2014: Comes with own container as detailed in the description.
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I don't recall/couldn't find the mention of a container in the 2014 rules, but I've always assumed one.
I've also always thought of it as fairly specialized - ie it allows you to manipulate the full toolset as a unit, and protects everything in it from damage, but isn't necessarily/easily/universally repurposeable into a container for other things.
Next to tool name is the description where some specify things like "this pouch contains" or "this small box contains".
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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.
Most "kits" or set of tools are assumed to have their own containers. Those containers can be put in other containers like your backpack, or can be hanging from your belt.
May i ask why you want to know this?
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He/Him. Loooooooooong time Player. The Dark days of the THAC0 system are behind us.
"Hope is a fire that burns in us all If only an ember, awaiting your call To rise up in triumph should we all unite The spark for change is yours to ignite." Kalandra - The State of the World
Part of the problem is really that tool sets call for very different sizes and types of items and therefore containers. Some probably shouldn’t be being carried at all less your taking a wagon around with you to handle the weight ( smiths tools - you are really carrying that anvil around as well as the fire bricks for your forge?). Others have many fragile and expensive pieces that need sufficient padding and so size and weight (alchemy/poisoner/herbalist kits) that they aren’t really going to be carried in your backpack or on your body. Realistically what the PC is taking with them is not the full set of stuff that they would have in a properly set up shop. They are carrying a highly reduced set of tools that lets them do emergency work in the field and/ some basics of the trade as a stopgap until the next town where proper work can be done. ( the equivalent of carrying around a dremel tool and a bunch of tips instead of drill, a large belt sander, a cutting wheel etc.
XGtE clarified what's included in the tool kits, so for example for Smith's Tools you have: "Components. Smith’s tools include hammers, tongs, charcoal, rags, and a whetstone."
Most "kits" or set of tools are assumed to have their own containers. Those containers can be put in other containers like your backpack, or can be hanging from your belt.
May i ask why you want to know this?
Just trying to be mindful of how much can fit into my character’s backpack, since it can only hold 30 lbs. It also helps me visualize what my character looks like, so I can describe him better.
XGtE clarified what's included in the tool kits, so for example for Smith's Tools you have: "Components. Smith’s tools include hammers, tongs, charcoal, rags, and a whetstone."
Like I said - the bare essentials for work in the field. To actually work with iron and steel you want to get it at least bright yellow which is about 2000 F. No campfire is that hot, even charcoal without a bellows or forced air source has trouble reaching and holding temperatures that high. Then what are you using as your anvil if you’re using those hammers? A large stone? Between the heating and cooling from the hot iron and the hammering over and over you’re going to need a new stone fairly soon. You’re also going to need more than a couple of handfuls of charcoal. All of that takes up space and weight or should. Of course if you’re playing without encumberance and with a bag of holding you can pretty well ignore such problems. A similar case can be made for most such kits. They are not the full shop tool set but a highly reduced set for basic repairs and emergency use in the field. Do they have their own containers? If you purchased a set I would say yes - any purchased kit should have a container for it. On the other hand if you have scrabbled together a kit it may well not have a (well designed and effective) container other than places for the stuff in your backpack or on your pack animal if you have one.
Realism of the contents of Smith's Tools in-game isn't the question, but a lot of storage issues can be settled by discouraging packrat behavior at your table via bringing it up at Session Zero & an out-of-game talk.
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DM, player & homebrewer(Current homebrew project is an unofficial conversion of SBURB/SGRUB from Homestuck into DND 5e)
Once made Maxwell's Silver Hammer come down upon Strahd's head to make sure he was dead.
Always study & sharpen philosophical razors. They save a lot of trouble.
Each of these tool sets has a RAW weight. So as far as your backpack goes, tinker's tools are actually the worst, at 10 lb. And yes, smith's tools are a little challenging in that you really do need a proper forge and an anvil to do real smithing. It's up to the type of game your DM wants to run in terms of how you want to handle that - force a montage at a real forge, or is there magic that gives your campfire an oxyacetylene boost in a pinch?
But you can hang part or all of the tools from a belt or put in a backpack. Honestly, if you're using any tools with regularity, and tracking weight, between the tools and the raw materials, you're going to really want a Bag of Holding.
While I , personally, disagree with the contents and weights of many of the tool sets I’m not so into realism that I’m not unwilling to go with the values given. As I said above I would expect that purchased sets would have their own case/container etc that would maximize both the protection of fragile components and minimize the space for transport. Depending on the tools taken this can range from 5# to 26#. In a no encumbrance game it doesn’t matter (sadly), but if your using encumbrance it may force early Tier 1 PCs to at least think about pack animals.
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Wisea$$ DM and Player since 1979.
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Do artisan tools come with their own container or do they have to go into the character's backpack or other container?
2024: Not stated.
2014: Comes with own container as detailed in the description.
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 recall/couldn't find the mention of a container in the 2014 rules, but I've always assumed one.
I've also always thought of it as fairly specialized - ie it allows you to manipulate the full toolset as a unit, and protects everything in it from damage, but isn't necessarily/easily/universally repurposeable into a container for other things.
https://www.dndbeyond.com/sources/dnd/basic-rules-2014/equipment#Tools
Next to tool name is the description where some specify things like "this pouch contains" or "this small box contains".
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.
Most "kits" or set of tools are assumed to have their own containers. Those containers can be put in other containers like your backpack, or can be hanging from your belt.
May i ask why you want to know this?
He/Him. Loooooooooong time Player.
The Dark days of the THAC0 system are behind us.
"Hope is a fire that burns in us all If only an ember, awaiting your call
To rise up in triumph should we all unite
The spark for change is yours to ignite."
Kalandra - The State of the World
Part of the problem is really that tool sets call for very different sizes and types of items and therefore containers. Some probably shouldn’t be being carried at all less your taking a wagon around with you to handle the weight ( smiths tools - you are really carrying that anvil around as well as the fire bricks for your forge?). Others have many fragile and expensive pieces that need sufficient padding and so size and weight (alchemy/poisoner/herbalist kits) that they aren’t really going to be carried in your backpack or on your body. Realistically what the PC is taking with them is not the full set of stuff that they would have in a properly set up shop. They are carrying a highly reduced set of tools that lets them do emergency work in the field and/ some basics of the trade as a stopgap until the next town where proper work can be done. ( the equivalent of carrying around a dremel tool and a bunch of tips instead of drill, a large belt sander, a cutting wheel etc.
Wisea$$ DM and Player since 1979.
XGtE clarified what's included in the tool kits, so for example for Smith's Tools you have: "Components. Smith’s tools include hammers, tongs, charcoal, rags, and a whetstone."
Just trying to be mindful of how much can fit into my character’s backpack, since it can only hold 30 lbs. It also helps me visualize what my character looks like, so I can describe him better.
Like I said - the bare essentials for work in the field. To actually work with iron and steel you want to get it at least bright yellow which is about 2000 F. No campfire is that hot, even charcoal without a bellows or forced air source has trouble reaching and holding temperatures that high. Then what are you using as your anvil if you’re using those hammers? A large stone? Between the heating and cooling from the hot iron and the hammering over and over you’re going to need a new stone fairly soon. You’re also going to need more than a couple of handfuls of charcoal. All of that takes up space and weight or should. Of course if you’re playing without encumberance and with a bag of holding you can pretty well ignore such problems. A similar case can be made for most such kits. They are not the full shop tool set but a highly reduced set for basic repairs and emergency use in the field.
Do they have their own containers? If you purchased a set I would say yes - any purchased kit should have a container for it. On the other hand if you have scrabbled together a kit it may well not have a (well designed and effective) container other than places for the stuff in your backpack or on your pack animal if you have one.
Wisea$$ DM and Player since 1979.
Realism of the contents of Smith's Tools in-game isn't the question, but a lot of storage issues can be settled by discouraging packrat behavior at your table via bringing it up at Session Zero & an out-of-game talk.
DM, player & homebrewer(Current homebrew project is an unofficial conversion of SBURB/SGRUB from Homestuck into DND 5e)
Once made Maxwell's Silver Hammer come down upon Strahd's head to make sure he was dead.
Always study & sharpen philosophical razors. They save a lot of trouble.
Each of these tool sets has a RAW weight. So as far as your backpack goes, tinker's tools are actually the worst, at 10 lb. And yes, smith's tools are a little challenging in that you really do need a proper forge and an anvil to do real smithing. It's up to the type of game your DM wants to run in terms of how you want to handle that - force a montage at a real forge, or is there magic that gives your campfire an oxyacetylene boost in a pinch?
But you can hang part or all of the tools from a belt or put in a backpack. Honestly, if you're using any tools with regularity, and tracking weight, between the tools and the raw materials, you're going to really want a Bag of Holding.
While I , personally, disagree with the contents and weights of many of the tool sets I’m not so into realism that I’m not unwilling to go with the values given. As I said above I would expect that purchased sets would have their own case/container etc that would maximize both the protection of fragile components and minimize the space for transport. Depending on the tools taken this can range from 5# to 26#. In a no encumbrance game it doesn’t matter (sadly), but if your using encumbrance it may force early Tier 1 PCs to at least think about pack animals.
Wisea$$ DM and Player since 1979.