What equipment is good for my group?

[Rumo]

Hi,

playerwise my D&D 3.5 group consists of one rather noob (me) and 2 total noobs (the others). Having found a nice treasure recently, we were wondering how to put all that gold to good use.

I (Level 3 Wizard) bought a Pearl of Power and a huge pile of scrolls for my 5500 gold pieces. I know that the pearl is probably not best, because atm I only memorize two level 2 spells (using Alacritious Cognition on slot 3). But the purchase has been made, reusing my Web is nice, and in the long run I'll have more level 2 spells to re-memorize.
The Elven Ranger bought Boots of Elvenkind and a Mithril Shirt. The human fighter (aiming for Frenzied Berserker) is saving gold for Belt of Giant Strenght +4.

Well, that's been our beginners' decisions. Admittedly we've been feeling overwhelmed by the sheer amount of items listed in the one book that was used (unfortunately I don't remember its name). And despite of that amount, we didn't find what we would have liked best: An item that gives our no-Cleric-no-Druid group a few heals per day. I heard about an item called belt of healing, but didn't find any information about the price and its whereabouts in D&D rule books.

Help and advice would be greatly appreciated!

[lytokk]

A wand of cure light wounds. The ranger can use it as its on his spell list as a second level spell. 750 gold.

[Zanos]

Healing Belts are dirt cheap and will give you 6d8 healing per day for a cost of 750gp. They're in the Magic Item Compendium on page 110.

A wand of Lesser Vigor grants fast healing 1 for 10+CL rounds, up to a cap of 15, i think. So CL 1 wands of Lesser Vigor heal 11 HP per charge and cost 750 gp.

Cloaks/Vests of resistance +1 are only 1000gp and give +1 on all save. Not failing saves is important.

A Handy Haversack will carry a decent amount of stuff and let you retrieve any item from it as a move action in combat, for 2k.

Heward's Fortifing Bedroll from Complete Mage Pg. 133 will give you 8 hours worth of sleep in one hour for 3k. It only works once every two days though. Still handy.

Some non-magical gear is really nice too. Tanglefoot bags apply the entangled condition which is fairly nasty.

[Rumo]

Healing Belts are dirt cheap and will give you 6d8 healing per day for a cost of 750gp. They're in the Magic Item Compendium on page 110.

Thanks, I'll look that up!


A wand of Lesser Vigor grants fast healing 1 for 10+CL rounds, up to a cap of 15, i think. So CL 1 wands of Lesser Vigor heal 11 HP per charge and cost 750 gp.

I suggested that to the DM. He said that as the Ranger is only level 3 and far from casting Lesser Vigor, she could get a staff and try, but it would be handled like me using a Scroll of Greater Teleport. She would have to roll a die each time she uses it. Is that wrong?


Some non-magical gear is really nice too. Tanglefoot bags apply the entangled condition which is fairly nasty.

Funny that you mention it. The pirates we slew had been carrying two non-magical leather bags with no obvious way to open them. Having no idea what their purpose was, and hoping for even more treasure, I used a dagger on one. The rest was sticky icky mess. Good that I told my hummingbird familiar to take cover first.

[PurpleSocks]

Your DM and probably you don't understand how wands work, your ranger can use the wand.

Wands are spell trigger activated so...

"Spell trigger activation is similar to spell completion, but it’s even simpler. No gestures or spell finishing is needed, just a special knowledge of spellcasting that an appropriate character would know, and a single word that must be spoken. Anyone with a spell on his or her spell list knows how to use a spell trigger item that stores that spell. (This is the case even for a character who can’t actually cast spells, such as a 3rd-level paladin.) The user must still determine what spell is stored in the item before she can activate it. Activating a spell trigger item is a standard action and does not provoke attacks of opportunity."

[HalfQuart]

Except Lesser Vigor is only on the Cleric and Druid spell lists -- not Ranger or Paladin. So the ranger will have to use the Wand of CLW or just go with Healing Belts which anyone can use. You don't want to rely entirely on the ranger healing -- you need to be able to heal him in case he gets dropped.

Your fighter should talk to the DM about the belt... all the other attributes have one item that is +2, +4, and +6 -- and thus upgradable from start to finish -- but Strength has Gauntlets that are +2 and the Belt that is +4 and +6. Just ask your DM if he can get a +2 Belt. Totally reasonable in my opinion, and a good use of 4000gp.

Also the fighter and ranger will start needing magic weapons soon (to penetrate damage reduction) if they don't have one already. That's a good use of 2300gp or so.

[Rumo]

Thanks again for that helpful advice. Finally I got my hands on a Magic Item Compendium, and I have to agree that the Healing Belt is almost obscenely good and underpriced.

What do you think about the Bracers of Blinding Strike for the Fighter? Initiative +2 and 3 extra attacks per day for 5K sounds like a good deal to me. Or is there anything better on the bracers spot that the Fighter might want to have?

[Nirhael]

Thanks again for that helpful advice. Finally I got my hands on a Magic Item Compendium, and I have to agree that the Healing Belt is almost obscenely good and underpriced.

What do you think about the Bracers of Blinding Strike for the Fighter? Initiative +2 and 3 extra attacks per day for 5K sounds like a good deal to me. Or is there anything better on the bracers spot that the Fighter might want to have?

Problem with the Bracers of Blinding Strike is that they require a Full Attack before you're allowed to activate them, which, depending on your DM, may make them utterly useless.

The Greatreach Bracers (2k, MiC) can be pretty interesting if your Fighter has Combat Reflexes. They extend reach by 10 ft for one round, 3/day.

Strongarm Bracers (6k, MiC) are also a good choice since they allow you to wield a weapon one size category larger with no penalty=better damage dices.

[Red Fel]

Here is a list (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=187851) of different benefits you want from magic items, and the best ways to get them. The list is not specific to your group, but frankly, it seems that your group has a reasonable idea of what they want, so why spoil that? Instead, I would suggest using the list to fill in the gaps.

[Rumo]

Hmm, what is the problem with full attacks? I would think that after entering melee, the enemy would have to take 2 or more steps away in order to prevent it. Isn't that at the very least rather unlikely, unless he's fleeing?

Strongarm Bracers sounds interesting, but the consequences are not clear to me. Right now she wields a Greatsword in her hands, dealing 2D6+bonuses damage. What change would the bracers bring? A bigger greatsword for more damage? And if so, how much? Or a Greatsword in one hand, leaving space for a shield or a second weapon?

[ericgrau]

Lots and lots of scrolls and potions. They are cheap.

Scrolls are only 25 gp and D&D is so super brief that you might use many scrolls only 1 time each. Or Maybe 4-5 at once if it's for the whole party or etc. Get one or more of every level 1 utility spell. You might consider 1 or 2 spider climbs even.

For potions your allies should get a few protection from evil and/or enlarge person. Use only during the buffing round. Protection from evil is usually the better buff but those with reach or grapple will prefer enlarge person. I know enlarge person is also tempting for moar damage but you also get -2 AC so enemies get moar hits (=> moar damage), so it's barely better than break even there.

The cleric should get lots of scrolls too but they should be level 1 scrolls of remove X, or scrolls that otherwise fix such and such. He might even consider or 1 or 2 lesser restorations.

[Nirhael]

Hmm, what is the problem with full attacks? I would think that after entering melee, the enemy would have to take 2 or more steps away in order to prevent it. Isn't that at the very least rather unlikely, unless he's fleeing?

Strongarm Bracers sounds interesting, but the consequences are not clear to me. Right now she wields a Greatsword in her hands, dealing 2D6+bonuses damage. What change would the bracers bring? A bigger greatsword for more damage? And if so, how much? Or a Greatsword in one hand, leaving space for a shield or a second weapon?

As I've said, your mileage may vary when it comes to full attacks. My DMs tend to move their creatures a lot and I don't get many occasions to use it so it isn't helpful in my case. If your DM doesn't move everything all over the place, then, by all means, get a pair.

Having Strongarm Bracers and a Large Greatsword would give you 3d6 instead of 2d6. That's pretty much it.

[ericgrau]

An extra attack is pretty crazy amazing though, so it still sounds good. You can't assume all your attacks will be full attacks, but you can't assume all your attacks will be single attacks either. It's odd how often people claim such and such standard action thing is useless because it's weaker than a full attack, and how often they claim such and such full attack thing is useless because you won't always get full attacks. Ok then... assume it'll be used half the time. Still pretty good.

[Rumo]

Yes. Unfortunately she is intending to become Frenzied Berserker at Lvl7, when the bracers willl be rather useless. But Lvl 3 to Lvl 7 can be a long time, so it might be worth the investment.