14. Pack space and gear
The contents of your pack are of central importance while adventuring. Do you have enough food to eat or are you starving and staring wild-eyed at your companions? Do you have enough rope to pull yourself out of the body-strewn pit trap? Do you have enough candles to hold back the encircling dark?
Tracking the bulk and size of items—represented by slots—is more important than tracking an item’s weight.
Most items take up 1 slot.
Can you hold the item in one hand? If so, it takes up 1 slot.
Anything that you have to hold in two hands takes up 2 slots.
Some things are so bulky that they are oversized. Oversized items take up 2 slots and can only be carried on your belt.
Worn armor is like oversized items because it is carried in your belt slots. Heavier armor takes up more belt slots; see Armor for details.
Some items can be stacked—the whole group of items takes up one slot.
The amount of items in a stack varies; see the description of the item for full details. For example, arrows fit 12 to a slot.
Use your adventurer sheet to track where you’re carrying your items. You have four slots to carry items on your belt, twenty-one slots in your pack, and (of course) your two hands. If you put your shield on your back (represented by putting it on your belt) and pull your lantern out of your pack, update your adventurer sheet to reflect this.
During Challenges, it’s easier to get things off of your belt (see Pull Item from Belt) than out of your pack (see Pull Item from Pack).
One of the things you track in your supply resources is your light source—see pages 94‑95 for rules on light and flickers. Note which hand you’re carrying it in.
The adventurer sheet also contains circles so that you can track your gear’s durability. When an item’s durability is compromised, it suffers a Notch.
Fragile items break after 1 Notch.
Items intended for durability break after 2.
Items made of tempered steel can suffer 3.
Notched items can be repaired with a tinker's kit or in the City.
A list of adventuring items is provided in An incomplete list of pretty things.