The Basics (Essential Equipment)

[BLloyd607502]

Everyone has their basic gear in Adventures.
For each of the following Genres What is the basic equipment you take if you can. Optional is equipment it would be great to take but that arn't absolutely needed.
Fantasy
Modern Day
Cyberpunk
Futuristic (Non-Space Faring)
Space Opera
Any others you care to mention

The following is a list of my Basics in each
Fantasy (Outdoors, Dungeon Crawl, ect) - Clothes, Weapon (Melee), Weapon Ranged), Armour, Paper, Pen, Ink, Lantern or Torch (Usually lantern), Flint & Tinder, a pint of Oil, Backpack, Bed Roll, Rations, Grappling Hook, Rope (50 to 200 Foot), 'Lock Pick' (Small hammer and Chisle hidden in clothes), Tent, Weatherproof Cloak (Keep the rain and Snow off). (Optionals: Wading Boots, Spare Bag (For Loot), Spare Clothes, Climbing pinions, Matches, Back up weapon, More Food, Horse or Pack Animal, Warm Blanket, actual Lockpicks, Small Knife (For Skinning and so forth), Identifying equipment for loot.)
Modern Day - Clothes, Weapon (If Appropriate), transport, ID, MP3 (Good For Montages), Transport (Car or Van). (Optional, Lockpicks, Small Knife, Fake ID, Rope (50 foot), Matches, Tool Kit, Zip Ties, Torch (Wind Up), Armour.)
Space Opera- Clothes, Weapon (Solid Slug or Fire.), Holorecorder, Electrical Lockpick, Space Suit, Rations, Hack tools, Tool Kit, Ship (If Flying), Crew. (Optional, Ships weapons, escape Pod for ship (X Many People), Weapon (Plasma or Laser), Radio, Bionic Implants (Various use), Swiss army Laser Knife.)
Survival Horror: Paper, Pen, Swiss Army Knife, Thermos of Tea (Calms your Nerves usually, unless you're looking Cthulhu himself straight in the eye...), Spare Clothes, First Aid Kit.

So what are your Basics and optionals?

[Fred Brackin]

Originally Posted by BLloyd607502

So what are your Basics and optionals?

Fantasy(particularly dungeoncrawling): Tongs for picking up things you don't want to touch,

Rocks for throwing and testing suspicious black spheres and other things that you can't or won't touch with tongs, much more portable and somewhat safer than the 10' pole.

Chalk and charcoal for outlining discovered traps and telling seperated party members which way you went.

Contact poison for spreading on the chalk marks to discourage smart alec dungeon dwellers.

Rope, lots and lots of rope.

Food and water

Light sources ,multiple. Magic is best but you want torches for other purposes.

Backpacks and bags to haul stuff off in. Again magic is very helpful.

A D&D Wizard does need that small tent so he has somewhere to study his spellbook when it rains.

Besides weapons the rest is pretty optional

Space Opera: Weapons, Communicator, maybe a small medkit. Everything else can go in your vehicle.

[Icelander]

Originally Posted by Fred Brackin

Rope, lots and lots of rope.

"Charlie Bronson's always got rope... You don't [reference made to fornication] know what you're gonna need it for. They just always need it."

It's pretty much a law in my campaigns that at least one player will try to bring rope on even the most unlikely expeditions. It is a law that another player, no matter who, must then ridicule him mercilessly for being a rope-toting Charles Bronson wannabe.

And, of course, the odds of the rope turning out to be immensely useful on the expedition are directly correlated with the amount of grief given to the one who packed it.

This even happens in fantasy campaigns, although the Charles Bronson reference is usually omitted. Some variation of "dungeon-crawlin', copper-piece lootin', rope-totin' packrat adventurer wannabe" is usually substituted.

[DungeonCrawler]

Originally Posted by Icelander

"Charlie Bronson's always got rope... You don't [reference made to fornication] know what you're gonna need it for. They just always need it."

It's pretty much a law in my campaigns that at least one player will try to bring rope on even the most unlikely expeditions. It is a law that another player, no matter who, must then ridicule him mercilessly for being a rope-toting Charles Bronson wannabe.

And, of course, the odds of the rope turning out to be immensely useful on the expedition are directly correlated with the amount of grief given to the one who packed it.

This even happens in fantasy campaigns, although the Charles Bronson reference is usually omitted. Some variation of "dungeon-crawlin', copper-piece lootin', rope-totin' packrat adventurer wannabe" is usually substituted.

And here I thought the most famous rope quote was from Sam Gamgee. ;-)

[Darkwalker]

Fantasy:

+ A Dwarfen Warrior with Battleaxe for opening doors

+ A chain of Halflings to haul the non-edible supplies and treasures

+ A few Elfish mine/trap detectors

+ An Ork to motivate the Halflings and Elfs

[sgtcallistan]

Have equipped a Celtic Myth character with the items found on Oetzi the iceman: bow, arrows, strings, parts and semi-accurate gorytos to keep them dry, a bird-net, twine, firecase; leather, wood and bone repair materials and tools, with a bumbag to keep them in; straw/reed socks and cape, handmade leather boots; a nice fur cape/jacket. Replaced the historical fur leggings with woven-cloth trews in his clan/village colours.

Added fishing handline, a good iron knife, and a firehardened throwing spear. Along the way, he won a bronze shortword in a competition, gained a good bronze-tipped boarspear, and was gifted with a fine warm shirt.

The only really essential things have been his hunting and trading skills, his news and tales told, and his friends.

[Luke Bunyip]

Twine is good as well. I would suggest an umbrella could stand in for the tent.

[Kyle Aaron]

A crowbar.

A crowbar will open locked cabinets to get what you want, and persuade people to just give you it. A crowbar is all an adventurer needs!

[sambudak]

I just take what I need from my many victims.

[DungeonCrawler]

Originally Posted by Jim Bob

A crowbar.

A crowbar will open locked cabinets to get what you want, and persuade people to just give you it. A crowbar is all an adventurer needs!

*thumbs up* It's shocking how often folks forget just how useful a crowbar is.

It often pays to have a couple smaller ones (jimmy bars work fine) as well.

For Fantasy:

Door spikes and wedges have gone out of vogue, but I recall when they were mandatory. Still are for those specially sprung doors and trap doors.

And for the truly well prepared, a silver weapon of some kind, a mirror (good for spotting some kinds of vampires and spirits or seeing creatures with petrifying gazes), a lesser quality reflecting surface (for those gazes that will reflect in a mirror, but which the monster is immune to). A wooden stake (some door wedges doubled for this).

As much food and water as can be carried. No telling what kinds of critter you can distract with the food or what kinds of acid/poison you may need to be able to wash/rinse off in a hurry. Even a wet handkerchief can give valuable minutes in a room filling with chlorine gas. And you can always leave the food and water behind when you use the now empty (or at least emptier) bags, pouches, and packs to gather up loot just before leaving. And hand carry a few tidbits to lure away any critters that might be lurable...it's certainly easier than fighting while encumbered with all that stuff or dropping the bags and risk breaking The Forgotten Thing of the Unnameable [God, People, Empire, Whatever].

And every party should be carrying at least one 12-foot pole. It's great for spanning those ten-foot holes. And, with care, can be used to anchor a rope for those pits/trapdoors in hallways where there is nothing to tie a rope to. (Spikes are also good for this, but spikes and a pole are better yet.)

Not often done, but a handful of cheap, sparkly glass beads are often good investment. Same use as the food, but for things drawn to gems. Might even work for trade with the locals.

Of course, no one person can carry all of this. So it becomes really important to know if this is one person or a group? And is it a quick day-trip or a few days trip or a month long journey? (Always bearing in mind that trips can end up a lot longer than anticipated.)