quozaxx Posted September 14, 2013 Report Share Posted September 14, 2013 In a fantasy game. Everybody should have some of the same things. For example. A horse, rope, and a knife. What other very basic items should every Fantasy Hero Character have? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Markdoc Posted September 14, 2013 Report Share Posted September 14, 2013 Clothes? Well, everyone except for the barbarians of course. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain Obvious Posted September 14, 2013 Report Share Posted September 14, 2013 That would depend very much on the campaign. A campaign of old school dungeon crawls will be very different from an urban Lankhmar campaign, and both will be different from from a high seas, piratical campaign. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NuSoardGraphite Posted September 15, 2013 Report Share Posted September 15, 2013 Backpack, torches, tinderbox, mirror, rope, canteen, dried rations (3 days worth), knife, fishing line & hooks, heavy cloak (for rain, snow etc) leather boots (waterproof), Chalk (or coal), belt pouches (at least 2) empty sacks (at least 2), bandages, healing salve (to stave off infections). Anything I forget? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lucius Posted September 15, 2013 Report Share Posted September 15, 2013 cup, bowl, spoon, cookpot Lucius Alexander Palinromedary, saddle, saddlebags, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quozaxx Posted September 15, 2013 Author Report Share Posted September 15, 2013 cup, bowel, spoon, cookpot Lucius Alexander Palinromedary, saddle, saddlebags, Thank you both so much. Now, the only question I have is What is a Lucius Alexander, and how does an adventurer carry it? Oh, and what is a Palinromedary? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IndianaJoe3 Posted September 15, 2013 Report Share Posted September 15, 2013 Just leave the polished bronze mirror at home. That's just giving the GM an excuse to hose you. :evilgrin: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Theros Posted September 17, 2013 Report Share Posted September 17, 2013 Bedroll...or blanket. Hand axe...atleast those missing from lists. Scabbards and weapon belt, if needed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lucius Posted September 18, 2013 Report Share Posted September 18, 2013 Thank you both so much. Now, the only question I have is What is a Lucius Alexander, and how does an adventurer carry it? Oh, and what is a Palinromedary? A Lucius Alexander is carried on a palindromedary Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Goodwin Posted September 18, 2013 Report Share Posted September 18, 2013 50' of rope and a 10 foot pole. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mhd Posted September 18, 2013 Report Share Posted September 18, 2013 Loincloths, for propriety's sake. Every other "necessary starting item" reeks of mollycoddling or even communism, citizen. Don't make me invoke the wrath of Ken St. Andre. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Markdoc Posted September 18, 2013 Report Share Posted September 18, 2013 Yeah, long ago, we worked out all the stuff we should carry with us, including such necessaries as "Spool of silver wire". You might laugh - but one night, some werewolves nearly ganked themselves charging us though a door with silver wire solidly anchored across it at neck height .... The only catch is that you required a team of bearers to carry it all. So one of my gaming buddies made a sketch of these fine henchmen ... Here's Bearer No. 4 ... cheers, Mark Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Goodwin Posted September 18, 2013 Report Share Posted September 18, 2013 No one ever thinks of this, but... a periscope. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NuSoardGraphite Posted September 18, 2013 Report Share Posted September 18, 2013 Yeah, long ago, we worked out all the stuff we should carry with us, including such necessaries as "Spool of silver wire". You might laugh - but one night, some werewolves nearly ganked themselves charging us though a door with silver wire solidly anchored across it at neck height .... The only catch is that you required a team of bearers to carry it all. So one of my gaming buddies made a sketch of these fine henchmen ... Here's Bearer No. 4 ... cheers, Mark A pack horse solves that issue. Most characters can carry their extra gear in their saddle bags. Their personal stuff in their backpacks, then the bulky stuff (tents, bedrolls, heavy cloaks etc) on the pack horse, then you also have the pack horse carry the lion's share of the treasure you find along the way. Just make sure that horse is VERY loyal and not particularly skittish. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quozaxx Posted September 19, 2013 Author Report Share Posted September 19, 2013 How many knives should they carry (realistically, not for the knife wielding character, who would have more)? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigbywolfe Posted September 19, 2013 Report Share Posted September 19, 2013 No one ever thinks of this, but... a periscope. Okay, that's actually a really good one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Man Posted September 19, 2013 Report Share Posted September 19, 2013 I have to say that I'm actually a little irritated by the adventurers-who-carry-an-entire-department-store-around-with-them meme. It just reminds me too much of 1) the Monty Haul AD&D days and 2) too many stupid arguments about how of course my character is carrying a periscope, it's so obvious that they would. Near as I can tell, real people throughout the Middle Ages never carried as much gear as dungeon crawlers seem to. The closest example I can think of are knights, who would have had to maintain their armor and weapons and would have carried around basic tooling to do that. But really they seem to have relied on their henchmen squires for that. Are there any sources for what typical knights, archers, men-at-arms, or legionaries carried with them? Aside from the weapons and armor? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mhd Posted September 19, 2013 Report Share Posted September 19, 2013 No one ever thinks of this, but... a periscope. My first thought was "well, that's what the mirror/piece of polished metal is for", as I would've said that periscopes would be a bit too modern for most quasi-medieval settings (mostly a Renaissance thing, with relatively cheap mirrors being a 19th century invention). That made me look up periscope on Wikipedia. And apparently, dear old Gutenberg was one of the first to make one, selling it to back row pilgrims so that they can see what's going on. Which is why my next campaign will feature either dwarves or halfling nobles who use periscopes like opera glasses, and with exactly the same hauteur. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mhd Posted September 19, 2013 Report Share Posted September 19, 2013 Near as I can tell' date=' real people throughout the Middle Ages never carried as much gear as dungeon crawlers seem to. The closest example I can think of are knights, who would have had to maintain their armor and weapons and would have carried around basic tooling to do that. But really they seem to have relied on their [strike']henchmen[/strike] squires for that. I think that's the point, people who could afford lots of stuff could afford servants carrying them around. In classical and medieval times, you had quite an entourage going on. Which is why the "department store" meme is quite linked to the henchman/carrier/pack gorilla/torch bearer meme. Strangely enough, the latter has become more rare in recent years of the game, so we're left a bit out of balance. Extradimensional storage solves that, of course. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christougher Posted September 19, 2013 Report Share Posted September 19, 2013 I have to say that I'm actually a little irritated by the adventurers-who-carry-an-entire-department-store-around-with-them meme. It just reminds me too much of 1) the Monty Haul AD&D days and 2) too many stupid arguments about how of course my character is carrying a periscope, it's so obvious that they would. Near as I can tell, real people throughout the Middle Ages never carried as much gear as dungeon crawlers seem to. The closest example I can think of are knights, who would have had to maintain their armor and weapons and would have carried around basic tooling to do that. But really they seem to have relied on their henchmen squires for that. Are there any sources for what typical knights, archers, men-at-arms, or legionaries carried with them? Aside from the weapons and armor? Don't know. I've looked at similar questions for the space marines in my Master of Orion game. Some great results googling "loadout" in terms of modern soldiers. What gets carried varies GREATLY with intended mission, and there's just too much stuff you /could/ carry and not use versus the stuff you /need/. Most of that work isn't in finished format; maybe I'll polish it up and post it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Markdoc Posted September 20, 2013 Report Share Posted September 20, 2013 Says it all, really: The other answer, is "about what you can realistically fit in a pack, or over your shoulders". That's quite a lot - the Marian era legionaries carried about 60 pounds of stuff, and they did it over long distances and had to be ready to fight along the way. They were tough SOBs, and not too far off our hypothetical adventuring types when it comes to strength and stamina, I think. Roman military training in those days consisted mostly of "running", "carrying heavy things" and "Running while carrying heavy things". They have not just weapons and armour, but also tools, blankets, tents etc. They didn't carry food, beyond the day's snacks and water: the rest was rolled along on wagons or carried on mules. Of course if they had to actually fight (or scramble away from an opening pit, etc) they'd have to drop all that stuff, in which case they'd end up with weapons, armour and precious little else. cheers, Mark Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cancer Posted September 20, 2013 Report Share Posted September 20, 2013 A book and a towel. Erm, wrong genre, sorry. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kraven Kor Posted October 2, 2013 Report Share Posted October 2, 2013 How many knives should they carry (realistically, not for the knife wielding character, who would have more)? "One More." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christopher Posted October 4, 2013 Report Share Posted October 4, 2013 "One More." "Enough": Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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