Introduction
Adventuring gear is where a PF2e character sheet becomes a functioning person in the world. The equipment hub covers weapons, armor, runes, magic items, consumables, and source-book equipment. This guide is about the quieter pieces: toolkits, formula books, spellbooks, services, containers, exploration gear, transport, and the stuff that decides whether skills actually work outside the white room. For rewards that need to fit party level and long-term item priorities, use Magic Items by Level alongside this guide.
Player Core gives the baseline gear and toolkit expectations. GM Core adds treasure pacing, item access, services, settlements, downtime, hazards, and reward structure. Player Core 2 adds more characters whose class loops care about tools, formulas, shields, mobility, social support, and investigation gear. Treasure Vault Remaster, Guns & Gears Remastered, and Battlecry! expand the item universe, but the core lesson stays the same: buy gear for problems your table actually presents.
Adventuring gear is not boring. It is the part of the game that exposes players who think "trained in a skill" means "ready for the scene."
Rating Key
| Priority | Meaning |
|---|---|
| ● Core | Core table gear. Most parties should care. |
| ● Strong | Strong when the campaign or build supports it. |
| ● Situational | Situational, source-book dependent, or easy to overbuy. |
| ● Avoid | Usually poor as a default priority. |
Short Version
Buy the tools that unlock your actual actions before buying cute extras. If you use Medicine, carry healer's tools. If you handle locks, devices, or traps, carry thieves' tools for Thievery. If you repair shields, Craft, identify alchemy, or chase formulas, support Crafting. If you expect wilderness pressure, support Survival. If social performance is part of the character, support Performance.
Then solve logistics: light, rope, containers, camping supplies, writing materials, maps, repair options, transportation, hirelings, access to services, and backup plans for common campaign problems.
The joke is that no one gets excited about rope until the third time the party fails a climb and blames the dice.
Toolkit Rankings
| Toolkit Or Gear Category | Best Users | Why It Matters |
|---|---|---|
| ● Healer's tools | Medicine users, low-magic parties, every serious group | Treat Wounds and Medicine support are some of the best repeatable recovery tools in the game. |
| ● Thieves' tools | Rogues, Investigators, Scouts, trap handlers | Locks, devices, and trap-facing play often collapse without the right tool. |
| ● Repair kit | Shield users, Crafting characters, Champions, Guardians | Shields and damaged gear need maintenance, especially in defensive parties. |
| ● Formula book | Alchemists, Crafters, Inventors, item-focused parties | Formulas turn treasure and downtime into expanded options. |
| ● Spellbook | Wizards and spellbook-dependent builds | A spellbook is part of the character's daily preparation engine, not a diary with dramatic margins. |
| ● Light sources | Almost everyone | Darkness is a real obstacle unless the party has senses, spells, or mundane light covered. |
| ● Rope and climbing support | Explorers, wilderness groups, dungeon parties | Basic exploration gear keeps terrain from becoming a tax on the least athletic character. |
| ● Containers and carrying gear | Everyone carrying tools, treasure, ammo, or consumables | Bulk gets easier when gear has an actual storage plan. |
| ● Musical instrument or performance gear | Bards, Performers, social characters | Performance scenes and Earn Income work better when the kit matches the character. |
| ● Writing supplies, maps, and records | Investigators, Wizards, GMs, intrigue parties | Notes, evidence, formulas, letters, maps, and contracts are campaign leverage. |
| ● Lodging, hirelings, and transport | Travel campaigns, social campaigns, wealthy parties | Services become excellent when time, distance, settlement access, or reputation matters. |
| ● Highly specific specialty tools | Niche builds, specific adventures | Strong when forecasted, wasted when bought because a list looked impressive. |
Level 1 Priority Kit
Level 1 characters have limited coins, so the best purchases are the ones that stop common scenes from failing.
| Party Need | Recommended Gear | Who Should Carry It |
|---|---|---|
| Recovery | Healer's tools | The best Medicine character, plus a backup if possible. |
| Locks and devices | Thieves' tools | The Thievery specialist. |
| Shield and gear upkeep | Repair kit | The Crafting user, shield user, or armor-heavy character. |
| Darkness | Light source and spare light plan | Anyone without reliable darkvision or magical light. |
| Climbing and pits | Rope and basic exploration gear | The character with enough carrying capacity to not hate life. |
| Carrying loot | Sacks, backpacks, containers | Everyone, but especially Strength characters. |
| Records | Writing supplies | Wizard, Investigator, face, faction agent, or party treasurer. |
| Combat fallback | Backup weapon, ammunition, or consumable | Anyone with a narrow primary attack plan. |
If one player buys all of this and the rest buy dramatic hats, the party has not built a character group. It has built one competent adult and several witnesses.
Skill Tools
Medicine
Medicine is one of the most important skill investments in PF2e because it supports recovery, risk management, and long adventuring days. Healer's tools are the obvious purchase. The deeper question is who carries them, who has backup coverage, and whether the party is planning for time pressure.
Good Medicine gear habits:
- Keep healer's tools accessible, not buried under loot.
- Have a backup carrier when the primary healer is unavailable.
- Pair Medicine with consumables from the consumables guide so the party has both repeatable recovery and emergency buttons.
- In harsh campaigns, ask the GM early how disease, poison, fatigue, exploration time, and safe resting will be handled.
Thievery
Thievery is a gear skill first and a swagger skill second. If the party expects locks, devices, traps, restraints, sabotage, or infiltration, thieves' tools should be treated as core gear.
Thievery shines when paired with:
- Rogue class support for precise skill play.
- Investigator planning and clue-driven scenes.
- Stealth, Deception, and Society for intrigue campaigns.
- GM-side skill DC consistency so lock and hazard difficulty feels intentional.
If no one bought thieves' tools, the party did not merely forget. It made a content-access decision, so let that decision shape the adventure instead of treating it as a character-sheet typo.
Crafting
Crafting touches repair, formulas, alchemy identification, item work, downtime, and campaign logistics. A repair kit is especially important when the group uses shields heavily through Shield Block.
Crafting becomes more valuable when the campaign includes:
- Shield users who need repair between fights.
- Formula rewards and downtime projects.
- Scarce settlement access.
- Alchemical items, gadgets, firearms, or technology.
- A GM who treats treasure as a living part of the campaign instead of a vending machine.
Performance
Performance needs table buy-in. If the campaign includes audiences, patrons, reputation, rituals, social pressure, public duels, or Earn Income scenes, performance gear can matter. If the campaign is only closed-door dungeon crawling, the instrument may be mostly identity.
Bard is the obvious class link, but Swashbucklers, Oracles, and social Rogues can also make performance gear feel useful.
Survival
Survival wants actual travel context. Wilderness gear is excellent when weather, food, navigation, shelter, tracking, and terrain matter. It is wasted when the campaign fast-forwards every journey.
Use Survival gear with:
- Environment pressure from the GM side.
- Mounts, vehicles, and transport in long-distance play.
- Howl of the Wild campaigns focused on animal, wilderness, and nature-facing options.
- Containers and Bulk planning from the Bulk guide.
Formula Books, Spellbooks, And Records
PF2e books are not just props. They are option engines.
Formula Books
Formula books matter for characters who Craft, prepare alchemical items, or use item-based problem solving. They are especially important for Alchemist, but Inventors, Investigators, and Crafting-heavy parties also care.
Good formula rewards:
- Expand the party's answer set without handing out raw power immediately.
- Tell players what threats or campaign themes are coming.
- Give downtime a practical target.
- Make faction, guild, mentor, or settlement access meaningful.
The GM Core angle is important: treasure does not have to be only coins and weapons. Formulas, access, training, and services can be rewards if the campaign makes them actionable.
Spellbooks
Spellbooks are central for Wizards and relevant for any build that relies on written arcane preparation. They need protection, copying opportunities, and campaign respect. If the table tracks danger to possessions, be consistent. If the table does not want book-loss drama, say that in session zero and move on.
Spellbook-friendly links:
Notes, Maps, And Evidence
Writing supplies, documents, maps, sketches, ledgers, and records matter more in campaigns with investigation or politics. Society, Diplomacy, Deception, and GM social encounters all benefit when information has a physical form.
This is also where a GM can make low-cost gear feel powerful. A copied charter, a map annotation, or a signed letter can do more than another generic trinket.
Reclamation Expeditions And Lepidstadt Research
Lost Omens: Rival Academies gives this guide two useful reminders. The Academy of the Reclamation frames travel as recovery work in the Sarkoris Scar, where a party needs a route, a carrying plan, light, medical coverage, and a way to protect what it finds. The University of Lepidstadt turns research into equipment pressure: a toolkit can be the thing that lets a medical specialist use their training rather than an item bought for flavor.
| Decision | Pack Or Arrange | Why It Matters |
|---|---|---|
| Recover an object or sample from a dangerous route | Maps, light, rope, containers, and a shared Bulk plan | The expedition succeeds only if the party can reach the site, protect the find, and get it home. |
| Build around the Lepidstadt Surgeon | Healer's tools kept accessible, plus a free-hand plan | Several surgeon options require the toolkit. The lore archetypes guide covers the archetype's campaign fit; this page covers the kit discipline it demands. |
| Ask an unusually important Lore question | Dr. Ushernacht's Astonishing Ink and access to its linked engine | This uncommon ink is a five-question research consumable, takes 10 minutes per question, and stops working if its associated engine fails. It is strongest for a bounded, objective question, not advice during an encounter. |
| Need a Stasian device for an immediate problem | A specific option from the gadgets guide | Lepidstadt's distinct devices are consumables with tactical jobs. Choose one for the next known obstacle rather than treating this travel kit as a gadget catalog. |
The One-Hour Flower and Spiced Demonade from the Reclamation exhibit, as well as Astonishing Ink's full consumable role, belong in the consumables guide. Keep this page focused on the practical question: who carries the right kit, when is it ready, and what access does the expedition need before it leaves town?
Hot Take: Dr. Ushernacht's Astonishing Ink is better treated as a GM-delivered research privilege than a routine purchase. A working engine can answer a serious Lore question, but the 10-minute activation, engine dependency, and failed-check risk make it a preparation tool, not a panic button.
Services, Hirelings, Lodging, And Transport
Services are easy to ignore because they do not sit in the inventory like a shiny weapon. That is a mistake in campaigns where time, distance, reputation, or settlement access matters.
| Service Category | Best Campaign Use |
|---|---|
| ● Lodging and lifestyle | Social campaigns, downtime arcs, reputation, safety, recovery. |
| ● Transportation | Wilderness, city travel, naval play, war campaigns, long-distance missions. |
| ● Hirelings and specialists | Research, labor, scouting, translation, repair, crafting, and local knowledge. |
| ● Spellcasting services | Useful when the campaign allows access, but can flatten problems if treated as always available. |
| ● Crafting and repair services | Item-heavy parties, shield users, firearms, gadgets, and downtime campaigns. |
| ● Faction access | Lost Omens, guild, temple, military, or political campaigns. |
GM Core supports the idea that settlements, rewards, and access should shape play. A tiny settlement should not feel like a universal online store. A major city, guild hall, temple, or military camp can offer different gear without requiring a lore lecture every time someone wants a rope.
Campaign Packing Lists
Dungeon Campaign
Bring light, rope, thieves' tools, healer's tools, repair kit, containers, backup weapons, ammunition, consumables, and a way to identify or handle strange gear. Dungeon campaigns punish parties that forget the basics and then call it "old-school charm."
Best links:
Wilderness Campaign
Bring travel supplies, survival gear, weather answers, climbing support, containers, navigation tools, animal or mount planning, and repair options. If the GM uses weather, terrain, disease, poison, food, or distance, this gear stops exploration from becoming a sequence of sad Constitution checks.
Pack for glare, not just cold or heat
An arctic snowfield or desert route can turn reflected sunlight into its own travel problem. When the GM has established that glare matters, sun goggles are a sensible specialized addition to the terrain kit. They are not a default purchase and they do not solve every sight-based threat; they answer one known route condition.
Use the Survival guide to decide who handles route-finding, shelter, water, and broader heat or cold preparation. Check the Environment guide with the GM to understand how visibility, weather, and terrain will pressure the party before treating eye protection as required gear.
Best links:
Intrigue Campaign
Bring clothing appropriate to the scene, writing supplies, disguises if supported, documents, forgery tools if allowed, social proof, gifts, bribe money, subtle magic, and escape tools. Intrigue gear should support Diplomacy, Deception, Society, and Performance.
Best links:
War Campaign
Bring repair support, banners or battlefield equipment if using Battlecry!, transport plans, medical logistics, signal tools, siege support, ammunition, defensive gear, and morale-facing rewards. War play makes equipment communal. The question is not just "what do I own?" It is "what does the unit need?"
Best links:
Technology Campaign
Bring repair tools, ammunition planning, formulas, gadgets, firearms support, containers, and a GM agreement about access. Guns & Gears Remastered works best when technology has a place in the setting instead of appearing randomly because someone found a cool table.
Best links:
Class Gear Pressure
| Class | Gear Pressure | Practical Advice |
|---|---|---|
| Alchemist | Formula book, alchemist tools, consumables, carrying capacity | Formulas are part of the class's actual option economy. Treat them as priority rewards and purchases. |
| Champion | Armor, shield, repair, holy symbol or deity-facing gear | The shield and repair loop matters if the character blocks regularly. |
| Cleric | Healer's tools, religious gear, scrolls, staff or wand support | Divine magic does not replace mundane Medicine and logistics. It supports them. |
| Gunslinger | Firearms, ammunition, cleaning and repair logic, reload support | A firearm build without access and maintenance planning is just a dramatic noise complaint. |
| Inventor | Crafting kit, repair tools, gadgets, technology access | The class loves equipment, but the GM needs to define campaign tech access clearly. |
| Investigator | Tools, records, social gear, consumables, specialty kits | Investigators turn preparation into action. Gear should make clues actionable. |
| Rogue | Thieves' tools, stealth support, finesse or agile weapons, backups | The toolkit is often as important as the weapon. |
| Wizard | Spellbook, writing supplies, scrolls, staff, wand, defensive items | Protect the book, expand the book, and use item magic to stretch slots. |
| Witch | Familiar logistics, spell items, occult or tradition support | The Witch can look low-gear until the table remembers scrolls, wands, and utility items exist. |
Hand Economy And Bulk
PF2e gear has two quiet constraints: hands and Bulk. Both matter more than new players expect.
Hand economy questions:
- Can you hold a weapon and shield while using the item?
- Do you need a free hand for a toolkit, potion, scroll, wand, firearm reload, or Athletics maneuver?
- Are you relying on a torch while also holding two other things?
- Does the item need to be drawn in combat, or can it be prepared before danger starts?
Bulk questions:
- Is the strong character carrying shared tools, or is everyone overloaded equally for no reason?
- Are containers doing real work?
- Can the party haul treasure out without abandoning supplies?
- Do firearms, shields, armor, toolkits, and consumables push someone into encumbrance?
"I have it somewhere" is not an action plan. Decide what is accessible before the encounter, then let the rest stay packed.
GM Core Access And Treasure
GM Core treasure guidance matters for mundane gear because access is a reward lever. A formula, specialist, repair shop, temple service, guild contact, mount, wagon, map, or safe lodging can change the party's options without adding a bigger sword.
Good GM uses for adventuring gear:
- Put formulas and tool access in treasure when a player invested in Crafting or alchemy.
- Reward shield-heavy parties with repair opportunities and sturdy defensive options.
- Let settlements have personality through what services they provide.
- Use scarcity to create choices, not to shut down obvious character concepts.
- Give mundane answers before punishing the party for lacking them.
If the party needs a rare service, make it a scene: a favor, a price, a faction contact, a downtime project, or a lead into the next adventure. That is better than saying "no" and watching everyone stare at their sheets.
Expanded Book Notes
Treasure Vault Remaster
Treasure Vault makes gear more interesting by expanding item categories, alchemy, Crafting support, and treasure texture. For this guide, the important lesson is not "buy everything." It is "use the wider item list to reward specific play." A formula for the Alchemist, a useful toolkit upgrade, or a weird consumable for the Investigator can be better than generic coin.
Guns & Gears Remastered
Guns & Gears makes maintenance, ammunition, reload, technology access, and Crafting support more visible. Firearms and gadgets should come with campaign clarity: where can characters buy them, repair them, learn formulas, and get ammunition?
Battlecry!
Battlecry pushes equipment toward battlefield logistics. Banners, whetstones, siege gear, vehicles, and war support are best when the campaign has objectives bigger than one room. The more the table uses formations, travel, morale, and fortifications, the more mundane gear matters.
Common Mistakes
Mistake 1: Buying Tools After The First Failure
If you wait until after the trapped door, disease outbreak, broken shield, or locked gate to buy the kit, the lesson was expensive. Buy for the job your character claims to do.
Mistake 2: Treating Services As Cheating
Hiring help, paying for lodging, getting transport, or finding a specialist is not cheating. It is how worlds function. GM Core supports rewards and access as part of campaign play.
Mistake 3: Overbuying Niche Gear
Prepared is good. Dragging a garage sale through every dungeon is not. Buy likely answers, then adjust after the campaign shows its pattern.
Mistake 4: Ignoring The Party Kit
Not every character needs every tool. The party should coordinate healer's tools, thieves' tools, repair kit, light, rope, formulas, and carrying capacity. Four duplicate kits and zero rope is technically a choice.
Mistake 5: Forgetting Mundane Gear At Higher Levels
Magic does not make logistics vanish. Higher-level characters still need light answers, repair access, transport, records, tools, and ways to carry the loot they keep insisting is important.
Best Follow-Up Guides
- PF2e Equipment Guide: the hub for every equipment article.
- Bulk And Carrying Capacity: the gear plan's reality check.
- Consumables: emergency answers and fight-specific tools.
- Alchemical Items: formulas, bombs, elixirs, poisons, and prepared utility.
- Shields And Shield Block: repair and defensive gear pressure.
- Staves And Wands: caster item logistics.
- Crafting: formulas, repair, item work, and downtime.
- Medicine: healer's tools and recovery planning.
- Thievery: thieves' tools, devices, locks, and trap play.
- GM Treasure By Level: how rewards should support party needs.
Final Take
Adventuring gear is the difference between "my character concept is good" and "my character concept brought the necessary supplies." PF2e rewards the second one.
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