Equipment

The marketplace of a large city teems with buyers and sellers of many sorts: Dwarf smiths and Wood Elf woodcarvers, Halfling farmers and Carrionite jewellers. 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 armour, 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 page details the mundane and exotic merchandise that adventurers commonly find useful in the face of the many threats that plague Magnula.

## **Starting Equipment**

When you create a character, you receive equipment based on a combination of your class and background. Alternatively, you can start with a number of gold pieces based on your class and spend them on items. See the Class Funds table below to determine how much gold you have to spend.

You decide how your character came by this starting equipment. It might have been an inheritance, or goods that the character purchased during their upbringing. You might have been equipped with a weapon, armour, 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 Magnula. Coins, gemstones, trade goods, art objects, animals, and property can reflect a person's financial well-being. For example, some commoners or members of the peasantry trade in goods, bartering for what they need and paying taxes in grain and cheese. Equally, members of the nobility might 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. Though everyone uses coinage, it is merchants, adventurers, and those offering professional services for hire that commonly deal in coins exclusively.

### **Coinage**

Each country in Magnula has their own approach to economics and currency. However, the rapid rise of international trade led to the creation of a universal currency, simply named 'pieces'. These coins come in several different denominations based on the relative worth of the metal from which they are made. The three most common coins are the gold piece (gp), the silver piece (sp), and the copper piece (cp).

With one gold piece, a character can buy a belt pouch, 50 feet of good rope, or a goat. A skilled (but not exceptional) artisan can earn one gold piece a day. The gold piece is the standard unit of measure for wealth, even if the coin itself is not commonly used. When merchants discuss deals that involve goods or services worth hundreds or thousands of gold pieces, the transactions don’t usually involve the exchange of individual coins. Rather, the gold piece is a standard measure of value, and the actual exchange is in gold bars, letters of credit, or valuable goods.

One gold piece is worth ten silver pieces, the most prevalent coin among commoners. A silver piece buys a labourer's work for a day, a flask of lamp oil, or a night’s rest in a poor inn.

One silver piece is worth ten copper pieces, which are common among laborers and beggars. A single copper piece buys a candle, a torch, or a piece of chalk.

In addition, unusual coins made of other precious metals sometimes appear in treasure hoards, dungeons, or ruins. The electrum piece (ep) and the platinum piece (pp) originate from the mysterious civilisation known only as 'Those Who Came Before.' Though considered quite valuable, they might not be accepted in every store and sometimes arouse suspicion or scepticism when used in transactions. An electrum piece is worth five silver pieces, and a platinum piece is worth ten gold pieces.

A standard coin weighs about a third of an ounce, so fifty coins weigh a pound.

### **Selling Treasure**

There are opportunities abound to find treasure, equipment, weapons, armour, and more in the places you explore. Normally, you can sell your treasures and trinkets when you return to a town or other settlement, provided that you can find buyers and merchants interested in your loot.

* ***Arms, Armour, and Other Equipment -*** As a general rule, undamaged weapons, armour, and other equipment fetch half their cost when sold in a market. Weapons and armour used by monsters are rarely in good enough condition to sell.
* ***Magic Items -*** Selling magic items is problematic. Finding someone to buy a potion or a scroll isn’t too hard, but other items are out of the realm of most but the wealthiest nobles. Likewise, aside from a few common magic items, you won’t normally come across magic items or spells to purchase. The value of magic is far beyond simple gold and should always be treated as such.
* ***Gems, Jewellery, and Art Objects -*** These items retain their full value in the marketplace, and you can either trade them in for coin or use them as currency for other transactions. For exceptionally valuable treasures, you might be required to find a buyer in a large town or larger community first.
* ***Trade Goods -*** In the most rural and wild places, many people conduct transactions through barter. Like gems and art objects, trade goods - bars of iron, bags of salt, livestock, and so on - retain their full value in the market and can be used as currency.

## **Armour and Shields**

Magnula is 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 armour types, ranging from leather armour to chain mail to costly plate armour, with several other kinds of armour in between. That being said, armour and clothing can generally be categorised into various types. Hide armour, for example, can and does exist in a variety of styles in a variety of cultures - but is functionally the same in every one.

The armour table below collects the most commonly available types of armour that can be found and separates them into three categories: light armour, medium armour, and heavy armour. Many warriors supplement their armour with a shield, which provides additional protection. The table also shows the cost, weight, and other properties of the common types of armour worn in Magnula.

When choosing what armour to wear, there are various factors to consider:

* ***Armor Proficiency:*** Anyone can put on a suit of armour or strap a shield to an arm. Only those proficient in the armour’s use know how to wear it effectively, however. Your class gives you proficiency with certain types of armour. If you wear armour that you lack proficiency with, you have disadvantage on any ability check, saving throw, or attack roll that involves Strength or Dexterity, and you can’t cast spells.
* ***Armor Class (AC):*** Armour protects its wearer from attacks. The armour (and shield) you wear determines your base Armour Class.
* ***Heavy Armour:*** Heavier armour interferes with the wearer’s ability to move quickly, stealthily, and freely. If the armour table shows “Str 13” or “Str 15” in the Strength column for an armour type, the armour reduces the wearer’s speed by 10 feet unless the wearer has a Strength score equal to or higher than the listed score.
* ***Stealth:*** If the armour table shows “Disadvantage” in the Stealth column, the wearer has disadvantage on Stealth checks.
* ***Shields:*** A shield is made from wood, metal, or some other solid material and is carried in one hand. They come in two types - light and heavy. Wielding a light shield only increases your AC by 1, but is less cumbersome. Wielding a heavy shield increases your AC by 2, but is cumbersome and makes sneaking difficult.

### **Armour Categories**

As well as types, every armour can fit into a category - light, medium or heavy. Each category has its own benefits, drawbacks, and ideal functions.

Light armour is made from supple and thin materials, favouring agile adventurers since it offers some protection without sacrificing mobility. If you wear light armour, you add your Dexterity modifier to the base number from your armour type to determine your Armour Class.

Medium armour offers more protection than light armour, but it also impairs movement more. If you wear medium armour, you add your Dexterity modifier, to a maximum of +2, to the base number from your armour type to determine your Armour Class.

Of all the armour categories, heavy armour offers the best protection. These suits of armour cover the entire body and are designed to stop a wide range of attacks. Only proficient warriors can manage their weight and bulk. Heavy armour doesn’t let you add your Dexterity modifier to your Armour Class, but it also doesn’t penalize you if your Dexterity modifier is negative.

The time it takes to put on or take off armour depends on the armour’s category.

* Light armour takes 1 minute to both put on and take off.
* Medium armour takes 5 minutes to put on but only 1 minute to take off.
* Heavy armour takes 10 minutes to put on and 5 minutes to take off.
* Shields do not take time like armour does but instead requires an action to yield, if it isn't being yielded already.

## **Weapons**

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

Like armour, their are variety of weapons in Magnula - all of which can be generalised into specific types. The weapons table below shows the most common weapon types used in Magnula, their price and weight, the damage they deal when they hit, and any special properties they possess. Every weapon is classified as either melee or ranged. A melee weapon is used to attack a target within 5 feet of you, whereas a ranged weapon is used to attack a target at a distance.

### **Weapon Proficiency**

A character's race, class, and feats can grant them proficiency with certain weapons or categories of weapons. The two categories are simple and martial. Most people can use simple weapons with proficiency. These weapons include clubs, maces, and other weapons are often found in the hands of commoners and non-military groups. Martial weapons, including swords, axes, and polearms, require more specialized training to use effectively. Most warriors and soldiers use martial weapons because these weapons put their fighting style and training to best use.

Proficiency with a weapon allows a character to add their proficiency bonus to the attack roll for any attack they make with that weapon. If they make an attack roll using a weapon with which they lack proficiency, they do not add your proficiency bonus to the attack roll.

### **Weapon Properties**

Many weapons have special properties related to their use, which are specified in the weapons table.

* **Ammunition:** You can use a weapon that has the ammunition property to make a ranged attack only if you have ammunition to fire from the weapon. Each time you attack with the weapon, you expend one piece of ammunition. Drawing the ammunition from a quiver, case, or other container is part of the attack. At the end of the battle, you can recover half your expended ammunition by taking a minute to search the battlefield. If you use a weapon that has the ammunition property to make a melee attack, you treat the weapon as an improvised weapon. A sling must be loaded to deal any damage when used in this way.
* **Finesse:** When making an attack with a finesse weapon, you use your choice of your Strength or Dexterity modifier for the attack and damage rolls. You must use the same modifier for both rolls.
* **Heavy:** Small creatures have disadvantage on attack rolls with heavy weapons. A heavy weapon’s size and bulk make it too large for a Small creature to use effectively.
* **Light:** A light weapon is small and easy to handle, making it ideal for use when fighting with two weapons.
* **Loading:** Because of the time required to load this weapon, you can fire only one piece of ammunition from it when you use an action, bonus action, or reaction to fire it, regardless of the number of attacks you can normally make.
* **Range:** A weapon that can be used to make a ranged attack has a range shown in parentheses after the ammunition or thrown property. The range lists two numbers. The first is the weapon’s normal range in feet, and the second indicates the weapon’s maximum range. When attacking a target beyond normal range, you have disadvantage on the attack roll. You can’t attack a target beyond the weapon’s long range.
* **Reach:** This weapon adds 5 feet to your reach when you attack with it.
* **Special:** A weapon with the special property has unusual rules governing its use, explained in the weapon’s description. These rules typically vary on a weapon-by-weapon basis.
* **Thrown:** If a weapon has the thrown property, you can throw the weapon to make a ranged attack. If the weapon is a melee weapon, you use the same ability modifier for that attack roll and damage roll that you would use for a melee attack with the weapon. For example, if you throw a handaxe, you use your Strength, but if you throw a dagger, you can use either your Strength or your Dexterity, since the dagger has the finesse property.
* **Two-Handed:** This weapon requires two hands to use.
* **Versatile:** This weapon can be used with one or two hands. A damage value in parentheses appears with the property - the damage when the weapon is used with two hands to make a melee attack.

#### **Improvised Weapons**

Sometimes characters don’t have their weapons and have to attack with whatever is close at hand. An improvised weapon includes any object you can wield in one or two hands, such as broken glass, a table leg, a frying pan, a wagon wheel, or a dead body.

In many cases, an improvised weapon is similar to an actual weapon and can be treated as such. For example, a table leg is akin to a club. Somtimes, a character proficient with a weapon can use a similar object as if it were that weapon and use his or her proficiency bonus.

An object that bears no resemblance to a weapon deals 1d4 damage. If a character uses a ranged weapon to make a melee attack, or throws a melee weapon that does not have the thrown property, it also deals 1d4 damage. An improvised thrown weapon has a normal range of 20 feet and a long range of 60 feet.

#### **Pre-Steel Weapons**

Pre-steel is a rare and incredibly intricate alloy made from a variety of metals. Originally based on a recipe found within a ruin of the lost civilisation known as Those Who Came Before, smiths across the world have since learned how to replicate the process. However, it is an expensive and difficult process so only experienced, qualified smiths can replicate the alloy properly.

Some monsters that have immunity or resistance to nonmagical weapons are susceptible to pre-steel weapons, so cautious adventurers invest extra coin to coat or plate their weapons with the alloy. You can coat a single weapon or ten pieces of ammunition for 100 gp. This cost represents not only the price of the alloy, but the time and expertise needed to add pre-steel to the weapon without making it less effective.

## **Adventuring Gear**

Adventurers rely on a lot more than just weapons and armour. There is a plethora of equipment that they can use to solve whatever problem might arise. The greatest adventurers can find a use out of practically anything, and improvise if the specific equipment they need isn't on hand. Though it is simply a drop of water in the sea of things an adventurer might employ, the table below describes some notable examples:

### **Equipment Packs**

The starting equipment one gets from their class includes a collection of useful adventuring gear, put together in a pack. The contents of these packs are listed below. If you are buying your starting equipment, you can purchase a pack for the price shown, which might be cheaper than buying the items individually.

* **Burglar’s Pack (16 gp):** Includes a backpack, a bag of 1,000 ball bearings, 10 feet of string, a bell, 5 candles, a crowbar, a hammer, 10 pitons, a hooded lantern, 2 flasks of oil, 5 days rations, a tinderbox, and a waterskin. The pack also has 50 feet of hempen rope strapped to the side of it.
* **Diplomat's Pack (39 gp):** Includes a chest, 2 cases for maps and scrolls, a set of fine clothes, a bottle of ink, an ink pen, a lamp, 2 flasks of oil, 5 sheets of paper, a vial of perfume, sealing wax, and soap.
* **Dungeoneer’s Pack (12 gp):** Includes a backpack, a crowbar, a hammer, 10 pitons, 10 torches, a tinderbox, 10 days of rations, and a waterskin. The pack also has 50 feet of hempen rope strapped to the side of it.
* **Entertainer’s Pack (40 gp):** Includes a backpack, a bedroll, 2 costumes, 5 candles, 5 days of rations, a waterskin, and a disguise kit.
* **Explorer’s Pack (10 gp):** Includes a backpack, a bedroll, a mess kit, a tinderbox, 10 torches, 10 days of rations, and a waterskin. The pack also has 50 feet of hempen rope strapped to the side of it.
* **Priest’s Pack (19 gp):** Includes a backpack, a blanket, 10 candles, a tinderbox, an alms box, 2 blocks of incense, a censer, vestments, 2 days of rations, and a waterskin.
* **Scholar’s Pack (40 gp):** Includes a backpack, a book of lore, a bottle of ink, an ink pen, 10 sheets of parchment, a little bag of sand, and a small knife.

## **Tools**

A tool helps a person to do something they couldn't otherwise do, such as craft or repair an item, forge a document, or pick a lock. A character's race, class, background, or feats give you proficiency with certain tools. Proficiency with a tool allows them to add their proficiency bonus to any ability check they 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 a person to make a Dexterity check to carve a fine detail with their woodcarver’s tools, or a Strength check to make something out of particularly hard wood.

The various types of tools are as follows:

* **Artisan’s Tools:** These special tools include the items needed to pursue a craft or trade. Common examples includes brewer's supplies, cook's utensils, mason's tools, weaver's tools, and potter's tools. Proficiency with a set of artisan’s tools lets you add your proficiency bonus to any ability checks you make using the tools in your craft. Each type of artisan’s tools requires a separate proficiency.
* **Disguise Kit:** This pouch of cosmetics, hair dye, and small props lets you create disguises that change your physical appearance. Proficiency with this kit lets you add your proficiency bonus to any ability checks you make to create a visual disguise.
* **Forgery Kit:** This small box contains a variety of papers and parchments, pens and inks, seals and sealing wax, gold and silver leaf, and other supplies necessary to create convincing forgeries of physical documents. Proficiency with this kit lets you add your proficiency bonus to any ability checks you make to create a physical forgery of a document.
* **Gaming Set:** This item encompasses a wide range of game pieces, including dice, decks of cards and chess sets. If you are proficient with a gaming set, you can add your proficiency bonus to ability checks you make to play a game with that set. Each type of gaming set requires a separate proficiency.
* **Herbalism Kit:** This kit contains a variety of instruments such as clippers, mortar and pestle, and pouches and vials used by herbalists to create remedies and potions. Proficiency with this kit lets you add your proficiency bonus to any ability checks you make to identify or apply herbs. Also, proficiency with this kit is required to create antitoxin and potions of healing.
* **Musical Instrument:** Several of the most common types of musical instruments include lutes, drums, flutes, and horns. If you have proficiency with a given musical instrument, you can add your proficiency bonus to any ability checks you make to play music with the instrument. A bard can use a musical instrument as a spellcasting focus. Each type of musical instrument requires a separate proficiency.
* **Navigator’s Tools:** This set of instruments is used for navigation at sea. Proficiency with navigator's tools lets you chart a ship's course and follow navigation charts. In addition, these tools allow you to add your proficiency bonus to any ability check you make to avoid getting lost at sea.
* **Poisoner’s Kit:** A poisoner’s kit includes the vials, chemicals, and other equipment necessary for the creation of poisons. Proficiency with this kit lets you add your proficiency bonus to any ability checks you make to craft or use poisons.
* **Thieves’ Tools:** This set of tools includes a small file, a set of lock picks, a small mirror mounted on a metal handle, a set of narrow-bladed scissors, and a pair of pliers. Proficiency with these tools lets you add your proficiency bonus to any ability checks you make to disarm traps or open locks.

## **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. Depending on the particular species of the mount, or the design of the vehicle, they will have varying speed and carrying capacity.

An animal pulling a carriage, cart, chariot, sled, or wagon can move weight up to five times its base carrying capacity, including the weight of the vehicle. If multiple animals pull the same vehicle, they can add their carrying capacity together.

In Magnula, some mounts are noticeably more common than others. Horses, mules, and donkeys are examples of common mounts, meaning they are relatively cheap to purchase and found in most places. Others, however, are rare and not normally available for purchase. These include flying mounts (pegasi, griffons, lesser dragons, and similar animals) and even aquatic mounts (giant sea horses, for example). Acquiring such a mount might sometimes mean securing an egg and raising the creature yourself, making a bargain with a powerful figure, or negotiating with the mount itself.

There are also certain features that should be considered when buying or using a mount:

* **Barding -** Barding is armour designed to protect an animal’s head, neck, chest, and body. Any type of armour shown on the armour table can be purchased as barding. The cost is four times the equivalent armour made for humanoids, and it weighs twice as much.
* **Saddles -** A military saddle braces the rider, helping you keep your seat on an active mount in battle. It gives you advantage on any check you make to remain mounted. An exotic saddle is required for riding any aquatic or flying mount.
* **Vehicle Proficiency -** If you have proficiency with a certain kind of vehicle (land or water), you can add your proficiency bonus to any check you make to control that kind of vehicle in difficult circumstances.
* **Rowed Vessels -** Keelboats and rowboats are used on lakes and rivers. If going downstream, add the speed of the current (typically 3 miles per hour) to the speed of the vehicle. These vehicles can’t be rowed against any significant current, but they can be pulled upstream by draft animals on the shores. A rowboat weighs 100 pounds, in case adventurers carry it over land.

## **Trade Goods**

In a way, most wealth is not in coins. It is measured in livestock, grain, land, rights to collect taxes, or rights to resources (such as a mine or a forest).

Guilds, nobles, and royalty regulate trade. Chartered companies are granted rights to conduct trade along certain routes, to send merchant ships to various ports, or to buy or sell specific goods. Guilds set prices for the goods or services that they control, and determine who may or may not offer those goods and services. Merchants commonly exchange trade goods without using currency. The table below shows the value of commonly exchanged goods.

## **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.

### **Lifestyle Expenses**

Lifestyle expenses provide you with a simple way to account for the cost of living of your character. They cover your accommodations, food and drink, and all your other necessities. Furthermore, expenses cover the cost of maintaining your equipment so you can be ready when adventure next calls.

At the start of each week or month, choose a lifestyle from the expenses table below and pay the price to sustain that lifestyle. The prices listed are per day, so if you wish to calculate the cost of your chosen lifestyle over a thirty-day period, multiply the listed price by 30. Your lifestyle might change from one period to the next, based on the funds you have at your disposal, or you might maintain the same lifestyle throughout your character’s career.

Your lifestyle choice can have consequences. Maintaining a wealthy lifestyle might help you make contacts with the rich and powerful, though you run the risk of attracting thieves. Likewise, living frugally might help you avoid criminals, but you are unlikely to make powerful connections.

 Squalid
 Poor
 Modest
 Comfortable
 Wealthy
 Aristocratic

* **Wretched:** You live in inhumane conditions. With no place to call home, you shelter wherever you can, sneaking into barns, huddling in old crates, and relying on the good graces of people better off than you. A wretched lifestyle presents abundant dangers. Violence, disease, and hunger follow you wherever you go. Other wretched people covet your armour, weapons, and adventuring gear, which represent a fortune by their standards. You are beneath the notice of most people.
* **Squalid:** You live in a leaky stable, a mud-floored hut just outside town, or a vermin-infested boarding house in the worst part of town. You have shelter from the elements, but you live in a desperate and often violent environment, in places rife with disease, hunger, and misfortune. You are beneath the notice of most people, and you have few legal protections. Most people at this lifestyle level have suffered some terrible setback. They might be disturbed, marked as exiles, or suffer from disease.
* **Poor:** A poor lifestyle means going without the com forts available in a stable community. Simple food and lodgings, threadbare clothing, and unpredictable conditions result in a sufficient, though probably unpleasant, experience. Your accommodations might be a room in a flophouse or in the common room above a tavern. You benefit from some legal protections, but you still have to contend with violence, crime, and disease. People at this lifestyle level tend to be unskilled laborers, costermongers, peddlers, thieves, mercenaries, and other disreputable types.
* **Modest:** A modest lifestyle keeps you out of the slums and ensures that you can maintain your equipment. You live in an older part of town, renting a room in a boarding house, inn, or temple. You don't go hungry or thirsty, and your living conditions are clean, if simple. Ordinary people living modest lifestyles include soldiers with families, laborers, students, priests, hedge wizards, and the like.
* **Comfortable:** Choosing a comfortable lifestyle means that you can afford nicer clothing and can easily maintain your equipment. You live in a small cottage in a middle-class neighbourhood or in a private room at a fine inn. You associate with merchants, skilled tradespeople, and military officers.
* **Wealthy:** Choosing a wealthy lifestyle means living a life of luxury, though you might not have achieved the social status associated with the old money of nobility or royalty. You live a lifestyle comparable to that of a highly successful merchant, a favoured servant of the royalty, or the owner of a few small businesses. You have respectable lodgings, usually a spacious home in a good part of town or a comfortable suite at a fine inn. You likely have a small staff of servants.
* **Aristocratic:** You live a life of plenty and comfort. You move in circles populated by the most powerful people in the community. You have excellent lodgings, perhaps a townhouse in the nicest part of town or rooms in the finest inn. You dine at the best restaurants, retain the most skilled and fashionable tailor, and have servants attending to your every need. You receive invitations to the social gatherings of the rich and powerful, and spend evenings in the company of politicians, guild leaders, high priests, and nobility. You must also contend with the highest levels of deceit and treachery. The wealthier you are, the greater the chance you will be drawn into political intrigue as a pawn or participant.

#### **Food, Drink, and Lodging**

As well as your daily costs of living, you might purchase additional food and drink or hire temporary lodging. This might be a social decision, such as getting a drink with a potential informant. It might be to blend in - joining a group of revellers or hiring a room to hide from guards or vengeful mobsters. Depending on what you choose to buy, these additional expenses vary in price.

### **Self-Sufficiency**

The expenses and lifestyles described on this page assume that you are spending your time between adventures in town, availing yourself of whatever services you can afford - paying for food and shelter, paying townspeople to sharpen your sword and repair your armour, and so on. Some characters, though, might prefer to spend their time away from civilization, sustaining themselves in the wild by hunting, foraging, and repairing their own gear.

Maintaining this kind of lifestyle doesn’t require you to spend any coin, but it is time-consuming. If you spend your time between adventures practicing a profession, you can eke out the equivalent of a poor lifestyle. Proficiency in the Survival skill lets you live at the equivalent of a comfortable lifestyle.

## **Services**

Adventurers can pay certain people to assist them or act on their behalf in a variety of circumstances. Most such hirelings have fairly ordinary skills, while others are masters of a craft or art, and a few are experts with specialized adventuring skills.

Some of the most basic types of hirelings appear on the table below. Other common hirelings include any of the wide variety of people who inhabit a typical town or city, when the adventurers pay them to perform a specific task. For example, a wizard might pay a carpenter to construct an elaborate chest (and its miniature replica) for use in the *secret chest* spell. A fighter might commission a blacksmith to forge a special sword. A bard might pay a tailor to make exquisite clothing for an upcoming performance in front of a duke.

Other hirelings provide more expert or dangerous services. Mercenary soldiers paid to help the adventurers take on a hobgoblin army are hirelings, as are sages hired to research ancient or esoteric lore. If a high-level adventurer establishes a stronghold of some kind, they might hire a whole staff of servants and agents to run the place, from a castellan or steward to menial laborers to keep the stables clean. These hirelings often enjoy a long-term contract that includes a place to live within the stronghold as part of the offered compensation.

Skilled hirelings include anyone hired to perform a service that involves a proficiency (including weapon, tool, or skill): a mercenary, artisan, scribe, and so on. The pay shown in the table is a typical average; some expert hirelings require less or more pay. Untrained hirelings are hired for menial work that requires no particular skill and can include laborers, porters, maids, and similar workers.

 Within a City
 Untrained
 Road or Gate Toll
 Ship's Passage

### **Spellcasting Services**

People who are able to cast spells don’t fall into the category of ordinary hirelings. It might be possible to find someone willing to cast a spell in exchange for coin or favours, but it is rarely easy and no established pay rates exist. As a rule, the higher the level of the desired spell, the harder it is to find someone who can cast it and the more it costs.

Hiring someone to cast a relatively common spell of 1st or 2nd level, such as *cure wounds* or *identify*, is easy enough in a city or town, and might cost 10 to 50 gold pieces (plus the cost of any expensive material components). Finding someone able and willing to cast a higher-level spell might involve traveling to a large city, perhaps one with a university or prominent temple. Once found, the spellcaster might ask for a service instead of payment - the kind of service that only adventurers can provide, such as retrieving a rare item from a dangerous locale or traversing a monster-infested wilderness to deliver something important to a distant settlement.

## **Trinkets**

When you make a character, you might decide to give that character a trinket, a simple item lightly touched by personal history or strange mystery. You can choose this trinket yourself, or use a pre-made table like the one found in the Player's Handbook.

In some cases, trinkets or similar items might randomly be found in dungeons or other such locations. These items might be mundane and pointless, or hold great mysteries behind them.