How would you outfit a party for different environments

domino

First Post
The title says most of it.

It seems that the most popular environment is a temperate forest/town location. And there's certain things that are obvious for any location, rations, clothes, bedroll maybe.

But my question is how would you gear up for a different campaign? This would be both mundane and magical items. Skills that might be overlooked at first would also fit in this.

For instance, the desert campaign? A decanter of endless water of course. But also make a point to have a hat, or headscarf to protect the neck from burning.

Or for an aquatic campaign, the ioun stone of air, sure. But it might be a good idea to put some points into use rope, as well as swim.

What about a mountain climbing campaign? Or an arctic one. Or a swampy one?
 

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In all climes/terrains, my Ranger takes along extra clothes. These are always camouflaged to the appropriate terrain type. In woodlands, woodland camo. In the arctic, snow camo. "Stoneflage", or clothes in various shades of grey, for any terrain.

In the arctic, Cold Weather Outfits, and a white fur cloak are a must. Rings of Warmth or armor with Energy Resistance (Cold) are handy. I don't have Frostburn, but MerricB says no skill is required for snow-shoeing/skiing (although Balance would be good). Boots of the North and/or Waterwalking would also be nice (some GMs will allow Boots of Waterwalking to work on snow & ice, others won't!). Long white scarves for wrapping the face & head, gloves, and over-mittens are also useful. The cloak should have an integral hood, and all outer layers should be wind- and water-proof. At least water isn't hard to find, here. Melt a mess of snow or ice in a one gallon pot, and you've got all you need! Crossing ice can be safely accomplished via ropes and/or poles, or anyone with a DC:15 Survival check.

In the desert, khaki/tan is the basic camouflage color. Clothes and cloaks should be light-colored, light cotton, and absorbent (to ward off incident solar radiation, and trap and keep sweat as long as possible, so the evaporation will cool the adventurers). Long head-and-neck scarves (shemaghs) are useful for keeping the dust and flying sands out of noses, mouths, and eyes. The Decanter of Endless Waters is, indeed, worth more than its weight in gold, in such cases. Rings of Fire Resistance or armor with Energy Resistance (Fire) will also work for keeping the heat off. Don't forget, though, that the desert is cold at night (as water - which the desert lacks - moderates temperature). So the bedroll & winter blanket is often a good idea, too. If travelling by wagon, fuel will need to be brought, as plant life is rare, in the desert. Fires may have to be made with "fuel pellets" (dung), even if it comes from the PCs. Lacking a Decanter of Endless Water, also bring along a water-barrel. Waterskins are a must. Hard-sided canteens are even better, if available. Finding food is also at, at least, a -2 Circumstance Penalty. Water found in the desert is often poisoned by minerals. DC:15 Survival check to recognize this fact. Effects vary (Gypsum, for instance, can cause temporary blindness).

Swamps are best handled via magic (although 10+ ranks of Swim can also work, if you're high enough level to have them). Boots of Water Walking are nice, but it is rare for the whole party (plus mounts, familiars, and animal companions) to all have them! Another possible solution is Mizu-gumo, or water-feet. These are like waterskins, but with snow-shoe-like straps on the top. Wearing a pair on your feet allows you to make a Balance check to cross water (DC:10 for calm water, DC:15 in chop). Adding a staff with a waterskin on each end allows a "third point of contact", when needed. :uhoh: This method of getting around is nearly invalidated by the lack of Balance skill accessability, however... If you have a Bard/Rogue capable of using it, a collection of "gas-bags" filled with lighter-than-air helium, hydrogen, or marsh-gas will add to bouyancy, but may be flammable... You may be better off ignoring them.

Horses' hooves will swell and crack, after enough time in the water. Keeping them dry can become important. Some mink-oiled leather "booties" can help solve that problem. Boats and/or barges (kayaks are best, if they exist in your world) may also get you through, where the marsh channels are wide enough. More usually, a DC:15 Survival check will allow a skilled Barbarian, Cleric of the Travel Domain, Druid, or Ranger to pick a safe path through the quicksand and stay on the firm(er) ground. Rope is good, too, as are items allowing water-breathing. Also, good water may be hard to find, and getting a fire lit in the muck will incur at least a -2 Circumstance Penalty, as all of the fuel is very wet. A tinderbox (not just the flint & steel listed in the PHB) is a life-saver, here. Water is easily available, but the pot to boil it is more necessary. Metal items tend to rust, so weather-proofing them (if available) is a necessity, and oiling them, if not.

Insects and diseases are common, in marshes and swamps. Magic is the best way to deal with this, but herbal medicine and such-like may suffice. Many insects can be chased off with smoke, citronella, pine sap, or other such cures. Most diseases can be cured with herbs (such as quinine vs. malaria). Cure Disease and Repel Insects are still the best bets, though. A wand of each would be nice! :D

Swamps and marshes are also very hard to get through. The muck, water, and thick underbrush make travel difficult. The acquatic animal life, insects, diseases, etc., don't help. The frequent mists and fogs make navigation tough. The constant wet conditions make iron or steel rust, and leather rot. Waterproofing all leather is a must. As mentioned below, hammocks to allow sleeping above the muck are also nice!

Jungles have many things in common with swamps, except they tend to be even less open, if possible. Paths have to be found, or hacked. Machettes are pretty much a necessity. The conditions are more usually hot AND humid, so you want to expose as much skin as possible (hence, little armor). Heat Exhaustion/Stroke are even more common than in the desert. Insects and diseases are also very common, here.

The Druidic (and, as of 3.5e, Rangeric) ability of Woodland Stride can come in very handy, here, allowing those PCs, at least, to slip through any non-magical obstructions made of plants. Magic items confering this, or the Pass Plants capability, are all very nice, in the woodlands and jungles.

For acquatic terrain, 10+ ranks of Swim seems a no-brainer. More, if you wear Medium or Heavy Armor! Climb & Jump, for getting from ship to ship. Profession (Boater, Sailor) for getting around by Boat/Ship. Some Rope Use, if you plan to throw grapnels, a lot. Again, items of Waterwalking and Water Breathing are probably going to be necessities, sooner or later. Rogues, or others with Balance skill, again might like the mizu-gumo. Items which control the weather are also quite nice. The Decanter of Endless Water is still quite useful, as sea water isn't drinkable, and the gallon pot (and a waterproof tarp) can be used to collect drinkable steam from boiled sea water. Knowledge (Geography) is needed for navigation (and available to Bards, Rangers, Sorcerers, and Wizards). Survival is still useful for gathering drinkable water, and fishing (or otherwise finding food). A great many spells probably work differently, if at all, underwater!

In mountain-climbing campaigns, Climb skill is a no-brainer (although not everyone has access to it as a class skill), and Rope Use limits how far you can throw a grapnel. All PCs should have a Climber's Kit worked in as part of their armor. Everyone should have rope, and more than 60'. Ropes of Climbing are always appreciated by climbers... Those without climbing skills should have a pair of Boots of Spider Climbing, wherein the spell is ALWAYS ACTIVE. This will allow them to run up and down the rocks without problem. The Cloak of Arachnidia also works well, for this. Note that, when croodling along the edge of a cliff, crossing skree, etc., that Balance may well be needed, but is generally unavailable to most PCs... This can be a problem! Jump may also come in handy, and is a bit more available. Items of Levitation and/or Faether Fall are also neccesary, for when your luck runs out. Adventures in the high mountains may need time to acclimate to the high altitudes, as well as arctic adventuring gear.
 
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@ Steveroo;

At first when I saw the length of that post I thought: "Man, why write a novel?"

Now that I've read it, I'm thinking: "Man, write some more!" Great stuff, consider it all yoinked! :D
 

Let me piggyback a bit off the earlier post by Steveroo (Great post BTW): Another thing to consider is party level and access to gear. Many of Steveroo's comments assumed a bit of level (magic items and skill points as example) - but what of the 2nd level party that has to wander out in the wilderness? (part of the reason (both historical and practical) for starting in our near a town.)

So, you've just been given the job of chasing the BBEG into the ice caves of Summoth and you are a 2nd level group of adventures, first consider a few things:
1) Why are they ICE Caves? magic, geothermal anomoly, portal to paraplane of ice?
2) How long are we going to be there? A 2 day trek & a 2 week trek are 2 different beings
3) Who's going?

1 - If the ice condition is magical, will this magic wear off once BBEG is vanquished? If so, wearing your artic gear may be practical at the begining, but get out of a now jungle like cave (in comparrison to Frosty's snow fortress) wearing three layers of fur and having no temperate clothing could be a factor for heat exhaustion. If the conditions change mid adventure or at a designated time, you could literally be caught with your pants down, or even, with them up. :eek:

2 - As an avid backpacker/hiker my pack changes considerably for a 2 day trek and a 2 week trek, If as an adventure I was tracking BBEG and thought it would only take a couple of days, I'm going light, a week of food, a change of clothes, some pitons and rope, maybe a pick ax and whatever I'm going to need to kill Bill. If it's gonna take more than a week, I'll need a mule to carry the 3 weeks or more of food, extra torches and tinder all wrapped to keep it dry (remember ice cave). at least 3 sets of clothing (for the same reason) and gear to build bridges and stuff so that I can make sure my pack line isn't left on the other side of a crevass. And that's just for a 2nd level fighter, not even a party. The reason I picked the ice cave was that fires make the cave melt, causing equipment to be cold and wet (very bad combination), even though the party may be able to vanquish goblins, frostbite, trenchfoot, immersion foot, hypothermia and even heat exhaustion (brought about by dehydration - it gets hot under three layers of fur when you're fighting monsters) are probably more dangerous than any foes. And if the party can't eat, they freeze and if they can't drink they die. Extra rations and water are a must.

3 - My example is based on a fighter, what about a cleric? Will my holy writs become waterlogged if taken into the dank? What about a wizard - oh, no, I'm not taking my spellbook in there!!! These potion bottles must be kept stored at ROOM temperature and cannot freeze (uh oh). How about that bard - do you know what cold and wet does to an instrument? And speaking of that fighter, ever seen cold metal touch skin? Probably going with leather armor on this outing. The number of people also increases the amount of ext4ras that need to be brought, how about some tarps to keep every thing dry? Shouldn't we bring food for the animals? Maybe we should invest in a small cart or wagon. How much were we getting paid again? :(

Of course I could go on, but I think the point has been made, it's the details that can kill a party when weather, climate and terrain start changing. The above example goes to show how most parties (and GMs for that matter) forget that the world is not a nice place to live in, regardless of whether or not you're fighting goblins or not. Food for thought, hmmm, I think I had better pack some more undies before I kill that bugbear. :)
Hope this helps and happy gaming
 

The specific situation I was thinking of was for a campaign. So, you'll be spending a lot of time in the arctic, rather than a 5 mile hike through the snow to the next town or so. For example. Jungle or marsh or desert works as well.

And I was also thinking moderate level. Obviously, a higher level party will be more prepared for different environments than a lower level party. Maybe 6 or 8 level group.
 

Ah. Another idea I just had. For swampy campaigns, a hammock. Odds are you won't be able to find dry ground on a completely regular basis, and putting your bedroll down in the much is going to be unpleasant at best, lethal at worst. A hammock would keep you out of the much, and help you avoid some of those nastys that crawl in it.
 

derbacher said:
@ Steveroo;

At first when I saw the length of that post I thought: "Man, why write a novel?"

Heh! I do tend to wax pedantic, eh? :D

derbacher said:
Now that I've read it, I'm thinking: "Man, write some more!" Great stuff, consider it all yoinked! :D

Heh! Thanks! :lol: One of these days, when I get a decent place to work (and get around to it!), I need to write "The Ranger's Handbook", and include all of that kinda stuff, as well as all of the extra bits of little gear (like those hammocks, compasses, candle lanterns, ascenders, waterfeet, ice-climbing foot-spikes, snow-shoes, skis, etc.) that you can read about in any good survival manual... (Can you tell I've read just a few? :p Hey, EVERYBODY needs a hobby! :lol: )
 

domino said:
The specific situation I was thinking of was for a campaign. So, you'll be spending a lot of time in the arctic, rather than a 5 mile hike through the snow to the next town or so.

In that case, I understand that Frostburn has sections on both Snow-shoeing and Skiing (although I don't know which skill(s) is/are used for it). Anyone else know? (I'd like to!) :p [EDIT: MerricB says there are no skills used for either, although Balance and Tumbling might both come in handy, in certain situations!) ;)

So have you decided upon a clime or terrain, yet? (Obviously, arctic swamps are right out... unless very near a volcanic spring!) :D
 
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domino said:
Ah. Another idea I just had. For swampy campaigns, a hammock. Odds are you won't be able to find dry ground on a completely regular basis, and putting your bedroll down in the much is going to be unpleasant at best, lethal at worst. A hammock would keep you out of the much, and help you avoid some of those nastys that crawl in it.

Hammocks are a good idea (great for sea voyages, too!), but they DO have their problems... Many people cannot sleep well in a hammock, for very long. They tend to make your feet higher than your head, and thus all the blood goes to your head, making it stuffy, and the would-be sleeper a bit dizzy and light-headed, waking them up. (Spellcasters would then need another hour's sleep to make up for the interruption!) That's a bit mean, though... You may just want to rule that adventurers are immune to such minor irritations.

Another non-magical neato is from Bastion Press' (IIRC) Book of Elves (Complete Elf, was it? I forget!) Anyway, it was an Elven Cloak, non-magical, but was warm or cool, at need, weighed only one pound, was weather-proof, and took the place of both the bedroll and light blanket that comes with it, AND the heavier winter blanket... That's a nice savings of weight, and negates the need for a good amount of bulky equipment... You might want to make those available to your PCs. Sorry, but I'd hafta look up the price (60 GP, IIRC, so not so great for lower-level characters, but well worth it for mid-to-upper-level ones).

As another couple of ideas, you could use a CON check (say, DC:10 or so) to see if a PC can sleep comfortably in a hammock (perhaps allowing the Endurance or Toughness Feats to make it unnecessary). You could also add in hammocks like the US Military Viet Nam/Korean versions, with waterproof tops & bottoms, and bug-netting all around the sides... If silk is available in your campaign area, use that for the netting, and up the price. Otherwise, it's made of cotton thread, and will soon rot, unless waxed frequently. I would say 3 GP, or add that to the price of the bedroll for a sleeping-bag/hammock combo... YMMV.
 
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Thunderfoot said:
Let me piggyback a bit off the earlier post by Steveroo (Great post BTW): Another thing to consider is party level and access to gear. Many of Steveroo's comments assumed a bit of level (magic items and skill points as example)

Thanks! Actually, I mentioned magic items that would be useful, but also tried to mention non-magical end-arounds, as well... and I don't think I made any assumptions about levels of skill... just stated DCs.

Thunderfoot said:
So, you've just been given the job of chasing the BBEG into the ice caves of Summoth and you are a 2nd level group of adventures, first consider a few things:
1) Why are they ICE Caves? magic, geothermal anomoly, portal to paraplane of ice?
2) How long are we going to be there? A 2 day trek & a 2 week trek are 2 different beings
3) Who's going?

Two is an excellent question to ask, certainly. One I'm not so sure about! :p

Thunderfoot said:
1 - If the ice condition is magical, will this magic wear off once BBEG is vanquished? If so, wearing your artic gear may be practical at the begining, but get out of a now jungle like cave (in comparrison to Frosty's snow fortress) wearing three layers of fur and having no temperate clothing could be a factor for heat exhaustion. If the conditions change mid adventure or at a designated time, you could literally be caught with your pants down, or even, with them up. :eek:

I'm not sure where you're getting the "three layers of fur" from... The cloak, and Cold Weather Clothing, perhaps? Anyway, CWC is worn over normal, which is worn in layers... If it gets warmer, you just remove a layer... You'll also notice, upon review, the note about extra clothing at the very top of my first post, eh? :p

Thunderfoot said:
2 - As an avid backpacker/hiker my pack changes considerably for a 2 day trek and a 2 week trek.

Absolutely! The gear required changes both with the overall mission, and the specific mission objectives (but this thread isn't about the basics of adventuring, but equipping a party to handle a particular terrain/clime).

Thunderfoot said:
If as an adventure I was tracking BBEG and thought it would only take a couple of days, I'm going light, a week of food, a change of clothes, some pitons and rope, maybe a pick ax and whatever I'm going to need to kill Bill. If it's gonna take more than a week, I'll need a mule to carry the 3 weeks or more of food, extra torches and tinder all wrapped to keep it dry (remember ice cave). at least 3 sets of clothing (for the same reason) and gear to build bridges and stuff so that I can make sure my pack line isn't left on the other side of a crevass. And that's just for a 2nd level fighter, not even a party. The reason I picked the ice cave was that fires make the cave melt, causing equipment to be cold and wet (very bad combination), even though the party may be able to vanquish goblins, frostbite, trenchfoot, immersion foot, hypothermia and even heat exhaustion (brought about by dehydration - it gets hot under three layers of fur when you're fighting monsters) are probably more dangerous than any foes. And if the party can't eat, they freeze and if they can't drink they die. Extra rations and water are a must.

Food & water are ALWAYS a must, but finding water in an ice cave isn't really a problem, even if finding fuel will be. Making a fire on ice isn't really all that complicated, either, although your point (which I assume is to show how the terrain and clime interract to challenge PC assumptions) is well taken...

Thunderfoot said:
3 - My example is based on a fighter, what about a cleric? Will my holy writs become waterlogged if taken into the dank?

Have you ever even seen a Cleric take these? :p Sure, I didn't write anything about scrolls and/or spellbooks, but then MY example was a Ranger. While he might have a few scrolls, he usually wouldn't need to worry about a spellbook... but, again, your point of "Who's going?" is well taken. Every PC is going to face his own challenges...

Thunderfoot said:
What about a wizard - oh, no, I'm not taking my spellbook in there!!! These potion bottles must be kept stored at ROOM temperature and cannot freeze (uh oh). How about that bard - do you know what cold and wet does to an instrument? And speaking of that fighter, ever seen cold metal touch skin? Probably going with leather armor on this outing.

The number of people also increases the amount of ext4ras that need to be brought, how about some tarps to keep every thing dry? Shouldn't we bring food for the animals? Maybe we should invest in a small cart or wagon. How much were we getting paid again? :(

Heh! Tarps are a good idea, but problematical, in the Medieval age... Plastic isn't around, so cotton canvas and leather are the two best bets. The cotton canvas has to be waxed, and is water-repellent, at best. The leather has to be oiled. Both are heavy. Which is probably why they're not on the equipment list... A two-man tent is 20 pounds, IIRC...

Thunderfoot said:
Of course I could go on, but I think the point has been made, it's the details that can kill a party when weather, climate and terrain start changing. The above example goes to show how most parties (and GMs for that matter) forget that the world is not a nice place to live in, regardless of whether or not you're fighting goblins or not. Food for thought, hmmm, I think I had better pack some more undies before I kill that bugbear. :)
Hope this helps and happy gaming

There's always more to write about survival and adventuring... Check the appropriate sections of your local library or bookstore, anywhere, any time. New titles come out all the time. I've read a host of them, and put a lot of it into actual practice... You could write a book on survival in any ONE terrain (and also use a lot of the information in most of the others). I just tried to give some ideas on equipping a party to enter the various terrains and climes, along with which skills they might find useful, there... Which is what the original poster asked for... :D
 
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