No idea whether this is a bug report, inventory management feedback, or something else, but Explorer's Packs are broken. An Explorer's Pack includes a total of 54 pounds worth of gear plus a backpack. A backpack can hold 30 pounds of gear. Therefore if you build a new character in D&D Beyond with a default standard equipment Explorer's Pack, you have a backpack that is 24 pounds overweight straight out the gate.
Now, the description of Backpacks says that you can attach rope or a bedroll to the outside. The description of Explorer's Pack says it comes with a hempen rope attached to the side of it. But even if you attach both the hempen rope and the bedroll that comes in an Explorer's Pack to the outside of a Backpack, the Backpack is still 7 pounds overweight.
You can shift some things around, like saying your waterskin is its own container, and so just belongs in Equipment not Backpack, or that some of the rations or torches are actually in a pouch. (But a pouch only holds 6 pounds, so can't fit all the torches and can't make up that 7 pound difference.) But it's just annoying that by default, a character's ability to carry things is broken before they even start adventuring and collecting new things.
Again, this is totally pedantic and doesn't matter much in the scheme of things, but it's the kind of thing you notice now that we have this lovely inventory management system.
Edit: The simple fix is just to have 5 days of rations instead of 10 days. Anybody that's ever backpacked before can tell you how insane it is to think you can store 10 days worth of modern rations, let alone medieval fantasy ones, inside of a pack that also has other gear in it.
The Explorer's Pack is mostly just endemic of issues with D&D's encumbrance system as a whole. Many of the game's species don't need the heavy, bulky ten-pack of torches either, and rations are one of those things a game should think about but never does. You could eliminate both objects completely from most explorer's packs and nobody would miss them, and in the doing cull thirty pounds from your kit.
That said? Much like you acknowledged, most players don't care. Most modern D&D players barely care about any non-magical equipment anyways, they just assume they have whatever they need, and a lot of DMs let them get away with it. Heh, I've had people ask me if I'm insane and/or OCD because one of the things I do with any new character I'm seriously considering playing is go over the entire "Adventuring Gear" list and curate the character's starting equipment manually, by hand (when a DM so permits, anyways). The new inventory interface on DDB is absolutely magnificent for aiding with that. There's been a couple of times I've pulled out an item (usually a signal whistle), used it, and had the table go "wait, does that exist? Is that some kind of magic item you snuck? DX", and I had to pull up the DDB entry to prove it's in there.
It's been noticed and I think it got staff response in a thread in Bugs or Support or Feedback, I couldn't find it, but it's a known issue. I think the presumtion is that a few items are not inside the pack in addition to the external bedroll and rope.
I think the various packs are also inherently "pack in / pack out" type gear, in that like real world ruck and backpacks, they're designed to carry stuff you need for the journey, not hold stuff you pick up along the way. That's what sacks are for.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Jander Sunstar is the thinking person's Drizzt, fight me.
Explorer's Pack (10 gp) Includes a backpack, a bedroll, a mess kit, a tinderbox, 10 torches, 10 days of rations, and a waterskin. The pack also has 50 feet of hempen rope strapped to the side of it.
* tinderboxes typically feature small chains or holes for backpack straps or belts and are carried outside of the backpack in most cases. Most adventuring backpacks even have extra straps specifically for these. Later ones had flaps/covers and a "pocket" for them as well as external pockets for the mess kit.
It's 1 lbs over, which will rectify itself quickly since rations and torches are consumable. You can also just tie 1 or 2 of the torches on the outside of the pack. It can also be common to have your mess kit in an external pocket (or strap with a cover).
-
I therefore don't see what issue you have.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Click ✨ HERE ✨ For My Youtube Videos featuring Guides, Tips & Tricks for using D&D Beyond. Need help with Homebrew? Check out ✨ thisFAQ/Guide thread ✨ by IamSposta.
Yeah, don't think I've ever had a character carry a tinderbox in their backpack since DDB gave us the option not to. Usually it's in a pouch, though I didn't know they were often made to be carried on hooks like that. Neat factoid.
I actually got to watch an IRL tinker make an accurate reproduction of a colonial period tinderbox at the State Farm show a few years back. It was apparently designed to clip onto the wearer’s belt not unlike a modern pistol holster.
The Explorer's Pack is mostly just endemic of issues with D&D's encumbrance system as a whole. Many of the game's species don't need the heavy, bulky ten-pack of torches either, and rations are one of those things a game should think about but never does. You could eliminate both objects completely from most explorer's packs and nobody would miss them, and in the doing cull thirty pounds from your kit.
That said? Much like you acknowledged, most players don't care. Most modern D&D players barely care about any non-magical equipment anyways, they just assume they have whatever they need, and a lot of DMs let them get away with it. Heh, I've had people ask me if I'm insane and/or OCD because one of the things I do with any new character I'm seriously considering playing is go over the entire "Adventuring Gear" list and curate the character's starting equipment manually, by hand (when a DM so permits, anyways). The new inventory interface on DDB is absolutely magnificent for aiding with that. There's been a couple of times I've pulled out an item (usually a signal whistle), used it, and had the table go "wait, does that exist? Is that some kind of magic item you snuck? DX", and I had to pull up the DDB entry to prove it's in there.
Just a small, small sampling of items you can totally have that will totally help you out of a jam if you have them and know what to do with them.
I keep a very detailed list of items that my character has and where they are stored. It is a thing that has been carried over since 1e for me, and as DM, I make sure that my players do the same. Things get stolen or you find yourself randomly "falling" into a dungeon or other situation where you need to know how much food and water you have. It is a key part of the Exploration portion of the game, so ignoring it seems odd to me. But to each their own.
Many of the game's species don't need the heavy, bulky ten-pack of torches...
I don't think any of them need a pack of ten, to be honest, and if a character would feel otherwise I doubt they'd realistically consider carrying them all on their person.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Want to start playing but don't have anyone to play with? You can try these options: [link].
I keep a very detailed list of items that my character has and where they are stored. It is a thing that has been carried over since 1e for me, and as DM, I make sure that my players do the same. Things get stolen or you find yourself randomly "falling" into a dungeon or other situation where you need to know how much food and water you have. It is a key part of the Exploration portion of the game, so ignoring it seems odd to me. But to each their own.
See?
Exactly.
All the logistics rules in the PHB/DMG that people blow by because "that crap's boring, I wanna be an ADVENTURER, not a beancounter!"? Those are the Exploration rules everybody keeps complaining D&D doesn't have! If you don't pay attention to them and blow them off, then yeah - exploration's gonna be shallow and pointless, nothing but an exercise in filling in the map. There's no tension, no choices to be made - just "I wander around randomly until the DM tells me I find something interesting." Of course that's going to be lame and unsatisfying.
A challenge to everybody who says exploration rules in D&D suck - turn logistics back on. Track ammunition, track rations, track how far you can move in a day, and all those random-encounter, random-setback tables you blow off because they're not Epic Story? Turn them back on. See what happens when you have to actively fight the world for each step of progress you make, and then see how awesome it feels to win that fight. Or to find ways to subvert it with clever play rather than just DM fiat.
The Explorer's Pack is mostly just endemic of issues with D&D's encumbrance system as a whole. Many of the game's species don't need the heavy, bulky ten-pack of torches either, and rations are one of those things a game should think about but never does. You could eliminate both objects completely from most explorer's packs and nobody would miss them, and in the doing cull thirty pounds from your kit.
That said? Much like you acknowledged, most players don't care. Most modern D&D players barely care about any non-magical equipment anyways, they just assume they have whatever they need, and a lot of DMs let them get away with it. Heh, I've had people ask me if I'm insane and/or OCD because one of the things I do with any new character I'm seriously considering playing is go over the entire "Adventuring Gear" list and curate the character's starting equipment manually, by hand (when a DM so permits, anyways). The new inventory interface on DDB is absolutely magnificent for aiding with that. There's been a couple of times I've pulled out an item (usually a signal whistle), used it, and had the table go "wait, does that exist? Is that some kind of magic item you snuck? DX", and I had to pull up the DDB entry to prove it's in there.
Just a small, small sampling of items you can totally have that will totally help you out of a jam if you have them and know what to do with them.
I keep a very detailed list of items that my character has and where they are stored. It is a thing that has been carried over since 1e for me, and as DM, I make sure that my players do the same. Things get stolen or you find yourself randomly "falling" into a dungeon or other situation where you need to know how much food and water you have. It is a key part of the Exploration portion of the game, so ignoring it seems odd to me. But to each their own.
Me too, knowing what your character has on them vs. in various pouches, vs backpack, saddlebags, etc. makes it possible for characters to pull out some interesting stuff because they have to. My friends don’t want to have to track that stuff, they find it tedious bookkeeping and think me nuts for caring. 🤷♂️ Different strokes and all.
Nowhere does it say that everything in the "Explorer's pack" has to be carried inside the backpack it comes with. The Pack is just a special offer bundle like some many other things you can buy in the game (and in the real world).
And like mentioned, characters are also assumed to have pockets to keep things in and unlike the tinderbox (which for obvious reasons you would want to keep away from dirt and wetness and thus were mostly kept in pockets (unless we're talking about the chuckmuck) or otherwise stored in a safe, dry place where you wouldn't lose or damage them), waterskins were often made to be carried in a strap or otherwise easily accessible.
waterskins were often made to be carried in a strap or otherwise easily accessible.
Indeed. You can actually see an example in the Player's Handbook which actually does feature an image of the waterskin complete with a strap.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Click ✨ HERE ✨ For My Youtube Videos featuring Guides, Tips & Tricks for using D&D Beyond. Need help with Homebrew? Check out ✨ thisFAQ/Guide thread ✨ by IamSposta.
I keep a very detailed list of items that my character has and where they are stored. It is a thing that has been carried over since 1e for me, and as DM, I make sure that my players do the same. Things get stolen or you find yourself randomly "falling" into a dungeon or other situation where you need to know how much food and water you have. It is a key part of the Exploration portion of the game, so ignoring it seems odd to me. But to each their own.
See?
Exactly.
All the logistics rules in the PHB/DMG that people blow by because "that crap's boring, I wanna be an ADVENTURER, not a beancounter!"? Those are the Exploration rules everybody keeps complaining D&D doesn't have! If you don't pay attention to them and blow them off, then yeah - exploration's gonna be shallow and pointless, nothing but an exercise in filling in the map. There's no tension, no choices to be made - just "I wander around randomly until the DM tells me I find something interesting." Of course that's going to be lame and unsatisfying.
A challenge to everybody who says exploration rules in D&D suck - turn logistics back on. Track ammunition, track rations, track how far you can move in a day, and all those random-encounter, random-setback tables you blow off because they're not Epic Story? Turn them back on. See what happens when you have to actively fight the world for each step of progress you make, and then see how awesome it feels to win that fight. Or to find ways to subvert it with clever play rather than just DM fiat.
I don't want to pull this off-topic, but for me at least the lack of exploration rules is really one of exploration rules that would make exploration class abilities worthwhile. Tracking ammo does nothing in that regard. Tracking rations gives hunting and foraging some utility, but you can quite easily just buy rations instead. Or use magic. There are downsides to those options too, sure, but they at least spare the group the time they'd otherwise spend hunting and foraging. Tracking movement rate can bring Natural Explorer's difficult terrain benefit into play, but requires choosing (or being forced to) travel over difficult terrain and at higher levels magic and mounts can often cover this more effectively. Random encounters and setbacks? Not typically going to make the ranger or scout or outlander shine bright like a diamond either. More to the point, using environmental challenges isn't the same as having exploration rules. Nine times out of ten they're solved either by being prepared or by making a check that any character with the appropriate statline and/or proficiency can make.
There's tons of things to be mined from previous editions or from third party products to enhance exploration; I do that all the time. What there typically is much less of are things that tie into class abilities other than spells, and those spells are more than pulling their weight already anyway.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Want to start playing but don't have anyone to play with? You can try these options: [link].
This article from Angry GM was a real eye-opener when I first read it. Describing the emergent gameplay that came from challenging the players to keep track of their shit and pushing their resources was amazing. I was reading this going "THIS. THIS is the shit I've always wanted to accomplish with logistics in D&D - the feeling of 'we can throw the dice and try this, but if it doesn't work we're so boned.' Not the dumb thing where all you ever do is scrape fog-of-war off a map because nothing ever threatens or challenges you, but finding ways to put the players into a situation where they have five things they can do and the resources to try exactly ONE of them, and then have to work to make that one thing succeed. This is perfect."
I haven't gotten to DM since well before reading this article, but it's something I fully intend to keep handy if I ever do. Exploration should not be class locked, just like combat and social encounters should not be class locked. Having abilities that help with the logistics angle should be important and meaningful. As a wise man once said: amateurs talk strategy, professionals talk logistics.
I keep a very detailed list of items that my character has and where they are stored. It is a thing that has been carried over since 1e for me, and as DM, I make sure that my players do the same. Things get stolen or you find yourself randomly "falling" into a dungeon or other situation where you need to know how much food and water you have. It is a key part of the Exploration portion of the game, so ignoring it seems odd to me. But to each their own.
See?
Exactly.
All the logistics rules in the PHB/DMG that people blow by because "that crap's boring, I wanna be an ADVENTURER, not a beancounter!"? Those are the Exploration rules everybody keeps complaining D&D doesn't have! If you don't pay attention to them and blow them off, then yeah - exploration's gonna be shallow and pointless, nothing but an exercise in filling in the map. There's no tension, no choices to be made - just "I wander around randomly until the DM tells me I find something interesting." Of course that's going to be lame and unsatisfying.
A challenge to everybody who says exploration rules in D&D suck - turn logistics back on. Track ammunition, track rations, track how far you can move in a day, and all those random-encounter, random-setback tables you blow off because they're not Epic Story? Turn them back on. See what happens when you have to actively fight the world for each step of progress you make, and then see how awesome it feels to win that fight. Or to find ways to subvert it with clever play rather than just DM fiat.
I don't want to pull this off-topic, but for me at least the lack of exploration rules is really one of exploration rules that would make exploration class abilities worthwhile. Tracking ammo does nothing in that regard. Tracking rations gives hunting and foraging some utility, but you can quite easily just buy rations instead. Or use magic. There are downsides to those options too, sure, but they at least spare the group the time they'd otherwise spend hunting and foraging. Tracking movement rate can bring Natural Explorer's difficult terrain benefit into play, but requires choosing (or being forced to) travel over difficult terrain and at higher levels magic and mounts can often cover this more effectively. Random encounters and setbacks? Not typically going to make the ranger or scout or outlander shine bright like a diamond either. More to the point, using environmental challenges isn't the same as having exploration rules. Nine times out of ten they're solved either by being prepared or by making a check that any character with the appropriate statline and/or proficiency can make.
There's tons of things to be mined from previous editions or from third party products to enhance exploration; I do that all the time. What there typically is much less of are things that tie into class abilities other than spells, and those spells are more than pulling their weight already anyway.
To be fair, this is what irl exploration is/requires.
While yes, it would be nice to have things that make specific character class/options really shine, but they should be a benefit and not a requirement. And yes magic does do a lot, but it requires the party to expend spell slots and to prepare those spells, so they still use up valuable resources. If they expend those slots in a fight, then they need to have rations or go hungry. It is still resource management, which is kind of the point we are making.
I am not saying that there shouldn't be more/better rules, just that it doesn't help anything if you ignore the small amount of rules we do have.
So I'm gonna say "bean counting" isn't as essential to exploration as it is is survival and while survival and exploration often go hand in hand, it's not always the case. I mean if you have a magical basecamp or techno game mothership, your expeditions are basically "find the thing and go home to a hot shower. And wait for resupply from the King or The Company" Whereas the first module of Star Frontiers I always liked because it was both a hex based exploration and survival game (starship wreck on a largely unknown world). I'm personally a fan of players who like to have their characters $h!t together, but I know a lot of folks prefer to think of themselves less Lewis and Clarke, more emissaries from The Federation.
But back to packs. Yeah, it probably would have been better writing if they called these "kits" that happened to include a backpack, than "Explorer Bag in 1 Pack". I've yet to do it myself, but I like Yurei's more thoughtful approach to kits and in the future might just provide stock lists of material they can build their kits out of (some IRL outfits that have high resources and low uniform standards do sort of have a "goodie room" where you're told, "take what you want, if you can walk out of here with it on your armor or in your pack, you're good to go" I mean some dudes just take six different types of sunglasses, but others are more thoughtful with lights and back up lights, and battery replacements, etc., things like paracord and door jams).
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Jander Sunstar is the thinking person's Drizzt, fight me.
I don't think any of them need a pack of ten, to be honest, and if a character would feel otherwise I doubt they'd realistically consider carrying them all on their person.
I don't think I've seen ten torches used over the entire duration of a campaign. If people don't just have darkvision, someone will cast light, because using a torch is just annoying.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
To post a comment, please login or register a new account.
Trigger warning, pedantic gripe:
No idea whether this is a bug report, inventory management feedback, or something else, but Explorer's Packs are broken. An Explorer's Pack includes a total of 54 pounds worth of gear plus a backpack. A backpack can hold 30 pounds of gear. Therefore if you build a new character in D&D Beyond with a default standard equipment Explorer's Pack, you have a backpack that is 24 pounds overweight straight out the gate.
Now, the description of Backpacks says that you can attach rope or a bedroll to the outside. The description of Explorer's Pack says it comes with a hempen rope attached to the side of it. But even if you attach both the hempen rope and the bedroll that comes in an Explorer's Pack to the outside of a Backpack, the Backpack is still 7 pounds overweight.
You can shift some things around, like saying your waterskin is its own container, and so just belongs in Equipment not Backpack, or that some of the rations or torches are actually in a pouch. (But a pouch only holds 6 pounds, so can't fit all the torches and can't make up that 7 pound difference.) But it's just annoying that by default, a character's ability to carry things is broken before they even start adventuring and collecting new things.
Again, this is totally pedantic and doesn't matter much in the scheme of things, but it's the kind of thing you notice now that we have this lovely inventory management system.
Edit: The simple fix is just to have 5 days of rations instead of 10 days. Anybody that's ever backpacked before can tell you how insane it is to think you can store 10 days worth of modern rations, let alone medieval fantasy ones, inside of a pack that also has other gear in it.
The Explorer's Pack is mostly just endemic of issues with D&D's encumbrance system as a whole. Many of the game's species don't need the heavy, bulky ten-pack of torches either, and rations are one of those things a game should think about but never does. You could eliminate both objects completely from most explorer's packs and nobody would miss them, and in the doing cull thirty pounds from your kit.
That said? Much like you acknowledged, most players don't care. Most modern D&D players barely care about any non-magical equipment anyways, they just assume they have whatever they need, and a lot of DMs let them get away with it. Heh, I've had people ask me if I'm insane and/or OCD because one of the things I do with any new character I'm seriously considering playing is go over the entire "Adventuring Gear" list and curate the character's starting equipment manually, by hand (when a DM so permits, anyways). The new inventory interface on DDB is absolutely magnificent for aiding with that. There's been a couple of times I've pulled out an item (usually a signal whistle), used it, and had the table go "wait, does that exist? Is that some kind of magic item you snuck? DX", and I had to pull up the DDB entry to prove it's in there.
Signal Whistle
Chalk
Fishing Tackle
Candle
Soap
Just a small, small sampling of items you can totally have that will totally help you out of a jam if you have them and know what to do with them.
Please do not contact or message me.
It's been noticed and I think it got staff response in a thread in Bugs or Support or Feedback, I couldn't find it, but it's a known issue. I think the presumtion is that a few items are not inside the pack in addition to the external bedroll and rope.
I think the various packs are also inherently "pack in / pack out" type gear, in that like real world ruck and backpacks, they're designed to carry stuff you need for the journey, not hold stuff you pick up along the way. That's what sacks are for.
Jander Sunstar is the thinking person's Drizzt, fight me.
It's a 'take it up with WotC' question, because all DDB does is make the issue more apparent, but it's straight out of the books.
Birgit | Shifter | Sorcerer | Dragonlords
Shayone | Hobgoblin | Sorcerer | Netherdeep
Explorer's Pack (10 gp) Includes a backpack, a bedroll, a mess kit, a tinderbox, 10 torches, 10 days of rations, and a waterskin. The pack also has 50 feet of hempen rope strapped to the side of it.
Backpack: 5 lbs
Bedroll: 7 lbs
Mess Kit: 1 lb
Tinderbox: 1 lb
Torch: 1 lb .. x 10 = 10 lbs
Ration: 2 lbs x 10 = 20 lbs
Waterskin: 5 lbs
Rope: 10 lbs
Total: 59 lbs
A character with a Strength of 8, the lowest you can get with point buy/standard array, has a carrying capacity of 120 lbs.
Intended to be carried (outside backpack)
Backpack: 5 lbs
Bedroll: 7 lbs
Tinderbox: 1 lb *
Waterskin: 5 lbs
Rope: 10 lbs
* tinderboxes typically feature small chains or holes for backpack straps or belts and are carried outside of the backpack in most cases. Most adventuring backpacks even have extra straps specifically for these. Later ones had flaps/covers and a "pocket" for them as well as external pockets for the mess kit.
Total: 28 lbs
Intended to be packed (in backpack)
Mess Kit: 1 lb
Torch: 1 lb .. x 10 = 10 lbs
Ration: 2 lbs x 10 = 20 lbs
Total: 31 lbs
It's 1 lbs over, which will rectify itself quickly since rations and torches are consumable. You can also just tie 1 or 2 of the torches on the outside of the pack. It can also be common to have your mess kit in an external pocket (or strap with a cover).
-
I therefore don't see what issue you have.
Click ✨ HERE ✨ For My Youtube Videos featuring Guides, Tips & Tricks for using D&D Beyond.
Need help with Homebrew? Check out ✨ this FAQ/Guide thread ✨ by IamSposta.
Even the Mess Kit could be attached to the outside and the tinderbox worn on a belt or in a beltpouch.
Creating Epic Boons on DDB
DDB Buyers' Guide
Hardcovers, DDB & You
Content Troubleshooting
Yeah, don't think I've ever had a character carry a tinderbox in their backpack since DDB gave us the option not to. Usually it's in a pouch, though I didn't know they were often made to be carried on hooks like that. Neat factoid.
Please do not contact or message me.
I actually got to watch an IRL tinker make an accurate reproduction of a colonial period tinderbox at the State Farm show a few years back. It was apparently designed to clip onto the wearer’s belt not unlike a modern pistol holster.
Creating Epic Boons on DDB
DDB Buyers' Guide
Hardcovers, DDB & You
Content Troubleshooting
I keep a very detailed list of items that my character has and where they are stored. It is a thing that has been carried over since 1e for me, and as DM, I make sure that my players do the same. Things get stolen or you find yourself randomly "falling" into a dungeon or other situation where you need to know how much food and water you have. It is a key part of the Exploration portion of the game, so ignoring it seems odd to me. But to each their own.
She/Her Player and Dungeon Master
I don't think any of them need a pack of ten, to be honest, and if a character would feel otherwise I doubt they'd realistically consider carrying them all on their person.
Want to start playing but don't have anyone to play with? You can try these options: [link].
See?
Exactly.
All the logistics rules in the PHB/DMG that people blow by because "that crap's boring, I wanna be an ADVENTURER, not a beancounter!"? Those are the Exploration rules everybody keeps complaining D&D doesn't have! If you don't pay attention to them and blow them off, then yeah - exploration's gonna be shallow and pointless, nothing but an exercise in filling in the map. There's no tension, no choices to be made - just "I wander around randomly until the DM tells me I find something interesting." Of course that's going to be lame and unsatisfying.
A challenge to everybody who says exploration rules in D&D suck - turn logistics back on. Track ammunition, track rations, track how far you can move in a day, and all those random-encounter, random-setback tables you blow off because they're not Epic Story? Turn them back on. See what happens when you have to actively fight the world for each step of progress you make, and then see how awesome it feels to win that fight. Or to find ways to subvert it with clever play rather than just DM fiat.
Please do not contact or message me.
Me too, knowing what your character has on them vs. in various pouches, vs backpack, saddlebags, etc. makes it possible for characters to pull out some interesting stuff because they have to. My friends don’t want to have to track that stuff, they find it tedious bookkeeping and think me nuts for caring. 🤷♂️ Different strokes and all.
Creating Epic Boons on DDB
DDB Buyers' Guide
Hardcovers, DDB & You
Content Troubleshooting
Nowhere does it say that everything in the "Explorer's pack" has to be carried inside the backpack it comes with. The Pack is just a special offer bundle like some many other things you can buy in the game (and in the real world).
And like mentioned, characters are also assumed to have pockets to keep things in and unlike the tinderbox (which for obvious reasons you would want to keep away from dirt and wetness and thus were mostly kept in pockets (unless we're talking about the chuckmuck) or otherwise stored in a safe, dry place where you wouldn't lose or damage them), waterskins were often made to be carried in a strap or otherwise easily accessible.
Indeed. You can actually see an example in the Player's Handbook which actually does feature an image of the waterskin complete with a strap.
Click ✨ HERE ✨ For My Youtube Videos featuring Guides, Tips & Tricks for using D&D Beyond.
Need help with Homebrew? Check out ✨ this FAQ/Guide thread ✨ by IamSposta.
I don't want to pull this off-topic, but for me at least the lack of exploration rules is really one of exploration rules that would make exploration class abilities worthwhile. Tracking ammo does nothing in that regard. Tracking rations gives hunting and foraging some utility, but you can quite easily just buy rations instead. Or use magic. There are downsides to those options too, sure, but they at least spare the group the time they'd otherwise spend hunting and foraging. Tracking movement rate can bring Natural Explorer's difficult terrain benefit into play, but requires choosing (or being forced to) travel over difficult terrain and at higher levels magic and mounts can often cover this more effectively. Random encounters and setbacks? Not typically going to make the ranger or scout or outlander shine bright like a diamond either. More to the point, using environmental challenges isn't the same as having exploration rules. Nine times out of ten they're solved either by being prepared or by making a check that any character with the appropriate statline and/or proficiency can make.
There's tons of things to be mined from previous editions or from third party products to enhance exploration; I do that all the time. What there typically is much less of are things that tie into class abilities other than spells, and those spells are more than pulling their weight already anyway.
Want to start playing but don't have anyone to play with? You can try these options: [link].
Tangent related to exploration rules:
This article from Angry GM was a real eye-opener when I first read it. Describing the emergent gameplay that came from challenging the players to keep track of their shit and pushing their resources was amazing. I was reading this going "THIS. THIS is the shit I've always wanted to accomplish with logistics in D&D - the feeling of 'we can throw the dice and try this, but if it doesn't work we're so boned.' Not the dumb thing where all you ever do is scrape fog-of-war off a map because nothing ever threatens or challenges you, but finding ways to put the players into a situation where they have five things they can do and the resources to try exactly ONE of them, and then have to work to make that one thing succeed. This is perfect."
I haven't gotten to DM since well before reading this article, but it's something I fully intend to keep handy if I ever do. Exploration should not be class locked, just like combat and social encounters should not be class locked. Having abilities that help with the logistics angle should be important and meaningful. As a wise man once said: amateurs talk strategy, professionals talk logistics.
Please do not contact or message me.
To be fair, this is what irl exploration is/requires.
While yes, it would be nice to have things that make specific character class/options really shine, but they should be a benefit and not a requirement. And yes magic does do a lot, but it requires the party to expend spell slots and to prepare those spells, so they still use up valuable resources. If they expend those slots in a fight, then they need to have rations or go hungry. It is still resource management, which is kind of the point we are making.
I am not saying that there shouldn't be more/better rules, just that it doesn't help anything if you ignore the small amount of rules we do have.
She/Her Player and Dungeon Master
So I'm gonna say "bean counting" isn't as essential to exploration as it is is survival and while survival and exploration often go hand in hand, it's not always the case. I mean if you have a magical basecamp or techno game mothership, your expeditions are basically "find the thing and go home to a hot shower. And wait for resupply from the King or The Company" Whereas the first module of Star Frontiers I always liked because it was both a hex based exploration and survival game (starship wreck on a largely unknown world). I'm personally a fan of players who like to have their characters $h!t together, but I know a lot of folks prefer to think of themselves less Lewis and Clarke, more emissaries from The Federation.
But back to packs. Yeah, it probably would have been better writing if they called these "kits" that happened to include a backpack, than "Explorer Bag in 1 Pack". I've yet to do it myself, but I like Yurei's more thoughtful approach to kits and in the future might just provide stock lists of material they can build their kits out of (some IRL outfits that have high resources and low uniform standards do sort of have a "goodie room" where you're told, "take what you want, if you can walk out of here with it on your armor or in your pack, you're good to go" I mean some dudes just take six different types of sunglasses, but others are more thoughtful with lights and back up lights, and battery replacements, etc., things like paracord and door jams).
Jander Sunstar is the thinking person's Drizzt, fight me.
A nice example. One can't but question the logic of carrying caltraps in a bag, though. *G*
I don't think I've seen ten torches used over the entire duration of a campaign. If people don't just have darkvision, someone will cast light, because using a torch is just annoying.