Character Equipment

Starting Equipment

Player characters do not generally start their adventures with
much to their names. In play your character will have a chance
to get better equipment but must start with the basics. Think
of better gear as something to aspire to. Characters begin play
with the following:

• A backpack, traveling clothes, and a waterskin.
• If you are a mage, you get one weapon and a staff (for
  your Arcane Lance).
• If you are a rogue, you get light leather armor and two
  weapons.
• If you are a warrior, you get heavy leather armor and
  three weapons.
• If you choose a bow or crossbow, you get a quiver and
  20 arrows or bolts.
• If you have the Weapon and Shield talent, you get a
  medium shield.

Make sure to pick weapons from weapon groups your character
knows. Otherwise, you’ll suffer penalties when you wield them, and there will be little point in carrying the weapons around. Also remember that some weapons have a minimum Strength requirement, so be sure your character is strong enough before picking something like a two-handed sword. You’ll also want to write down your armor’s Armor Rating on your character record sheet. This is a measure of the armor’s protection and you’ll need to know that during combat.

Your character also gets 50 + 3d6 silver pieces to buy additional gear. You’ll find a complete list of available items in Chapter 4: Weapons, Armor, & Gear.

Of course starting equipment is merely a suggestion and should be tailored to individual campaigns and concepts as needed. A game centering around a group of Orlesian nobles might have characters who start out with substantially better arms, armor, and resources while a game where everyone is an escaped slave or prisoner might not even have the modest equipment provided here.

Example

Kate is ready to outfit her rogue. She writes on her character sheet that she has a backpack, traveler’s garb, and a waterskin. As a rogue, she starts with light leather armor and two weapons. She can choose anything from the rogue’s weapon groups: Bows, Brawling, Light Blades, Staves. She decides to take a short bow and a shortsword, so she can make both ranged and melee attacks. Since she took a bow, she also gets a quiver and 20 arrows. She then rolls 3d6 and gets 12. That means she starts with 62 silver (50 + 12). She spends 15 of that on a light shield for when things get up close and personal. She also spends 2 silver on 20 yards of rope. That leaves her with 45 silver as the campaign begins, so she has some resources for food, lodging, bribes, etc.