The tools presented here are used primarily to aid in ability checks. The lists give here are suggestions only – other options are available.
Attunement
It requires special effort to make full use of some gear. If a tool requires attunement, a PC can only use it while attuned. A PC can attune or unattune to a tool during a short or long rest, but can only attune to three items at a time.
Amateur Tools
These tools are available to anyone for a cost of 1 treasure. Amateur tools give a +2 bonus on applicable skill checks.
- Block & Tackle: For moving heavy items vertically.
- Boots: For protecting feet from a hostile environment.
- Cloak: For protecting a person from a hostile environment.
- Crowbar: For the application of leverage with minimal collateral damage.
- Gloves: For protecting hands from a hostile environment.
- Grease: For lubricating moving parts.
- Grappling Hook: For climbing when an anchor point for a rope is unreachable.
- Magnifying Glass: For examining things up close.
- Mirror: For looking round corners, signalling, and avoiding direct eye contact.
- Outrider’s Horse: For scouting while journeying overland.
- Pole: For prodding things from a distance and aiding balance.
- Research Notes: Notes on a relevant topic are useful for Intelligence checks.
- Rope: For securing or climbing when an anchor point is available.
- Sledgehammer: For the application of force with significant collateral damage.
- Spyglass: For examining things far away.
- Tinderbox: For starting fires.
Special
As well as the normal +2, the following have additional mechanical uses (as specified in the regular rules):
- Arcane Focus: Wands, Rods, and Orbs normally use Hand slots while Amulets and Rings are Accessories
- Masterwork Backpack: Treat your strength score as 2 higher for calculating carry capacity. Requires no encumbrance slot.
- Material Components: For a single spell. The cost is the level of the spell.
- Musical Instrument: Such as lyre, lute, horn, pipes, or drum.
- Spellbook: Used by wizards to store known spells.
XP
PCs can spend extra on training to advance in skill rapidly. Alternatively, they may spend loot carousing recklessly to slow their progress.
- Training: Gain 5xp for 1 treasure.
- Carousing: Lose 5xp, to a minimum of 0, at a cost of 1 treasure.
Adventurer Tools
These tools are available to Adventurers for 2 treasure. They provide a -4 bonus on appropriate skill checks. On a failed check, the Tool can be broken to make a reroll with the same bonus. A broken tool cannot be used until it is fixed, costing 1 treasure. Directly upgrading an Amateur tool may reduce the cost. Tools of this quality are generally more specialised than Amateur tools.
- Hand Drill: For breaking into delicate mechanisms.
- Manacles: For securing a prisoner.
- Pitons: For climbing large rough faces.
- Rope Ladder: For climbing.
- Skirmisher’s Horse: For scouting while journeying overland.
- Tome of Lore: Giving details on a particular subject.
Special Expenses
The following expenses bring certain benefits, but are unlikely to be used directly in a skill check.
- Mount: A non-combat trained mount costs 2 treasure. Saddlebags provide an additional 4 encumbrance slots. If an entire party is mounted, they ignore rural terrain when calculating the DC of survival checks to avoid wilderness encounters. Otherwise, they ignore 1 tile of rural terrain per mounted character.
- Vault: For 2 treasure a PC may store an unlimited amount of treasure without encumbrance concerns. Vaults can be accessed for despots or withdraws only during a long rest.
- Strongholds: Strongholds are bases of operation that influential PCs can establish. They require 6 favour with the relevant faction.
- Keep: 10 treasure, used to build and manage armies
- Establishment: 6 treasure, used to collect and spread rumours and gather funds
- Temple: 8 treasure, used to serve a supernatural entity and seek their aid.
- Tower: 8 treasure, used for spell research, general research, and improving spell potency.
XP
More advanced training is harder to come by. Similarly, the costs of carousing increases as adventurers grow used to a more decadent life.
- Training: Gain 5xp for 2 treasure.
- Carousing: Lose 5xp, to a minimum of 0, at a cost of 2 treasure.
Veteran Tools
One can only dream about what the most experienced explorers might invest in…