I also figure out if someone does not buy a bedroll it could be interesting to have the party keep getting bedrolls from bandits as gear. I mean the bandits might not always make it back to their hideout. I did also loot food from enemies we fought. Orcs will likely take waterskins with them when raiding.
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I removed a petty insult and the posts replying to it.
A bedroll isn't a tent either. If it rains while you are doing your heroic backpacking gig and you bought the standard adventuring kit, you are SOL and wet.
The level of book keeping and realism also varies by GM. I normally buy it as a player, or at least some of it, but I have never been penalized for not having it. The GM's I have played under have never called for a thunderstorm while we were camping so it has never mattered. If I did play in such a game I would always get a mule or get the strong guy in the party to carry some of my stuff until I can get bag of holding or a handy haversack.
I know. My point was that if I had a low strength score, and those extra things were needed that the mule or party "strong man" would carry my gear. Hopefully though I never play in such a game where these things are enforced.
I removed a petty insult and the posts replying to it.
That's absurd. I wasn't insulting anyone. That was good natured ribbing.
We tend to handwave it away with the "Standard Adventurers Kit" which contains tinderbox, tent, bedroll, a weeks trail rations, rope and anything else the GM thinks its reasonable to assume the character has unless as stated before survival is a key aspect of the game.
You know, all that annoying adventuring gear that weights a ton, but that noone (especially those with just 10ish strength) want to carry around, and that isn't really required for anything.
It is just there so that when some character wants to do a flying backflip through a small window, you can raise one eyebrow, and point out that has zero ranks in acrobatics, is wearing full plate, carrying four different pole arms, 50 pounds of gold, and a full pack of camping gear.
Without the camping gear, you really couldn't say no.
But more seriously, worrying about all the small stuff isn't really "fantasy adventure" it is just planning a camping trip. If the players have blankets and just agree not to make a mockery of the encumbrance rules, that is good enough for me... until they try to whip out some item, then the boot comes down.
If the players are going to Frostbite Peak, or something exciting, then making them buy everything will foreshadow the harsh conditions - especially if they buy them from some guy missing a few fingers and the tip of his nose.
Conan never went shopping and the closer to that your PCs get the more fun the game is.
No...but The Fellowship did have quite a bit of gear.
I think this kind of thing is not usually important, because so often the characters stay in taverns anyway. But for any section of the campaign where their traveling overland, I think it can make for an interesting change of pace
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So, in game terms would you say that every person in real-world pre-industrial societies who didn't bathe regularly suffered penalties during social interaction? That doesn't make much sense to me. It's more likely that denizens of a fantasy world roughly comparable to medieval or early modern Europe would find frequent bathing strange.They don't clean themselves? Give them penalties to diplomacy.
They don't sleep on anything they're used to? Make them roll a fortitude save, if they fail penalize their movement by 5 for have issues with their back.
Prestidigitation FTW!
Seriously? Has it come to this? Your players are too cheap to spend a few silvers and too lazy to write down "camping stuff" on a sheet of paper?
That stuff is not for no reason. Your characters won't last long if they just lay down in the grass and let the dew collect on them. But neither do you have to make a big deal of it. But if want any kind of realism, you'll incorporate the little things like these into your game.
A GM might consider things like this opportunities for drama, irony, humor, etc. In the greater history of man, entire wars have been lost over lesser things.
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You know, all that annoying adventuring gear that weights a ton, but that noone (especially those with just 10ish strength) want to carry around, and that isn't really required for anything.
Just noticed this and found it interesting. Personally, when I make a character, I always try and carry around various pieces of adventuring gear. Almost always have a backpack, blanket, extra clothing, waterskin, trail rations, etc. How much I carry depends on my strength.
When I DM, however, I don't require my players to do what I do, just because I know that some of them aren't as idiosyncratic as me when it comes to gear. And I usually trust, when they suddenly pull 50 ft of rope out their backpack, that they actually had it written down on their sheet. I'm a pretty nice guy that way, despite what others may say.
Seriously? Has it come to this? Your players are too cheap to spend a few silvers and too lazy to write down "camping stuff" on a sheet of paper?
That stuff is not for no reason. Your characters won't last long if they just lay down in the grass and let the dew collect on them. But neither do you have to make a big deal of it. But if want any kind of realism, you'll incorporate the little things like these into your game.
A GM might consider things like this opportunities for drama, irony, humor, etc. In the greater history of man, entire wars have been lost over lesser things.
It's not so much that they're too lazy to write it down. It's more that some of them have something like 8 strength and can just barely carry their own spell components pouch and the most basic stuff like weapons. Especially since those are the ones that try to stay in the "light load" zone, so they can just carry 23 lbs or so, they're the most likely candidates to "forget" bedrolls, tents, waterskins, etc.
The fighters that already wear medium or heavy armor usually don't care too much about going into the heavy load zone, there I have no problem, and just assume they have it.
Of course it's easy enough to assume "ok the big strong half-orc barbarian is carrying some of the heavier pieces from everyone's pack, like bedrolls".
Two schools of thought on this one.
#1 there are plenty of minimalist camper/hikers IRL. They carry a Bivy, which is basically a plastic blanket/ bag and (maybe for some of them) a tiny half pad. I myself have spent alot of time in the army sleeping on stumps and my head leaned up against a rucksack, mainly full of ammo and socks. yup got wet all the time, no didnt get any diseases from sleeping on the ground. food water,ammo. Everything else is a luxury.
#2 what are you really trying to accomplish with the bedroll scenario? Limiting the starting funds of players? Making the 10 str players realize what they cant carry.
Are we talking money, or encumbrance?
If you are talking money, assume all players have spent 30% of starting funds on basic "life needs" and that they require 1 gp per month for "upkeep" this basic necessity stuff would include camping gear.
If you are talking encumbrance assume each player has the basic adventuring kit and make it weigh 10 lbs. If the player insists on dropping in the middle of the trail to min max his carrying capacity (i would strongly argue that the actual person would not do that) then make him write down every little thing he IS carrying (down to how much rations and which spell components)
If he/she doesnt want to do all that lame book keeping, we are back to assuming his adventuring gear weighs 10 lbs.
Seriously thou, if we have evolved to having a pouch of endless spell components for the tiny one time cost of 5 gold?
why are we worrying about bedrolls?
I prefer an adventuring party to have a few mules and/or horses in it.
I like the idea of traveling with tents and gear, although I think writing it all down is stupid, Pay for all the main stuff (horses , tents), round up a few gold to the nearest 10 and assume its all there.
Instead of penalizing PCs who want to rough it, reward those who do have the gear by letting them heal more per rest, study spells in a shorter period of time or have less annoying random encounters occur in an organized and established camp.
I can become burdensome to track who has what spider bite because they slept on the ground.
I agree with Pentagast. My players and I would rather gear manage treasures! If you and your players enjoy it, go for it. I once had a gnome who tried to take anything under the sun, because he was the consumate boy scout. He also had the barbarian convinced that every piece of junk was needed on every adventure, just in case.
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In our campaigns, we track everything. If you don't have it on your sheet, you don't have it ... period. (And, no, this doesn't mean you can just write anything down.)
The bottom line is, when you need a mundane item and don't have it, it's just as important as that +3 Ring of Protection you made absolutely certain you recorded on your sheet. I think it's a must to record all your equipment. For the guy that has the one obscure [in most campaigns] item, they become the hero for the moment.
As far as their STR being too low to carry equipment, tough. They should have thought about that when they dumped STR.
Ultimately, by playing any other way, items like muleback cords, haversacks, bags of holding, etc are devalued, since they are not needed as much in such a situation.
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Str limits to hauling things around are no different from reducing movement due to what you're wearing... or any other lesser game mechanic. I started when outdoor adventures were based on the Wilderness Survival game and more than one party all but died. No Rangers back then.
As for counting the 'tiny' bits, next you'll be whining about only getting X spells per day! Ack! Go play 4th ED (the Flash Card game). Personally, I carry things I've needed in the past, including several things not on the lists. Can I carry them all? Of course not, but by sharing the load, the party can have most everything we'll need. Some of the best ways out of bad spots have come from ingenious 'Macgyver' stunts.
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Str limits to hauling things around are no different from reducing movement due to what you're wearing... or any other lesser game mechanic. I started when outdoor adventures were based on the Wilderness Survival game and more than one party all but died. No Rangers back then.As for counting the 'tiny' bits, next you'll be whining about only getting X spells per day! Ack! Go play 4th ED (the Flash Card game). Personally, I carry things I've needed in the past, including several things not on the lists. Can I carry them all? Of course not, but by sharing the load, the party can have most everything we'll need. Some of the best ways out of bad spots have come from ingenious 'Macgyver' stunts.
Exactly, right down to the "Macgyver" bit.
funny stuffBut did the men have to make zipper rolls? I hear a botch on one of them is pretty painful. :)
If you like that kind of action, you should try F.A.T.A.L.
If you dump strength to the point where you cannot be troubled to carry your own bedroll then you deserve to have penalties stacked on you for not taking supplementary gear.
Awwww come on, sorcerer's need a dumpstat too!
If you dump strength to the point where you cannot be troubled to carry your own bedroll then you deserve to have penalties stacked on you for not taking supplementary gear.
Awwww come on, sorcerer's need a dumpstat too!
Which is another reason to "roll the dice", avoiding dump stats that is :)
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If you dump strength to the point where you cannot be troubled to carry your own bedroll then you deserve to have penalties stacked on you for not taking supplementary gear.Awwww come on, sorcerer's need a dumpstat too!
Dump stats...steaming dump stats
If you are a caster it is not out of the question to have all the gear you need just have to shop smart/talk to your dm. I always make sure to bring a shovel or spade and an oilcloth tarp not super big but big enough to build a small shelter, or use as a make-shift giant sack to drag all that gold out of a dungeon.
Most of the time my group has people that are really into shopping and take advantage of it and then the rest take the "adventuring kit". Also at higher levels having that gear can be really helpful as in, the guards/generic thing you are chased by are trying to find an invisible rogue, not one that has dug a small ditch under a large bush and is camouflaged.
But did the men have to make zipper rolls? I hear a botch on one of them is pretty painful. :)I usually pick up the bedroll, chalk, waterskin stuff just because it feels right, but I don't get bothered when others don't and choose to just take it for granted that the usual necessities are taken care of. Unless it's Dark Sun or something that hinges on survival skills and supply management...
Even then inventory management can get taken too far if one doesn't draw a line somewhere.
GM: You stand before the entrance of Bonestorm Castle. Distant thunder rolls across the steel gray skies overhead as the yawning portal beckons.
Paladin: Alright, let's go!
GM: Before we get started, has everyone made potty?
Paladin: This morning.
Rogue: Did it about an hour ago.
Barbarian: Taking care of it now!
Wizard: It's been a couple of days...
Paladin: Really?
Wizard: It's been a couple of bad rolls. It's no big deal, let's just go in.
GM:
Personally I'd rather leave that level of detail to GURPS.
We just take 10 on that roll :)
I go camping. Often. I got used to it with the army, and I date a lot of country girls (and their fathers can think of no better bonding experience than a few nights out bush).
Comfort, no matter how small, is essential.
This is why people seek shelter when rain starts. It's why we invented beds.
That said, the definition of comfortable is very individual. I am fine with a tarp and a blanket. A tent is nicer of course, and both are very weather permitting. I know a man who can sleep as long as he has his hat over his face and a fire. I also Know a man who can barely sleep out bush no matter what he has.
I'm willing to bet the game relevency comes down to whether it's a class skill or not. Rangers may be very comfortable bedding down with a hat over their face in the back of the ute... errr wagon, while the sorcerer may need that tent. and the lavender smelling soap. and the fluffy blanket. and the stuffed bear.
So...I'd go with a survival check. DC 20 for a good nights sleep 'in the wild' with equipment bonuses and circumstance bonuses piled on top.
Batts
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Standard Adventurer's kit - 10 gp, 30 lbs (20 lbs for small characters)
Includes backpack, bedroll, blanket, flint and steel, 50' of hemp rope, 2 empty sacks, waterskin, belt pouch and 7 days of trail rations.
By dropping the rope, you save 1 gp and 10 lbs of weight.
Winterized kit +10 gp, +15 lbs (+10 lbs for small characters): change blanket for winter blanket, cold weather outfit, 5 square yards of canvas, 2 flasks of lamp oil, 1 tindertwig.
For weight I rounded down in a couple of places. If you are a real stickler, add a half pound (quarter pound for small characters) to the standard kit, and a half pound to small characters for the winterized kit.
I removed a petty insult and the posts replying to it.That's absurd. I wasn't insulting anyone. That was good natured ribbing.
What have you done with the original Cartigan? Did he taste good? :p
I go camping. Often. I got used to it with the army, and I date a lot of country girls (and their fathers can think of no better bonding experience than a few nights out bush).
Comfort, no matter how small, is essential.
This is why people seek shelter when rain starts. It's why we invented beds.
That said, the definition of comfortable is very individual. I am fine with a tarp and a blanket. A tent is nicer of course, and both are very weather permitting. I know a man who can sleep as long as he has his hat over his face and a fire. I also Know a man who can barely sleep out bush no matter what he has.
I'm willing to bet the game relevency comes down to whether it's a class skill or not. Rangers may be very comfortable bedding down with a hat over their face in the back of the ute... errr wagon, while the sorcerer may need that tent. and the lavender smelling soap. and the fluffy blanket. and the stuffed bear.
So...I'd go with a survival check. DC 20 for a good nights sleep 'in the wild' with equipment bonuses and circumstance bonuses piled on top.
Batts
You knew a 10th level Ranger? Did he have a Dire Bear as an animal companion?
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My GM let's us use an "adventurer's kit." 10 gp, 10 lbs, don't really think about it much after that.
I like this. Its a way of cutting down the prep time. Great compromise.
I think there is a place for RPing camp setup, where you are sleeping and how, what's your camp fire like, what equipment you have out, etc. These scenes slow the game down but allow the tension to decompress. They allow people to RP a little and express their character's personalities and quirks. You might only need to do it once in a while to get that feeling across, though, handwaving it when its not important for the PCs to get into that kind of detail.
The other nice thing about this kind of scene is that its a good set up for a frenetic combat later. If the players have had the time to settling into the details of the game, their imaginations are more active when the action packed scenes come through. If you RPed putting down your backpack and laying your bedroll down, when goblins ambush you in the night, you might use those details to make your combat more organic, like throwing the bedroll over a charging goblin to blind them (assuming a 1st level adventure where goblins are level appropriate combatants).
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Reaper Miniatures
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Our group uses something referred to at the Standard Adventurers Kit sold in most shops. It contain pack, bedroll, waterskin, some other odds and sods as well as X gp in random living essentials. If they want a razor or a simple mirror, it is in there.
They can pay for it and it covers a great deal of the basics.
4e had an Adventurer's Kit as a standard item, and I carried that into PathFinder. It takes only about 5 minutes for the GM to calculate a reasonable cost for such an item in this system, and to decide what it includes.
I note that several other posters have done similar things.
So, in game terms would you say that every person in real-world pre-industrial societies who didn't bathe regularly suffered penalties during social interaction? That doesn't make much sense to me. It's more likely that denizens of a fantasy world roughly comparable to medieval or early modern Europe would find frequent bathing strange.
"First rule Kitara, Don't speak to the peasants." -Toph in Avatar.
The nobles for the most part who did take the trouble to keep up appearances to each other could care less about the cleanliness of the peasantry because they didn't interact with them. (Unless one had a pretty virgin daughter available for Prima Noctis) The peasants for their own part knew better than to try to be social with them.
Rich people did not bathe regularly as we would consider bathing or regularity. The cleansers were basically floor cleaner. They used lots of fancy perfumes and such.
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Standard Adventurer's kit - 10 gp, 30 lbs (20 lbs for small characters)
Includes backpack, bedroll, blanket, flint and steel, 50' of hemp rope, 2 empty sacks, waterskin, belt pouch and 7 days of trail rations.
By dropping the rope, you save 1 gp and 10 lbs of weight.
Winterized kit +10 gp, +15 lbs (+10 lbs for small characters): change blanket for winter blanket, cold weather outfit, 5 square yards of canvas, 2 flasks of lamp oil, 1 tindertwig.
For weight I rounded down in a couple of places. If you are a real stickler, add a half pound (quarter pound for small characters) to the standard kit, and a half pound to small characters for the winterized kit.
I like this. Hope you don't mind if I make future use of it in my campaigns. I'll have to remember to write it down when I get home.
Bella Sara Charter Superscriber
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I like this. Hope you don't mind if I make future use of it in my campaigns. I'll have to remember to write it down when I get home.Standard Adventurer's kit - 10 gp, 30 lbs (20 lbs for small characters)
Includes backpack, bedroll, blanket, flint and steel, 50' of hemp rope, 2 empty sacks, waterskin, belt pouch and 7 days of trail rations.
By dropping the rope, you save 1 gp and 10 lbs of weight.
Winterized kit +10 gp, +15 lbs (+10 lbs for small characters): change blanket for winter blanket, cold weather outfit, 5 square yards of canvas, 2 flasks of lamp oil, 1 tindertwig.
For weight I rounded down in a couple of places. If you are a real stickler, add a half pound (quarter pound for small characters) to the standard kit, and a half pound to small characters for the winterized kit.
The 3.5 PHBII has a similar bundle of adventuring items near the back of that book.
Our group's adventuring kit is very much like the one Dilvias posted.
I used to bother with getting all the little things I thought were necessary, but I realized I was never using them, or they were getting lost in various ways (or fireballs were melting my blocks of wax all over my backpack). So we've stopped keeping track of it almost entirely.
I always buy soap though. And I always state that my character takes a bath when the opportunity presents itself.
I tend to be a bit of a stickler for these kinds of things. I'm not a huge pain about encumbrance (if the STR 10 character is a couple pounds over it isn't a huge deal). I figure that is really only important with loads of treasure and such. But I don't like to assume that the characters have that 50ft of rope if they didn't get it before hand. (I've seen people make very good use of those ropes.)
However, when I make a character personally, I try to make sure I remembered everything that I might need and I write it down. On top of that, if I'm starting at a high level, any left over gold goes into a chest with a masterwork lock. If I have a base of operations, it stays there, if not, I get a mule to carry it.
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Encumbrance should be enforced but only so much as it doesn't make the game into more bookkeeping than die-rolling.
At level 1, write down all the stuff your character has, make sure they have a backpack and a belt pouch, and then total up the weight of the items. If they can keep a light load on their person, and a medium load while carrying their backpack, then they're fine. If they can't, they should buy a pack mule and put a skill point into handle animal.
It takes less than 10 minutes to fill out a standard adventurer's pack (hatchet, flint, blanket/bedroll, rope, waterskin, rations, one of the party should have an iron pot) and it takes less than a minute to total up weight if they just put the weight of the items next to each thing they bought.
Of course, most of this bookkeeping goes out the window when they can afford a Handy Haversack.
P.S. If it's level 1, you're enforcing encumbrance and the STR 12 guy needs to shrug off his backpack to fire his bow/gun effectively, don't be a jerk. I know it's really funny to have the backpack get stolen, but resist the impulse. The same goes for someone stealing the pack mule with all the food. (Although at least that's an adventure hook)
Nothing. Some people, myself included, find lots of compulsive inventory management interesting and like to know every candle and bit of rope in their inventory. Some people are bored silly and don't care. There's no reason these two sorts of players cannot coexist.
For the latter, forcing them to detail their possessions adds nothing to the game. So as long as they throw down fifty gold on an "Adventurer's Kit" or some other suitably generic and vague bag of equipment I assume they have basic needs covered.
And then the former still get that perverse thrill when they notice they need a whistle or something and happened to have one written on their character sheet.
This
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ThisNothing. Some people, myself included, find lots of compulsive inventory management interesting and like to know every candle and bit of rope in their inventory. Some people are bored silly and don't care. There's no reason these two sorts of players cannot coexist.
For the latter, forcing them to detail their possessions adds nothing to the game. So as long as they throw down fifty gold on an "Adventurer's Kit" or some other suitably generic and vague bag of equipment I assume they have basic needs covered.
And then the former still get that perverse thrill when they notice they need a whistle or something and happened to have one written on their character sheet.
Exactly.
I let players buy an "Adventurer's Kit" for 5 GP and thereafter consider it the equivalent of a Spell Component Pouch except one that's continually stocked with hotel toiletries, small packets of salt, or any small reasonable thing which a traveler might have handy. Saves trouble.
I like this. Hope you don't mind if I make future use of it in my campaigns. I'll have to remember to write it down when I get home.Standard Adventurer's kit - 10 gp, 30 lbs (20 lbs for small characters)
Includes backpack, bedroll, blanket, flint and steel, 50' of hemp rope, 2 empty sacks, waterskin, belt pouch and 7 days of trail rations.
By dropping the rope, you save 1 gp and 10 lbs of weight.
Winterized kit +10 gp, +15 lbs (+10 lbs for small characters): change blanket for winter blanket, cold weather outfit, 5 square yards of canvas, 2 flasks of lamp oil, 1 tindertwig.
For weight I rounded down in a couple of places. If you are a real stickler, add a half pound (quarter pound for small characters) to the standard kit, and a half pound to small characters for the winterized kit.
Don't mind at all. Glad to help.
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I, too subscribe to the "Basic Adventuring Kit" school of thought; 10-15gp [depending on my capricious mood at the time], and you've got everything you need to survive in relative comfort in the wilderness for a few days. Anything above and beyond the basic loadout [tent, sleeping gear, stuff to start a fire, a couple sacks and some cheap rope] gets tracked separately. So long as they restock for 5-10gp between adventures, I don't tend to worry about it. Now, if they start managing to pull out all sorts of helpful things without a logical reason, then I start to crack down on them a bit more.
Oh, and soap is always lined out in my equipment list, unless I'm playing a caster with prestidigitation. Magic soap is much win.
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Personally, when I make a character, I always try and carry around various pieces of adventuring gear. Almost always have a backpack, blanket, extra clothing, waterskin, trail rations, etc. How much I carry depends on my strength.
I made a "college student" character so I wrote all sorts of useless crap down on my character sheet (about 4 barrels of booze, a wine bottle, pipe, 2 boxes of matches, quite a few satchels of tobacco). Before the game I had some gold left over and I was talking to the GM about it. He opened the Adventurer's Armoury and pointed out a falconry glove was exactly what I had left. I immediately wrote it onto my character sheet and then explained to people in game how I use to have a falcon but it got killed a few years ago.
Since then I have always kept my falconry glove on just cause it's a silly thing to do. But I've actually managed to get a mechanical advantage from using it in a couple of instances.
Writing down random crap on your character sheet helps get the creative juices flowing for dealing with situations in unique and fun ways. 4th ed D&D doesn't have enough of these type of items. I asked my GM for a whistle in one session and no-one had any idea what the hell I was doing. The GM gave it to me and later on in the session I was able to use it to good effect, then everyone suddenly went "of course! That's why John wanted the whistle."
It's more that some of them have something like 8 strength and can just barely carry their own spell components pouch and the most basic stuff like weapons. Especially since those are the ones that try to stay in the "light load" zone, so they can just carry 23 lbs or so, they're the most likely candidates to "forget" bedrolls, tents, waterskins, etc.
Such is life. Perhaps they shouldn't have dumped strength so much (or taken a race that has a strength penalty). From 2002 to 2008 I played in a Roleplay Intensive MUD. This required players to roleplay everything except for toilet breaks (and even then people would do it from time to time anyway). I had my fair share of "strength 8" characters and whenver they needed to leave the city, they always made sure they bought a mount or two to carry all their gear. I expect the exact same thing in Pathfinder (which surprised some people when I first started playing Pathfinder as I was including all of this wilderness gear that most new players overlook).
That said, just because that's how I like to play, doesn't mean everyone likes to play that way.
But seriously. A mule costs next to nothing. Is it really so difficult to purchase one? I bought a riding horse one time which I lovingly called "Handy Haversack" until such time as I could actually afford a handy haversack. I've still kept the horse, because screw walking across Golarion. That's for hobos.
I dont care and proceed to have fun ;)
DEATH BY "THE SNIFFLES!!"
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Given the choice, I prefer not to bother about it.
Especially with my current character, a strength 5 gnome ...
I like the fact that he can't carry much treasure, weapons or armour - its been a fun part of roleplaying the character, and I'm happy to do so even though the other players in the group basically ignore encumberance.
However, we ignore un-fun things like blankets. Having to make a note that the party fighter is carrying my 10 lb adventurer's kit for me (15 lbs is my medium load) wouldn't add anything to our game. We play Dungeons and Dragons, not Scouting for Boys.
Anyway, what penalties would a Constitution 16 gnome with 7 ranks in survival take because he didn't have a blanket while sleeping rough in the summer? How about spring or autumn?
If the DM insists on playing to this level of realism then I will go along with it - it's the DMs campaign, after all - but the DM can then expect daily questions about the current weather and weather forecast, and if it is looking inclement then the "15 minute adventuring day" won't be an issue, because we will be having a 0 minute adventuring day.
I give my PC's a standard set of "DM Freebies" which consists of the following standard adventuring gear:
backpack
bedroll or winter blanket
1 belt pouch
1 travelers outfit
50' hemp rope
flint and steel
3 torches
2 pints of oil
1 map/scrollcase
and 3 days trail rations
this way they have the basics covered and can spend their gold on stuff they actually want to buy.
You know, all that annoying adventuring gear that weights a ton, but that noone (especially those with just 10ish strength) want to carry around, and that isn't really required for anything.
Luckily our Dm gave us free horses (75 gp ones) for each character in our Kingmaker campaign we started 2 months ago (we are about to go after the Stag Lord at his Fort next Friday.. please give us a silent prayer in that we don't screw up and die)
Anyways I'm one of those people that like to itemize everything on my character sheet and the bedroll is always there..
infact our 4 player + 1 Dm game we have no Primary healer.. so early on the Bard/Ranger or Bard/Druid would use the heal skill alot... except that neither of them had a healers kit at first level... so we used my Bedroll as a makeshift bandage kit ( I think it was a minus 2 to the check according to the DM)..
Later on we asked Oleg for special order Masterwork Backpacks (you can carry +1 your Str in equipment.. 55 GP each but I think Oleg charged use 75 gold each... stingy old coot)...
So we have horses to carry our heavy gear.. even a packmule is 8 gp...
anyways I agree that unless you have a RAW DM or some certain condition you shouldn't have to worry too much about "adventuring Gear"..
although luckily I did have that bedroll... because no healer(Cleric) sucks at low levels..
PS.. the Bard/Druid died and our newest member is a Paladin... so still have no Primary healer and we are about to hit that Fort... I think we might have a tpk