Help spending starting gold?

[Sillybird99]

My 1st level Bard gets 175 gold replacing starting and background gold. Restricted to buying mundane items from PHB. I feel foolish asking, but I am not totally sure what I need...

So far:
2 shortswords
Light crossbow
Horn ( for my instrument)
Studded leather
Dagger
Travelers clothes
Bolt case
20 bolts
Waterskin
Pouch
2 rations
Playing cards
EDIT:
Burglars Pack
Grappling hook
Healer's kit
Thieves tools
Steel mirror
Soap
Chalk
Blanket


He has 10 str so he can't carry much. I opted out of a bedroll since he can elf trance and they are so heavy. I opted for a pouch instead of a backpack since he doesn't have much to carry anyhow.

This leaves me with 71 gold and 8 sp (down to 19gp 8sp). I feel like that is a lot to have left over at level 1 and maybe I should buy a situational item or two. I thought maybe a component pouch in case something happens to my instrument, or maybe even a back up Instrument.

Anyway, what would the playground do with the gold?

[hymer]

Anyway, what would the playground do with the gold?

I'd want to be sure I had a means to make fire and see in the dark. Also rope.
The horn counts as your arcane focus, right? You may want to bring a component pouch too, just in case.

[Sillybird99]

Half elf has darkvision. ILL add a tinderbox for campfires tho. I had rope but removed it due to encumbrance. Not sure if dm counts worn clothes and armor against encumbrance. ILL prolly take the component pouch too if I can't find something better for 25g. Thanks sir!

Still open to suggestions!

[hymer]

You're welcome. :smallsmile:
Darkvision can't be used to signal with, and it doesn't show colour. Candles are only 1cp a piece.

Edit: You can carry 150 lbs of equipment at str 10. You should be fine. If you're really bad of, it's like 8gp for a mule.

[Sillybird99]

Wow I didn't think about buying a mount! He is a younger noble son so having a mount makes sense. I will look into that.

about the encumbrance though: don't u get disadvantage after 50 lbs?

[Daishain]

crowbar for those pesky barriers. Tinker's and/or Blacksmith's kit for creating tools as they're needed. Lockpicks concealed on your person for emergencies (even if not trained you can muddle through the easier locks given enough time). Healer's kits for when out of options to stabilize people. Healing pots for when the healer goes down and you need him on his feet now. Steel Mirror for signaling others, peeking under doors and around corners. The list goes on.


Wow I didn't think about buying a mount! He is a younger noble son so having a mount makes sense. I will look into that.

about the encumbrance though: don't u get disadvantage after 50 lbs?any well equipped party should have at minimum one pack beast.

as for encumbrance, not quite. By default you just have a max capacity you can't exceed (in your case 150 lbs). Your DM can choose to use a variant rule that adds penalties for increasing weight. Given a Strength of 10, you are encumbered at 50 pounds, which drops your speed by 10 feet, but doesn't impose disadvantage. You would become heavily encumbered if carrying 100 pounds of gear, which does impose disadvantage on most actions

In any case, has your DM confirmed what rules he is following and how closely he intends to enforce them? Most tables don't bother tracking every pound, and only worry about encumbrance if the player does something absurd "I stuff the hoard in my backpack!" "all five hundred pounds of it?"

[hymer]

don't u get disadvantage after 50 lbs?

I don't know where you got that. PHB p. 176 'Carrying Capacity' lists it as str x 15 lbs.

[Sillybird99]

I was looking in the next column under variant encumbrance. Not sure which one the DM uses.

[Temperjoke]

Aside from the suggestions here, you may want to talk to your DM and see if he has any recommendations based on how strict he's going to be tracking supplies, or the sort of campaign he's going to be running. If he's running a largely urban campaign in a large capital city, having more gold than "stuff" may not be bad. If he's going to run a strict campaign where every single item that was used in a day is tallied, such as arrows used, rations eaten, water drank, etc., then having more supplies might not be bad.

On a side note, having darkvision is not as good as having the option for warmth, cooking a meal, boiling water to avoid poisoning, providing emotional comfort; don't forget, if you're nobility, you'll be used to a certain level of comfort when traveling and camping. I don't know how much roleplaying your campaign will have, but it's something to keep in mind.

[hymer]

I was looking in the next column under variant encumbrance. Not sure which one the DM uses.

In that case, be sure you have a backpack or something similar, which you can drop quickly in a fight/flight situation, reducing your weight carried to the needed amount. You may be able to get someone else to carry some of your stuff for you, when going places the mule won't go.

[N810]

hmmm... a 10' pole is often surprisingly useful, and perhaps a rope and a grappling hook maybe a net.

[Sillybird99]

On a side note, having darkvision is not as good as having the option for warmth, cooking a meal, boiling water to avoid poisoning, providing emotional comfort; don't forget, if you're nobility, you'll be used to a certain level of comfort when traveling and camping. I don't know how much roleplaying your campaign will have, but it's something to keep in mind.

All good points. The campaign is more rp focused slightly home brewed CoS. My character is a half elf so he is a bastard son. He is a captain in his families protective service so he is used to scouting, espionage, and not always having the noble comforts. Regardless, he no doubt enjoys those comforts and I will take that into consideration.

On another note, I have never played ravenloft so is there anything u wouldn't be caught dead there without having or knowing?

[Temperjoke]

All good points. The campaign is more rp focused slightly home brewed CoS. My character is a half elf so he is a bastard son. He is a captain in his families protective service so he is used to scouting, espionage, and not always having the noble comforts. Regardless, he no doubt enjoys those comforts and I will take that into consideration.

On another note, I have never played ravenloft so is there anything u wouldn't be caught dead there without having or knowing?

Well, I haven't played it, but based on what I know about the setting, it's a horror/monster movie sort of setting, like the movie Van Helsing properly merged with the seriousness of Bram Stoker's Dracula.

[Sillybird99]

Well, I haven't played it, but based on what I know about the setting, it's a horror/monster movie sort of setting, like the movie Van Helsing properly merged with the seriousness of Bram Stoker's Dracula.

I'm wonder if my cantrips vico us mockery and minor illusion will even be useful in that setting...

[Temperjoke]

I'm wonder if my cantrips vico us mockery and minor illusion will even be useful in that setting...

Well, they're not all undead, and they don't have any special protection from stuff like that. Don't underestimate yourself.

[N810]

Holy water, oak stakes, silvered weapons, torches, and ... garlic ?

[Sillybird99]

Holy water, oak stakes, silvered weapons, torches, and ... garlic ?

Haha I wish, but I don't think my character would carry such items on his native plane unfortunately.

[Sillybird99]

Edited initial post to reflect new items/ gold. I am feeling better about it, but still open to criticism.

[NewDM]

Well you want to spend the rest of your starting gold on:

Acid, Flask
Alchemist Fire
Anti-Toxin
Ball Bearing (bag of 1,000)
Caltrops (bag of 20)x10
Hunting trap
Oil, flaskx5
Poison, basic (vial)x5
Pole 10' (tie a stick to the end for another foot)
Potion of Healing (as many as you can afford, later you'll want to buy them by the cart load).
Silk Rope (50')
Sealing Wax
Signet Ring (of local lord or king)
Mastiffx4 (a kind of dog, pay to have it trained to attack on command or defend an area)

Unless of course you don't want to give the DM fits.

[Sillybird99]

Unless of course you don't want to give the DM fits.

I don't, as fun as that sounds.

[NewDM]

I don't, as fun as that sounds.

A few well placed ball bearings along with some caltrops is insanely powerful. Using acid on locks to bypass them, or to burn through a rope or ladder while being chased is fun. Poking everything with an 11' pole to make sure its safe is also nice. Instead of taking short rests drinking 5-10 healing potions works great, and its about all you have to spend money on at high levels.

[Giant2005]

It won't help drain your cash very much, but obviously you need a mess kit. That is unless you want to be eating off the ground like a dog though.
What will help drain your finances is getting a bunch of block and tackles. The can be very useful.