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Old 04-06-2010, 04:38 PM   Top  -  End  -  #1
Darrin
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Default [3.x] Shax's Indispensible Haversack (Equipment Handbook)

Shax's Indispensible Haversack, AKA: How To Obliterate A Dungeon On Less Than 100 GP Per Day

This project grew (mutated?) out of a few different ideas merging together: a previous attempt to catalog all of the various alchemical items that are tucked away in the hidden corners of various sourcebooks, my own take on Caelic's Bunko's Bargain Basement and dark_samuari’s Utility Belt, and assorted "Help, I need gear for my character!" threads that pop up frequently.

There are certain items that I repeatedly recommend with a low cost but high payoff. Rather than rewrite the same posts over and over again, I started compiling some of that advice, and it occurred to me, well, if I could fit everything into a single Handy Haversack, then I could post it that equipment list as a handbook-ish type thing and be done with it.

Why a Handy Haversack? Why not a Belt of Hidden Pouches, as with the Utility Belt? Well, although the Belt has a bit higher maximum capacity (150 lbs vs. the Haversack's 120 lbs), I have a couple issues with the Belt. First, it has a size/length limitation, so that every item you put into it needs to be 6 inches or smaller, and a lot of the items I want to put into it are longer than that or don't specify a length. And second, it costs more than double the Haversack, so if you're talking about raw storage capacity, two haversacks offer 240 lbs of storage. The various Bags of Holding have the best storage capacity, but they don't have the "draw an item as a move action" feature. Ideally, a well-prepared encumbrance-minded adventurer would have a Haversack for easy access to anything he needs to get hold of quickly, and a Bag of Holding for bulky/heavy items or loot that he doesn't need in a hurry.

For only 2000 GP, the Handy Haversack offers 120 lbs of storage capacity. Unfortunately, when you're talking about an adventurer's addiction to equipment, 120 lbs isn't nearly enough capacity. And while I love to focus on low-cost items, prices get out of hand extremely quickly. So rather than compile one massive "Grand List of Everything You Could Possibly Need", I broke things up into four "types" with different price brackets that may or may not correspond to a "Wealth By Level" table or various definitions of Low/Mid/High-level campaigns.

On top of those four lists, I've got a list of Honorable Mention items that may or should have been included, a list of items that may have rules issues that may need to be cleared with the DM (beyond whatever rules depravity I may have perpetrated in any of the other lists), and a list of inferior or less effective items that you might want to avoid.

After that, a separate post for the Fabulous Four items you should never leave home without, and another post for the Top 10 Alchemical Items you can make yourself. Finally, I've added a post about all the various drugs, which ones are worth (ab)using, and how to avoid/cancel/negate side effects/addiction/drawbacks.


Haversack Type I
Total Price: 5739 GP (includes 2000 GP for Haversack)
Weight: 115 lbs

The basic Type I equipment layout consists entirely of non-magical alchemical items and special substances. To save space, I've left out various kits (Climber's Kit, Hunter's Kit, etc.) and some very narrow-purpose items that are only effective against one type of creature, such as Alchemical Vampire Repellent or Slimebane. I've also left out trail rations or any kind of food, based on the assumption that an average adventurer has roughly a 50% chance of feeding himself for one day by making a Survival check DC 10. There's about 5 pounds of wiggle-room in the pack if you want to add any of that. If you need more space, reduce the number of Acidic Fire flasks or Tanglefoot Bags.

Type I Complete Contents:
Spoiler


Who is Shax?
Spoiler

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Old 04-06-2010, 04:40 PM   Top  -  End  -  #2
Darrin
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Default Re: [3.x] Shax's Indispensible Haversack (Equipment Handbook)

Haversack Type II
Upgrade Cost: 5527 GP (replaces items worth 128 GP)
Total Price: 11266 GP (includes 2000 GP for Haversack)
Weight: 116 lbs

The Type II upgrade adds mostly one-shot/utility magic items under 500 GP. The one exception is the Travel Cloak for 1200 GP. Simply put, this one item is just too darned useful to delay getting your hands on it. Since it provides food, water, and shelter, it also frees up some considerable space. If money is tight and you're debating which magic item to get next, get the Travel Cloak first, then worry about the Feather Tokens or Magic Bedroll later. Like the Travel Cloak, some upgrades replace items in the Type I package to conserve space or because the upgrade makes the previous item unnecessary. Replaced items are noted after the item description in the Upgrade section.

Upgrades:
Spoiler


Type II Complete Contents:
Spoiler

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Old 04-06-2010, 04:41 PM   Top  -  End  -  #3
Darrin
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Default Re: [3.x] Shax's Indispensible Haversack (Equipment Handbook)

Haversack Type III
Upgrade Cost: 14022 GP (replaces items worth 160 GP)
Total Price: 25158 GP (includes 2000 GP for Haversack)
Weight: 119 lbs

The Type III upgrade adds more utility magic items in the 750 to 2000 GP range, plus the Survival Pouch for 3300 GP. Like the Travel Cloak, this is another item that is too useful to delay getting your hands on it.

Upgrades:
Spoiler


Type III Complete Contents:
Spoiler

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Old 04-06-2010, 04:43 PM   Top  -  End  -  #4
Darrin
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Default Re: [3.x] Shax's Indispensible Haversack (Equipment Handbook)

Haversack Type IV
Upgrade Cost: 35750 GP (replaces items worth 465 GP)
Total Market Price: 60443 GP (includes 2000 GP for Haversack)
Weight: 118 lbs

Type IV adds some items in the 2500 to 9000 GP range, although not too many, because at this point 60K GP is probably a good chunk of your Wealth By Level getting sunk into stuff that isn't immediately making you more dangerous or harder to kill.

Upgrades:
Spoiler


Type IV Complete Contents:
Spoiler

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Old 04-06-2010, 04:44 PM   Top  -  End  -  #5
Darrin
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Default Re: [3.x] Shax's Indispensible Haversack (Equipment Handbook)

Honorable Mentions or Cut Due to Weight

Spoiler

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Old 04-06-2010, 04:45 PM   Top  -  End  -  #6
Darrin
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Default Re: [3.x] Shax's Indispensible Haversack (Equipment Handbook)

Items that Require Clarification or DM Consultation

Spoiler
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Old 04-06-2010, 04:46 PM   Top  -  End  -  #7
Darrin
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Default Re: [3.x] Shax's Indispensible Haversack (Equipment Handbook)

Lesser Alternatives, Items to Avoid, and other Disappointments

Spoiler

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Old 04-06-2010, 04:47 PM   Top  -  End  -  #8
Darrin
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Default Re: [3.x] Shax's Indispensible Haversack (Equipment Handbook)

The Fabulous Four

These four "must have" items should be assumed to be part of any type of haversack as soon as you can afford them because they're just too darned useful.

Collar of Perpetual Attendance
Price: 2000 GP
Weight: 0.25#
(WotC online article, Fabulous Cats!)
Unseen servant at will. How is this so powerful? Well, it may be a mindless, shapeless force, but it can perform any activity that an unskilled human can do. This means it gets the same actions every round that any other creature would get: one move + one standard action, or one full-round action. Although it usually takes a move action to direct a spell, this means you can convert your move action into another standard action or more. It has a speed of 15' (10' if encumbered), so it can move up to 30' a round, and while it doesn't have a fly speed exactly (it has no weight, so it can't "fall"), it can move vertically up or down within the spell's range (up to 30' from the collar).

Unseen servants can also make skill checks so long as the skill is not "trained only" and the DC is 10 or less. This does allow them to "Aid Another" on skill checks (DC 10), although they can't take a 10 on the check. This allows them to Aid Another on:

Balance, Bluff (including feint), Climb, Concentration, Craft, Diplomacy, Disguise, Forgery, Gather Info, Heal, Hide, Intimidate, Jump, Listen, Move Silently, Perform, Ride, Search, Sense Motive, Spot, Survival, Swim, Use Rope, and maybe a few of the other non-PHB skills out there.

Other things an unseen servant can do:

* retrieve/fold a net
* reload a crossbow or sling
* drop/pick up caltrops
* light/carry a smokestick (mobile concealment) or noxious smokestick (save vs. nausea)
* light an oil slick or web on fire
* drop a sack full of 19 acid flasks in a square (19 splash damage, no save), 19 acidic fire flasks (38 splash damage, no save) or a sack full of 39 firestones (39d6 damage, no save)
* drop a bag of flour or torch bug paste into a square
* spread a bag of marbles into a square (5' x 5' nonmagical grease)
* pump a sprayer full of holy water, oil, aboleth mucus, or poison (area effect, 5' x 10' line, autohit/no save).
* apply an oil/cream to a willing/unconscious target
* apply a blessed bandage/healing salve or forcefeed a goodberry/cure potion to a dying creature
* hold a darkwood feycraft tower shield
* activate a feather token such as a tree or swan boat (20d6 falling object damage, no save)
* blow a horn of fog, play drums of panic, or spin a babbling wheel
* block a charge (if told not to get out of the way, charger has to treat it as an unintentional over-run or bull-rush)
* bull-rush a kobold into oncoming traffic
* open a fire trapped item while holding a piece of parchment inscribed with explosive runes (burning parchment = attempt to erase)
* crush a skull talisman (Frostburn)
* drop/break chardalyn stone (Silver Marches Web Enhancement) or Shalantha's Delicate Disk (Lost Empires of Faerun)
* activate an explosive pack (Secrets of Sarlona)
* activate/carry/drop a ditherbomb (Races of the Dragon)
* open a screaming flask (Complete Mage)
* blow a sand pipe (Secrets of Xendrik), 15' cone of burning sand
* spread powder of the black veil (MIC), 10' cube of no save blindness
* set/trigger a blast disk (Heroes of Battle) or exploding/sleeping/stunning spike (MIC)
* spread/drop slashing sand (MIC) or vial of icy sheets (Frostburn)

Gloves of Object Reading
Price: 3000 GP
Weight: --
(Magic Item Compendium p. 107)
While most people might use this item to handle an object and learn something about the previous owner, it can also be used to drive a DM completely bugf*ck crazy: "Ok, so this gold piece... the previous owner, did he wear nice clothes? What color was his hair? Did he have a spellbook? Can I see what spells were in it? No? Okay, next gold piece..." If you ask the right questions, the key to any locked door, puzzle, or riddle the DM throws at you should be right at your fingertips (the owner or creator had to get through the door/puzzle/riddle at some point, right?). Also, not sure what a magic item does? These gloves should give you the equivalent of a free identify: how was the item created, how it was used, what is the command word to activate it, and so forth. Plenty of "social engineering" possibilities, too... pick apart the weaknesses of any important NPCs or BBEGs from whatever objects they leave behind. Return lost items to their owners (for a small -- or perhaps not too small -- "finder's fee", of course). In only a few minutes, identify forged documents, fake art/gems/jewelry, cursed magic items, or trapped objects. The possibilities are endless.

Nolzur's Marvelous Pigments
Price: 4000 GP
Weight: --
(DMG)
The definitive "whatever you can possibly imagine" item. Not only can you create mundane equipment, but any non-magical alchemical item is only 10 minutes away. Don't like how the dungeon is laid out? Paint some doors, walls, tunnels, or a few lava pits. A judicious painter knows how to conserve paint, however. Need to get through a wall? Instead of painting an entire door or tunnel, paint cracks in the wall so it's easier to break down. Or paint a hole and go through with a potion of gaseous form. When you add non-magical items such as Ectoplasm Equipment/Stabilizer (Ghostwalk, non-magical ghost touch weapons) and Chaos Flasks (Planar Handbook, create poisons or diamonds) on top of that, the possibilities are staggering. The only real drawback with the pigments is it's not entirely clear from the description how you track the amount of material you can create. There are two different limitations: by surface area (up to 100' square feet), or by GP cost (up to 2000 GP). However, it's not clear if the 2000 GP limit is per item created or a total per pot of pigments. For example, if the owner paints a 10' x 10' x 10' room, can he fill the entire volume with suits of full plate and vials of poison, or does everything in the room have to total up to 2000 GP or less? If you go by surface area, this works for simple features such as doors, pits, and pools of lava, but not so well for smaller objects with complex shapes, such as weapons/alchemical items/trombones/etc. If you go by GP cost, this works well for smaller items but you may be stuck digging through obscure sourcebooks to find a price for a 5' cube of ice/lava/mozzarella/etc. Work with your DM to determine which method works best.

Stone Dragon Belt, Novice
Price: 3000 GP
Weight: 1#
(Tome of Battle p. 150)
This item is used primarily to get access to the Mountain Hammer maneuver, the ultimate Swiss-Army chainsaw and dungeon redecorating tool, which is a standard action strike that ignores DR, hardness, and does an extra 2d6 damage. This allows you to cut down, break apart, or sunder anything your heart desires, over and over again. There are a few requirements, however. Because it's a Stone Dragon strike, you have to be in contact with the ground. You also need a high enough Initiator Level. For a non-martial adept, this means you need 6 levels/HD. You can only use the maneuver once per encounter, or if you're out of combat, you have to meditate for 5 minutes to re-ready the maneuver. If you already have martial adept levels and a high enough initiator level, then you can use your usual recovery method. If you don't have a high enough level yet, you can pick up either the Charging Minotaur or Stone Bones strike instead. If you have an Initiator Level of 5 or more, you can also get access to the 3rd level strikes Bonecrusher and Stone Dragon's Fury. The item description doesn't specify how you choose a new maneuver, but it stands to reason that if you take the item off and wait 24 hours for it to re-attune, you can select a different maneuver.

Last edited by Darrin : 11-25-2010 at 09:23 AM.
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Old 04-06-2010, 04:49 PM   Top  -  End  -  #9
Darrin
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Default Re: [3.x] Shax's Indispensible Haversack (Equipment Handbook)

Top Ten Alchemical Items

#1 - Eggshell Grenade, Dust
Price: 10 GP
Weight: --
(Oriental Adventures p. 78)
Thrown as a grenade-like weapon, so make a ranged touch attack with a range increment of 5'. A dust grenade that hits its target directly blinds the target for 1d4 rounds *NO SAVE*. Anyone else within the 5' radius splash must make a Fort save DC 10 or be blinded for 1 round. This is an amazingly effective weapon that works on a wide variety of opponents, but don't overuse this one or your DM will come down on you with a banhammer like a ton of bricks.
Craft (Alchemy) DC: 20

#2 - Shapesand (jug)
Price: 100 GP
Weight: 12#
(Sandstorm p. 102)
Through the exertion of your will (Wisdom check DC 16), you can create any mundane non-magical object out of sand that supposedly "serves as a normal item of the same sort". (So... does that mean I can turn it into 12 lbs of acid or alchemist's fire? How about explosives or poisons? How about a masterwork gatling gun? Hmm...) It retains that shape as long as it stays within 100' of you, but you can also reshape it whenever you like by making another Wisdom check. While the question of acid/explosives/poisons will have to be settled by your DM, you have any tool you can possibly imagine at your fingertips. Need a hammer? Done. Don't need the hammer anymore, need a shovel? Done. It's particularly useful for tools that wear out after a certain number of uses, such as hacksaws and drills. How about exotic weapons or armor (Shapesand Fullplate = 500 GP, Shapesand Mechanus Gear = 700 GP)? It can do that, too, although be aware, if an enemy recognizes you're using Shapesand, he could try to reshape it under his control with a Wisdom check of his own.
Craft (Alchemy) DC: 25

#3 - Firestone
Price: 50 GP
Weight: 0.5#
(Dragon Compendium p. 117)
Thrown as a grenade-like weapon, it does 1d6 fire damage, but unlike a splash weapon, it has an area effect that damages everything in the 5' square without a Ref save. Ranged touch attacks are pretty easy to begin with, but targeting a stationary square rather than a creature makes them even ridiculously more so. This might allow you to throw a whole bag full of these into a square for Xd6 fire damage, X = however many firestones fit in the bag. Another interesting tactic might be to give this bag to an unseen servant, and have it drop or empty the bag into a square from above (doesn't require an attack roll). No weight was given in the Dragon Compendium or the original Dragon article, so I'm assuming a firestone weighs the same as a sling bullet (1/2 lb). Thus, an unseen servant could put 39 into a sack (20 lbs total) and drop it in a square for 39d6 fire damage, no save.
Craft (Alchemy) DC: 25

#4 - Auran Mask
Price: 60 GP
Weight: --
(Complete Mage p. 134)
Provides a +5 bonus against inhaled toxins (which stacks with antitoxin), but this is easily overshadowed by 10 minutes of water breathing. Requires less upkeep than Air Plants. For longer durations, consider a potion of water breathing for 750 GP, which lasts for 10 hours.
Craft (Alchemy) DC: 25

#5 - Tanglefoot Bag
Price: 50 GP
Weight: 4#
(PHB)
Ranged touch attack that entangles, -2 attack penalty, -4 Dex penalty, restricts movement, chance to immobilize, and makes life difficult for flying creatures. Check with your DM if the Dex penalty from multiple sources stack (net, lasso, etc.).
Craft (Alchemy) DC: 25

#6 - Candle, Focusing
Price: 100 GP
Weight: 1#
(Complete Adventurer p. 118)
+1 circumstance bonus on Appraise, Decipher Script, Forgery, and Search checks. Note: if you think you'll need this for longer than an hour, you can increase the duration to 15 days (365 days / 24 hours = 15.21 days) with a little Unguent of Timelessness (19 GP per dose, DMG).
Craft (Alchemy) DC: 25

#7 - Hearthfire
Price: 10 GP
Weight: 2#
(Races of Stone p. 160)
This is Jello... that glows like a torch. I'm sorry, but that's just too cool not to include. While the dowdy ol' torch may still be the most economical light source at only 1 CP apiece, they're very bulky (each torch weighs a pound). Two pounds of Hearthfire includes 12 cubes, and each cube lasts 24 hours. While an equivalent number of torches would only cost 2.88 GP, they would weigh 288 pounds. Hearthfire doesn't produce any heat and thus can't be used to light anything on fire or as an improvised weapon, but... Glowing Jello!
Craft (Alchemy) DC: 20

#8 - Healing Salve
Price: 50 GP
Weight: --
(Tome & Blood p. 72)
A potion of cure light wounds costs the same and cures one more HP, but a Healing Salve is non-magical and thus can be used in an anti-magic field or created by marvelous pigments. It's also not a conjuration (healing) effect, so it works normally on Warforged. There's also a Healing Salve in the Magic Item Compendium, but it's a magic item, and it's a lot more expensive (2250 GP) than 10 applications of this alchemical item.
Craft (Alchemy) DC: 25

#9 - Quickspark
Price: 25 GP
Weight: --
(Complete Adventurer p. 122)
Of all the various alchemical items that do energy damage, Quickspark is the easiest to use and you're less likely to run into electricity resistance than fire or cold. It can be applied to a weapon as on oil with a standard action, or as a swift action when used with a Weapon Capsule Retainer (100 GP, Complete Adventurer). It can't be thrown on its own and does no splash damage, but you can apply it to any grenade-like weapon just like any other weapon. A Quickspark + Acidic Fire, for example, does an average of 11 energy damage over 2 rounds. Alchemist's Spark (Eberron Campaign Setting) is easier to throw, does a little more damage (1d8) and also splashes for 1 damage, but can't be applied to a weapon. A Sparkstone (Arms & Equipment Guide) can be thrown as a grenade-like weapon for 1d6 electricity damage and it will arc to one adjacent opponent (but only one) for half damage.
Craft (Alchemy) DC: 25

#10 - Stonebreaker Acid
Price: 20 GP
Weight: 1#
(Arms & Equipment Guide p. 35)
Thrown as grenade-like weapon. Against stone objects/creatures, 5d10 damage over 2 rounds that ignores hardness. While Delver Slime (150 GP, Savage Species) may deal more damage per application, Stonebreaker Acid is a lot cheaper.
Craft (Alchemy) DC: 20

Note: Tarmak War Paint (check the Honorable Mention list) probably belongs at the top of this list (+5 Natural Armor bonus and Fast Healing 5, up to 20 HP) but due to the price and obscurity of the sourcebook, I consider it a little too unlikely to clear DM approval.

Last edited by Darrin : 03-07-2011 at 10:03 AM.
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Old 04-06-2010, 04:49 PM   Top  -  End  -  #10
strider24seven
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Default Re: [3.x] Shax's Indispensible Haversack (Equipment Handbook)

Damn, that's nice!

I loved the old Bunko's threads. Ol' Bunko sold me many a cheap magic trinket back in the day.

And I forgot how deadly Aboleth Slime was! That's going back in my Haversack! And I'll keep an Aboleth for milking in my Bag of Holding.

Edit: Sorry, didn't mean to be a combo breaker!

Last edited by strider24seven : 04-06-2010 at 05:45 PM.
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Old 04-06-2010, 04:50 PM   Top  -  End  -  #11
Darrin
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Default Re: [3.x] Shax's Indispensible Haversack (Equipment Handbook)

Drugs

I didn't include drugs in any of the haversacks because they involve a lot of special rules and complications: addiction checks, side effects, and overdose effects. However, since most of the negative effects of using drugs involve ability damage, there are several methods to mitigate or completely negate the negative effects.

Drugs work like poisons, so they have a primary and secondary effect. They all have Fortitude saves related to those effects, but someone willingly taking a drug automatically fails both the primary and secondary Fortitude save. Side effects or overdoses may include additional saves, which the user may attempt to avoid as normal.

Addiction must be checked for separately, and the Fortitude save DC, satiation period, and consequences are determined by the drug's addiction rating (see Book of Vile Darkness p. 41, Lords of Darkness p. 184, or Sharn: City of Towers p. 160 for the specific rules for drug addiction). Although the rules state that addiction "functions much like diseases" as per the DMG, there may be rules complications if you treat them as actual diseases. Certain classes/abilities grant immunity to disease (I'm looking at you, Mr. Paladin, who not only gets immunity to disease, but also gets remove disease a certain number of times per week as a Spell-Like Ability). My advice would be to allow effects that grant a save bonus against diseases to work on addiction checks, but declare that blanket "immunity to disease" does not apply to addictions under the reasoning that while it may work mechanically similar to a disease, it's either not an actual disease, or because it's self-inflicted the user is compromising/waiving his immunity.

Addiction can be "cured" by succeeding with two consecutive Fortitude saves or via a remove disease spell. Since there is no specific duration, the condition can't be removed via Iron Heart Surge (IHS). Remove disease is one of those spells that everyone should have ready to cast in some capacity, but clerics are generally loathe to waste a spell slot on something that comes up so rarely. It's a good idea to keep a few scrolls (375 GP) or potions (750 GP) handy.

There is quite a bit of overlap between drugs and poisons, particularly when you start delivering drugs to an unwilling victim. One advantage some drugs have over other poisons is that multiple doses/attacks may trigger an overdose, which might include damage/penalties that take effect immediately (in some cases without a save). I don't really explore that here since the Poison Handbook is already very detailed and extensive. Go there for everything you need to know about poisons.

Here are some methods/items to mitigate or nullify the disadvantages of drugs:

Filth Eater feat (Sharn: City of Towers p. 157): +4 bonus on saves against disease or ingested poisons. Also, reduces ability damage from either source by 1 point (minimum of 1). The save bonus won't help you on the primary and secondary effects of drugs, but should work against any saves from side effects or overdoses. This feat pairs up beautifully with the Strongheart Vest soulmeld or the Naberius vestige.

Iron Heart Surge maneuver (Tome of Battle p. 68): As a standard action, end any negative condition/effect that has a duration that can be expressed in rounds (usually abbreviated as IHS). While this isn't an immediate cure-all for addiction or ability damage (neither of these have specific durations), many side effects and some overdose effects have durations and can be negated with Ironheart Surge. Many DMs ban Tome of Battle because they think it's overpowered, and this maneuver is one of the major reasons why. The maneuver description isn't worded very clearly and it's not always obvious what conditions/effects it can stop, so even if your DM allows Tome of Battle, expect to get into more than a few discussions about what this maneuver can or can't do. This maneuver is easiest to pick up with a dip into Warblade after ECL 8. You can also use the Martial Study feat twice, but your Initiator Level still needs to be 5, so without any Martial Adept levels, you'll need to be at least ECL 10. Iron Heart Surge requires you know one Iron Heart maneuver as a prerequisite, but you can pick up a Novice version of the Iron Heart Vest (Tome of Battle p. 150) for only 3000 GP. This can be used in place of one Martial Study feat, either to allow you to take Iron Heart Surge, or add it to your maneuvers known if you already know one Iron Heart maneuver.

Keoghtom's Ointment (DMG p. 261): 5 applications of either neutralize poison (to negate a drug's side effects or overdose effects after the primary/secondary benefit has expired), remove disease (get rid of addiction), or cure light wounds.

Naberius vestige (Tome of Magic p. 41): This is a first level vestige with an easy binding DC 15, so it's easy to grab with just a one-level dip into Binder. Naberius offers several interesting abilities, but the one we're interested in is the Faster Ability Healing, which heals 1 point of ability damage per round. Because you actually take the damage before you heal it, there's not much of an argument that preventing the damage prevents the positive effects, as it might be argued with the Strongheart Vest. You're also less likely to see this method banned, although it does involve learning another magic system with new, sometimes not-so-intuitive rules. Another issue is it only heals 1 point of ability damage per round, so if you're taking large amounts of ability damage, it may take many rounds to get it all back.

Necropolitan template (Libris Mortis p. 114): Making yourself undead removes your Constitution score and makes you immune to most anything that requires a Fortitude save. This would include drugs, addiction, and some side/overdose effects, but you'll need to get your DM to agree that your immunity to drugs does not also extend to their benefits... which may be a bit of a hard sell.

Orb of Mental Renewal (Magic Item Compendium p. 167): 3/charges per day, can heal up to 12 points of Intelligence, Wisdom, or Charisma damage, or up to 6 points to all three ability scores. Great bargain, too: only 3100 GP.

Restoration spells (PHB): These cure ability damage, and even if you're not a divine caster or don't have one in the party, there are a variety of ways to get access to this spell. If you already have divine casting, a dip into Prestige Paladin can add lesser restoration as a 1st level spell. If you find a paladin with the right item creation feats, you can buy potions of lesser restoration for only 100 GP or a wand of lesser restoration for only 1500 GP. Arcane Disciple + Renewal Domain can add it to an arcane caster's spell list. There's also a Touchstone site in Sandstorm (see below) that offers lesser restoration.

Rod of Bodily Restoration (Magic Item Compendium p. 173): 3/charges per day, can heal up to 12 points of Strength, Dexterity, or Constitution damage, or up to 6 points to all three ability scores. Same price as the Orb of Mental Renewal: 3100 GP.

Strongheart Vest soulmeld (Magic of Incarnum p. 89): Already a favorite of Hellfire Warlocks, who use this to negate the Constitution damage from using their Hellfire Blasts. With a dip into Incarnate or taking the Shape Soulmeld feat, you can reduce any ability damage you take by 1 point. By investing essentia, you can reduce it even further. If you're not familiar with the Incarnum rules, it may take a while to fully wrap your head around them, but it's well worth the effort. However, because of the Hellfire Warlock abuse, some DMs ban this soulmeld, or they may argue that preventing the ability damage also prevents any positive benefits they were supposed to provide. Also, it's not clear if you take two different types of ability damage from the same effect, such as Strength damage and Dexterity damage, does the Strongheart Vest prevent 1 point from both ability scores, or just one ability score per round? Talk with your DM about how this soulmeld should work.

Talisman of Undying Fortitude (Magic Item Compendium p. 188): 2/day, gain immunity to a wide variety of effects, including ability damage and anything that requires a Fortitude save. Lasts for 3 rounds, so timing it to negate certain side effects or Fortitude saves may be tricky. Not as cheap as the Orb/Rod, but not all that expensive, either: 8000 GP.

Touchstone feat (Sandstorm p. 53): It's not clear if the Sandstorm Touchstone rules were supposed to be an update of the Planar Touchstone rules from the Planar Handbook or should be treated as a different mechanical system entirely, but the two Touchstone sites we're interested in are both in Sandstorm, and fortunately the requirements are looser than the Planar version. You need 8 ranks of Knowledge (Local), or you can spend 250 GP on a touchstone key. To create a link with a touchstone site, you must meditate for a day, spend 10 XP, and sacrifice either the touchstone key or 250 GP worth of material components. This gives you access to a Touchstone site's Base Ability. *You do not have to visit the Touchstone site to get the Base Ability!* The two sites we're interested in:

Shrine at Kahar (Sandstorm p. 54) lets you cast a cleric spell as a Spell-Like Ability 1/day, chosen from a list that includes lesser restoration.

Healing Waters of Abu-Ima (Sandstorm p. 55) lets you cast either cure serious wounds or remove disease 1/day as a Spell-Like Ability. This will get rid of addiction, although ability damage from addiction still needs to be healed/cured normally.


List of Drugs

Almost all drugs have an initial effect, secondary effect, side effect, and an overdose effect. They also have addiction ratings and satiation periods that may need to be kept track of. For the complete rules on handling drugs, refer to pages 41-42 in the Book of Vile Darkness. Below I've compiled a list of almost all the drugs from various sourcebooks. If a drug had no beneficial effects or no mechanical benefits beyond a fluff description, then I didn't include it.

Agony ("Liquid Pain")
Price: 200 GP
(Book of Vile Darkness p. 42)
Initial: Stunned 1d4 rounds, staggered 1d6 minutes
Secondary: 1d4+1 enhancement bonus to Cha for 1d10+50 minutes
Side: intense pleasure 1d4 hours (fluff)
Overdose: If second dose taken within 24 hours, Fort DC 18 or fall unconscious for 1d4 hours
Comments: IHS can't help with the stunning, but it can get rid of the staggered condition once you're able to move again. The Charisma bonus takes a minute to kick in, but it's an interesting alternative to an eagle's splendor buff.
Addiction: Extreme
Craft (Alchemy) DC: 25

Baccaran
Price: 10 GP
(Book of Vile Darkness p. 42)
Initial: 1d4 points Str damage
Secondary: 1d4+1 enhancement bonus to Wis for 1d10+15 minutes
Side: -4 penalty on saves vs. illusions for 2d4 hours
Overdose: 2d6 points of damage and side effect doubled (although it doesn't specify if they mean the penalty or the duration)
Comments: Strongheart Vest or Naberius can take care of the Str damage, IHS can get rid of the penalty vs. illusions, and anything that gives temporary HPs (such as the Stone Power feat) can offset the overdose damage.
Addiction: Low
Craft (Alchemy) DC: 20

Devilweed
Price: 6 GP
(Book of Vile Darkness p. 42)
Initial: 1 point Wis damage
Secondary: +2 alchemical bonus to Str for 1d3 hours
Side: Acts skittish (treat as shaken) for same duration as the secondary effect
Overdose: none
Comments: Very easy to counteract these negative effects, and the alchemical bonus to Str stacks with bull's strength and Mule Pollen. You may need the DM to clarify if the skittish condition is identical to being shaken, because there are a variety of class abilities and some regional feats that offer immunity to shaken or other fear effects. Otherwise, IHS will get rid of it.
Addiction: Low
Craft (Alchemy) DC: 20

Dragon's Blood, Black
Price: 240 GP
(Sharn: City of Towers p. 161)
Initial: next use of a least dragonmark or sorcerer spell of 2nd level or lower is enhanced with Enlarge Spell and Extend Spell. Lasts 10 minutes or until dragonmark/spell is used.
Secondary: 1d4 points of Cha damage
Side: none
Overdose: Will save DC 18 or take 2d6 points of damage
Comments: Magical effect. User may only benefit from one type of Dragon's Blood per day. Free metamagic for 1st and 2nd level sorcerer spells is all sorts of win, but if it's something you're going to be using a lot of, metamagic rods can be used more often and may be cheaper in the long run.
Addiction: Medium
Craft (Alchemy) DC: 30

Dragon's Blood, Blue
Price: 750 GP
(Sharn: City of Towers p. 161)
Initial: next use of a least/lesser dragonmark or sorcerer spell of 4th level or lower does not use up a spell slot or daily use. Lasts 10 minutes or until dragonmark/spell is used.
Secondary: 1d4+1 points of Cha damage
Side: none
Overdose: Will save DC 20 or take 4d6 points of damage
Comments: Magical effect. User may only benefit from one type of Dragon's Blood per day. Interesting, but like metamagic rods, a Memento Magica (Pearl of Power for sorcerers, Magic Item Compendium) might be cheaper in the long run.
Addiction: High
Craft (Alchemy) DC: 30

Dragon's Blood, Red
Price: 1200 GP
(Sharn: City of Towers p. 161)
Initial: All uses of a least/lesser dragonmark and all sorcerer spells of 3rd level or lower are either Maximized or cast at +3 caster levels. Lasts 1 minute.
Secondary: 1d6+1 points of Cha damage
Side: none
Overdose: Will save DC 22 or take 8d6 points of damage
Comments: Magical effect. User may only benefit from one type of Dragon's Blood per day. Nice little nova effect, but except for fireball/lightning bolt, a lot of the best bread-and-butter blasty-type spells are 4th level or higher (orb of {blank}, enervation, disintegrate, etc.). Paired up with arcane spellsurge, a Sorcerer could get up to 20 maximized spells cast in 10 rounds for only 1200 GP.
Addiction: Extreme
Craft (Alchemy) DC: 30

Haunspeir
Price: 50 GP
(Lords of Darkness p. 183)
Initial: 1d4 points of damage
Secondary: 1d4+1 enhancement bonus to Int for 1d10+15 minutes
Side: +1 damage to all slashing/piercing attacks while drug is in effect
Overdose: 2d4 points of damage and side effects doubled
Comments: Get yourself a little temp HP (see Sezarad Root below) or a cure light wounds, and this could work as a cheaper alternative to fox's cunning. Stacks well with Mushroom Powder.
Addiction: Low

Jhuild ("Thrallwine")
Price: 6 GP
(Lords of Darkness p. 183)
Initial: 1 point Wis damage
Secondary: +2 alchemical bonus to Str for 1d3 hours
Side: While under drug's effects, user is shaken, and resistance to Intimidate checks reduced to 0 + HD.
Overdose: none
Comments: Almost identical to Devilweed, and likewise easy to counteract, although in this case the side effect is explicitly shaken rather than something like it, so immunities to fear should work. Stacks with bull's strength and Mule Pollen.
Addiction: none

Kammarth
Price: 80 GP
(Lords of Darkness p. 183)
Initial: same effect as expeditious retreat for 1d4+1 minutes
Secondary: +2 alchemical bonus to Dex for duration of drug's effect
Side: none (fluff)
Overdose: 2 doses within 8 hours, 1d4 damage and paralyzed for 2d4 minutes. 3+ doses within 24 hours, 4d4 damage and paralyzed for 2d4 hours.
Comments: Magical effect. No real downside here, other than addiction or overdose. The speed increase is an enhancement bonus, however, so it won't stack with other enhancement bonuses.
Addiction: Medium

Katakuda ("Dragonskin")
Price: 100 GP
(Lords of Darkness p. 183)
Initial: none
Secondary: +3 natural armor bonus for 30 minutes
Side: after secondary effect ends, 1d4+1 Dex damage
Overdose: a second dose taken within 10 days of the first only provides a +2 natural armor bonus
Comments: Magical effect. Takes a minute to kick in, but cheaper than a potion of barkskin.
Addiction: None

Luhix
Price: 2000 GP
(Book of Vile Darkness p. 42)
Initial: 1 point of damage to all ability scores
Secondary: +2 alchemical bonus to all ability scores for 1d2 hours
Side: immune to pain (including symbol of pain, but unfortunately "pain" isn't all that clearly defined as a status condition)
Overdose: Fort save DC 25 or DIE!
Comments: No real point to take this drug unless you have a reliable way to prevent/cure all that ability damage. Best to have Naberius up and running, although you may want to check with your DM if Strongheart Vest will prevent the damage to all six ability scores at the same time. Otherwise, pair up an Orb of Mental Renewal/Rod of Bodily Restoration. Unless you have a particularly MAD (Multiple Ability Dependency) character, I'm not sure it's worth the bother.
Note: As Akal Saris points out, since Luhix can be delivered as an injury poison, two hits on a target constitutes an overdose and the target must make a Fort save DC 25 or DIE!
Addiction: Vicious
Craft (Alchemy) DC: 30

Mule Pollen
Price: 50 GP
(Magic of Faerun p. 181)
Initial: +2 untyped bonus to Str, -2 penalty to Int and Wis for 1d4x10 minutes
Secondary: none
Side: Fort save DC 12 or target is fatigued whenever not under the effects of mule pollen. Can be removed with neutralize poison.
Overdose: none
Comments: This is an oddball that was included in Magic of Faerun's "Extraordinary Natural Items" before there were any formal drug rules. The Fort DC is low but the fatigue effect appears to be permanent and has no duration until you can get a neutralize poison spell. The penalty to Int and Wis does have a duration, so IHS can get rid of that, and the bonus to Str is untyped, so it will stack with other alchemical bonuses.
Addiction: special

Mushroom Powder
Price: 100 GP
(Book of Vile Darkness p. 43)
Initial: +2 alchemical bonus to Int and Cha
Secondary: 1 point Str damage
Side: -2 alchemical penalty to Wis for 1d4 hours and same penalty to Str and Con for 2d4 hours
Overdose: 2d6 damage (within 12 hours) or 4d6 damage plus paralyzed for 2d4 hours
Comments: Kicks in immediately and stacks with enhancement bonuses, although bonus to Int and Cha only lasts 10 rounds. Most spellcasters could care less about the Str damage. The penalties to Wis/Str/Con have durations so they can be negated with IHS.
Addiction: Medium
Craft (Alchemy) DC: 25

Panacolo
Price: 250 GP
(Lords of Darkness p. 184)
Initial: none
Secondary: +2 untyped bonus to DC for all arcane spells user casts for the next 1d4 hours
Side: 1d6 points Cha damage
Overdose: second dose taken within one hour increases DC bonus to +3, but user takes 2d8 Cha damage. For additonal doses taken within the hour, the user takes additional Cha damage but do not increase DC further.
Comments: Magical effect. Great way for Int-based casters to improve save DCs, and stacks well with Mushroom Powder and Haunspeir.
Addiction: Low

Redflower Leaves
Price: 300 GP
(Book of Vile Darkness p. 43)
Initial: none
Secondary: move action to focus on one creature, +4 competence bonus on next attack, lasts 10 minutes
Side: none
Overdose: nauseated 1d4 x 10 minutes
Comments: Unless you overdose (and IHS won't help with nausea), no real negative effects here, although there's an argument that the benefits aren't worth the bother. Most melee-types with higher BABs would probably rather full attack than waste a move action for a +4 attack bonus.
Addiction: Low
Craft (Alchemy) DC: 27

Rhul ("Battlewine")
Price: 50 GP
(Lords of Darkness p. 184)
Initial: +4 alchemical bonus to Str and Con, also -2 penalty to AC.
Secondary: User is fatigued. A second dose of Rhul negates the fatigue for 1 minute, but may trigger overdose, and two or more doses of Rhul cause exhaustion.
Side: Will save DC 16 or user cannot make ranged attacks, must use melee attacks.
Overdose: If more than one dose taken in an hour, 1d4 points Int and Wis damage.
Comments: The AC penalty may be something you have to live with, but the fatigue is usually easy to get rid of. Icewild Lichen Paste (Secrets of Sarlona) pairs up nicely, as would any lesser restoration effect. Stacks with bull's strength and Mule Pollen.
Addiction: Medium

Sakrash ("Twilight Mind")
Price: 500 GP
(Lords of Darkness p. 184)
Initial: user dazzled for 1 minute
Secondary: user immune to effects that read or alter thoughts/emotions for 1d4 hours (includes detect thoughts, zone of truth, calm emotions, cause fear)
Side: attempts to communicate telepathically/empathically fail
Overdose: none
Comments: Magical effect. The strange wording on this doesn't explicitly say the user is immune to all mind-affecting spells... it doesn't mention charm or compulsion spells, but I can't imagine how those could *not* involve altering the target's thoughts. So yeah, looks like for only 500 GP you can get the equivalent of mind blank for 1d4 hours.
Addiction: none

Sannish
Price: 15 GP
(Book of Vile Darkness p. 43)
Initial: 1 point Wis damage
Secondary: immune to pain for 1d4 hours
Side: -2 penalty on initiative checks while under effects of drug
Overdose: staggered for 2d4 hours
Comments: Other than symbol of pain, pain isn't a very well-defined status condition. I don't see much of a use for this drug.
Addiction: Medium
Craft (Alchemy) DC: 20

Sezarad Root
Price: 75 GP
(Lords of Darkness p. 184)
Initial: gain 1d8 temp HP
Secondary: gain 1d8 temp HP (these do not stack but overlap the first 1d8), all temp HP wear off in 10 minutes
Side: 1d4 points Wis damage
Overdose: none
Comments: Best used to offset minor damage, such as Haunspeir's initial damage. Other than that... it's cheaper than a potion of aid.
Addiction: Low

Tekkil
Price: 5 GP
(Lords of Darkness p. 185)
Initial: none
Secondary: reduces penalties from extreme pain by 1, gain DR 1/- against subdual damage only. Lasts 1d4 hours.
Side: While under drug's effect, -2 penalty to initiative.
Overdose: if second dose taken while first dose still in effect, user under slow effect for 2d4 hours
Comments: Pain penalties and subdual damage don't come up often enough to make this anything other than a waste of 5 GP.
Addiction: Medium

Terran Brandy
Price: 500 GP
(Book of Vile Darkness p. 43)
Initial: +2 alchemical bonus to caster level
Secondary: 2 points Con damage
Side: none
Overdose: 1 point Con damage
Comments: Magical drug, so this won't work in an anti-magic field. Great way to boost caster level if you can prevent/cure the Con damage.
Addiction: Low
Craft (Alchemy) DC: 30

Vodare
Price: 40 GP
(Book of Vile Darkness p. 43)
Initial: +2 alchemical bonus on Intimidate and saves vs. fear effects for 1d4 hours
Secondary: -4 alchemical penalty on Diplomacy and Bluff for 2d4 hours
Side: none (fluff)
Overdose: Fort save DC 15 or become catatonic
Comments: Intimidate is almost completely useless (unless you have an Imperious Command type of build), but the bonus against fear effects might be useful. The overdose condition is really strange... catatonic isn't really defined anywhere in the rules, so I assume they mean unconscious or "really, really, like, hardcore sleepy", but there's no duration listed. So... I'm not really seeing anything to recommend using this drug for any reason.
Addiction: High
Craft (Alchemy) DC: 15

Ziran ("Bloodfast")
Price: 100 GP
(Lords of Darkness p. 185)
Initial: user dazed 1 round
Secondary: +2 alchemical bonus to Dex for 1d3 hours
Side: after secondary effect ends, user takes 2 points Con damage
Overdose: second dose taken within 24 hours causes an additional 2 points of Con damage
Comments: Stacks with enhancement bonuses, such as cat's grace.
Addiction: High

Last edited by Darrin : 11-09-2010 at 09:43 AM.
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Old 04-06-2010, 05:01 PM   Top  -  End  -  #12
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Default Re: [3.x] Shax's Indispensible Haversack (Equipment Handbook)

Great posts. I love alchemical items.

And thank you for the Dust Egshell grenade. I always overlooked the main target thing as if the save was allowed.

Thanks!

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Old 04-06-2010, 05:02 PM   Top  -  End  -  #13
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Default Re: [3.x] Shax's Indispensible Haversack (Equipment Handbook)

And this hits my bookmarks. Great resource, excellent job Darrin, really.
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Old 04-06-2010, 06:33 PM   Top  -  End  -  #14
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smile Re: [3.x] Shax's Indispensible Haversack (Equipment Handbook)

Love it, bookmarked, thank you, etc...

This is going to become a staple of character creation for me.
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Old 04-06-2010, 08:56 PM   Top  -  End  -  #15
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Default Re: [3.x] Shax's Indispensible Haversack (Equipment Handbook)

Bookmarked. I don't normally have trouble picking gear, but my players do. Good job.
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Old 04-06-2010, 09:13 PM   Top  -  End  -  #16
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Default Re: [3.x] Shax's Indispensible Haversack (Equipment Handbook)

Quote:
Originally Posted by AslanCross View Post
Bookmarked. I don't normally have trouble picking gear, but my players do. Good job.
Scrapbooked. Considering that this is the rules forum, which quite recently underwent a purge (for quite legitimate reasons), I'm not going to rely on it sticking around forever.
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Old 04-06-2010, 10:02 PM   Top  -  End  -  #17
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Default Re: [3.x] Shax's Indispensible Haversack (Equipment Handbook)

Note: By RAW, there's no penalties for stacking one bag of holding into another, and since a haversack is a derivative, you can dump bags of holding into your haversack to increase the weight load while only doing minimal damage to your 'handiness'. Additionally, you can add interior haversacks, making items inside the interior sack two move actions to retrieve.

Also, by a cheesy interpretation of RAW, you can retrieve things from interior bags without spending additional actions to do so, which makes bags of holding more economical by this reading.

This might help with the weight problems.
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Old 04-06-2010, 10:37 PM   Top  -  End  -  #18
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Originally Posted by Jack_Simth View Post
Scrapbooked.
How would one go about doing this? (I have it bookmarked, but do not want to lose it either, and would like to keep it in the current spoilered format)
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Old 04-07-2010, 12:43 AM   Top  -  End  -  #19
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Default Re: [3.x] Shax's Indispensible Haversack (Equipment Handbook)

Quote:
Originally Posted by bartman View Post
How would one go about doing this? (I have it bookmarked, but do not want to lose it either, and would like to keep it in the current spoilered format)
There are multiple Firefox add ons that can do this, and using IE(I personally don't) it gives you the option to "Make page available offline" when you bookmark it and as long as you never update it, it will always appear just as it does now.
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Old 04-07-2010, 09:11 AM   Top  -  End  -  #20
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Default Re: [3.x] Shax's Indispensible Haversack (Equipment Handbook)

Made of awesome. Thanks Darrin.

Also, at some point we need to put together a comprehensive list of the best weapons, armor, etc in 3.5. There are a bunch of different threads that do this, but none that cover everything.
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Old 04-07-2010, 09:16 AM   Top  -  End  -  #21
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Default Re: [3.x] Shax's Indispensible Haversack (Equipment Handbook)

...I'm definitely houseruling that the Chaos Flask can't duplicate anything that's worth more than 100 GP, though. That 5000 GP diamond trick makes the already bruised and battered WBL cry.
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Old 04-07-2010, 11:24 AM   Top  -  End  -  #22
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Quote:
Originally Posted by IonDragon View Post
There are multiple Firefox add ons that can do this, and using IE(I personally don't) it gives you the option to "Make page available offline" when you bookmark it and as long as you never update it, it will always appear just as it does now.
Most browsers will also let you do File/Save As... and select "Web page(Complete)" to do the same thing.
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Old 04-07-2010, 05:28 PM   Top  -  End  -  #23
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Default Re: [3.x] Shax's Indispensible Haversack (Equipment Handbook)

Quote:
Originally Posted by Person_Man View Post
Also, at some point we need to put together a comprehensive list of the best weapons, armor, etc in 3.5. There are a bunch of different threads that do this, but none that cover everything.
For exotic weapons, I just use your Haberdash thread. I think that has all the worthwhile exotics, except for the chain/chain lash/manriki-gusari. Do we need anything for non-exotics? Martial weapons usually boil down to Greatsword and Guisarme + Armor Spikes.

You've already got a Shield Handbook. Armor, though... I could start putting together some notes on that.
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Old 04-07-2010, 08:56 PM   Top  -  End  -  #24
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Default Re: [3.x] Shax's Indispensible Haversack (Equipment Handbook)

Fantastic handbook/guidebook Darrin. Absolutely wonderful :)

Here are some affordable additions all priced between 5g and 100g, mostly from my Poisons handbook, that have good applications even for good-aligned adventurers. I apologize for not listing the weights - it's not something I track in my games.

Oruighen (Lords of Darkness): It's basically Mace. Make a melee touch attack to throw tiny pellets at your opponent to give -2 to attacks, saves, and skills. Very cheap at 20g! Similar to the Eggshell grenades et all.

Tanglepatch: Maybe I missed it, but this alchemical item from Races of Faerun creates a genuine nonmagical entangle spell for only 100g.

Blister Oil (Races of Stone): an alchemical substance, but dirt cheap (5gp for 1-8 uses), and works as an injury poison to deal some damage (1d4?) and penalize Dex checks and reflex saves. Great for low-level alchemists, and doesn't carry the drawback of poisoning yourself if you mess up.

Stun Gas (Underdark): 40gp (6.6gp self-crafted). DC 12 inhaled poison, and stuns for 1/1d4 rounds. A dose can be stored in darts and presumably arrowheads. I think of it as a poor man's Dust of Sneezing & Choking.

Sleep-Smoke (Waterdeep: City of Splendors): At 25g (4.16g self-crafted), this is a DC 15 inhaled poison that lasts 2 rounds - first in a 10ft globe, then in a 20ft globe! Both the primary and secondary effects are unconsciousness (1 min/1d3 mins). DC 15 to create - this is used by Waterdeep's town guard, I think.

Roach Paste (Drow of the Underdark): DC 12 Injury poison, but only 50g (so 8.32g to make), and causes nausea for 1 round. Great at low levels, and the components are from giant roaches, which is absolutely disgusting (but easy enough to find).

Darkeye (Sharn, City of Towers)
50gp, Alchemy DC: 25. A toxic beverage: DC 12 ingested, paralysis/secondary damage 1 Con. However, if the victim fails his saving throw against the secondary damage, the paralysis continues and he must make another save after a minute has passed. This continues until the victim makes a successful saving throw.
During the period of paralysis, the victim is poised on the brink of life and death. Some victims see visions of their past, while others hear the voices of departed friends and family. The experience sensitizes the victim to the emanations of the beyond. For an hour after consuming darkeye, the victim gains +1 effective caster level when casting any sort of necromantic spell; this is increased to +5 when casting speak with dead. Darkeye is terribly bitter, and a full dose (2 ounces) is required to have any effect.
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Old 04-07-2010, 09:37 PM   Top  -  End  -  #25
TheMadLinguist
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Default Re: [3.x] Shax's Indispensible Haversack (Equipment Handbook)

Can't you just stick an enveloping pit inside the haversack and dramatically increase the storage capacity?
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Old 04-08-2010, 01:29 PM   Top  -  End  -  #26
Darrin
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Default Re: [3.x] Shax's Indispensible Haversack (Equipment Handbook)

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Originally Posted by Akal Saris View Post
Oruighen (Lords of Darkness): It's basically Mace. Make a melee touch attack to throw tiny pellets at your opponent to give -2 to attacks, saves, and skills. Very cheap at 20g! Similar to the Eggshell grenades et all.
I don't recall exactly why I didn't include this in the poisons, but probably because Eggshell Grenades blind so much better. Even Red Tidewater has a better save DC and... comparable duration? I can't recall exactly. Although the -2 penalty is very nice. I'll consider adding this.

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Originally Posted by Akal Saris View Post
Tanglepatch: Maybe I missed it, but this alchemical item from Races of Faerun creates a genuine nonmagical entangle spell for only 100g.
I think it was reprinted in the MIC for 200 GP, where it's now quite definitely magical. I'll take another look at this one.

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Originally Posted by Akal Saris View Post
Blister Oil (Races of Stone): an alchemical substance, but dirt cheap (5gp for 1-8 uses), and works as an injury poison to deal some damage (1d4?) and penalize Dex checks and reflex saves. Great for low-level alchemists, and doesn't carry the drawback of poisoning yourself if you mess up.
No damage, just a pain penalty, I think... and the save DC was low enough that I didn't consider it all that useful.

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Originally Posted by Akal Saris View Post
Stun Gas (Underdark): 40gp (6.6gp self-crafted). DC 12 inhaled poison, and stuns for 1/1d4 rounds. A dose can be stored in darts and presumably arrowheads. I think of it as a poor man's Dust of Sneezing & Choking.
I left out poisons for the most part because I already had Aboleth Mucus and the Chaos Flask. The Poison Handbook covers poisons pretty well already.

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Originally Posted by Akal Saris View Post
Sleep-Smoke (Waterdeep: City of Splendors): At 25g (4.16g self-crafted), this is a DC 15 inhaled poison that lasts 2 rounds - first in a 10ft globe, then in a 20ft globe! Both the primary and secondary effects are unconsciousness (1 min/1d3 mins). DC 15 to create - this is used by Waterdeep's town guard, I think.
I had a tough time with all the various sleep-based alchemical items... I just couldn't find one I liked that didn't have a really low save DC. Sleep smoke that lasts two rounds and expands to 20' sounds like you could run into trouble putting your allies to sleep.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Akal Saris View Post
Roach Paste (Drow of the Underdark): DC 12 Injury poison, but only 50g (so 8.32g to make), and causes nausea for 1 round. Great at low levels, and the components are from giant roaches, which is absolutely disgusting (but easy enough to find).
Not sure DC 12 is worth the bother.

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Originally Posted by Akal Saris View Post
Darkeye (Sharn, City of Towers)
50gp, Alchemy DC: 25. A toxic beverage: DC 12 ingested, paralysis/secondary damage 1 Con. However, if the victim fails his saving throw against the secondary damage, the paralysis continues and he must make another save after a minute has passed. This continues until the victim makes a successful saving throw.
During the period of paralysis, the victim is poised on the brink of life and death. Some victims see visions of their past, while others hear the voices of departed friends and family. The experience sensitizes the victim to the emanations of the beyond. For an hour after consuming darkeye, the victim gains +1 effective caster level when casting any sort of necromantic spell; this is increased to +5 when casting speak with dead. Darkeye is terribly bitter, and a full dose (2 ounces) is required to have any effect.
Again, save DC is too low... anything that could fail a save DC 12 and be convinced/tricked into ingesting this stuff, and you have to wait a minute to see if it paralyzes... chances are good anything that weak could be more effectively rendered motionless with a dab or so of blunt force trauma.
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Old 04-08-2010, 01:36 PM   Top  -  End  -  #27
Dusk Eclipse
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Default Re: [3.x] Shax's Indispensible Haversack (Equipment Handbook)

Just saying, I'm using a slightly modified versionof the first haversack on a pbp game, i'll tell yyou how it goes.
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Old 04-08-2010, 06:31 PM   Top  -  End  -  #28
Akal Saris
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Default Re: [3.x] Shax's Indispensible Haversack (Equipment Handbook)

Actually, the usefulness of dark-eye is in the visions and CL boost, not the low DC paralysis. But I generally agree with your critiques of the other suggested items - my view is that since they are dirt cheap, even if the save DC is low they have a sweet spot of 2nd-6th level where they are quite useful.

By the way, the sneaky use for Luhix (the overdose = death drug) is because it's delivered by injury, you use it as a poison. Two hits and you have a DC 25 save or die, and the guy's probably viciously addicted to the stuff even if he makes the save. It's too expensive to include in the haversack, but a cute use for it.
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Last edited by Akal Saris : 04-08-2010 at 06:32 PM.
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Old 04-08-2010, 07:49 PM   Top  -  End  -  #29
Glimbur
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Default Re: [3.x] Shax's Indispensible Haversack (Equipment Handbook)

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Originally Posted by TheMadLinguist View Post
Can't you just stick an enveloping pit inside the haversack and dramatically increase the storage capacity?
You'd lose the ability to draw anything you want as a move action from things that are in the pit. For some things that's acceptable, for some things when you need them you need them now.
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Old 04-23-2010, 09:58 PM   Top  -  End  -  #30
Darrin
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Default Re: [3.x] Shax's Indispensible Haversack (Equipment Handbook)

Quote:
Originally Posted by Akal Saris;8246616
Tanglepatch: Maybe I missed it, but this alchemical item from Races of Faerun creates a genuine nonmagical [I
entangle [/i]spell for only 100g.
Ok, I did look at this, and the Races of Faerun version is probably worth it. It's a magical item (not alchemical), thrown with a 20' range increment (so up to 100'), and lasts for 10 rounds.

Unfortunately, it was updated in MIC, which supercedes the RoF version. They doubled the price (200 GP), and halved the duration (5 rounds) and range (50' max). Since this is four times the price of what a 1st-level single-use item should cost (50 GP), I don't think I can recommend it for inclusion. I'd probably consider a Skull Talisman version first... but I haven't quite worked out an elegant way to break the skull at range.

Has anyone had a chance to use one of Shax's Haversacks in actual play?
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