Adventuring Packs

[Flynn]

Good Morning, All,

I remember in some of the older 1st Edition D&D modules or something like that, there were adventurer's packs one could buy. These were bundles of equipment already selected that included the basics that a person might pick up, in order to speed up character creation. You paid your 20 or 30 gold, or whatever it was, wrote all the stuff down on your character sheet, selected armor and weapons and maybe class-specific equipment, and you were good to go for the short adventure.

Well, it's practically decades later now, and I no longer have those adventures on hand. The concept is a good one for saving time during character creation, so I thought I'd try it in my next game. Does anyone have any suggestions about what should be in such a pack? Does anyone use this concept in their own games? Should I have two or three options for varying wealth levels? What are your thoughts?

Thank You In Advance,
Flynn

 

[dvvega]

The module you were thinking of is The Lost City (I think that's the name).

It had a buried temple in the desert.

It is a great idea. Many times I've wanted to just get started (especially at higher levels) and the adventuring gear was something we'd just say "I've got armour+2, weapon+3, oh and just standard adventuring stuff".

The packs you're thinking of were geared towards classes as well. The argument here is that stronger characters will carry the heavy gear like hammers/picks/spare weapons, while the weaker characters will just carry their survival gear.

The following are suggestions:

Food/Water
Rope (silk/hemp depending on cost/weight)
Pen/Ink
Spare Spellbooks/Scrolls
Backup weapons (dagger/light hammer/etc)
Tent
Bedroll
Blanket
Mount/Saddle
Donkey
Monthly upkeep

Of course most of these will depend on the money involved.

With the monthly upkeep, the DMG has an optional rule about upkeep - i think the moderate level was 45gp per month. What I did with this was that characters would buy their initial adventuring kit (from your pre-made kits for example) and then the 45gp per month included basic restocking/repairs to that equipment (and subsequent purchases of a mundane nature). It also covers inn fees, food supplies both in and out of town etc.

 

[FireLance]

I use the following in my campaigns:

Like spell component pouches, adventurer's packs are an abstraction. They are assumed to contain whatever a character needs to provide himself with light, food, drink and a comfortable place to sleep, take care of his equipment and personal hygiene, and carry around his gear and treasure. An adventurer's pack consists of a backpack, a belt pouch, a sack, a scroll case, a flask, a bedroll, a winter blanket, flint and steel, candles, torches, flasks of oil, trail rations, a fishhook, a waterskin, soap, a small steel mirror, a sewing needle, a whetstone, a signal whistle and chalk. In addition, it contains anything an adventurer might reasonably expect to need that is not specifically mentioned in the equipment lists in Chapter 7 of the Player's Handbook, e.g. a line to use the fishhook, cord or twine to tie things together, rags for cleaning, strips of cloth for bandages, etc.

Barring exceptional circumstances, this equipment is assumed to be repaired, replenished or replaced as it is broken, used or worn out.

An adventurer's pack costs 19 gold pieces and weighs 24 pounds for a Medium character, or 12 pounds for a Small character.