series of misadventures including our knight being attacked by many vermin and an epic battle with DOGS we found that the dungeon opened into a natural cavern of sorts. Here we found a young woman named Brigette. WHAT? That's right, Brigitte daughter of Berthette. Apparently her grandfather was always forgetting her name. She told us that she had come with the barbarians willingly (she wasn't very fond of the village), but that she was ready to leave (she wasn't very fond of the barbarians). We agreed and left the dungeon and this is why I wanted to say thank you.

Calidor, upset that these barbarous people were upsetting the livelihoods of this village, surmised that we might need a better distraction so he tossed a couple of lit torches at the tents and a flask of oil into the bonfire. We ran away from the camp hearing cries of, "Witchcraft!" It was pretty cool. :smallwink:

Brigette wasn't in any mood to return to the village and Elias and Sir Jet didn't want to make her. She actually wanted to come with us! Calidor told her it was her choice but that she might want to see her family again before making a decision like that. So Brigitte and Calidor returned to the Gnarled Root while Elias and Sir Jet searched for our halfling friend. I'm not going to lie; we were all pretty excited for our reward at this point. When we returned to the tavern Albert was very excited to see his granddaughter and promptly threw a heavy bag of apples to Calidor. Yep, apples. It's here that another player came in, Alacrite, a Halfling Rogue and foster father to Brigitte.

While the two of us were eating our reward, Elias and Sir Jet searched. Eventually they found a trail of blood which led to the still form of a small figure. Apparently Calidor's idea of using the bard as a distraction wasn't so hot. :smallfrown:

More happened but I'm not sure how many people want to read the wall of text I'm posting now. I can always share more if you're interested though!

[Zaq]

My favorite low-level light source is a pellet of Liquid Sunlight (Complete Scoundrel, pg. 110) tied around your neck like a pendant (twine or a strip of leather is practically free). It shines light as a torch, doesn't take a hand (if your GM thinks you can't put it on a necklace, just take 10 on an untrained craft: jewelry check to make a simple string-with-thing-hanging-from-it pendant.), never runs out, and is 90 gp cheaper than an everburning torch. (Do make sure you have some fire, yes, but this is one of the cheapest way to get hands-free light, since you probably don't want to tie a torch to your belt.)

Also, I love Blister Oil (Races of Stone p. 159). 15 gp for 1d8 applications of a rather nasty substance, which deals not-insignificant penalties to enemies unfortunate enough to run into it. (See if you can talk your GM into taking the average of the "d8 applications" thing, but even if you get just 2 or 3 applications, it can be worth it). It can be used as a trap, a poison for your weapon, or any number of tricky things.

[tyckspoon]

My favorite low-level light source is a pellet of Liquid Sunlight (Complete Scoundrel, pg. 110) tied around your neck like a pendant (twine or a strip of leather is practically free). It shines light as a torch, doesn't take a hand (if your GM thinks you can't put it on a necklace, just take 10 on an untrained craft: jewelry check to make a simple string-with-thing-hanging-from-it pendant.), never runs out, and is 90 gp cheaper than an everburning torch. (Do make sure you have some fire, yes, but this is one of the cheapest way to get hands-free light, since you probably don't want to tie a torch to your belt.)


An Everburning Torch is no more than a stick with Continual Flame cast on it anyway. If you don't want it as a torch, find who's making the things and have them put the 'flame' on a medallion or a belt buckle or.. whatever. The Liquid Sunlight is a far more cost-effective way to get the same thing, tho, so thanks for bringing it up.