If you have anything that you believe needs to be added to this list please post it here with a brief explanation.
Gloves.....Never touch anything valuable that you find in a dungeon with your bare hands, you are sure to get poisoned/turned to stone/possessed
Bail/Bribe Money......hidden in your boot
Leather Wine Skins for Potions......one shatter spell and all those expensive potions are gone!
100 ft of Rope......you always need rope
Rings of Feather Fall.....From 3.5, handy for escaping the top floor of an evil tower, out the window and activate half way down.
Extra Bowstrings.....unless you want your Archer Ranger to be completly useless!
A designated sober character....before you go to the tavern, take everyones magic items
A young rust monster in a small wooden cage....Failed your thievery check? no problem, rust out the lock.
Strong Cheap booze.....nothing makes NPCs like you more
these last 2 we invented ourselves:
Earrings of communication.......work like walkie talkies, our group used to split up every time we went into a town, this helped us not wast time trying to find one another while the town was being attacked/invaded
This last one i slipped by the DM without him fully reading through what i was asking, I was playing a gnome rogue and wanted to buy some boom powder, basically gunpowder that i could use to open doors/ chests that i couldn't unlock, he said i could buy as much as i wanted but had to take an alchemy feat to use it ...I bought 3 KEGs of the stuff, and ended up not doing anything with it for months. Then we needed to break through an orc army laying siege to a dwarf stronghold, under cover of darkness i placed my kegs throughout the camp, after that it was easy to have the parties wizard lob fireballs at them and ignite the boompowder (3.5 rules fireball has range of 400ft plus 40 ft per lvl) I was hoping to cause a distraction but when we worked out the damage it was unbelievable, 1 keg held 100 flasks worth of boompowder, boompowder does 2d6 damage in a 5 ft aria, thats 200d6 for just one keg! we routed the entire army...but the Dwarves were kinda ******, the shockwaves collapsed a few tunnels.
Boompowder.....for when it absolutely, positively has to be turned to a smoking pile of Rubble
1) Fancy Dress. Sounds silly, right? Ask thebouncypherret about what happens when I have one.
2) Cruise ship deck chair. For when you go out to sea as a pirate. Just cast some nice acid spells into your water elemental familiar and let the ocean pilage for you.
+1 Frost Weapon
Nothing better to cool your drinks with. Player of mine kept his frost weapon in a keg of fine rum to keep the rum cool.
+1 Flaming Weapon
To light fires, of course.
In dark dungeons, flaming arrows can be used as candles to light the way. (One of my players did that to light a chamber in Last Breaths of Ashenport).
Catstep Boots, Safewing Amulet etc
Nothing better to prevent falling damage. (Update for the 3.x Ring of Featherfall
An expendable gnome. :D
Wow, you remind me of my old AD&D group. I was the Gnome Rogue and heading into trouble head first was my speciality, hurhurhur.
A crowbar, because really when havn't you needed to pry something?
5 pounds of sand, for various uses. Invisible creatures, cracks in the ground, pressure plates... the list goes on.
5 pounds of powdered soap. For obvious reasons, such as cleanliness, but also to make the ground slick!
A fishing net. Not just for fishing anymore.
And finally the most important, a bag of metal marbles. Use your imagination for thousands of things to do with these!
Apart from the obvious uses, mapping and so on, they have a thousand uses. Especially using colored ink to mark doors and corridors in mazes is a good way to avoid confusion. (And if the DM is out to screw with the party, it will at least annoy him to have to come up with a reason the markings are gone...)
Another useful idea is to carry some "counterfeit treasure". Cheap brass and glass trinkets to bribe less intelligent monsters.
Gloves.....Never touch anything valuable that you find in a dungeon with your bare hands, you are sure to get poisoned/turned to stone/possessed
Probably work for #1, unlikely to work for #2 and almost certainly to not work for #3 (your DM milage may vary). :D
Fortunately for players, these effects aren't quite the problem they posed in previous editions.
A young rust monster in a small wooden cage....Failed your thievery check? no problem, rust out the lock.
In 4e, there is a ton of at will damage of various effective types; anything other than poison, psychic or necrotic will cause full damage to objects like doors and locks. A 1st level character can break through just about anything they are likely to come across in short order with at-will powers alone. Given this fact it would be simple to make a lock where you need to activate the lock to pull or or more locking bars out of the door frame (like a bank vault), you destroy the lock and you eliminate the possibility of getting the door open without destroying the entire door.
And you avoid the DM just having the rust monster getting loose in the middle of the night, eating all your metal items and then completely disappearing so you can't get your residuum back.
On the magic side (at least in previous editions), sling bullets with continual light cast on them were invaluable to see into large dark areas, were compact and portable, had tremendous range and were expendable. Even if requiring a new Ritual, it would be worth replicating this in 4e.
On the low-tech side, 50 feet of blackened twine with small fishooks and pairs of small black iron bells (without clangers) strung on it. You hang it around your camp to detect intruders; when wound up and stored in a pack it's silent.
Arrows with: continual light, magic mouth, whistle, message container, pouches filled with wolfbane, garlic, powered silver, Keothum's ointment, frog crotch arrow heads for cutting rope, bird snare arrow heads, string tied to them for shooting ropes across chasms etc
Continual light cast in a bullseye lantern, on stones, on chalk, on mysterious coins with mystic looking runes, on flour, on a yo-yo, on clear glass marbles, on ink- you name it
Sacks of flour, sand, powdered garlic, powdered silver, coin sized metal discs, caltrops, marbles, cayenne pepper
Torpedoes, darts, throwing knives, throwing axes, garrote disguised as a necklace, whip disguised as a belt
Oh, almost forgot- a towel
Baby rust monster on a stick. Would you go near it?
Baby rust monster on a stick. Would you go near it?
Go near it? Hell, I'm pretty sure I ate it while drunk in Korea. Either it was rust monster, cat, or pigeon. It's best not to ask too many questions of street-vendors in a foreign country. It can easily wreck a bourbon-buzz.
String.
One of the things I love is how 4e manages to tip its hat to so many of these things. Three of my very favorite magic items in the PHB/AV are the Silent Grappling Hook, the Eternal Chalk, and the Nail of Sealing. They actually upgraded the stick of chalk, well! That's awesome.
Wheelbarrow and a holocaust cloak.
The dread pirate Roberts would like a word with you.
no wait...An 11 ft pole.
A 10 ft pole.
no wait...An 11 ft pole.
Screw that, I'm buying an 11' ladder. It's cheaper, and you get two sticks and a bunch of rungs. Great for tossing ahead of you to test for traps without risking the poles or yourself. Just don't do it near the beastmaster ranger's wolf. Or the shifter. Yeah...
Just don't do it near ...the shifter. Yeah...
What's this "don't" nonsense? You get a double check for traps and the possibility that a shifter dies. What's the problem?
What's this "don't" nonsense? You get a double check for traps and the possibility that a shifter dies. What's the problem?
It's a shifter and not a gnome. I thought you, of all posters would appreciate this.
It's a shifter and not a gnome. I thought you, of all posters would appreciate this.
I disagree with my people on this. Gnomes are a-okay.
**** Halflings.
I like to carry the following:
* 100 ft rope (silk)
* 10 pints oil
* 10 sticks chalk
* Ink
* Pen & Paper
* 10 Smoke sticks (matches)
* a hammer & pitons
These tools can be bought easily, and derail a lot of basic challenges.
Screw that, I'm buying an 11' ladder. It's cheaper, and you get two sticks and a bunch of rungs. Great for tossing ahead of you to test for traps without risking the poles or yourself. Just don't do it near the beastmaster ranger's wolf. Or the shifter. Yeah...
You're doing it wrong, buy an 11' ladder, pull it apart, sell the 11' poles and the rungs, use the money to buy two ladder. Repeat.
In my gaming group 10-foot poles are refered to as "The replacement rogue."
Right up until you run into a Burning Hands trap.
These days I always by a crowbar, rope and a grappling hook.
Salt, it's just not for eating anymore.
I like the list. I don't know why you feel it needs to be presented in language that pits the players against the DM. These are reasonable resources to have on hand in any adventure, regardless of the mood of your DM.
One DM who I play with, that I happen to enjoy as a DM, does have a habit of doing annoying **** that would be easy to counter with stuff like what is described here, oh wait, he'd probably make some random dude steal it with some unbeatable thievery check.
...Salt, it's just not for eating anymore.
It's also for flavoring food! Lol.
2) Cruise ship deck chair.
My current character, a 240-pound elven bladesinger, refuses to walk. He has a magical, animated chair that walks for him. He only gets up to fight or cast spells, and even then not always (the chair is capable of charging at double speed twice per day and he always has a lance with him!).
He also has a 4' diameter, 23,000+ pound lead ball in a portable hole.
-Goose fat (CompScoundrel); Greasing and area, help w/ Escape Artist via Grapple, etc.
-Blank book; party notes, rubbings, quick maps, basically allows accounting of dungeon 'x'.
-Tindertwigs (matches); move action to get out flint/steel and a full round action to light it is too long when you're about to die. Remember, a match saved the universe in "The 5th Element". Little things count.
-Shovel; everyone forgets these. Hilarious to see badass tanks trying to excavate or dig out a trench w/ a helmet or shield.
-Darkberries (Mgc of Faerun); instant, low yield Darkness. Very practical, entitles a Hide (concealment), good for slings too.
-Telescope, pricey as Hell, but dbl's spotting range. That and some long range attacks (Fireball, archer volley, etc) in the right terrain, priceless.
-Secondary holy symbols/component bags; for when they're lost @ sea, stripped via Disarm, Sundered, or what not. Vital.
They want to feed the rust monster magical items, cut open it's stomach and voila, full residuum market cost of the item, instead of 1/5th of the item's cost when selling to market!
Then of course they heal the rust monster or res it and start all over
I have refused to sell them the rust monster pet :D
My group has thought about a young rust monster as well.
They want to feed the rust monster magical items, cut open it's stomach and voila, full residuum market cost of the item, instead of 1/5th of the item's cost when selling to market!
Then of course they heal the rust monster or res it and start all over
I have refused to sell them the rust monster pet :D
You could give them the rust monster. If you read up on them, the timing has to be pretty much perfect. Let them fork out the money for one, then they have to roll a certain DC to get the right timing, otherwise you lose out and barely get any to none residuum.
Oh, almost forgot- a towel
You deserve a
-Steel mirror; peaking around corners (+10 Hide),
A steel mirror is size tiny. I don't know if these rules carried over to 4e, but in 3.X being size tiny gave you a +10 to hide. By using a tiny item rather than peeking around you can gain that hide bonus.
A steel mirror is size tiny. I don't know if these rules carried over to 4e, but in 3.X being size tiny gave you a +10 to hide. By using a tiny item rather than peeking around you can gain that hide bonus.
That's a rather incredible abuse of the rules :P. Your head is size tiny, so why even use a mirror? Just stick your head around!
That's a rather incredible abuse of the rules
Not sure it was rooted in size per se. Just what the 3.5 DMG dictated regarding dungeon exploration & recon w/ one. Think there was a blurb about it around dungeon architecture, perhaps around arrow slats IIRC, etc.
To be fair, it's not wholly abusive (RAW for one), and you still gotta' work up on that enemy position (Listen vs. Move Silently) to poke around the corner, mirror or no. Don't forget ACP, past alerts, whatever. Much can go wrong.
Furthermore, you've technically dedicated 1 hand to a utility item (that's 1 less on your greatswrod [no longer threatening], on the door, potion, rope, etc) which can make a world of difference depending, especially if they're Readying to 5ft out and tear your head off being adjacent...ie) you gotta' Listen too before you stick out your mirror to try and Spot. Then you got critters w/ Scent (Ex), Tremorsense, divination magic, etc. No guarantee.
We rule it's not as effective as a 1st person POV Spot, still, smarter so...
Your head is size tiny, so why even use a mirror? Just stick your head around!
... it doesn't get blown the Hell off. Call me kooky, seems safer, you know?
Other implications:
Show
-Certain spells require living creature contact/targeting (Magic Missle) so they won't work on objects. Rays are straight, uh, rays, so you're getting all kinds of Cover from the wall, if not Full Cover, etc. You might see that in war movies; ex) "Saving Pvt. Ryan" -> chewing gum to fix a mirror to his bayonet to zero a German gun enplacement and keep head intact.
-Gaze attack will still get you regardless; some clever monsters count on that, positioning reflective surfaces all over the place (false security, etc).
-You still need light; there was a huge debate on Darkvision and if it would work in lightless environ on a mirror, etc. Big can of worms, that.
-Certain spells require living creature contact/targeting (Magic Missle) so they won't work on objects. Rays are straight, uh, rays, so you're getting all kinds of Cover from the wall, if not Full Cover, etc. You might see that in war movies; ex) "Saving Pvt. Ryan" -> chewing gum to fix a mirror to his bayonet to zero a German gun enplacement and keep head intact.
-Gaze attack will still get you regardless; some clever monsters count on that, positioning reflective surfaces all over the place (false security, etc).
-You still need light; there was a huge debate on Darkvision and if it would work in lightless environ on a mirror, etc. Big can of worms, that.
That's a rather incredible abuse of the rules :P. Your head is size tiny, so why even use a mirror? Just stick your head around!
That is a +10 hide for anyone around the corner to spot the mirror poking around the corner, it being much smallerand harder to spot then your head and shoulders being at the corner. remember that your head is attached to your shoulders which is in turn attached to your torso, so peaking around the corner involves you being placed at the corner and your hide check is to make sure you aren't leaning too far into the room, with the mirror you can be further back behind the corner and out of sight, being a foot behind the corner and using a mirror is better then being right at the corner.
Even better is the small mirror on a stick, 3.5 arms and equipment listed it. Very useful for looking around corners, and at places that your head wouldn't normally fit (like through an arrow slot, around a door that is open a crack, etc.)
That is a +10 hide for anyone around the corner to spot the mirror poking around the corner, it being much smallerand harder to spot then your head and shoulders being at the corner. remember that your head is attached to your shoulders which is in turn attached to your torso, so peaking around the corner involves you being placed at the corner and your hide check is to make sure you aren't leaning too far into the room, with the mirror you can be further back behind the corner and out of sight, being a foot behind the corner and using a mirror is better then being right at the corner.
Even better is the small mirror on a stick, 3.5 arms and equipment listed it. Very useful for looking around corners, and at places that your head wouldn't normally fit (like through an arrow slot, around a door that is open a crack, etc.)
At least until light reflects off of the mirror into the faces/eyes of any monsters inside as you try to manuever the mirror into a good position.
- Acid - soften metal + melt things
- Backpack - duh
- Bedroll - duh
- Bell - has it's use. can be used when setting up a trap or snare to alert you of it going off, as well as for signaling
- Blanket, winter - it's a thick blanket. it's uses are from keeping you warm to dousing it in water to smother fires.
- Candle - less obvious & more easily hidden then your torch/everburning torch/sunrod & source of cheap sealing wax
- Canvas - any cloth really, but having something to use to patch up your clothes is nice to have around. also from personal experience, never travel without a towel. seriously. i hate being wet
- Case, map or scroll - these are usually watertight so it's great for carrying things you don't want wet. if you can have one made of metal, like bronze, have the inside polished and a small hole cut in the bottom. this way you can shove an everburning torch inside and have a flashlight that you can put a stopper on.
- Chain - it's like rope, only it doesn't cut as well and is tougher. nice to have in a resonable length
- Chalk - a bunch in different colors. used to do crude drawings or to mark hallways/traps. very useful. even better if you can get a blackboard or similar object.
- Crowbar - never underestimate the power of a good lever. or makeshift club.
- Fisherman's Gaffe - poke, prod & pull from a distance. it's the evolution of the 10 ft pole (well, a 10 ft pole with a large metal hook on the end).
- Fishhook - one or two are nice to have around
- Fishing net - lightweight and tough, can be used to catch fish, but also hung to hold gear/food/ect... out of animal reach when camping. other uses too
- Flask - hold that strange ichor for later study
- Flint and steel - if i need to explain it's use...
- Hammer - preferably one with a claw. while it can be used to drive nails, smash objects and act as a makeshift crowbar, a hammer is always useful.
- Ink & Inkpen - when you want to write using something fancier then chalk
- Lock + Manacles - obvious combination, especially when used with the previously mentioned chain.
- Mirror, small steel - inspect wounds, peek around corners, send messages, a quick last minute makeup check, so many uses.
- Oil - burn things + lubricant.
- Piton - while traditionally used for climbing, these can be used in trap/snare making, shoved between cracks to keep things open, wedged in places to keep them shut
- Pouch, belt - it's a sack. on your belt. to hold things. duh.
- Rope, silk + Grappling hook - rope has many, many uses. too many to actually describe here.
- Sack - you hold things in it. i recommend having one around your neck tucked inside your clothes/armor to carry valuable coins/knick-knacks
- Sewing kit (small travel kind) - i use mine often enough as is, i can see why an adventurer would want one
- Soap (per lb.) - you smell. deal with it.
- Spade (or small shovel) - just nice to have
- Spellbook - ok, a large tome, full of nice pages, bound & weatherproofed
- Tent - duh
- Torch/everburning torch - duh
- Waterskin - hold your drinks/potions/ect...
- Whetstone - oh look your weapon is dulled.
WEAPONS - and equivalents you should know about
- dagger - hunting knife, used to gut game & prepare meat
- short sword - machete, it will get dulled, but is VERY nice to have
- throwing axe/battleaxe - hatchet/wood axe like the shortsword/machete, used against brush
- bow & arrow - your mission: get food.
- wooden shield - makeshift umbrella, will probably tire you after a while
A steel mirror is size tiny. I don't know if these rules carried over to 4e, but in 3.X being size tiny gave you a +10 to hide. By using a tiny item rather than peeking around you can gain that hide bonus.
Actually, only the mirror would have a +10 bonus to hide, not the person using it.
Your head is size tiny, so why even use a mirror? Just stick your head around!
I actually had a halfing that tried that once...
What did he get for his trouble?
A katana to the neck.
Arrows with: continual light, magic mouth, whistle, message container, pouches filled with wolfbane, garlic, powered silver, Keothum's ointment, frog crotch arrow heads for cutting rope, bird snare arrow heads, string tied to them for shooting ropes across chasms etc
Improvise. Wizard picks up rock, wizard casts cantrip to make it give light, wizard gives light rock to someone with a sling shot. Rock gets shot where you want it to go and see.
It's also for flavoring food! Lol.
*laughs* And throwing in peoples eyes....
GEAR
[LIST]
[*]Case, map or scroll - these are usually watertight so it's great for carrying things you don't want wet. if you can have one made of metal, like bronze, have the inside polished and a small hole cut in the bottom. this way you can shove an everburning torch inside and have a flashlight that you can put a stopper on.
Brilliant. Nj.
[*]Mirror, small steel - inspect wounds, peek around corners, send messages, a quick last minute makeup check, so many uses.
Again, to reiterate, get 1 now, everyone.
[*]Pouch, belt - it's a sack. on your belt. to hold things. duh.
Cue obligatory geek humor in-game quip about your brawny change purse.
[*]Sewing kit (small travel kind) - i use mine often enough as is, i can see why an adventurer would want one
I'll often reward an innovative/clever PC when they dig through the Cleric's Healer's Kit. Surely, sutures are standard in 1, even w/ 10 uses/day, no?
[*]Tent - duh
This is something we'd all want, but many presume camping under the open stars (wntrblnkt/bdrll only) in game. Can't Spot through hide/tarp/membrane, but, you're effectively hidden yourself; no line of sight. Conflicted @ times on these.
[*]Torch/everburning torch - duh
2WF w/ one of these...highly underated, particularly depending on environ & assailiant.
[*]Whetstone - oh look your weapon is dulled.
Will enforce a penalty to hit &/or dmg if not evident on PC sheet after 'x' times, notably post combat vs. armored/high Hardess engagements. Others just throw 'x' gp/sp @ ye ole' town Weaponsmight, and presto chango!, you're off.
There are many more wise to excellent points/insights on your inventory list that were also quite innovative and/or illluminating. Nj.
- dagger - hunting knife, used to gut game & prepare meat
- short sword - machete, it will get dulled, but is VERY nice to have
- throwing axe/battleaxe - hatchet/wood axe like the shortsword/machete, used against brush
- bow & arrow - your mission: get food.
- wooden shield - makeshift umbrella, will probably tire you after a while
+1 again.
Saw a shield used as a wok/heated surface (coal, oil, darkfire, alchemical fires) a few times. Even a torture scenario w/ heated instruments inspired by a V:tM book (regenerative captive, I'm sure you understand :rolleyes
, etc.Oh, and the arrow. Another good call:
I've seen this totally change the course of a major engagement/entire campaign/etc. A simple, no frills arrow. Unarmed, or at least not threatening any squares around you = huge tactical implications in mass & often, normal combat, all normal AoO's from enemy movement, obj. retrieval, spells...c'mon, f'ing spells, everything is fair game. However, 1 arrow employed in melee fashion (Imp.Weapon, -4) changes everything. The sizeable penalty is worth the credible threat @ 5ft in 360.
At least until light reflects off of the mirror into the faces/eyes of any monsters inside as you try to manuever the mirror into a good position.
Well yes, but that is why it has a + 10 Hide stat. The player still has to make a roll to keep the mirror hidden (Their Hide check +10) vs the passive checks of anyone on the other side, light reflecting off the mirror into the eyes of the big bad on the other side would indicate a very poor and unlucky roll indeed. Still your chances or remaining hidden are much better using the mirror then it is poking your head around.
The other upside of using the mirror is if the critter already knows the party is there and is waiting for you to round the corner, I would rather poke a mirror out and risk discovery then poke my fool head out and get it brained.
Don't have boots, Have Waterproofed boots with steel toes, a false heal with a hidden compartment for lockpicking tools in them and a concealed knife shief.
Don't have a belt, have a thick, reinforced leather belt who's buckle doubles as a small grappling hook that can carry your weight plus gear.
Indicate that you have pockets on the inside of your coat as well as the outside, with flaps that secure shut to prevent loss of anything kept in them.
Make sure that all your gear is master worked if possible. Not only will it give you bonuses it reduces the DM from saying it breaks, or is worn out, etc.
-Chalk Dust. This has several uses
-Thrown into a space as an area attack to find invisible foes.
-Thrown into an area to provide temperary concealment as the dust settles
-Thrown at an apponent to blind them
-Used as an absorbant material to sock up oils etc
-Used to get past stick areas, throw on the area and the chalk will stick instead of your feet
-Add a contact or enhaled poison, or pepper even to the chalk dust and use as above when finding invisible foes etc to attempt a secondary effect at the same time.