So the other day I found the NYPL's online store. This was both a great and terrible thing; I was previously unaware of how many tote bags I needed from them. And then I found the travel pen set, and I realized that I could totally be assembling my basic Dungeons & Dragons equipment kit (non-weapons and armor, although I could probably come pretty close to those just at Walmart).
So what's my standard kit entail? This list is based off the last character I played that had better than an 8 Strength (which is what my current sorcerer has, and it's severely pared down for her). Since D&D doesn't generally include utility knives, I usually substitute in a dagger. Overall this list runs 58g, 6s, 3c, and weighs 70.2 lb.
I frequently am the log-keeper for our group, so I tend to give my character the materials to do so (writing implements, etc.). This is true even when the character is a sword-and-board fighter, as was the one this one is based on.
For the real-life equivalents (or approximates), I looked at L.L. Bean, Walmart, Home Depot, Hannaford (the grocery we most frequently use), Jo-Ann, Michael's, and Staples. A few of those can probably be consolidated into Walmart depending how big it is. Amazon was helpful for weights when the other stores didn't list them.
I frequently am the log-keeper for our group, so I tend to give my character the materials to do so (writing implements, etc.). This is true even when the character is a sword-and-board fighter, as was the one this one is based on.
For the real-life equivalents (or approximates), I looked at L.L. Bean, Walmart, Home Depot, Hannaford (the grocery we most frequently use), Jo-Ann, Michael's, and Staples. A few of those can probably be consolidated into Walmart depending how big it is. Amazon was helpful for weights when the other stores didn't list them.
| Game Item | Real-Life Item | Cost | Store | |
| Backpack | White Mountain Pack | $199 | LL Bean | |
| Abacus | TI 36x solar calculator | $20 | Walmart | |
| Animal glue | Elmer's Glue-All | $3 | Walmart | |
| Canteen | Nalgene 16 oz bottle | $10 | LL Bean | |
| Coffee pot | Stainless Steel Percolator | $30 | LL Bean | |
| Crowbar | 24" ripping bar | $10 | Home Depot | |
| Fishing kit | First cast outfit | $40 | LL Bean | |
| Deluxe Fly Selection, Eastern | $49 | LL Bean | ||
| Grappling hook | Folding Grapnel | $11 | Walmart | |
| Honey (jar) | Honey | $4 | Hannaford | |
| Mess kit | Sea to Summit Camp Set | $30 | LL Bean | |
| Poncho | Coleman Adult EVA Poncho | $8 | Walmart | |
| Silk rope (50 ft.) | 3/8 inch braided poly rope (100 ft) | $9 | Home Depot | |
| Skillet | Lodge 8" skillet | $11 | Walmart | |
| String (50 ft) | #18 Twisted Mason Line (250 ft.) | $3 | Home Depot | |
| Thread (50 ft.) | All Purpose Thread (225 yd.) | $3 | Jo-Ann | |
| Waterskin | Osprey Hydraulics Reservoir | $34 | LL Bean | |
| Whetstone | Pocket Stone | $7 | Home Depot | |
| Pouch, belt | Utility belt pouch | $5 | Walmart | |
| Flint & steel | Single Flint Striker with Flints | $5 | Home Depot | |
| Hip flask | Stainless Steel Flask | $5 | Walmart | |
| Magnet | 3/4 in. Magnet Discs (3 pack) | $4 | Home Depot | |
| Sewing needle | Hand needles size 2 (12 pack) | $4 | Jo-Ann | |
| Waterproof bag | Ultra-Sil Compression Sack | $30 | LL Bean | |
| Candle, 5 | Citronella Tealights, 25 pack | $4 | Walmart | |
| Chalk (5) | Crayola white chalk, 12 pack | $1 | Home Depot | |
| Coffee, ground (5 lb) | Medium Roast Ground Coffee | $9 | Walmart | |
| Ink | Acrylic Calligraphy Ink | $6 | Michael's | |
| Inkpen | Manuscript Calligraphy Pen Set | $11 | Michael's | |
| Journal | Journal, Black Leather, 5-1/2" x 8" | $15 | Staples | |
| Powdered milk | Carnation Instant Dry Milk | $5 | Hannaford | |
| Scrivener's kit | 33 Piece Calligraphy Pen Set | $16 | Staples | |
| Soap | Ivory Simply Original Bar Soap | $3 | Hannaford | |
| Trail rations | Fruit & Nut Trail Mix | $12 | Hannaford | |
| Bedroll | Camp Sleeping Bag | $70 | LL Bean | |
| Shovel | Shovel | $10 | Home Depot | |
| Dagger | Folding Knife | $15 | Home Depot |
Real-life totals: $711 and about 43 lbs.
Weirdly enough, in real life, the hiking backpack becomes the most expensive piece. It could probably be downgraded to an $80 one, but not without losing the capacity needed to carry gear for multiple days. This gear set didn't even include a tent of some sort - probably desirable for most outdoor treks over multiple days. The basic two-person tent at L.L. Bean runs $170 and weighs 7 lbs. The game equivalent is 10g and 20 lb.
The tealights are probably the worst candle you can get as a light source; in-game candles only last an hour, so I went with the real-life equivalent. Basic ones seem to most frequently come in mass quantity. Since this character had darkvision, a light-source was extraneous; a lantern and lamp oil would normally be necessary for any extended travel in the dark. That runs 7g and 2 lb. for the standard hooded lantern, and lamp oil is 1s for a 1 lb. flask that burns for 6 hours. For the real-life equivalent, I'd probably go with a $7 floating waterproof LED flashlight that lasts 20 hours on 3 AA batteries from Walmart.
Another thing I'd probably look at for a standard kit is a hatchet; this is a basic item that RPG equipment lists frequently lack, but a 6g/3 lb. handaxe is probably close enough. A Fiskers 14" hatchet from Home Depot runs about $26 and weighs 1.3 lb.
Looking over the list, substituting equivalent items, I've got... pretty much everything but the percolator, whetstone, grappling hook, sleeping bag, tent, hatchet, and that much trail mix. So while I'm not set up for actual camping or survival, I'm pretty well set for RPG-style adventuring.
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