Equipment

The marketplace of a large city teems with buyers and sellers of many sorts: skala smiths and elvan woodcarvers, Avian farmers and Orcish jewelers, not to mention Evolvi of every shape, size, and color drawn from a spectrum of nations and cultures. In the largest cities, almost anything imaginable is offered for sale, from exotic spices and luxurious clothing to wicker baskets and practical swords.

For an adventurer, the availability of armor, weapons, backpacks, rope, and similar goods is of paramount importance, since proper equipment can mean the difference between life and death in a dungeon or the untamed wilds. This chapter details the mundane and exotic merchandise that adventurers commonly find useful in the face of the threats that the worlds of D&D present.

## Starting Equipment

When you create your character, you receive equipment based on a combination of your class and background. You decide how your character came by this starting equipment. It might have been an inheritance, or goods that the character purchased during his or her upbringing. You might have been equipped with a weapon, armor, and a backpack as part of military service. You might even have stolen your gear. A weapon could be a family heirloom, passed down from generation to generation until your character finally took up the mantle and followed in an ancestor’s adventurous footsteps.

## Wealth

Wealth appears in many forms in a D&D world. Coins, gemstones, trade goods, art objects, animals, and property can reflect your character’s financial well-being. Members of the peasantry trade in goods, bartering for what they need and paying taxes in grain and cheese. Members of the nobility trade either in legal rights, such as the rights to a mine, a port, or farmland, or in gold bars, measuring gold by the pound rather than by the coin. Only merchants, adventurers, and those offering professional services for hire commonly deal in coins.

see Wealth for more details

## Armor and Shields

Parvolon a vast tapestry made up of many different cultures, each with its own technology level. For this reason, adventurers have access to a variety of armor types, ranging from leather armor to chain mail to costly plate armor, with several other kinds of armor in between. The Armor table collects the most commonly available types of armor found in the game and separates them into three categories: light armor, medium armor, and heavy armor. Many warriors supplement their armor with a shield.

see Armor and Shields for more details

## Weapons

Your class grants proficiency in certain weapons, reflecting both the class’s focus and the tools you are most likely to use. Whether you favor a longsword or a longbow, your weapon and your ability to wield it effectively can mean the difference between life and death while adventuring.

see Weapons for more details

## Adventuring Gear

This section describes items that have special rules or require further explanation.

see Adventuring Gear for more details

## Tools

A tool helps you to do something you couldn’t otherwise do, such as craft or repair an item, forge a document, or pick a lock. Your race, class, background, or feats give you proficiency with certain tools. Proficiency with a tool allows you to add your proficiency bonus to any ability check you make using that tool. Tool use is not tied to a single ability, since proficiency with a tool represents broader knowledge of its use. For example, the DM might ask you to make a Dexterity check to carve a fine detail with your woodcarver’s tools, or a Strength check to make something out of particularly hard wood.

see Tools for more details

## Mounts and Vehicles

A good mount can help you move more quickly through the wilderness, but its primary purpose is to carry the gear that would otherwise slow you down. The Mounts and Other Animals table shows each animal’s speed and base carrying capacity.

see Mounts and Vehicles for more details

## Poisons

Given their insidious and deadly nature, poisons are illegal in most societies but are a favorite tool among assassins

see Poisons for more details

## Magic Items

Every adventure holds the promise—but not a guarantee—of finding one or more magic items. This page presents an assortment of magic items that hints at the wider variety of magic items waiting to be found in the worlds of D&D.

see Magic Items for more details

## Expenses

When not descending into the depths of the earth, exploring ruins for lost treasures, or waging war against the encroaching darkness, adventurers face more mundane realities. Even in a fantastical world, people require basic necessities such as shelter, sustenance, and clothing. These things cost money, although some lifestyles cost more than others.

see Expenses for more details