I was going through my character sheets yesterday and I realized some of them never got finished. One of them only had the equipment missing, so I decided to do that first.
This particular character is dex based with no strength mod and a masterwork backpack, which means a 38 pound light load. She also can only wear Light Armor until level 3. So far, she has her main weapon, a Kunai for backup, a bow, regular arrows, a Lamellar cuirass, and a buckler. Including the backpack that's 28 pounds.
I usually use max starting gold when first creating a character, and upon actually using it I ask the GM if I need to roll or take average. This character starts as a Swashbuckler so the max starting gold is 300. I have 178 left.
I'm wondering if it's worth paying the extra 150 gold to make the buckler Masterwork to get rid of the ACP. I'm also wondering what basic equipment I should give her.
Anyone got any suggestions?
Some potions/alchemical stuff.
Holy Water
Alchemists Fire
Oil
Potion of Cure Light Wounds
I'll need to look up how much potions cost, but I'll keep everything in mind.
A basic (CL 1) potion of cure light wounds costs 50 gp.
If you're a travelling adventurer then a few basics you can't really do without are a bedroll, a waterskin and a couple of days food at least. Yes they weigh a bit but you need to eat, drink and sleep. As a swashbuckler I'd want a grooming kit too. If you do as Meirril suggests they can go in that sack, or if you get a riding horse (not combat trained) or a pack mule or something they can go in the saddlebags.
Ok. I guess I can't afford the Masterwork Buckler then. I'll just have to suck up the ACP for a bit until I can afford a new one.
Salt and flour. Odd, but I'll keep it in mind.
There's a lot of good advice here. Here's some thought I'll add to what has been said.
Make your kunai cold iron (2gp) and sawback (9gp) no extra weight, but extra versatility. Also consider a backup dagger and making that or another backup weapon silver. A silver dagger is 2lbs and 22 gp. Worth it when you run into something with DR/Silver.
Other fun and useful stuff:
- smelling salts (revive the cleric so they can heal themselves, no skill needed)
- If you have some UMD some utility scrolls of 1st level spells can be great. 25gp a piece. Just be sure you have a UMD bonus of +10 and you can't have a mishap so trying until you succeed should be fine most of the time.
- Consider making a spiked gauntlet or cestus one of your backup weapons. Can't be disarmed and doesn;t need to be drawn, so it's an awesome tool. Especially when you are at a level where magic is not expected.
- If you have any profession or craft skills, or if you are doing disable device consider buying masterwork tools. That +2 can be a big help. Or if you can bumm some money off a buddy grab the travelers any tool (200gp). Great if you are tight on weight.
-Pick up a sling. It's free and weighs nothing. You don't even have to carry ammo as you can pick up rocks and use them in a pinch. Note though bullets are very heavy 5lbs per 10 :(
- Make some of your arrows durable and of special materials. (just clear it with your GM before) Great use of funds and it adds no weight since you are already carrying them. In fact now you can carry less as you can recover your arrows that hit.
-chalk, preactically free and weightless
- ioun torch. Never need a light again 75 gp and weightless, plus it frees up your hand. A MUST for a swashbuckler without darkvision.
BTW OP:
When you finish up your equipment list you should post it. It's always fun to see what other people pick as starting gear. There's quite a bit of variation and it's something players have to do frequently.
chalk
'Bout time someone mentioned this. Whippersnappers.
Salt and flour. Odd, but I'll keep it in mind.oh, and pepper! throw that in the face of a foe!!
any other foodie weapons? ;-) cast iron skillet? a wooden spork?
Mithril frying pan, mithril.
LinkThe falcata is already cold iron so no problems on that front. I got the kunai for the bludgeoning and piercing damage types. I'll add the sawback though. I went with a shortbow for ranged attacks since I can get regular and blunt arrows.
The ioun torch sounds good. Though using that will drop my available gold down to 76. But 76 should be more than enough for a sleeping bag and waterskin. I'll still get some oil packets though. Stick a fuse in, light it, and throw at the nearest swarm.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Why stop at a mithral firing pan when you can have a mithral waffle iron?
/was so disappointed to learn that it doesn't, in fact, make mithral waffles
This particular character is a princess sneaking out to adventure, and I'm suddenly picturing the rest of the party trying to teach her how to cook.
Sheesh, why is everything so heavy? I'm actually considering buying a mule to carry my stuff. Can't even buy a bedroll without it putting me over the light load limit.
Here is the list of items:
Falcata
Sawback Kunai
Shortbow
One Batch of Arrows
Lamellar Cuirass
Buckler
Masterwork Buckler
Ioun Torch
Flint and Steel
One Packet of Lamp Oil
Silk Rope
Hip Flask
All of that adds up to 34.5 pounds. I have 3.5 pounds left.
That Masterwork Buckler is supposed to be a Masterwork Backpack.
I will get me a mule. Although I am wondering how to keep it safe during adventures. I can't just park it outside a dungeon if it's carrying the rope and potions. And unlike an animal companion, it doesn't get any extra HP or feats. Should I get it some barding?
If the mule dies anyway how would you lug 40 pounds of barding out of a dungeon? The mule is cheap and expendable. If some skeletons attack it, sigh and write off the cost. And kill the skeles of course.
Also, carry the potions yourself, the mule's for cheap stuff that you're willing to lose - hemp rope, bedroll, food etc, nothing worth more than a few GP.
As an aside, I made up a PFS character last year with the "Pack Mule" Fighter archetype. The concept is that he's a PFS "Field Supply Officer" who carries everything a team should need for a variety of different missions. I haven't actually had the chance to play him yet, but his time will come and we'll see how it turns out . . .
If the mule dies anyway how would you lug 40 pounds of barding out of a dungeon? The mule is cheap and expendable. If some skeletons attack it, sigh and write off the cost. And kill the skeles of course.
Also, carry the potions yourself, the mule's for cheap stuff that you're willing to lose - hemp rope, bedroll, food etc, nothing worth more than a few GP.
True. And I can switch out the silk rope for regular rope and save on some starting gold.
This particular character becomes a Vigilante at level 3 and is a disguised princess. Should I buy her clothes to change in and out of for her different identities? I've never made a Vigilante before and all previous characters just dressed in the starting outfits. She has 65 gold and 8 silver left.
Also, I went back over her sheet to mark everything that would be carried by her and what would be carried by the mule. The kunai will be in the mule's saddlebag, but the rest of the weapons and armor will be on her, along with the backpack, oil, and flint & steel. That means she's carrying 26 pounds.
Ok, I switched the silk rope for regular rope and bought a saddlebag and harness for the mule. As for clothes, I'm just going to keep the starting outfit for now. I can buy a wig and mask for her to use to hide her identity. The items have a price range on their pages, so I'm just going to use the cheapest. When she gets some more gold, I can buy another outfit to use for changing in and out of her social and vigilante identities.
Princess Tara is now complete! Sheet
I have now moved on to the next character on the list - Crissie the Unchained Phantom Thief Rogue! Unlike Tara, Crissie has a +1 to her Str and can carry up to 50 pounds as a light load. She also won't be multiclassing so Shields and Medium Armor are off the table. And Masterwork Buckler is too expensive at the moment.
So far, she's carrying the usual gear - Rapier, Shortbow, Batch of Arrows, backup Kunai, Masterwork Backpack, and Waterskin.
A spare set of clothes, for falling in rivers, quick disguise and impromptu parties
Grooming kit
Journal, pen and ink, so you can justify making notes and checking details
I’m a fan of instant cake mix and other camping foodstuffs
Alchemical glue
Smoke sticks
Rope. always carry rope
A holy symbol
Ok, here is everything I gave Crissie.
Rapier, Cold Iron Kunai, Shortbow, Cold Iron Arrows, Masterwork Backpack, Leather Armor, Waterskin, Bedroll, Flint & Steel, Silk Rope, Pocketed Scarf, Common Thieves Tools, Grappling Arrow, Hooded Lantern, 2 packets of oil, and a signet ring.
There's 62 gold and 7 silver left. But she can only carry 2 more pounds before she hits her light load limit. So if I really want to buy her anything else, she'll need a mule.
Either that, or her brother buys the mule and they share it. Crissie was built to be played alongside her twin brother Tristan. This will probably never happen, but it was still fun to build and I like having the sheets completed.
@Nemesis
Flesh to Cake? Really? I do believe I've lost my appetite.
Remember the sack which you can drop if combat starts as mentioned above by Meirril.
Also, alchemical tools and weapons often weigh nothing measurable in PF. A few other things do too. And plain gold pieces can be a useful tool sometimes if Crissie feels that bribes are a valid tactic, or if she might have some info and a chance to prepare before dungeon-delving.
I will look at the alchemical stuff.
As for the brother Tristan, he is a pure Swashbuckler. I'm using the Dashing Thief archetype which switches out the bonus feats for Rogue Talents. Therefore I won't be giving him a Rapier. This is because he doesn't have the feats to spare for Weapon Focus to get Fencing Grace. And also because I hate having too many of my characters using the same weapon. I don't know why, I just don't.
I'm going to give him Dervish Dance at level 3, which will give him a scimitar. Until then, the Scimitar can't get the benefits of Weapon Finesse so he needs a different weapon for those first two levels. It needs to be piercing with a decent crit range as the archetype also replaces the ability to regain panache with a kill. I'm thinking the Shortsword. It has the same damage as a rapier or scimitar, just with a smaller crit range and is cheaper.
If you're looking at shortsword pick a gladius. It's a shortsword for everything and you can do slashing damage as well if you need to.
Good point about the gladius, I will do that.
As for other items, getting a lantern for each character is probably a good choice. But do they each need rope? Crissie and Tristan have the same carrying capacity, but the items themselves are tallying up differently even with many being the same items.
They both have Leather Armor, a Kunai, bedroll, waterskin, lantern, oil, shortbow, arrows, signet ring, flint & steel, and masterwork backpack.
Crissie is also carrying a coil of silk rope, a pocketed scarf, thieves' tools, grappling arrow, and rapier.
Tristan is carrying a gladius and buckler. And that's it. Even though Crissie is carrying more items, they add up to just one pound more than the total of Tristan's items.
If you're making a character with other people and have no idea what the other person is going to bring, then making sure you have rope is a good idea. But these two characters are meant to be played together. Yes, they can get split up and if carrying rope puts Tristan over the limit, he can buy a mule. But there's really no reason that only Tristan can use the mule and not Crissie. And if Crissie has stuff being carried by the mule as well, once again the question of 'do they both need rope' comes up.
Cooperation is great. I think the 'everyone needs rope' thing comes from PFS where you might be partnered with Doofus the Barbarian who carries nothing but weapons and armor, and Wimpy the Wizard with his 7 Str, etc. 50' of rope for two characters is generally plenty.
True. If you don't know what your fellow players are going to give their characters, then you want to make sure you give yours what it needs.
I guess that's about it for Tristan then. He has the basic stuff and anything else he'll need is too expensive for starting out anyway. Like Plumes of Panache.
Time to look through the rest of the sheets. I think I'll go with Alester. He's a Swashbuckler/Paladin/Magus.
I will keep that in mind if I ever decide to play a solo game with multiple characters. I just like to make characters and only Tristan and Crissie were made to be played together. And they are definitely old enough to NOT want to share a tent with their sibling.
Anyway, Alester has the same strength score as Tara so a masterwork backpack allows him to carry 38 pounds. Luckily, he doesn't need a backweapon weapon. He'll have a rapier at level one, gain claws at level 2, and a tail attack at level 7. He also flies at level one thanks to his race so he might not even need a bow.
Ok, I gave Alester a kunai anyway to get a weapon with blunt damage. Clubs are cheaper but they're also heavier. I'm still wondering if he really needs a ranged weapon since he can just fly at whatever he needs to attack. And he gets spells at character level 2 so he can just cast one if he can't reach the target in one round.
Other than that, the standard stuff is taken care of - armor, weapon, bedroll, light source, hip flask. I'm wondering if he should take some rope with him as well. I'm not building him to be played with another of my own characters, so if I think he'll really need rope, I need to give it to him. But will he need it?
What class(es) & race is Alester?
Alester is one level of Inspired Blade Swashbuckler, 2 levels of Oath of the People's Council Paladin, and the rest is Eldritch Scion Magus. His race is a homebrew largely based on the 3rd party Dragonkin race. Here's the link to the thread if you want to check it out. Everything was re-posted on the last page recently. Link
Like the twins, I don't really expect the chance to actually play Alester, but I love dragons and dragon people and Pathfinder just really didn't have any. None that had wings of their own. So I just made some.
40' flight & a melee focus should be enough to do without serious missile weapons. Though clumsy maneuverability might mean you carry a javelin/chakram/atlatl or two for when you're out of position and just can't turn fast enough to catch the enemy. Even if he's maxing Dex the -8 to Fly means at low levels people can avoid him while he's flying if they choose. Later on the fixed 15 or 20 DC for fast turns means he'll catch up with that and won't need a missile weapon at all.
BTW: wyvarans are Paizo's dragon people. Your homebrew race is strictly better than them but they do exist.
Sounds like a plan. A couple of chakrams will be easy enough to carry.
Wyvarans, hm? I'll take a look at those.
Ok, here's is everything Alester is carrying:
Masterwork Backpack, Rapier, Lamellar Cuirass, Bedroll, Flint & Steel, Hip Flask, Holy Symbol, Kunai, 2 packets of oil, Ioun Torch, and 3 Chakram.
Still need chalk... never start without it.
It is invaluable for finding your way back out of dungeons, leaving notes, counting past 20 with an Intelligence score of 8 (personal experience of a big dumb Fighter)...
I will keep that in mind. Other than chalk and food, I can't think of anything else he needs to start with.
Ok, there's only one more character that doesn't need a major rewrite and isn't fully complete. He's a Kitsune Warpriest with a single level of Shifter. So he can't wear any metal. He's also got Bite/Claw/Claw at level one and Tail Slap at level 2, so he won't need any melee backup weapons.
So far, he's carrying a MW backpack (so 38 pounds light load), waterskin, flint & steel, wooden holy symbol, lamp, 2 packets of oil, bedroll, silk rope, and Lamellar Cuirass. I'm really liking that as an armor option. It's the same AC as Leather Armor but half the weight.
I'm wondering what ranged weapon I should give him - Longbow, shortbow, or sling.
If he has a +2 or better strength bonus or if you'd like more cash to spend on other things then get a sling, otherwise a longbow.
BTW sounds like he's got some weight capacity spare so get a grappling hook to go with that rope. Also a couple of days of food minimum. Oil usually comes in flasks, plastic packets aren't in most PF settings.
That would explain why oil is a whole pound at a time.
With everything he has so far, he's carrying 29 pounds. A batch of arrows is 3 pounds and so is a longbow. That would put him up to 35 pounds.
It's odd how much weight he has on him without a single melee weapon.
Arrows come in quivers rather than batches too.
A torch or two might be better than a lamp (20' vs 15'), and once you count the oil you're actually saving weight (1-2 pounds vs. 3). If you need 8 hours of light you're probably camped and can build a fire. Actually a party almost always has someone who can cast light or dancing lights, but there are occasional uses for having fire on hand.
How does my sorcerer have so much load free? Oh yeah, small and no armor either, that does it.
True. Although with the oil, it's kind of like rope in that you usually don't need it, but when you do... I often give characters some oil in case of swarms. Stick a fuse in it, light, and throw.
Torches do a similar amount of damage to swarms with their 1 point of fire damage/hit considering how bad lamp oil is at the job - one round to prepare it, another to throw it, 50% chance it won't do damage anyway even assuming you hit.