Gear, Bulk, and Runes

You start with 15 gp. Coins run 10 copper to a silver, 10 silver to a gold, 10 gold to a platinum. Beyond that, gear in this game is a progression system wearing a shopping list, and 770 equipment records are waiting under Equipment/. The rules are in @Missing file and @Missing file.

Bulk

Every item has Bulk: a number, L for light, or negligible. Ten L make 1 Bulk.

• You are encumbered over 5 + Strength Bulk: clumsy 1 and −10 feet of Speed.
• Your hard cap is 10 + Strength.

The sheet computes what you're carrying and tells you when you've crossed the line. Armor is the usual culprit — @Missing file is 4 Bulk before you've packed a rope.

Armor and shields

Armor gives an item bonus to AC and a Dex cap that limits how much of your Dexterity counts. Heavy armor also brings a check penalty and a speed penalty unless you meet its Strength requirement. That is the trade: @Missing file beats @Missing file-and-leather on raw AC and costs you skill checks and legs.

A shield does nothing until you spend an action on @Missing file. Then it adds its circumstance bonus to AC until your next turn. Shield Block, if you have it, spends your reaction to eat damage with the shield's Hardness — and shields break.

Fundamental runes

This is the part that surprises people coming from other d20 games. Martial progression is not in your class; it is etched on your gear:

• Weapon potency (+1/+2/+3) — item bonus to your attack rolls, expected around levels 2, 10, and 16.
• Striking (striking / greater / major) — 2, 3, then 4 weapon damage dice, around levels 4, 12, and 19.
• Armor potency (+1/+2/+3) — item bonus to AC, around levels 5, 11, and 18.
• Resilient (+1/+2/+3) — item bonus to all three saves, around levels 8, 14, and 20.

Put those on a @Missing file and the sheet reads all four automatically into your attack, damage, AC, and saves. Falling behind the rune curve is the single most common reason a character stops keeping up.

Property runes and investiture

A weapon or armor holds property runes up to its potency value — flaming, frost, ghost touch, shadow. A crafter can move runes between items for about 10% of the rune's price.

Worn magic items are usually invested, meaning they only work if you invest them at daily preparations, and you can invest at most 10. Items sitting in your pack are carried, not active — move one to your invested list, or equip it, and its bonuses switch on.