Everyone leaves something behind when they move home. An object, a mark, a memory. Civilisations leave their ruins, and even stars have remnants. But what of Realities? What echo of existence can be left when the fabric on which it painted comes undone, the unraveled fibers unmade once more into the great nothingness?
Adventures in encumbrance continue! Now that we have a high-level framework, we can begin adding details of subsystems. We are going to start by detailing the rules for the Pouch: the things the PCs carry that have no mechanical relevance, and no encumbrance cost.
Rules & Fiction: the False-ish Dichotomy
TTRPGs exist in a hybrid space between pure fictions, and pure games. In fiction, characters can do whatever the author want, and succeed or fail at the convenience of the plot. In a game, only the rules matter: while you can pretend to be a capitalist, an anarchist, or a hat, the rules of Monopoly do not care. TTRPGs blur this distinction. Sometimes characters can just do stuff because it makes sense in the fiction, while other times they are bound by rules.
Most of the time, it is convenient — necessary, even — to separate these ideas. In 5e, the rules for combat create an intricate tactical game only because the rules (almost) always apply. If PC could just take extra turns with a quick narrative explanation, abilities like Action Surge would lose value, and any illusion of challenge would falter. The game would also be impossible if fiction was not protected from rules — imagine needing an Acrobatics check to climb each step of a staircase, or complete other mundane tasks.
But.
TTRPGs are not merely two separate games existing in isolation. The fiction is bound to the mechanics, and the mechanics to the fiction. Leveling up provides mechanical improvements, but also adds to the story as the characters grow more powerful. Researching a monster reveals lore details that also help strategise mechanics. Much of the appeal is in the blending of these components.
The Pouch exists in that space. It lets items be useful in the narrative even if they do not have explicit mechanics, while also ensuring the fiction is protected from undue restraints due to available items. It is fuel to both, but bound by neither.
“What Have I Got In My Pocket?”
How can we fill the PCs’ pockets with useful stuff that does not do anything? Simple: be inspiring. The Pouch is for items that add flavour, and inspires approaches the PCs could take — two tasks that easily merge. Flavourful items that help put players into the mindset of their PCs will also help them think about problems in new ways. They help support creativity.
Kit
The first — and main — Pouch item is Kit. This is a fairly abstract collection of stuff that is loosely “the kind of things adventurers have.” It could include things like rope, knives, and tents. The issue with this definition is that “some stuff” is neither flavorful nor inspiring. The solution is to add more detailed descriptions to kits, allowing some customisation. Mechanically, this changes nothing, but this stuff is about more than just mechanics.
I use six kits in my home game — one for each of the available (homebrew) backgrounds. The limited options means I have a manageable amount of work to do, and will avoid the drop in choice satisfaction associated with increasing available options. I will go into more details of that last psychology point in a future article. For now, be content with these kits.
In addition to a title, kits need details of some of their contents. As this is for adding flavour, it is the very definition of flavour text. We can lean into that with the descriptions. The following are descriptions for what these kits contain in addition to “basic adventuring gear.”
Soldier’s Kit
Standard-issue crowbar; standard-issue block and tackle; whetstone (broken); whetstone (replacement); knives, pliers, and scraps for armour maintenance; booze of unspecified origin and quality. Kit is stored precisely in a standard-issue pack, marked with the mercenary’s former company and rank.
Forester’s Kit
Distributed carefully for ease of carrying and access are the forester’s trap-making twine and wire; lures; tinderbox; and the game, berries, and other fresh bounty of nature from their continual foraging. A well-crafted, dependable utility knife hangs from the belt.
Thief’s Kit
Spread around an undisclosed number of hidden pockets are the thief’s lockpicks; a wire saw; several sacks for loot; loaded dice; marked cards; a tub of grease; caltrops; several candles; chalk; a collection of small, but effective, knives; and a handful of knock-off jewelry.
Entertainer’s Kit
Colourful accessories, carefully selected makeup, and versatile costume pieces make up the entertainer’s wardrobe — all with plenty of pockets so as to be ready to go as soon as they overstay their welcome. Easily at hand are the reagents for fire-eating and pyrotechnics, and a few props for sleight of hand and flourishes of the dramatic variety.
Scholar’s Kit
Carefully stored to protect them are a selection of inks and quills; several parchment sheets; carefully recorded notes; a scroll case; and the small pots, vials, and supplied for making new inks in the wild.
Mystic’s Kit
A sharp pair of secateurs ready for harvesting; a mortar and pestle ready for mixing; vials and jars for storing; moss for soothing; bark for tea; herbs for healing. The wand is for appearances more than anything else.
Junk
Junk is an addition from playtesting — I made the grievous error of ignoring player tendencies in my first draft, so have added this correction before sharing. No matter what, players always pick up random stuff and want to keep it. This is the stuff I have labeled Junk, and put in the Pouch. It has no encumbrance cost, so horders and collectors are not punished, but it gives no bonus, so other kinds of player are not penalised. A PC can carry as much Junk as they like, and use it for flavour or to spark ideas, but it will not cause unanticipated power growth, and spares the DM needing to create mechanics for every salvaged poisoned needle or harvested monster parts.
Try Me?
We have the first gear subsystem. Conveniently, it is very modular — this kind of Kit could be used along side any other inventory system. The mechanics are very simple (by virtue of not existing), so it is easy to explain. So, why not try it out? Give your players some Kit, and let me know what crazy creative solutions it leads to.