29/09/2021
It's probably not on your equipment list, but it probably should be.
D&D: Mundane But Often Overlooked Equipment And Gear Every Adventurer Should Have When Going Into A Dungeon.
Never be caught off guard by a dungeon again–forget your rations, waterskin and torches, here are the things that every adventurer really needs to survive a dungeon crawl.
Dungeon Crawling is a difficult endeavor that involves considerable risk to yourself. If you’re going to attempt it, you’ll want to make sure you have the equipment you’ll need to survive.
You’ll need weapons and armor, sure, but there are other pieces of gear you’ll want to bring with you to every dungeon.
⚫Bag of Sand
1 CP per pound.
A bag of sand is an adventurer’s best friend. It’s an extra bit of weight you can use to keep pressure-related traps from setting off, sure. But scatter around a few handfuls and it also becomes a great way to find a foe who becomes invisible if you lose track of them. You might also be able to use it to teporarily Blind an enemy if your dungeon master allows you to use it in this fashion. (NOTE: Just remember, you might be able to blind a couple of those beholder's eyes, but he's certainly going to be angry about it.)
◻Steel mirror
5 GP for 4 inch square, 1/4 lbs.
This is basically just a really polished and reflective square of steel that you can keep in your pocket. Steel mirrors are super useful. You can use the reflection to signal someone, A simple handmirror can help you see carefully around corners, under doors, or engage with monsters that have gaze attacks without necessarily exposing yourself to them. You can bang it on something to make a loud noise, or even to temporarily blind an enemy on a sunny day. Plus, you can make sure you look perfectly coiffed so you go into battle looking your best.
🏗Block and Tackle (light)
1 GP each, 3-5 lbs.
I’ve rarely if ever seen a player purchase one of these—mostly because I think no one really knows what it is, much less how to use one. Today, we fix that problem.
A block and tackle is basically a wooden pulley system, like the kind you see sailors hauling on in old pirate movies with the giant wheel and the little hooky thing on one end. So, when combined with rope (you DO have rope, right?), it can be used to haul up to four times the weight you can normally lift. A typically simple light, block and tackle consists of an iron hook about the size of the inside of someone's palm, and two wooden blocks that are rounded with grooves that are about the size of a closed fist to thread the rope through.
Yay physics!
So now let me put that in game terms for you: A gnome bard with a 10 Strength has a modest carrying capacity of 150 lbs. The Player’s Handbook states that a character can push, drag, or lift twice their carrying capacity on their own (pg 176). So that’s 300 lbs that he can lift off the ground or push across the floor without undue effort.
Now, with a rope and a properly set up block and tackle, that same gnomish bard (with his 10 Strength) can hoist up to four times the normal amount he could lift. That comes up to a whopping 1200 lbs. That is probably the weight of the entire party if you don’t have any pack horses. And that’s just your bard with his measly 10 Strength score. Imagine what the barbarian could lift. It’s all about the proper leverage.
A single block and tackle assembly weighs about 3-5 lbs. A medium set weighs between 6-10 lbs (allows lift of 6 times normal), and a heavy-set weighs around 20 lbs. (allows lift of 8 times normal limit)
🔗Manacles
2 GP, 2 1/2 lbs each set.
In a roleplay game, there is guaranteed to be at least one situation in which you need to subdue someone or other; be it for questioning, to prevent harm, or simply to transport them somewhere without fuss.
The thing is, while anyone can make a dexterity check to get out of a rope, finding your way out of manacles is a much more difficult check; it usually involves either a really high Strength to break them or else some kind of lockpicking ability. Additionally, having manacles on hand (pardon the pun) means that you won’t have to be cutting your rope into smaller pieces just to tie someone up. Double win! They are often paired with lengths of chain, but chain link lengths tends to be quite heavy. Which is important if your dungeon master is keeping up with encumbrance.
📿Twine or String
Usually 1 CP per 10 ft (Check with your DM) a 4 inch ball or coil is usually about a hundred feet, and weighs about an 1/8th lbs.
This is one of the few items that is not listed in the player’s handbook on its own, although it is part of the burglar’s pack. It’s probably safe to assume that it wouldn’t be hard or expensive to get a hold of a ball of twine, yarn or string, and it has endless uses in the right hands.
For example, a ball of string and a bell or a potion could be used to rig up traps or proximity alarms. You can use it along with sealing wax to MacGyver something that’s broken and make it useful again, create a necklace or a carrying loop on anything, provide directional assistance in mazes or labyrinths, or even throw it to distract some animals.
🔔Bell
1 GP, 1/8 - 1/4 lbs.
In addition to the obvious bonus of getting to make beautiful music and annoying the rest of the group, bells are surprisingly versatile in the right kind of campaign. Of course, it is going to depend on whether this is the kind of bell with a clapper or the kind you see on pet’s collars, but either way, it can be used for a variety of things including rigging up a medieval proximity alarm with some string, alerting allies over a greater distance than shouting, or even drawing attention to yourself during an encounter.
🕯Sealing Wax
5 SP per 1/2 pound.
Although it sounds absolutely useless, sealing wax is, at its core, medieval duct tape. This quick-melting pliable wax can be dripped on anything you can reach and it will seal and waterproof any light objects including paper, wood, or possibly even metal.
Uses include; sealing a small metal, glass, ceramic bottle container, etc. making a letter look more official, waterproofing a basket or fabric, or even using it like chalk to leave a waterproof wax mark on a floor or wall for your allies when scouting ahead.
🔨Pitons
5 CP each, 1/4 lbs each.
If you’ve ever selected the Explorer’s Pack, or the Burgler’s Pack, or if you simply stumbled across them while looking at equipment, Pitons are a bit confusing if you’ve never gone climbing. Note: they can also be used as a cruder, and less hearty form of Iron Spike, to wedge things open or closed, although they are not quite as strong as far as material strength they will usually get the job done.
Pitons are smaller metal spikes usually 4-6 inches in length that have a single hole called the Eye for threading your rope or safety line. They weigh 1/4th a pound, and should easily fit in any of your packs.
What you can do with Pitons, is if a wall doesn’t have enough holds for you to climb, you can use the “Activate Item” action to create your own by spending these pitons, though you’ll probably need a hammer to do that, and two free hands, unless your strength is ridiculous. If you have a Climber’s Kit, you can actually use the “Activate Item” action to anchor yourself, which keeps you from moving more than 25 ft. away from your anchor point without undoing said anchor, and by using a simple slip knot, a rope can be retrieved from the piton sliding back out through the eye while leaving the pitons behind.
✔Iron Spikes
1 GP per bundle of 10, 5 lbs.
Dungeons & Dragons players can purchase bundles of iron spikes from the equipment list in the Player's Handbook, but what are they actually used for?
The average 1st level Dungeons & Dragons character tends to stock up on items at every opportunity, even though most of their gear will never be used, but iron spikes might have more utility than some players realize. It's often better to have something and not need it, than to need something and not have it, which is why lots of players buy a bag of iron spikes from the equipment list in the Player's Handbook, without realizing their main purpose..
The Adventuring Gear section of the Player's Handbook is a table that contains miscellaneous items that a player might need in the wild. One of the most curious entries on this list is a bag of ten iron spikes, which cost a single gold piece. Piton's cost five copper pieces each and they are similar to iron spikes, as they are used for climbing, so why are iron spikes so expensive? Are iron spikes just a relic of the old days of D&D, or do they have some higher function that isn't described in the book?
Iron Spikes Are The D&D Instant Lock. They are used in conjunction with a hammer to quickly lock or block things. If a D&D party is being pursued down a corridor and they get past a door, one of them can hammer an iron spike into the ground to wedge it shut. This can buy the party precious extra time to run away. Wedging a door shut is also a good idea if the party suspects they are being followed while in a dungeon, as the pursuer will either be unable to follow or will need to make a lot of noise breaking the spike. The iron spikes can also be used in keyholes to seal a door, assuming the party isn't too concerned about needing an escape route.
There are other obvious uses for iron spikes, such an emergency D&D improvised weapon in combat, or keeping a tent up in the wilderness, but their use as aggressive door stoppers is their main function in Dungeons & Dragons. It might be worth investing a gold piece in some, as Hodor from Game of Thrones might still be alive if he just had a bag of iron spikes.
💥Caltrops
1 GP for bag of 20, 2 lbs.
This is another heavily overlooked item, because most people probably don’t actually know what caltrops are. While the descriptions will change slightly from edition to edition, basically caltrops are little spikes (picture toy jacks but with pointy sharpened tips) that you can scatter in a 5 foot area to slow down anyone who moves through that square. If you’ve ever stepped on a LEGO, or more likely a d4 die, then you understand the concept here.
According to the Player’s Handbook, dropping caltrops in a 5 foot square requires and action and makes anyone moving through it make a DC 15 Dexterity check or else stops moving and takes 1 piercing damage. Once they’ve taken that damage, their movement speed is reduced by 10 feet until they heal up. Alternatively, of course, they can move at half speed and not take the check at all, but that still gives you an advantage.
Now, that might not sound super useful, but if you’re a ranged character or a caster class, being able to slow anyone approaching you can be a huge boon. Additionally, since the caltrops are basically just spikes, you can use them for a number of other things, including throwing them at someone to make them duck or change course, use them to stick papers to the walls or the underside of a desk, or even scare away small critters. I’ve even seen darker players use them creatively to torture people (ouch!) or heat them in a fire and then launch scalding hot spiky balls at enemies during battle.
🔘Ball Bearings
1GP for bag of 1000, 5 lbs.
Already part of the Burglar’s pack, the initial use of these should be obvious. You can use an action to spread these out over a 10-foot area, and any creature moving over this space must succeed on a DC (Difficulty Class) 10 Dexterity saving throw or be knocked prone. You can avoid this by moving at half speed, but in the heat of battle, this isn’t likely.
You can buy a bag of these for the low price of just 1GP in most stores; for that you get 1000 of these little trip hazards. Whether you’re a rogue being pursued by the town guard, a Bard setting up a trap or a raging barbarian that has entered a 1 Vs 12 encounter, these little metal beauties can save your life.
Beyond the obvious tripping hazard though, there are a number of uses for ball bearings. They can be thrown in an attempt to distract that guard who is standing watch. Maybe you could even cast Light on one? Who isn’t going to investigate a mysterious tiny glowing orb? If you really feel like leaning into being a rogue, perhaps that coin purse you hand over to the merchant isn’t all gold just a bag full of bearings- just don’t let him search it before you leave.
💢[*I do realize that there are quite a few other things that could be included on this list, feel free to put them in the comments, things like, chalk, or a ten-foot pole Etc.. although the modern equivalent seems to be having a someone in the party with a quarterstaff and having someone else cast enlarge upon it LOL*]
