05 Equipment

Equipment Slots are a somewhat abstract measure of how much your character can carry.
As a rough guideline, objects that can be carried in one hand occupy one slot, while objects that need two hands occupy two slots.
Some smaller items can be carried in Bundles of multiple objects.

The number of slots your character can carry depends on their Strength score.

Worn Armor does not occupy any slots, but determines your movement distance.

Very small or lightweight Items occupy no inventory slots.

There may be a variety of different coins in use throughout the campaign setting. For the purposes of the game rules, Gold, Silver and Copper Pieces are used.
Their conversion rates are listed in the table below.

Up to 100 coins of any kind occupy 1 inventory slot.

If the players or the referee desire more realism, they could instead come up with different currencies for different countries, each using coins with different conversion rates.

Armor determines the movement rate in dungeon exploration and combat, and the available hex points during wilderness exploration. See Chapter 4 for details.

Shield: Must be carried in one hand, so it cannot be used together with two handed weapons. Provides +1 to the Armor Protection.

Two-handed weapons are marked with (TH). They require two Equipment Slots and do 1d6+1 damage in combat. The Ranges column lists the distances for Close, Mid and Far range of ranged weapons.
The Length column is for use with the Tight Spots optional rule.
Weapons marked with an asterisk (*) have special rules listed below.

Pike: A character that wields a Pike can declare that they brace themselves: They cannot move in that combat Round. They gain First Strike against any enemy that charges them, and their enemy does not get First Strike.
The characters melee range extends to 10'/3m.

Bastard Sword: Can be used either one handed or two handed, changing its damage depending on the usage. It always occupies two Equipment Slots.

Crossbow: Must be reloaded after each shot, which must be done instead of firing. Its Armor Piercing value changes to "Metal; 2" when the target is in Close Range.

Sling: Unless the referee determines otherwise, it is assumed that the character can refill their ammunition (small stones or pebbles) for free by spending a couple minutes searching.

To simplify character creation, you can buy one of the following equipment packs, instead of (or in addition to) buying individual pieces of gear.

Adventurers Pack: 21 sp, 6 inventory slots.
Backpack, 3 Torches, 3 Rations, Rope, Flint and Steel, 10' Pole, Crowbar

Thief's Pack: 36 sp, 6 inventory slots
Backpack, 3 Torches, 3 Rations, Rope, Flint and Steel, Bag of caltrops, Lockpicking Tools

Scholar's Pack: 23 sp, 4 Inventory slots
Backpack, Lantern, 3 Oil Flasks, Flint and Steel, Chalk (10 sticks) , Quill, Ink (vial), Parchment (3 Pages)

The listed prices are for a whole bundle of the item. If desired, you can determine the prices for individual items by simple division.

Items marked with an asterisk (*) have additional remarks below. Items that list a dash (-) as their bundle size don't occupy inventory slots.

Backpack: Holds all your gear. Don't lose it! The first backpack does not occupy an Equipment Slot. Any other backpack needs to be carried in two hands.

Crowbar: Gives a bonus of 1 when trying to force stuck doors open.

Grappling Hook: Can be attached to a rope and thrown.

Lantern: Casts light in a 30'/9m radius. It requires one flask of oil per 4 hours. The lantern has a lid that can be closed to block the light without extinguishing the fire. Lighting a lantern in combat requires a successful Agility Check.

Torches: Cast light in a 30'/9m radius. Burn for up to 1 hour. Cannot be light again, once extinguished. Lighting a torch in combat requires a successful Agility Check.

Rations: Spoil after 7 days.

Explorers Rations: Under normal circumstances, these rations do not spoil.

Oil Flask: Fuel for the lantern. It can also be set on fire and thrown as a Ranged attack with ranges 5'-10'/11'-20'/21-30' (1.5m-3m/3m-6m/6m-9m). When the attack misses, the referee randomly determines a spot near the target where it hits instead. The fire covers an 5'x5' (1.5x1.5m) area, doing 1d3 damage to everyone inside per turn and burns for 1d6 combat rounds.

Vial of Holy Water: Can be used to repel undead and other fiends. Thrown as a Ranged attack with ranges 5'-10'/11'-20'/21-30' (1.5m-3m/3m-6m/6m-9m). Undead or fiend hit by it take 2d6 damage.

Lockpicking Tools: Required for opening locks with an Agility Check as described in the Thief talent.

Sack (large): A large sack can hold 10 Equipment Slots. It does not occupy any Equipment Slots when empty. Otherwise it needs to be carried in two hands.

Sack (small): A small sack can hold 5 Equipment Slots. It does not occupy any Equipment Slots when empty. Otherwise it needs to be carried in one hand.

Spellbook: A tome for recording the Spells known by a Magic-User.

Gems are valuable for their worth in coins, but also because they are easier to carry then hundreds of gold coins. Up to 10 gems can be carried in one Equipment Slot.

A single gem is worth 3d6x100 sp. (Or alternatively, 3d6x5gp).

Mounts can be used for riding, and for carrying equipment.
Every mount has a movement range used in dungeon exploration, daily hex points used in wilderness exploration and a carrying capacity given in slots.
Riding a mount halves its carrying capacity.

Warhorse: Specifically trained for combat. Charging with a warhorse increases damage dealt to enemies by 2.

Characters can attempt to hire helpers in taverns, marketplaces or any other place frequented by suitable candidates.
Most hirelings will demand weekly payment, highly skilled hirelings will additionally demand a share of the treasure.
The table below lists example hirelings, but referee and players are free to come up with any other character they like.

Hirelings, similar to monsters, have a morale rating ranging from 2 to 12. Every time they face dire odds (for example, getting almost killed in a trap, or being vastly outnumbered in combat) or when they are treated poorly by their employer, they roll a Morale Check:
The referee rolls 2d6 and compares the value to the Hirelings Morale rating. If the rolled value is smaller then or equal to the Morale value, the Hireling remains with the party. On a failed check, they abandon their employer and make their way back to a safe haven.

Basic Hirelings are Level 1 characters without any Talents. It's assumed that they bring any equipment necessary for their job.