Most classes (read: Not Monk, those literally poor fools) have 70-175 GP to spend on starting gear. What do you typically take beyond basic armor (studded leather or scale mail, 25/50 GP), and your main weapon (0-15 GP)? You've got at least 70 GP leftover, so what do you get?
The obvious answers for most campaigns (ones that start urban can skip the bedroll, tent and blanket) are backpack, bedroll, blanket, torches, (half a medium) tent, waterskin and rations. Assuming 5 torches and 5 days of rations that's 19 GP+a few coppers for the torches. I like to add a .5 GP poncho and .4 GP waterproof bag add some weather resistance. Past that I like an extra pair of clothes (~1 GP) and a grooming kit (1 GP, maybe some coppers for more soap) so you don't look like the hobo part of murder hobo. Someone will need the Spark cantrip or flint+steel (.25 GP split).
For any character that isn't a low BAB pure caster, an alchemical silver light mace and dagger at 27 GP. A sling and small pouch of ammo is only .1 GP and adds a ranged option and combined with the Light cantrip it's an effective signal at night. I really like having a bunch of lantern oil (.1 GP each) at low levels. Not necessarily to feed a lantern, but because it's the only effective way to kill swarms. Prerig it for throwing if the GM lets you.
Splitting an 8 GP donkey and 5 GP pack saddle with the party lets you carry 225 pounds of stuff back to sell. Replacing the pack with a cart costs 10 extra GP (5.75 four ways) but can increase capacity to 1125 pounds. That can quickly return its investment if you're facing humanoids, who typically wear armor with very poor gp/weight ratio at low levels that you wouldn't otherwise take. It's slower but still quick against many other foes.
All that is ~53.4 GP. There's still ~20 GP left for goods. A bunch of different colored chalk and sacks of flour have near neglibible cost but help with dungeoneering and invisible foes (plus you can eat the flour if desperate), but past that I'm not sure what to add. Maybe a 12 GP hooded waterproof lantern.
I nearly always pick up either a class-specific kit or the Pathfinder's kit from Ultimate Equipment, just to simplify having the basics on hand, and I nearly always buy an ioun torch if I can afford it. Other than that, it depends on the character and the campaign. Masterwork backpacks are another common one, as I tend toward being a bit of a pack rat.
A few Wooden Stakes, a Club, and a Quarterstaff are all free and made of wood. Slings are also free and so are stones, and sling bullets are cheap too, though 1d3 vs 1d4 or 1d2 vs 1d3 is a minor difference.
So I always make sure to have at least a few of those options on hand, even if my character doesn't even normally attack using weapons. Plus, having disposable wooden objects on hand helps in a pinch if you're a bunch of low level adventurers and need to start a fire and don't have time to go looking for kindling or fuel.
Stone Weapons are 1/4 the cost of standard weapons and Obsidian, Bone, and Glass Weapons are all 1/2 the cost of standard weapons. Their main downside is that they break on a nat 1 due to being Fragile, but that doesn't really matter as much for a backup weapon at low levels that you'll make only a handful of attacks with over the course of your adventures from level 1-3 and then probably forget about at the bottom of a bag of holding.
At low levels I believe the main things that Stone Weapons are useful against are low CR oozes to preclude the risk of them destroying your main weapon. Even then, as long as you weren't burning through them at too high of a rate, you could just destroy a whole boatload of clubs and/or quarterstaves instead.
Although I suppose keeping costs down if you're tracking ammunition also is potentially worthwhile.
A few 5 sp Stone Daggers or 25 cp Stone Shortspears or Javelins are also really, really disposable. They're also cheap enough that a single rank in a Craft skill would allow basically any character to have crafted a bunch of them in a single day if you really want to stretch the copper pieces out.
A bundle of 20 Stone Arrows would also be worth 25 copper, or 1.25 cp per arrow, and would cost 8 cp in order to craft (6 cp per Alternate Crafting Rules). Someone with 1 rank in Craft and +0 Int and a class skill bonus would get a 14 if they take 10, and the DC to make Arrows is 12. 12 * 14 = 168 sp of progress in a week. Divide by 5 for daily progress and the assumption that characters have 5-day work weeks and you get 33.6 sp of progress in a day, or 26 arrows produced in 8 hours of crafting.
12 is also the DC for Simple Melee and Thrown weapons, so that also tells us that while it'd take longer than 1 day for such a level 1 character to make a Stone Dagger, they could make a Stone Shortspear or Javelin in a single day.
A Cold Iron Dagger would also be 4 gp while an Alchemical Silver Traveling Kettle would be 25 gp, the same cost as a Light Mace that you had silvered, but it has the added benefit of being a kettle and allowing you to do some extra damage if enemies attack you while you're camping and you've had time to put the kettle on.
Amusingly, you could technically have a 1.25 gp Stone Traveling Kettle that was both a functional stone kettle and a functional weapon. I think that may hold the distinction of being the cheapest cooking vessel you can buy, RAW.
Even with a few torches, I like to always have a few flasks of oil and some form of lantern that can be set down to provide light in an area or the like.
Halfling Wandermeal makes taking food with you on the road even cheaper than ordinary trail rations, since you only have to eat actual food once a week or so. So that's 6 copper and 5 silver for 1 thing of trail rations and 6 things of wandermeal for a week's journey. You can carry enough food for a month for less than 3 gold pieces.
On the other hand, it'd be 9 copper for 7 days worth of wandermeal and a pound of potatoes or beans or cheese, which would give you food for a month for under 4 silver pieces.
Even if Medium creatures have to eat 2 days worth of Wandermeal (2 cp) instead of 1 per day, since it was originally designed for Halflings and all that jazz, it's still a huge savings, especially if you don't have the ability to forage and such and aren't playing in a game where you basically buy a couple weeks worth of rations at the start of play and then those somehow last for weeks, months, years, or even decades.
I like Kunai as the dagger substitute, its B or P and can act as a crowbar or piton. A normal crowbar weighs 5 lbs vs Kunai's 2 and costs the same.
Other than that, a couple flasks of acid in a Bandolier for swarms, 6 sets of Earplugs for the party when you encounter harpies, Collapsible Plank and Folding Ladder to avoid skill checks, Adamantine/Cold Iron/Silver Durable Bolt or two to deal with DR/Hardness, at least one Whetstone, a pair of Spring Loaded Wrist Sheaths for "pseudo quick draw", Bear Traps for when you have a chance to fortify an ambush, caltrops for the same reason, and of course rope!
I never get torches (too heavy and cumbersome), instead I get Bullseye (longer sight, aka flashlight), Hooded (default lantern), or Dusk (great for stealth in caves, where lights are more needed) Lanterns.
A 10 ft pole for obvious reasons (including makeshift walking stick).
A fishing kit (helps with food supply).
A compass for the survival boost.
Silk Rope (better than regular rope).
Looking through the list again, I would add a shovel (tool + improvised club).
String/Twine, because it's useful.
And leave some space for area specific items (like weather clothes, and stuff).
Don't forget a backup ranged weapon. Even if all you can afford or carry is a sling, you will eventually want a ranged weapon. There are going to be times when the opponent is too far away for you to get to in melee. And I mean for the entire battle, not just one or two rounds.
As mentioned above, get a kunai. Most of the best weapons are piercing or slashing so a weapon with blunt damage that can double as a crowbar and piton is handy. And it's easily affordable in cold iron.
You'll probably want rope at some point as well. If this is a PFS game, definitely get it. If it's a home game where you'll be playing with the same people every session, then you can talk to the other players and see who wants to buy it.
If you can afford it, get a masterwork backpack. It raises your carrying capacity, which is super helpful for dex based and small characters. Yeah, you mentioned a cart but getting your own carrying higher can still be a good thing. Armor, weapon, and other items you wear can add up in weight surprisingly fast.
I don't always pack all of these things, as some characters are more prepared than others for specific possibilities, but here's the short list:
1. Bags and pouches.
2. Chalk.
3. Bags and pouches filled with chalk. Seriously, they're useful. If I can afford the encumbrance, substitute bags of sand for some of these.
4. Compass.
5. Needle and twine.
6. Silk rope.
7. Paper or parchment.
8. Charcoal sticks.
9. Flint and steel. Never count on the party caster being conscious and able to use spark, especially at 1st level.
10. Rations. These are unfortunately heavy, but you never know when you'll need them.
11. Crowbar. Sorry, but description notwithstanding, a kunai is a poor substitute for a full sized lever designed for prying.
12. Soap. Not just for washing--it's handy for tight fitting situations or as an improvised tool for certain Disable Device uses.
13. Whetstone. Especially if I'm an archer and the GM is okay with sharpening arrowheads.
14. Folding pole. I never could make a 10-ft pole work. I mean, it's ten feet long. That's no walking stick.
15. For some reason there's no spade or trowel in the equipment section, but if the GM allows it I'll purchase one anyway. Again, a kunai is usable but a poor substitute.
16. If we're starting in a settlement, a blue book for the settlement. Excellent use of 5 gp.
17. If I can afford it, a journal to draw maps and record our adventures. These can end up being a nice bit of coin on the side, and they encourage the GM to ease up on whether the party remembers past details. ("I wrote them down in my diary so that I wouldn't have to remember." -- Dr. Henry Jones)
11. Crowbar. Sorry, but description notwithstanding, a kunai is a poor substitute for a full sized lever designed for prying.
I mean hey, as long as we're ignoring rules text ... lets say you use something entirely unsuited for the task, say a dagger. What is the bonus to the strength check to force a lock on a chest with a dagger?
+1? +0? If its +0 why use it at all?
Now, a Kunai is functional as a crowbar per its description it would need to be better than the dagger, so what would the bonus be? The same as a crowbar at +2? Or no better than a dagger at +1?
A lot of stuff is already covered, but something I always have on my characters is Smelling Salts. They're super cheap, you can wake up an unconscious but stable guy, and if they do much of anything they go back unconscious so it's good for questioning people.
11. Crowbar. Sorry, but description notwithstanding, a kunai is a poor substitute for a full sized lever designed for prying.
I mean hey, as long as we're ignoring rules text ... lets say you use something entirely unsuited for the task, say a dagger. What is the bonus to the strength check to force a lock on a chest with a dagger?
+1? +0? If its +0 why use it at all?
Now, a Kunai is functional as a crowbar per its description it would need to be better than the dagger, so what would the bonus be? The same as a crowbar at +2? Or no better than a dagger at +1?
1. Not ignoring. Consciously evaluating and rejecting.
2. Why eat a steak dinner when the cardboard-flavored gruel from a sustaining spoon is just as nutritious?
3. I'm a player in this scenario, so I don't have to answer GM-discretionary mechanical questions. : )
19. Some splash weapons. Some acid, a few flasks of Alchemist Fire and several flasks of Lamp oil. You start your opponent burning with 1 flask of Alchemist Fire. You keep the fire going with Lamp oil.
20. Caltrops, marbles
21. a stretcher: your poor man's Bag of Holding. You character can drag 5 X your maximum encumbered load. A stretcher can hold 500 pounds of stuff.
22. Some jewelry and cosmetics when you can afford them. Adventurers often get invited to fancy parties and royal courts. Courtier and Noblemen outfits are incomplete without 70-100gp worth of jewelry.
23. Antitoxin, plague doctor masks, fume hood, plague doctor outfit, swarmsuit.
Don't forget a backup ranged weapon. Even if all you can afford or carry is a sling, you will eventually want a ranged weapon.
Backup weapons in general. You want a bludgeoning weapon for when you are fighting skeletons and a slashing weapon for when you are fighting zombies. You want a silver weapon, a cold iron weapon, and an adamantine weapon (when you can afford one). You want a light, piercing or slashing weapon for when you are Grappled and/or Swallowed Whole.
A lot of the tools: pick, shovel, sledge hammer, etc, would eventually be replaced with a Travellers' Anytool, a magic item that costs under a thousand gp. There is also the Sleeves of Many Garments and the Robe of Infinite Twine, all inexpensive, highly-useful magic items.
But with your starting money, you need to buy real hammers, picks, changes of clothes, etc.
@Blahpers
They do have shovels, then it's just up to the GM to rule appropriately. Afterall, Scythes, Kamas, Axes, Sickles, Quaterstaffs (glorified walking stick), Hammers, etc. are all weapons and tools.
Else get a Monk's Spade, the regular spade's edgy asian cousin.
I nearly always buy an ioun torch if I can afford it.
Having hands free light is useful. I am not that great on magical lighting rules, but I am pretty sure it could be used against low level darkness spells (although that might lead you into an argument about whether it was made by a cleric or not).
I can still see a use for Kunai in spaces where a full crowbar would be too bulky.
Speaking of Kunai, they might technically be legal targets for being made out of Stone, Obsidian, or Glass. Bone is definitely on the table, but since you can flavor that as shell or ivory or horn, I think to think of it as a shell trowel that you can bap someone with or alternatively stick them with it.
A list of items of interest that stood out to me while taking a gander at the item list again:
Also, scissors are available in the form of small Shears for 5 sp and 0.5 lb of carry weight. Scissors would allow for much more precise cutting than using a knife, at least in certain situations. (If ruled to be a valid target for being made from Cold Iron, could be a useful torture device on any fey that fall into your power for a paltry 10 sp.)
Lopping Shears at 3 gp and 8 lb aren't too bad, either, though they'd only be occasionally useful, having that expansion to your repertoire to be able to cut through undergrowth and brush without having to either use your main slashing weapon as an improvised machete or carry around an extra machete.
Definitely would upgrade to the Adamantine Lopping Shears as a purchase by the party as a whole once you come into some money, though, especially if you've got anyone into smithing in the party. Not sure if small adamantine shears would be worth it.
Balancing Poles are fairly cheap at 8 sp. Since they can be up to 30 feet long, they also are much better at gauging the depth of bodies of water than your ordinary 10 foot pole, though given the length, you probably can't probe and prod with them nearly as well with 10 foot poles. Still, the 15' version might just save you from some of those hazards that are specifically designed to target people who use the common 10' pole, and in that sense, the bonus on checks made to keep your balance could just be a happy bonus.
It's not like traversing narrow walkways is rare for adventurers, either, though, especially low level ones that would probably just straight up die if they fell.
Bellows are 1 gp and 3 lb and while, RAW, their only stated bonus is to make it easier to start fires, they also allow you to manipulate the flow of air to a limited degree. Should combine nicely with an Unseen Servant or even Mage Hand for blowing potentially toxic dust off of something that you don't want to risk touching with a brush.
Kinda makes me wish there was a listed way to get a pair of Tongs, though, or as I like to call them, the mundane's Mage Hand.
Flotation Device and Swim Fins are both pretty cheap and both help out with swimming at low levels. Flotation Devices are 1 gp and 2 lb while Swim Fins are 1 sp and 5 lb.
Marlinspikes are an 8 sp, 0.5 lb way to make it harder for captives you tie up to escape. And makes any improvised rope ladders or rope bridges better. Which is good because as low-level adventurers, if your rope ladder or rope bridge fails, you'll probably die outright.
Merchant Scales are 2 gp and 1 lb and provide a valuable function. In addition to helping appraise things, when paired with a set of reliable weights, you can know how much mysterious objects weigh with more precision than estimation alone. So long as they're relatively small. And if one of the party members is a good, faithful Abadaran, they probably need one anyway for religious purposes.
Parasols and Umbrellas are, admittedly, a bit iffy as to how often they'll be useful outside of specific kinds of environments, but they are still pretty cheap at 1 gp, 2 lb for a basic parasol and 2 gp, 3 lb for a basic umbrella. You may be able to repurpose the waterproof material of the umbrella for other things, although along those lines, a 5 sp, 0.5 lb Waterproof Bag might be better if you plan to destroy an object in order to cannibalize it for some purpose.
Pig Grease is 1 sp per 1 lb, the same as flasks of Oil. Definitely some things that creative people can do with grease if they can do things with oil, flour, chalk, sand, etc.
Speaking Trumpets are 6 gp, 2 lb, and let you be heard from far away. Helpful for both sides to have when someone on the ground is communicating with someone up on top of a castle wall, for instance, or when addressing a large angry mob you've whipped up or that has been whipped up against you but isn't quite tearing you limb from limb just yet. More creative users will probably find some way to fool enemies into thinking that they're closer to the enemy than they really are, thereby somehow luring their foes into ambushes or potentially causes enemies to spring ambushes prematurely and therefore be caught out of position.
Wasters are cheap at 1 gp, though their weight can get a bit much for the heavier weapons. At any rate, if you like to fight with weapons and you run into enemies that like to Sunder and Disarm and such, this is fairly helpful to you, at least once you can fairly consistently make a DC 15 combat maneuver check.
It would be 18.2 gp for one of each of those, aside from a regular parasol since an umbrella will do double-duty there and from pig grease since how much of that you would want would be be a rather variable quantity. Several of those items would be something that the party as a whole would split costs on, though.
A funny thing occurred to me while digesting reviewing some of the stuff from my previous post. Iron Spikes cost 5 cp each. Wooden Stakes stake that when you use an Iron Spike as a weapon, you use the Wooden Stakes stats for it.
So, you may technically be able to get a Cold Iron Iron Spike for 10 cp that you can use as a Simple Weapon that deals 1d4/x2 piercing damage and has a 10 ft. range increment.
I think.
Anyway, even without it, that should probably be the cheapest weapon that isn't just free. Even Handwraps are 1 sp and Darts are 5 sp. Even if Stone Darts were valid, they'd still be 12.5 cp each or 25 cp per pair.
If a Stone Iron Spike were legal that sucker would be worth 1.25 cp and weigh 3/4 of a pound or 12 ounces.
lemeres wrote:
Rennaivx wrote:
I nearly always buy an ioun torch if I can afford it.
Having hands free light is useful. I am not that great on magical lighting rules, but I am pretty sure it could be used against low level darkness spells (although that might lead you into an argument about whether it was made by a cleric or not).
What's this about Clerics, now?
Scott Wilhelm wrote:
22. Some jewelry and cosmetics when you can afford them. Adventurers often get invited to fancy parties and royal courts. Courtier and Noblemen outfits are incomplete without 70-100gp worth of jewelry.
Even better if you can find a way to make that jewelry do double duty by enchanting them as magic items.
Hm. I just had a thought. Permanent Invisibility on an object combined with Heightened Continual Flame.
Firebug wrote:
Shovels (including folding) are in Ultimate Equipment. 2gp for regular, 10gp for folding. Can dig a pit at a rate of 2 cubic feet per minute.
I do an 'every character kit' system that I use for Pathfinder Society games, where I have a standard list of items I feel are appropriate for every single 1st level character I create.
Whilst it might not be exactly what you're thinking, perhaps you might find it useful for your purposes.
I also highly recommend a 750gp wand of cure light wounds when you can afford it. Give it to your healer to cover yourself for heals.
Sack of Powder - 1 cp (1/2 lbs) [Ultimate Equipment]
Invisible enemies at low levels suck. This is a ranged AC 5 attack that outlines them for a mere copper piece.
Chalk - 1 cp (0 lbs) [PRPG Core Rulebook]
A cheap way to keep track of your movement in a dungeon, leave messages to others, or draw pretty pictures on walls.
Torch - 1 cp (1 lbs) [PRPG Core Rulebook]
You'd be surprised how often an open flame is handy. This also gives you a last-ditch effort weapon for swarms, even if it's only 1 point of damage per hit.
Earplugs - 3 cp (0 lbs) [Ultimate Equipment]
You get a +2 circumstance bonus to language-dependant spells or abilities whilst wearing these. Useful against enemies that you know will use enchantments, and incredibly cheap for their bonus.
4 Candles - 4 cp (0 lbs) [PRPG Core Rulebook]
Again, having an open flame handy is more useful than you'd expect.
Inkpen - 1 sp (0 lbs) [PRPG Core Rulebook]
Don't be an illiterate barbarian. Seriously, even barbarians should carry one of these and be ready to write down important information in character.
3 Oil Flasks - 3 sp (3 lbs) [PRPG Core Rulebook]
Grease a flight of stairs. Add a fuse and throw it at a swarm. Rub it on yourself to slip out of a tight spot. In a pinch you could also light a lantern with it, I suppose.
Waterproof Bag - 5 sp (1/2 lbs) [Ultimate Equipment]
Five times the cost of a regular sack, but temporarily protects your gear from water damage. Remember to keep your sack of powder, torch and other water sensitive items in this.
Wooden Holy Symbol - 1 gp (0 lbs) [PRPG Core Rulebook]
A great litmus test to determine if the NPC is a vampire. Present this strongly at them and see if they recoil.
Grappling Hook - 1 gp (4 lbs) [PRPG Core Rulebook]
Weighty, but handy to get your rope where it needs to be.
Potion Sponge - 2 gp (0 lbs) [Advanced Race Guide]
Keep one of these loaded with your go-to underwater combat potion and you'll never need to worry about putting ranks into Swim.
Spring-Loaded Wrist Sheath - 5 gp (1 lb) [Adventurer's Armory]
At lower levels keep a dagger handy. At higher levels keep a wand inside. Plus it's just plain cool.
Ink, 1 oz. vial - 8 gp (0 lbs) [PRPG Core Rulebook]
For your inkpen, obviously.
Journal - 10 gp (1 lbs) [Ultimate Equipment]
Always keep notes. Write down names of important NPCs, goals for the quest, riddles encountered, copies of maps, everything. Then you get to freely ask the GM to repeat themselves by simply saying "I wrote that down in character, so I check my journal."
50 ft. Silk Rope - 10 gp (5 lbs) [PRPG Core Rulebook]
Lighter but more expensive than hemp. Worth the cost to keep your weight down. Also great if your character is into kinky stuff. Never leave home without rope!
Smoked Goggles - 10 gp (0 lbs) [Ultimate Equipment]
Makes you all but immune to gaze weapons, plus you can wear your sunglasses at night.
Pathfinder's Kit - 12 gp (22 lbs) [Ultimate Equipment]
I prefer this kit over many others. You've got your obligatory hobo items like a backpack, bedroll, waterskin, flint and steel and rations, but doesn't load you up on torches and an iron pot like many class kits. You get a signal whistle for when you're in trouble because you split the party since it seemed like a good idea at the time. You get a whetstone for an extra +1 damage on your first hit with a bladed weapon. You get a dagger to put in your spring-loaded wrist sheath.
Total: 60 gp (38 lbs) - Leave your rations and bedroll at camp or on a mount to take 12 lbs off this total
Weapons
--------------
Alchemical Silver Cestus - 25 gp (1 lbs) [Ultimate Equipment]
Your always-on melee threat item. Superior to a spiked gauntlet in pretty much every way. Make sure you do bludgeoning damage, as the piercing would suffer -1 damage penalty due to the material. A cheap means to bypass DR/silver too, if you're in a pinch.
Cold Iron Kunai - 4 gp (2 lbs) [Ranged Tactics Toolbox]
This one serves triple duty as a backup thrown weapon, a DR breaker for fey, demons and the like, plus the item text specifically calls out it can be used as a crowbar or piton without risk of damaging the weapon.
Total: 29 gp (3 lbs)
Pets
-------
Guard Dog - 25 gp [PRPG Core Rulebook]
It's a move action and DC 10 Handle Animal check to command your guard dog to defend you. You don't even need to be trained in the skill for this usage. Simply take 10 on this skill out of combat, or take 20 if you're exceptionally uncharismatic. Having an extra pool of hit points for this cost is great value for money.
Total: 25 gp
Alchemical Items
-----------------------
Tindertwig - 1 gp (0 lbs) [PRPG Core Rulebook]
For when you need a fire RFN.
2 Sunrods - 4 gp (2 lb) [PRPG Core Rulebook]
Light and vision is king. Unless your whole party has darkvision, carry a few of these and don't be stingy about using them.
Vermin Repellent - 5 gp (0 lbs) [Ultimate Equipment]
Swarms suck at low levels. Vermin repellent isn't perfect, but it might just be enough to convince a swarm to go chew on someone else instead. Worth the cost.
Smokestick - 20 gp (1/2 lbs) [PRPG Core Rulebook]
Blocks line of sight, but the rules are sketchy about whether you need to light it on fire first or if it self-activates as part of the use. If your GM is finicky about the activation, glue a tindertwig on it and call it a day. It's a handy item that can buy you total concealment against ranged attacks.
Smelling Salts - 25 gp (0 lbs) [Ultimate Equipment]
Okay, you beat the bad guys, but where do you go next? Easy, just grab one that hasn't bled out, stabilize him and then use smelling salts. Intimidate him for information about the bad guy's plans. Does your check fail? Kill him and try the next one. Also a really handy item to have in case the party healer is knocked out.
Holy Water - 25 gp (1 lbs) [PRPG Core Rulebook]
Okay, it's not really an alchemical item, but it's close enough. It's also a decent way to contribute damage against both undead or evil outsiders, especially if they've got some kind of exotic damage reduction you don't have anything to bypass.
Smog Specialty Smoke Pellet - 40 gp (0 lbs) [Dungeoneer's Handbook]
Remember how much invisibility sucks? This is the sack of flour's big brother. Negate a creature's invisibility for 1d4 rounds if you throw it into their square.
Tanglefoot Bag - 50 gp (4 lbs) [PRPG Core Rulebook]
Entangled, no save, 2d4 rounds. All you gotta do is hit them with it. Can be a lifesaver at low levels against bosses.
Air Crystals - 50 gp (0 lbs) [Pathfinder Society Field Guide]
Underwater combat sucks, but a bag of these can save your character if they're able to get them out in time. Just make sure you have them in your mouth before you get grappled by the kraken.
Total: 220 gp (7.5 lbs)
Potions
--------------
Potion of Touch of the Sea - 50 gp (0 lbs) [Advanced Player's Guide]
Never worry about water again. Get a 30 ft. swim speed for 1 minute. Keep this in your potion sponge.
Potion of Feather Step - 50 gp (0 lbs) [Advanced Player's Guide]
Difficult terrain can ruin your day. This lets you ignore that for 10 minutes.
Potion of Remove Sickness - 50 gp (0 lbs) [Ultimate Magic]
The bonus to saves isn't nearly as good as the ability to negate the sickened condition for 10 minutes. There's many creatures that can inflict this status, so a counter is always handy to have as a backup.
Potion of Protection from Evil - 50 gp (0 lbs) [PRPG Core Rulebook]
Typically the most common enemy type you'll face, and this one has a bunch of benefits. Deflection and resistance bonuses, prevention of mental domination, and that sweet protection from summoned creatures can shut a summoner down cold.
Short story- magic light vs. magic darkness rules are weird. Longer story-
Darkness Spell wrote:
Magical light sources only increase the light level in an area if they are of a higher spell level than darkness.
The competition between these spells comes down to the spell slot level of the spell. Darkness is a 2nd level spell. Wizards get continual flame as a 2nd level spell, but clerics get it as a 3rd level spell. As such, the cleric's spell takes a bigger resource, but it is 'stronger'.
There are likely more fiddly bits in various places, but this is the basics.
Sidenote- an ioun torch is just a broken ioun stone with continual flame cast on it. It is sold at material cost because it is a slightly nice bauble. Technically, you could later 'upgrade' it by going to a local church and getting a cleric to cast the spell. Maybe the churches actively sell them for cheap because it could be a nice counter against the darkness tactics of undead and demons. Well, that, and it is a nice way to get rid of a crafting apprentice's failed products.
Also note the rather obscure 1st level spell called Unwelcome Halo.
This spell's text specifically says: "If unwelcome halo is brought into an area of magical darkness (or vice versa), the effects of both spells are temporarily negated, so that the otherwise prevailing light conditions exist within the overlapping fields of effect."
Thus, a potion of Unwelcome Halo is a great purchase for a non-good character which can completely negate a spell such as the 3rd level Deeper Darkness. A great cheap means to cancel a nasty effect.
That doesn't sound right, to me it sounds like its just a reminder that darkness plus light spells cancel each other out. At best the only difference is that this doesn't dispel magical darkness like other light spells.
Given that there are no spells that create an area of magical darkness below 2nd level, and that Unwelcome Halo's text clearly states it negates magical darkness spells, I'd say it works exactly like it says on the tin.
There are also these, that are much more expensive due to other cool things.
Those are pretty neat.
Since standard Iron Spikes are 1-foot-long, though, I'm not sure if the 6-inch-long Hex Nail would be an appropriately sized weapon for a Medium creature, or maybe not even a Small sized creature. So I think that would probably be a -2 or -4 on attack rolls for most characters.
Should probably still be just fine for tormenting fey captives, though.
