what's the best thing to stick in a speed sheath?


Advice


Say you're playing a low-Str character who has to watch his encumbrance to the point where in order to free up weight you do things like buy a mithral melee weapon or a darkleaf spell component pouch in order to afford a speed sheath's 1 lb cost.

Ultimate Wilderness wrote:
Speed sheath: This sheath is designed to be strapped around your forearm, but it is too bulky to be hidden under a long sleeve. It can hold one forearm-length item, such as a dagger, dart, potion, scroll containing a single spell, or wand. As a swift action, you can bend your wrist to cause the sheathed item to drop into your hand (provoking attacks of opportunity as normal for retrieving an item). Placing an item in the sheath is a full-round action that provokes attacks of opportunity. You can wear only one wrist sheath per arm that you have.

Also, am I allowed to be annoyed that you can't use a speed sheath with the underhanded rogue talent? Argh.

Anyway, say you can only afford to carry one of these babies, and using a special material on it is questionable, because we don't know what speed sheaths are made out of in the first place. What's the best thing to carry in it?

Say, one option for someone who can cast CLW, someone who can't cast CLW, and someone who can't cast anything. Best three in that scenario.


For anyone that can use it - a breath of life scroll.

Good for DM's who dont allow a spring sheath to hold a scroll.

Draw the scroll as a swift, move action to go to the recently-deceased character and cast as a standard action.


ohako wrote:
mithral melee weapon or a darkleaf spell component pouch

If you can afford them, there are ways to increase carry capacity.

Backpack (masterwork) [50 gp]: +1 str
Powerhouse Pelt [3,515 gp]: +8 str
Burdenless [+4000gp]: +50% carry
Muleback Cords [1000gp]: +8 str
Efficient Packer and Muscle of the Society traits: +2 str each.

PS: minor bag of holding [1000gp]: weighs 3 lbs to holds 50 lbs [depending on carried gear may help.

Both traits and the backpack turn a 5 str into a 10 for carry by themselves. For just 1000, the cords turn that into an 18 for carry. If you're worried about the slot, a Muleback Cords Shadow Piercing is 1500gp and a Muleback Cords tattoo is 2000gp and neither full up the slot.

As to what's in the Speed sheath, a potion/wand/scroll of ant haul so you can carry spare change and not be slowed down. ;)


graystone wrote:
ohako wrote:
mithral melee weapon or a darkleaf spell component pouch

If you can afford them, there are ways to increase carry capacity.

Backpack (masterwork) [50 gp]: +1 str
Powerhouse Pelt [3,515 gp]: +8 str
Burdenless [+4000gp]: +50% carry
Muleback Cords [1000gp]: +8 str
Efficient Packer and Muscle of the Society traits: +2 str each.

PS: minor bag of holding [1000gp]: weighs 3 lbs to holds 50 lbs [depending on carried gear may help.

Both traits and the backpack turn a 5 str into a 10 for carry by themselves. For just 1000, the cords turn that into an 18 for carry. If you're worried about the slot, a Muleback Cords Shadow Piercing is 1500gp and a Muleback Cords tattoo is 2000gp and neither full up the slot.

As to what's in the Speed sheath, a potion/wand/scroll of ant haul so you can carry spare change and not be slowed down. ;)

I'm not saying these are bad options, buuut, they're bad options for my character specifically.

backpack: A masterwork backpack weighs 4 pounds. Going from 8 to 9 Strength gives me 4 pounds of capacity. A darkleaf masterwork backpack costs 1550gp, and gives me a grand total of 2 lbs to play with.
Powerhouse Pelt: A good idea, if my character had medium armor proficiency and didn't care about arcane spell failure (bard). Looks like a very reasonable armor otherwise.
Burdenless: Requires I wear armor in the first place (every lb counts), and costs 4000gp for something I don't think is worth it.
Muleback Cords: Saving my shoulders slot.
Muleback Shadow Piercing: My specific character is a Sheyln-worshipper, and this is very much Zon Kuthon gear. Picky, I know.
Muleback Tattoo: Is that PFS legal? Also kinda pricey.

With a mithral weapon I get to bypass silver DR at least. That's not nothing.

This is for PFS, and eventually I'm going to get a pack donkey and load it with lots of 'non-combat' stuff and hire a squire to drag it around (1 PP cheaper than a porter), and I've got one belt pouch for potions, one for alchemical goodies, and one scroll case. Wands are also really light, so I can stick a few into my belt, that's fine. At high level I was planning on packing some first aid gloves (which I know weigh 1 lb) so I wouldn't have to worry about the UMD check for the scroll.

I was planning eventually to grab a darkleaf spell component pouch and using a 1/2 lb from that for a set of concealable lockpicks to use as a focus for Aram Zey's focus. I was just thinking about switching from an elysian bronze short sword to a mithral short sword for 1 extra lb for a speed sheath.

Aside from a scroll of breath of life or a scroll of ant haul, what's your top priority for a speed sheath?

Hmm, aside from that, the minor bag of holding or the pathfinder pouch might not be a bad idea for me. I could take all of my mundane belt pouches and stuff off, and I'd have a few lbs to spare for some lockpicks or alchemical bombs or whatnot. I'll add that to my 'gear' tranch for sure.


If this is for PFS, I should mention that the Campaign Clarifications document specifically legalized scrolls in the old spring-loaded variant. Shouldn't matter for your purposes, but it might for someone else viewing the thread.

ohako wrote:
backpack: A masterwork backpack weighs 4 pounds. Going from 8 to 9 Strength gives me 4 pounds of capacity. A darkleaf masterwork backpack costs 1550gp, and gives me a grand total of 2 lbs to play with.

If you didn't have a backpack in the first place, sure. If you did, it would only +2 lbs of weight for +4 lbs of capacity.

ohako wrote:
Muleback Tattoo: Is that PFS legal? Also kinda pricey.

Not PFS-legal; it's an extension of rules found in Inner Sea Magic and is definitely a custom item. And the book for Shadow Piercings isn't even in the Additional Resources list, so it would be out even if the character was OK with it.

ohako wrote:
This is for PFS, and eventually I'm going to get a pack donkey and load it with lots of 'non-combat' stuff and hire a squire to drag it around (1 PP cheaper than a porter)...

Be aware that lots of scenarios are written in a very animal-unfriendly way. You're going to have issues with the pack mule at some point.

ohako wrote:
I was planning eventually to grab a darkleaf spell component pouch and using a 1/2 lb from that for a set of concealable lockpicks to use as a focus for Aram Zey's focus.

Most GMs won't have a problem with this, but the spell does specify "a set of masterwork thieves' tools worth 100gp", which the extra-light versions technically aren't. Extremely Lawful Evil GMs might use it as an excuse if they find out.

ohako wrote:
Aside from a scroll of breath of life or a scroll of ant haul, what's your top priority for a speed sheath?

I probably wouldn't bother with Ant Haul in that thing. The scroll has a 2-hour duration, so you could put it up if you start getting suspicious and have it up for the whole dungeon.

You might try adding a wand of something you'll want to cast in the surprise round (a wizard might have Shield, for example.) If combat suddenly breaks out, you don't have time to pull a wand normally and use it.


The Nite Owl wrote:

For anyone that can use it - a breath of life scroll.

Good for DM's who dont allow a spring sheath to hold a scroll.

Draw the scroll as a swift, move action to go to the recently-deceased character and cast as a standard action.

Adventurer's Armory 2 fixed that:

For 5 gp, you can now retrieve one scroll as a swift action.


Fourshadow wrote:
The Nite Owl wrote:

For anyone that can use it - a breath of life scroll.

Good for DM's who dont allow a spring sheath to hold a scroll.

Draw the scroll as a swift, move action to go to the recently-deceased character and cast as a standard action.

Adventurer's Armory 2 fixed that:

For 5 gp, you can now retrieve one scroll as a swift action.

Not in PFS. The spring-loaded scroll cases are explicitly illegal, even though the spring-loaded wrist sheath was clarified to work with scrolls in PFS. Because reasons, I guess.


My latest DM likes to poison PC's, so I'd put in a vial of anti-toxin or scroll of neutralize poison.

For more general purposes, a wand of either grease or web. Both are amazing low level spells, but not ones you always want to waste spell slots on, especially as a bard.

Also, IMO, any DM who actually counts armor weight against your encumbrance is just being a dick.

The Exchange

Childeric, The Shatterer wrote:
Also, IMO, any DM who actually counts armor weight against your encumbrance is just being a dick.
Core Rulebook wrote:


Encumbrance by Weight: If you want to determine whether your character's gear is heavy enough to slow him down more than his armor already does, total the weight of all the character's items, including armor, weapons, and gear.

PRD link.

The Exchange

Speed Sheath:

Strength-based melee: potion of enlarge person
Divine caster (or high UMD): wand of cure x wounds, scroll of breath of life (higher levels)
Others: depends on your campaign. Anittoxins/antiplagues for some campaigns. A potion of cure serious wounds is never a bad choice. Many classes have a 1st level "buff" spell they like to cast every combat but don't have the spell slots for. A 1st level wand works great there. Such as aspect of the falcon for archer rangers.


Childeric, The Shatterer wrote:

My latest DM likes to poison PC's, so I'd put in a vial of anti-toxin or scroll of neutralize poison.

For more general purposes, a wand of either grease or web. Both are amazing low level spells, but not ones you always want to waste spell slots on, especially as a bard.

Also, IMO, any DM who actually counts armor weight against your encumbrance is just being a dick.

You know, I'm playing a medium-sized 8 Str character who wants to get into melee. That's a choice I made, and I should have to live with it. I think my most economical option (best bang for the buck) is a passable UMD score and a wand of mage armor. Also I've got a buckler (because sword dancing with bucklers is cool, look it up), and that +1 AC has helped out quite a bit.

I just had a combat where it would have been uneconomical to cast mage armor every hour. Also I seem to keep getting into scrapes where I want to move to the rear and heal myself in the same turn, and I can't. I guess that means I'm tempted to stick the wands I currently have into spring-loaded wrist sheaths, and eventually speed sheaths if those become legal.


ohako wrote:

backpack: A masterwork backpack weighs 4 pounds. Going from 8 to 9 Strength gives me 4 pounds of capacity. A darkleaf masterwork backpack costs 1550gp, and gives me a grand total of 2 lbs to play with.

Powerhouse Pelt: A good idea, if my character had medium armor proficiency and didn't care about arcane spell failure (bard). Looks like a very reasonable armor otherwise.
Burdenless: Requires I wear armor in the first place (every lb counts), and costs 4000gp for something I don't think is worth it.
Muleback Cords: Saving my shoulders slot.
Muleback Shadow Piercing: My specific character is a Sheyln-worshipper, and this is very much Zon Kuthon gear. Picky, I know.
Muleback Tattoo: Is that PFS legal? Also kinda pricey.

First off, PLEASE say it's for PFS first and in BIG letters.

Secondly:
backpack: Mainly useful as an additive to another.
Powerhouse Pelt: Some bards have medium or can get it and cast spells. It's important to say what you're playing if you don't want advice that doesn't apply. [see first point]
Burdenless: Armor weights start at 1 lb [Haramaki, 3 gp, AC +1, ACF 0, spell failure 0%, move 30 ft., weight 1 lb.]
Muleback Cords: It's only 1000gp. It will get you through low levels until you can buy a more expensive 'cure' for weight then you can swap it out, only losing 500gp when you sell it back.
Muleback Shadow Piercing: The items/feat say NOTHING about Zon Kuthon. The items aren't inherently evil or tied to any god. Up to you though
Muleback Tattoo I have 100% NO CLUE ON PFS OR IT'S HOUSERULES!!! LOL sorry, but I want to make a point: start off your question about advice with 'this is for PFS'. ;)

Scarab Sages

There’s a campaign clarification for PFS on the spring-loaded wrist sheath. You can put scrolls and potions in them explicitly now. The speed sheath is not PFS legal, because Ultimate Wilderness isn’t in the Additional Resources yet.

As others have mentioned, I’ll usually use them for Wands of buff spells. Sometimes for healing Wands as well.

Can cast CLW - If you can also cast bless, I prefer a wand of bless at low levels. Great for a support Cleric. But a cure wand isn’t a terrible option. I’ve used it for divine favor as well up until 6th level when you get the next increment from casting it yourself. Later levels breath of life.

Can cast anything - shield as mentioned is a good option. Blade lash or truestrike are things you might want to pull quickly. Lead blades and gravity bow are similar common 1st round buffs.

Can’t cast anything - If no UMD... Potion of enlarge person for STR martial types. Especially reach builds. Later levels maybe a potion of fly. Buffs that come up situationally, but that you need quickly when the situation comes up.

I’m pretty sure ant haul was suggested as a joke. If your STR is going to be that low, get a wand of it. But don’t put it in the wrist sheath.

Scarab Sages

Keep in mind that you can draw a wand as part of a move once you have a +1 BAB. If you “move to the rear” you can draw a wand of CLW while doing that and use it once you get there. That’s why I prefer other things to cure Wands in the sheath.

If you’ve got UMD, get both a wand of mage armor and a wand of shield. Put the wand of shield in the wrist sheath. If you get caught without mage armor, shield gives the same bonus. If you already have mage armor going, shield gives you an option to boost AC even farther.

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