Equipment
Making do with what the big world leaves behind
Life as a tiny adventurer means making do with what the big world leaves behind. Small folk craft their equipment from natural materials and human refuse, transforming the mundane into the remarkable. A sewing needle becomes a rapier; a wine cork becomes armour; a firefly becomes a lantern.
Weapons & Tools
| Weapon | Damage | Range | Special |
|---|---|---|---|
| Needle Rapier | 1d6 + DEX | Melee | Finesse; light and precise |
| Safety Pin Spear | 1d6 + STR | Melee (Reach) | Reach 2 spaces; can be thrown |
| Glass Shard Dagger | 1d4 + STR/DEX | Melee | On a critical: deals extra 1d4 and may shatter |
| Thorn Bow | 1d6 + DEX | Range 8 | Ammo: thorns or toothpick slivers |
| Rubber Band Slingshot | 1d4 + DEX | Range 6 | Cheap and common; can fire odd projectiles |
Needle Rapier — A sewing needle fitted with a wrapped thread or leather handle. Light and precise — the most common small folk melee weapon among those who favour DEX over brute strength.
Safety Pin Spear — A safety pin with its point sharpened and loop end attached to a stick for reach. Functions as a spear (Reach 2, can be thrown). The loop can be used as a handhold for climbing.
Glass Shard Dagger — A dagger fashioned from a sharp broken glass piece set in a wood or cork handle. Crude but deadly. On a critical hit, roll an additional 1d4 — but there's a chance the shard shatters (GM discretion), leaving you with a shorter, broken weapon.
Thorn Bow — A tiny bow made from a bent twig and spider-silk string, firing thorns or toothpick slivers as arrows. Ammunition is easy to find in gardens.
Rubber Band Slingshot — The classic small folk ranged weapon. Cheap to make, easy to conceal, can fire almost anything: pebbles, berries, acorn caps, broken glass. Less damage, more versatility.
Spider-Silk Rope & Grapple — A length of braided spider silk with a bent nail or hook on the end. Essential for any adventurer — allows climbing walls, swinging across gaps, rappelling from heights, and tying things down. Not a weapon, but a lifesaver.
Firefly Lantern — A jar or little cage containing one or more fireflies or glow-worms. Illuminates about a 4-space radius in gentle yellow-green light. Fireflies can be released as a distraction or to confuse insects. Lantern can be shuttered to cut off the light instantly.
Armour & Clothing
| Armour | Type | Effect | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Acorn Cap Helmet | Light | +1 vs. head blows | Turns one mortal blow into a merely painful one (GM discretion) |
| Leaf Scale Armour | Light | Light armour | Flexible; +1 Boon on stealth compared to heavier options |
| Cork Padding | Medium | Medium armour | Buoyant; provides advantage on saves vs. falling |
| Metal Scrap Plate | Heavy | Heavy armour | Rare; worth significant trade value |
| Spider Silk Cloak | — | Light cover | +1 Boon to stealth; strong as leather |
| Beetle Shell Shield | Shield | +1 armour | Lightweight; effective against slashing and piercing |
| Button Buckler | Shield | +1 armour | Small and sturdy; easy to hide |
Acorn Cap Helmet — The halved shell of an acorn worn as a cap. Doesn't add a lot of protection, but once per encounter it can turn what would have been a mortal blow into a mere staggering one (at GM's discretion).
Leaf Scale Armour — Overlapping hardened leaves (holly, magnolia) sewn onto a vest. Light armour that retains flexibility. You can still move quickly and stealthily in it.
Cork Padding — Armour made from wine bottle cork slices layered under cloth. Buoyant and shock-absorbing. Treated as Medium armour, and grants a +1 Boon on saves against falling damage (the cork cushions impacts).
Metal Scrap Plate — Small pieces of metal (tin can shards, coin hammered flat) linked together over vital areas. True metal armour is rare due to weight and the difficulty of working metal at small folk scale. Worth significant trade value. Heavy armour.
Miscellaneous Gear
Thimble Kettle & Cup — A thimble used as a kettle or cup to brew potions and teas. Having a proper container to brew in on the go allows a healer to prepare potions faster (halves the time to brew simple remedies).
Foil Mirror — A small piece of reflective foil. Useful for communication (signalling), checking around corners, or dazzling creatures with reflected light in sunlit areas.
Bee's-Wax Earplugs — Tiny lumps of wax to block sound. Used when small folk know a loud noise is coming (alarm clock, vacuum cleaner, Thunderclap spell). While wearing them, gain immunity to Deafened from noise sources, but suffer −1 Bane on hearing-based perception.
Charcoal & Chalk Pieces — For writing or marking surfaces. Adventurers mark safe paths or dangers in code on walls. A small chalk mark near a mousetrap can save a life.
Snail Slime Gel — Collected snail slime stored in a tiny capped leaf or jar. Acts as a strong adhesive when dried, a lubricant when wet, and can soothe minor burns and irritations. Useful for:
- Sealing cracks (adhesive)
- Making a surface slippery for enemies (movement Bane)
- Treating the Burned condition (removes 1 round of burn damage)
Candlewick Rope — A length of old candle wick. Serves as fuse or slow-burn cord. Small folk sometimes rig fire traps using matches and candle wick; a single length can serve as a precise delayed fuse.
Pebble Tools — A set of flat pebbles or bits of graphite used as tools — hammer, pestle, etc. Particularly useful as a mortar and pestle for preparing medicines, pigments, and alchemical components.
Carrying capacity
At Small Folk scale, everything is relative. A hero can comfortably carry:
- Weapons: 2 weapons (1 melee, 1 ranged) plus small backup
- Armour: What they're wearing
- Pack: A small pack holding up to 10 significant items
For very heavy items (a copper coin, a thimble full of water) impose STR tests for extended carrying. The GM should use common sense — a small folk carrying a matchstick is easy; carrying a penny is a workout.