Emergency items and spells

[EldritchWeaver]

When I was preparing for the next adventure, I noticed that my group lacks flexibility in dealing with non-standard situations. I'd like to collect ideas for stuff which you don't need all the time, but comes up reasonably often enough that you should have a scroll or similar available. What do you recommend that everyone should have access to?

[Geddy2112]

Mostly it is dealing with unique environments and conditions, and at higher levels none of this is really an issue. If you have planning and a divine prepared caster, you will almost always be okay. However, if you lack a divine caster or are caught on the fly, you need the following-

Dealing with heat/cold: Endure elements is the go to here, although emergency ways to make fire or heat work well too. Cold weather furs, and things like alchemical heatstones and campfire beads (https://www.d20pfsrd.com/magic-items/wondrous-items/wondrous-items/a-b/bead-campfire/) work really well. For heat, create water can douse you and keep you cool. Life bubble and planar adaptation work as well.

Lack of air: air bubble, aboleth's lung, waterbreathing, polymorphing into a aquatic creature. Surviving the vacuum of space requires things like necklace of adaptation or life bubble. Planar adaptation for other plans.

Water: fins to feet, freedom of movement, polymorph into a creature with a swim speed. In addition to things above to breath underwater.

Darkness: Everburning torches, ioun torches, continual flame. A few tindertwigs to quickly light a fire.

For temporary conditions, creating another plane is always an option. Create demiplane, or even rope trick can allow you to wait things out.

Resistances/weaknesses: Acid flasks, alchemists fire, and alchemical weapon blanches cover the majority of targets. Having multiple weapon types and special materials as well.

See the master essential items list (https://www.reddit.com/r/Pathfinder_RPG/comments/2cv8z8/master_list_of_essentialuseful_magic_items/) as well as a list of cheap useful things (http://www.geekindustrialcomplex.com/articles/good-cheap-core-equipment-everyone-should-have)

[EldritchWeaver]

Thanks, that's very useful. I'll give that list to my players. :)

[farothel]

Always have a few healing potions with you. Not always for yourself, but to make sure the party healer stays in his/her feet. In our group we always spread those out across all the players, so everyone had at least one healing potion (not at starting level of course, but as soon as possible). That way if after a combat only one PC was still standing, that PC could bring the party healer back and then the rest could be brought back to full (or close to full) health.

This can also be a good thing if the party gets split up.

[EldritchWeaver]

True, although we have two healers already. One who can provide a lot of temp hps already, so dying by hp hasn't been much of a concern. Still, some way to grant non-healers a way to help is a good idea.