Alternate uses for equipment

[Cronus]

Hello all, I recently joined a 3.5 campaign as the Rogue, and being that we're first level, I was looking for any help in getting the most mileage out of my gear. I only have a few ideas, like fishing line as tripwire, bag of marbles to slow people down or tell if the dungeon floor is descending, arrows with no head for delivering notes silently... aaand i'm out.

Anyone have any ideas?

[Knaight]

Hello all, I recently joined a 3.5 campaign as the Rogue, and being that we're first level, I was looking for any help in getting the most mileage out of my gear. I only have a few ideas, like fishing line as tripwire, bag of marbles to slow people down or tell if the dungeon floor is descending, arrows with no head for delivering notes silently... aaand i'm out.

Bows aren't exactly silent, regardless of what they're firing (and if they aren't firing anything, they are loud. Plus, dry firing a bow is a stupid idea), so the arrow one wouldn't work. A blow gun, on the other hand...

As for ideas, they tend to come up on the spur of the moment. I wouldn't bother collecting them yet.

[Need_A_Life]

• Crowbars are handy clubs, levers and... ehm... lockpicks.
• Acid can open any lock, no skill check required (although acid splash is the usual way to do it).
• Chalk can be used to mark locations.
• Knives are invaluable for utility work, as is rope. Keep a spare rope for cutting up for those jury-rigged solutions.
• Whetstones actually have a useful mechanical effect for low-level parties. Even at higher levels, most ammunition is non-magical, so take that free +1 damage.
• Flint and steel can light things on fire. Useful for setting up camp, destroying evidence or literally smoking out enemies.
• Spend a couple of gp on a few choice alcoholic beverages. You've got a masterwork tool for diplomacy right there, as well as (in some cases) having something that can easily be lit.
• A waterproof masterwork backpack is a good investment. Keep stuff close (with no worries about extradimensional nonsense), protected and ready to drop in an instant when rolling initiative, if you need to drop down to light load.
• Brass Knuckles (from PF SRD) let you punch people without provoking AoOs.
• Hidden compartments (from Complete Scoundrel) lets you bring weapons, poisons etc. where that would otherwise be impossible.
• Hollow heeled boots from Arms and Equipment guide lets you hide a potion or two. Useful if you end up in jail.
• A single feat will let you turn a lit, mundane torch into a +1d6 fire damage with a sideorder of penalties. It also helps you if you don't have Darkvision, can light stuff on fire and can be thrown to provide lighting elsewhere.

[Edog]

I've got a couple:

--Soap. If you're playing in a 'traditional' fantasy setting, it's made from ash and fat. That makes it edible (if disgusting). It can also be used to help you escape from grapples and, of course, to clean you up after a dungeon crawl.

--Oil/Alcohol and tindertwigs/Flint and Steel. There are so many different ways flammable liquids can be useful...burnify your enemies, burnify obstacles, pour it on the floor and light it up as part of an ambush...although that last doesn't do much damage... I'm sure I've missed something, but I can't think what.

[Xuc Xac]

--Soap. If you're playing in a 'traditional' fantasy setting, it's made from ash and fat. That makes it edible (if disgusting).

If it's soap, then it's no longer fat. Soap is not a physical mixture of fat and ashes. It's the product of a chemical process that uses alkali and fat as reagents. Saying it's edible because it's made of fat is like saying salt is poisonous and explodes on contact with water because it's made of sodium and chlorine.

[TuggyNE]

If it's soap, then it's no longer fat. Soap is not a physical mixture of fat and ashes. It's the product of a chemical process that uses alkali and fat as reagents. Saying it's edible because it's made of fat is like saying salt is poisonous and explodes on contact with water because it's made of sodium and chlorine.

And the lye soap was made with is powerful stuff, very corrosive. Not something you want to eat; you'd get burns down your esophagus at the very least.

[Xuc Xac]

And the lye soap was made with is powerful stuff, very corrosive. Not something you want to eat; you'd get burns down your esophagus at the very least.

No, because the lye is gone too. Soap is made from an alkali substance (like lye) and a fat (animal tallow or vegetable oil). Both ingredients are consumed by the reaction and they combine to become soap (with glycerin as a byproduct). If there is still lye in your soap, then you used too much (or not enough fat). Everyone who makes soap uses a little more fat than necessary to balance the reaction just to be sure that all the lye is consumed (because a little extra fat in your soap will just make your skin moister but a little extra lye will burn you).

[Spiryt]

I'm pretty sure that travelers to the Greenland etc. were always pretty shocked by how happily Eskimo kids were devouring soap, after throwing away bar of chocolate that they found disgusting after just licking it.

[Xuc Xac]

Glycerin is a byproduct of making soap. Most often it's just thrown out or lost in primitive soap making but it can be reclaimed and used for other products in industrial soap making. Some glycerin is usually left in the soap as a moisturizer but too much makes the soap become soft and mushy when it stays wet. Glycerin tastes sweet. Glycerin soap (the translucent brown kind) has extra glycerin and actual sugar in it.

When you consider that those "eskimo" kids had a diet consisting largely of meat and fat with no real source of sugar (not even fruits), a bar of soap would probably taste like candy but a bar of chocolate would be horribly bitter.

[TuggyNE]

No, because the lye is gone too. Soap is made from an alkali substance (like lye) and a fat (animal tallow or vegetable oil). Both ingredients are consumed by the reaction and they combine to become soap (with glycerin as a byproduct). If there is still lye in your soap, then you used too much (or not enough fat). Everyone who makes soap uses a little more fat than necessary to balance the reaction just to be sure that all the lye is consumed (because a little extra fat in your soap will just make your skin moister but a little extra lye will burn you).

Indeed; my point was more that if the soap was still fatty, there would be lye too. Didn't express it well enough though

And obviously most soap had neither any lye nor much fat.

[Radar]

A bag of flour can become a budget version of a See Invisible or Glitterdust scroll.

Peanuts or other crispy snacks can make a terrain difficult to move silently through.

You could most probably use a needle to deliver poisons in a concealed manner during a handshake or somesuch.

[Trouvere]

Once you have a Hand of the Mage - and what rogue doesn't? - you need to make sure you have a sack of just-under-5 lb rocks. There are so many practical benefits that I can't even begin to list them all. But the major one is that you get the party fighter to carry around a sack of rocks.

[Cronus]

Wow, between the soap and someone told me wheat flour...

Wheat flour: Put on the floor to know if somebody steps above it. it will leave a track.
Throw it in the air to see invisible creatures.
Mix it with water to make glue. You can close orifices with it.
Throw it at the eyes of the enemy. Insist with loud voice to the GM that it will blind the enemies. If he doesn´t believe you, just try throwing flour to the GM.
You can use it as food. You can add sugar and water and transform it to alcohol, after some days.
Mix it with water and cover your body with it. It will gives you a 1/DR against fire or acid!! (again, you have to cry to the GM and make a disgusting live demonstration of it. Your PnP will never be the same).
You can use the flour sack as a pillow as well.
"This list is, by no means, exhaustive"

heh....

I play on Thursday and I feel like the Batman of the group, prepared for any situation! (until I start rolling 1's)

Thanks guys!

[holywhippet]

In sufficient quantities, flour can be used as an explosive since it does burn and if you fill a room with it then ignite it you should get an explosion.

A couple of tricks I used in a 2nd edition game: we were in a cave and ran into some monsters that shot a web at the PCs then tried to reel them in. I had a rope and grapnel hook so I tied the rope to a player and anchored the hook so they could only be reeled in so far. On another occasion it was a rainy night and I was the only player who'd bought a tent. So I set the tent up as a lean to so everyone could stay dry.

Consider making door wedges - put them under a door so it can't be opened outwards. Useful for when you encounter multiple doors and don't want enemies coming out of all them if you start a fight.

Carry a small quantity of dry wood - just in case you need to start a fire and all the available wood is wet. Plenty of lamp oil is useful for a similar reason.

[Daer]

staff or spear to poke things. In and out of combat. During downtime perfect to use as prop on entertainment.

Towel, huge. Dry yourself, carry stuff on it, hide something behind it.. on dark place use it and bluff (perhaps intimidate too) to fool people think it monster or something. use as cape when flying. can be used on picnic. and many more.

drill, drill your own peek hole to bathing rooms! eh.. to spy the suspicious evil ..person. or get salt from salt mines middle of desert.

Bag of candies to bribe kids or other sweet loving creatures to tell information they might not tell otherwise. (and like said other post some booze for rest.)

extra clothes for disguise.

[Anderlith]

Flour, it's the Swiss army knife of bakery. It has so much potential as a powder & as an explosive

A sheet of canvas (the Swiss army knife of cloth) Mix with some Prestidigitation to make impromptu clothes/disguises or a tent, etc

Rope (The Swiss army knife of thread) Lots of uses most have been explained already

A pair of goats (The Swiss army knife of... horned herbivores?). They are basically mules, & can pull carts & wagons just as well, but they taste better in a pinch & can eat anything you don't want found.

[Blue Bandit]

Rocks, they can be used as improvised weapons, dropped down a hole to approximate depth, check for various traps, activate possible out of reach switches or triggers, used as a distraction, and a number of other possibilities.

Yes, the sky's the limit with rocks.

[DarkestKnight]

Rocks, they can be used as improvised weapons, dropped down a hole to approximate depth, check for various traps, activate possible out of reach switches or triggers, used as a distraction, and a number of other possibilities.

Yes, the sky's the limit with rocks.

if you substitute rocks with fighters its just as practical.

Personally i like bringing some marbles and thunderstones. great for making distractions or harassing people.

[Grinner]

Necromancers of the Northwest, an RPG company, released a free PDF on this subject.

[Razanir]

Bag of Holding + Rope + A few 10-ft poles = Extendable rod. Imagine a measuring tape, but sturdier and less floppy