Mundane equipment shenanigans

[GrassyGnoll]

When outfitting a character with adventuring gear of the unsparkly variety (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/equipment/goodsAndServices.htm) what do you pick up? I'm outfitting a bard on a budget and it's only mildly occurred to me the MacGyver-esque abuse possible. The character in question has skill points in just about everything thanks to the Bardic Knack feature and so far the first dark horse item ensemble that's caught my eye is the deadly combination of soap and oil.

[Marnath]

Rust monster wand from complete scoundrel. :smallbiggrin:

[W3bDragon]

Tanglefoot bags have awesome mileage. Even in higher level games, they keep on giving.

Also, the Complete Scoundrel does have a bunch of useful items that give you bonuses to just about any skill you want in flavorful ways. Actually, most of the equipment in the Complete Scoundrel is cool.

[Ajadea]

Chalk! Can't go wrong with a belt pouch full of crushed chalk to reveal invisible things, and it's lighter than flour anyways. Although flour has the benefit of being not only flammable, but explosive (really!), so that could be useful as well.

If you have Dungeonscape, get some bouncy rubber balls.

[crazedloon]

shapesand, and as much of it as you can carry. There is nothing you can't solve with it.

[Tar Palantir]

Check out this (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=148101) for all your miscellaneous equipment needs.

[FelixG]

tanglefoot goo + parchment = sticky notes!

I made my GM lol when i figured that one out and started to label everything while the rest of the party was asleep, everyone woke up with "hello my name is" stickers stuck to their clothing/armor :P

[sambo.]

A Mirror.

hands down one of the most useful mundane items and something every character i play has.

use it to see around corners, with two of them and some strategic slots cut into a 10' pole or quarterstaff you have a periscope.

can also be used as a signalling device.

[arrowhen]

I had a player once who made an obsessively detailed list of her character's mundane equipment. No "Trail Rations x7" for her, it was more like, "cooking pot, tea pot, ladle, four wooden bowls, bag of apples, bag of onions, pound of flour, pound of sugar", etc., etc. I thought "OK, that's cute" and kind of put it out of my mind...

Until a couple sessions later when the party was attack by a swarm of what I described as "rats maddened with hunger". We rolled initiative, she won, and before I even had a chance to flip to the rules on swarms she defeated the rats by simply standing back and tossing them apples and cheese.

[TheManlyFlower]

Caltrops are incredibly useful for creating a choke point by your meatshield in wider hallways.

Sledgehammers are the strong mans lockpick/knock spell in material form :P.

If you got the cash Masterwork Manacles and an Amazing lock can be very useful in situations. DC28 Str to break, DC35 Escape artist, DC40 open lock to escape from... Makes it useful for keeping your groups rogue outta your pockets when you sleep... or keep that evil guy locked up until he can be brought to justice depending on the campaign.

And ye old Iron Pot.. My dwarf would use it as an improvised bludgeoning weapon against early game undead... 10Lbs of iron upside that level 1 skeletons head = win.

[mjames]

Grappling hook. A few of those plus some silk rope equals tons of fun. I have a swashbuckler who has used them both for great roleplaying and as useful weaponry.
I bought 7 and a good couple hundred feet of rope. Heck at around level 5 I left my (locked) room on a boat by opening the porthole and throwing the grapping hook up to the top of the ship... Climbed up and a sea hag started attacking. I made my save got to the top of the ship, hit the hag with a grappling hook, pulled her on board, and skewered her my rapier.
Then a few levels later (this one involved a little more dm convincing and logic.) there was darkness cast infront of us, and I decided to just throw a grappling hook and see if snag a badguy. On the third throw I criticaled and her a "ugh". I then followed the rope to a creature (knew I got there when they aaoed me) I then proceeded to tumble circles around the creature until they were completely wrapped in rope, then Coup de gras.
With a little roleplay and even combat roleplay they become a Rogue or Swashbucklers best friend. Also, as a swashbuckler having a rapier in one hand and a grappling hook in the other just makes your character feel like the classic movie swashbuckler.

[Telonius]

A bag of powder can be a poor man's glitterdust, if your DM allows it.
A square yard of canvas has almost as many uses as a towel.
(For that matter, a towel).

[Biffoniacus_Furiou]

For 50 gold each, you can get one of these for every skill you plan on using:

Tool, Masterwork
This well-made item is the perfect tool for the job. It grants a +2 circumstance bonus on a related skill check (if any). Bonuses provided by multiple masterwork items used toward the same skill check do not stack.

[WarKitty]

A good sturdy net (the weapon kind) and a chain to attach to it. Great for hauling less adept party members around difficult terrain.

[Dr Bwaa]

Grappling hook. A few of those plus some silk rope equals tons of fun. I have a swashbuckler who has used them both for great roleplaying and as useful weaponry.
I bought 7 and a good couple hundred feet of rope. Heck at around level 5 I left my (locked) room on a boat by opening the porthole and throwing the grapping hook up to the top of the ship... Climbed up and a sea hag started attacking. I made my save got to the top of the ship, hit the hag with a grappling hook, pulled her on board, and skewered her my rapier.
Then a few levels later (this one involved a little more dm convincing and logic.) there was darkness cast infront of us, and I decided to just throw a grappling hook and see if snag a badguy. On the third throw I criticaled and her a "ugh". I then followed the rope to a creature (knew I got there when they aaoed me) I then proceeded to tumble circles around the creature until they were completely wrapped in rope, then Coup de gras.
With a little roleplay and even combat roleplay they become a Rogue or Swashbucklers best friend. Also, as a swashbuckler having a rapier in one hand and a grappling hook in the other just makes your character feel like the classic movie swashbuckler.

This is correct. My friend's swashbuckler has pulled similar shenanigans with his grappling hook, including this one: We were chasing a cleric of Mask through a field, fighting occasionally but mostly he was running away. Then he turned invisible. The swashbuckler proceeded to throw the grappling hook and spin with it extended to 30 feet or so- the cleric failed the reflex save to avoid the whirling thing and got the rope wrapped around him and the hook lodged in his side. The rest of the fight was short and similarly entertaining.

Iron pots are always useful-- Rust Monster distractionary tactics!

[Noircat]

Waterskins. Empty waterskins. I'd reccommend 3 or 4 of them.

While useful for storing water and other more magical fluids one may come across, their easily most useful attribute is that they are waterproof.

Filled with air they are an extra few breaths of air in a situation of deadly gas or needing to swim underwater. A gallon of air is pretty sweet in these situations.

[WarKitty]

Waterskins. Empty waterskins. I'd reccommend 3 or 4 of them.

While useful for storing water and other more magical fluids one may come across, their easily most useful attribute is that they are waterproof.

Filled with air they are an extra few breaths of air in a situation of deadly gas or needing to swim underwater. A gallon of air is pretty sweet in these situations.

A gallon of beer can also come in handy at times.

[devinkowalczyk]

shapesand, and as much of it as you can carry. There is nothing you can't solve with it.

Yes
in sandstorm
best item ever

[Sindri]

If you can't do it with a 10' pole, a dozen iron spikes, and 50' of rope, either it's impossible or you really aren't cut out to be an adventurer.

[Kaww]

Pebbles, you must have pebbles.
They are: ammo, illusion dispel, if you cast light on them they are great for distractions and can be thrown across chasms in dark tunnels so you can determine how wide it is...

Pebbles...

[Shademan]

BLOW-UP OGRE!
a horde of goblins chasing you? bloe up a big scary ogre and chase them off!
thrown into the sea by pirates? inflatable ogre to the rescue again!
lonely at night?
-... lets stop there

[shadow_archmagi]

I believe there's a Dragon Magazine feat called Pack Rat that allows you to have up to 10(x) GP and 100(x) pounds of gear where (x)=Level.

This gear does not have to be specified beforehand. Thus, the following scene:

Mage: This pool of deadly acid bars our path
Warrior: If only it were a pool of deadly ale; I could drink my way through it
Bard: All right, let's just steal the thing and be done with it
Mage: And what, pray tell, will we carry it in?
Bard: Well, remember when I went shopping in town?
Warrior: You bought that big sack of "Misc" that I've been carrying
Bard: Apparently I bought the exact number of flasks we need. They're only three coppers each.