Starting Gold and the Shops


Beginner Box


I haven't run my first session yet. Well, I did between me and another friend for the dragon dungeon, but we both died on the first encounter. It was just a small test run. I was just following him around. My friend had 20ac but the goblins critted twice in a row haha.

Anyways, I have a good grasp of the rules (bb) and generally feel comfortably ready as a gm. However, I cannot for the life of me understand how to manage equipment in creating characters. Do gms keep track of food, water, storage capabilities? Also, I noticed key items like grappling hook and ropes; they can be used to easily bypass obstacles in the dragon dungeon and others. How technical should I get with equipment sans weps and armors?


Most GMs don't keep track of food, water, or storage unless it comes up as a roleplaying thing. Its just to much of a pain to keep track of and it bogs down the fun for some people. Different people handle it differently though, some want you to keep track of every last bagel.

Nothing wrong with carrying adventuring gear and using it to get around, thats always part of the fun I thought. What do mean by how technical?


Hmm aright.

Sovereign Court

Most food stuffs are broken down into rations that will service for a number of days worth of meals when not in a place where one can simply go to a tavern or some market stalls.

I think saying most GM's might be pushing that as almost everyone I know keeps pretty good track of that stuff. Only time I see it ignored is during event games like the Pathfinder Society.

Anyway there are a number of good shops in Sandpoint that have general supplies like rations and the like. Foodstuffs can be purchased from a few places as well.

Backpacks are a pretty handy thing most adventurers have. Think of a regular backpack you might have and set a reasonable limit on the things that will fit in it if your PC's tend to start hording every spare bit of gear. Sacks are very useful for hauling coins and should be in the beginner box. I forget if they got a Bag of Holding, that's the magical item which is great for storing things.

The best solution is to use your common sense and discuss it with your group of course. Getting some mounts or even just a pack mule can be a huge problem solver. Also remember that a lot of the chests and things in the dungeons aren't bolted to the floor either and certainly work well for hauling things about.


Morgen wrote:
I think saying most GM's might be pushing that as almost everyone I know keeps pretty good track of that stuff. Only time I see it ignored is during event games like the Pathfinder Society.

Only GMs I know who kept track started in 2E and liked it better when resource management was big. YMMV. I haven't had one GM do it in a group I'm with. Not one. Played with the idea, and maybe when it was important to roleplay, but not once has my DM really cared. Hilariously, the last time we ran out of food as part of the plot we ended up having to trust our orc to cook a bear with a forge. Thats another story though.


I only keep track of food when there is a likely shortage of it, when you do a long dungeon crawl for example, it never went wrong though.
It might be nice to know what kind of armor and weapons your characters have, so you know what the NPC's see. (A men in full plate with a greath axe makes an other impression than a men in leather with a shortbow.)
I ask my players to keep track of what other gear they have themselfs.


MrSin wrote:
Only GMs I know who kept track started in 2E and liked it better when resource management was big. YMMV. I haven't had one GM do it in a group I'm with. Not one. Played with the idea, and maybe when it was important to roleplay, but not once has my DM really cared. Hilariously, the last time we ran out of food as part of the plot we ended up having to trust our orc to cook a bear with a forge. Thats another story though.

Haha that sounds interesting. Well, since it'll be my group's first time in tabletops, I'll skip the food/storage for one or two dungeons. I love how you can toy with whatever is thrown at you, just like your story.


Honey Kun wrote:
MrSin wrote:
Only GMs I know who kept track started in 2E and liked it better when resource management was big. YMMV. I haven't had one GM do it in a group I'm with. Not one. Played with the idea, and maybe when it was important to roleplay, but not once has my DM really cared. Hilariously, the last time we ran out of food as part of the plot we ended up having to trust our orc to cook a bear with a forge. Thats another story though.
Haha that sounds interesting. Well, since it'll be my group's first time in tabletops, I'll skip the food/storage for one or two dungeons. I love how you can toy with whatever is thrown at you, just like your story.

Yeah, thats a big thing in this genre. All the storytelling and possibilities. I mean, everyones in it for a different thing, so if your group wants to start keeping track of every banana peel go for it! I've seen some people have real fun with that. My group obviously resorted to something different.

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