while i haven't been playing dnd for very long, my DM's very rarely set up situations where we can just straight up buy magic items so any we do end up finding is up to the DM's discretion, not the PC's, yet when i try to look online for useful items to carry around with you, there seem to be a significant amount of lists that are exclusively magic items, something that me and my party don't really have control over. What i want to know is what is it that everyone here tend to carry around with them that has ended up being super useful on more than one occasion that are just your mundane everyday items? i already know about the famous 10 ft pole, chalk and rope, and of course there are the obvious ones like caltrops, but what else has been very useful? for example my cousin has taken to carrying salt with him at all times because the way our group has handled using salt in the eye has been extremely useful for blinding enemies (especially most recently when we faced a beholder, no anti-magic cone for a couple of turns was pretty great)
The other one is the bag of flour for when you suspect there's an invisible assailant .... chuck it in the air in the rough area. There's no specific rules on how to handle it, but most DMs I know will allow some sort of bonus for it.
Pickaxe and shovel, digging always comes up eventually. Also hammer and iron spikes (or pitons in a pinch) to jam a door closed. A vial of acid for when lockpicking fails.
I second a bag of flour for invisible enemies. Rope is never not good. Caltrops and ball berings are always fun. One thing that wasn't mentioned was a bandana or a scrap of cloth to cover your mouth. It only takes one fungus trap for an adventurer to want to cover his/her mouth. There isn't a specific rule, but my DM (and also when I DM, myself) make the check against certain inhaled poisons/gases easier or with advantage.
oil, and lot of it. Put about 30 vials of oil in one place and cast firebolt. Pretty easy way to make something stop existing, or get through an annoying door, or a large group of enemies, possibilities are endless.
A spool or wire. I've used this for lock-picks, a fishing hook, trip-wire, binding a foe, stringing up the carcass of an animal for cooking.... I have not yet used it as a garrote, but that is certainly another possibility.
A spool or wire. I've used this for lock-picks, a fishing hook, trip-wire, binding a foe, stringing up the carcass of an animal for cooking.... I have not yet used it as a garrote, but that is certainly another possibility.
Yes, in a steampunk or similar tech level campaign.
A handaxe is often useful to chopping wood or to hack off umm...parts of creatures for bounty purposes.
Also consider getting a mirror. Useful for non-caster to signal and to reduce the danger of fighting creatures with gaze attacks.
I’m playing a Divination Wizard expert in battlefield control and debuff. Since my DM usually run several encounters a day, I have to manage my resources tightly, so the common items I carry with me are:
- Lots of oil flasks (that I regularly combine with Create Bonfire + Familiar/Unseen Servant actions)
- Ball Bearings & Caltrops (usually through Familiar/Unseen Servant actions as well)
- Nets! (My character is a Hobgoblin, so I was able to get proficiency with Nets. I know it’s commonly known as a subpar weapon, but I’m using in conjunction with Help Action from my Familiar to mitigate the Disadvantage. I didn’t try yet, and it’s DM dependent, but I’m planning to combine with Catapult as well)
- Poisons (Oil of Taggit, Drow Poison, Essence of Ether. It’s somehow conflicting with character alignment, but poisons are super effective)
If you’re gonna carry a 10’ pole, you might as well just get a 10’ ladder. Just as much of a nuisance to carry but can be used for everything the pole can and more!
One of my favourite equipment tricks is to carry a scroll/map tube with a sock or something like that over the end of it. Cast light on a stone or coin or whatever, put it in the tube and voila: a flashlight. When I use this, my DM allows me to control the amount and direction of the light rather than it shining all around 20’/20’ radius according to the spell. I feel like an artificer could make a fancy aperture with a mechanical iris or something like that to really perfect it but I haven’t had a chance to try in game to see how well that goes over.
Obviously you have never tried to hit a specific spot on a surface from 10 feet away with a either a pole or a ladder. Hitting the spot with a relatively light pole that has a narrow, round end is challenging enough. Hitting it with a ladder that weighs 10 times as much and has broad ends for stability is considerably more difficult. If the players at my table tried it they would have disadvantage on those checks trying to do it with a ladder.
Personally, I'm a fan of thieves' tools. Sure you get lockpicks, but the other things are also interesting, mirror on a stick, file, scissors, and pliers.
while i haven't been playing dnd for very long, my DM's very rarely set up situations where we can just straight up buy magic items so any we do end up finding is up to the DM's discretion, not the PC's, yet when i try to look online for useful items to carry around with you, there seem to be a significant amount of lists that are exclusively magic items, something that me and my party don't really have control over. What i want to know is what is it that everyone here tend to carry around with them that has ended up being super useful on more than one occasion that are just your mundane everyday items? i already know about the famous 10 ft pole, chalk and rope, and of course there are the obvious ones like caltrops, but what else has been very useful? for example my cousin has taken to carrying salt with him at all times because the way our group has handled using salt in the eye has been extremely useful for blinding enemies (especially most recently when we faced a beholder, no anti-magic cone for a couple of turns was pretty great)
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D&D Beyond FoundersBall Bearings (bag of 1,000) is one of my favourite. :)
The other one is the bag of flour for when you suspect there's an invisible assailant .... chuck it in the air in the rough area. There's no specific rules on how to handle it, but most DMs I know will allow some sort of bonus for it.
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Pickaxe and shovel, digging always comes up eventually. Also hammer and iron spikes (or pitons in a pinch) to jam a door closed. A vial of acid for when lockpicking fails.
I second a bag of flour for invisible enemies. Rope is never not good. Caltrops and ball berings are always fun. One thing that wasn't mentioned was a bandana or a scrap of cloth to cover your mouth. It only takes one fungus trap for an adventurer to want to cover his/her mouth. There isn't a specific rule, but my DM (and also when I DM, myself) make the check against certain inhaled poisons/gases easier or with advantage.
Alchemist's Fire, oil, thread.
wrap two or three flasks oil around one flask of Alchemist's Fire with thread. Throw at enemy within 20 feet. Enjoy!
Perpetually annoyed that Eldritch Knights can't use Eldritch Blast, Eldritch Smite, and Eldritch Sight.
Just had to bury my dead girlfriend... Yep agree on the shovel part
IRL? Just checking, 'cos, y'know...
(Would have been worse had she not been dead I guess).
oil, and lot of it. Put about 30 vials of oil in one place and cast firebolt. Pretty easy way to make something stop existing, or get through an annoying door, or a large group of enemies, possibilities are endless.
A spool or wire.
I've used this for lock-picks, a fishing hook, trip-wire, binding a foe, stringing up the carcass of an animal for cooking.... I have not yet used it as a garrote, but that is certainly another possibility.
Yes, in a steampunk or similar tech level campaign.
A handaxe is often useful to chopping wood or to hack off umm...parts of creatures for bounty purposes.
Also consider getting a mirror. Useful for non-caster to signal and to reduce the danger of fighting creatures with gaze attacks.
I’m playing a Divination Wizard expert in battlefield control and debuff. Since my DM usually run several encounters a day, I have to manage my resources tightly, so the common items I carry with me are:
- Lots of oil flasks (that I regularly combine with Create Bonfire + Familiar/Unseen Servant actions)
- Ball Bearings & Caltrops (usually through Familiar/Unseen Servant actions as well)
- Nets! (My character is a Hobgoblin, so I was able to get proficiency with Nets. I know it’s commonly known as a subpar weapon, but I’m using in conjunction with Help Action from my Familiar to mitigate the Disadvantage. I didn’t try yet, and it’s DM dependent, but I’m planning to combine with Catapult as well)
- Poisons (Oil of Taggit, Drow Poison, Essence of Ether. It’s somehow conflicting with character alignment, but poisons are super effective)
pole (10-foot)
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If you’re gonna carry a 10’ pole, you might as well just get a 10’ ladder. Just as much of a nuisance to carry but can be used for everything the pole can and more!
One of my favourite equipment tricks is to carry a scroll/map tube with a sock or something like that over the end of it. Cast light on a stone or coin or whatever, put it in the tube and voila: a flashlight. When I use this, my DM allows me to control the amount and direction of the light rather than it shining all around 20’/20’ radius according to the spell. I feel like an artificer could make a fancy aperture with a mechanical iris or something like that to really perfect it but I haven’t had a chance to try in game to see how well that goes over.
The pole is for testing areas of the floor, walls, and ceilings for traps at a safe distance.
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You can do that just as easily with a ladder.
Obviously you have never tried to hit a specific spot on a surface from 10 feet away with a either a pole or a ladder. Hitting the spot with a relatively light pole that has a narrow, round end is challenging enough. Hitting it with a ladder that weighs 10 times as much and has broad ends for stability is considerably more difficult. If the players at my table tried it they would have disadvantage on those checks trying to do it with a ladder.
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Off the top of my head?
Better get yourself a mule and pack saddle.
Mold earth, one of the greatest methods to hide the bodies.
Personally, I'm a fan of thieves' tools. Sure you get lockpicks, but the other things are also interesting, mirror on a stick, file, scissors, and pliers.
chalk (1 piece), for marking which doors or paths have been checked and which haven’t.
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