Just a heads-up: as we continue developing Vrahode as a game system, the Items Deck will continue to change. So some of this may be out of date by the time you read it!
In the Vrahode Game System, you are going to interact with the Items Deck more than any other. When heroes first start a game, their starting gear comes from the Items Deck. As they embark on their journey and find items in the Overlands and Underlands, they come from this deck.
The Items Deck is the glue that holds together the world of Vrahode. It provides a wide range of consumable, variably consumable, utility, and even heavy items. Don’t discount the benefit of drawing from this deck even if the items aren’t all exciting. They will provide the basics that keep the adventurers alive!
Other than the heroes’ starting gear, items are drawn at random from the Items Deck, discovered in the process of a hero or group’s adventuring.
Types Of Items In The Item Deck
Consumable Items: These are the items that you use once and then discard. They include things like food and bandages.
Variably Consumable Items: These are items that have a variable number of uses based on a die roll. As long as the die roll is successful, you may put these items back into your inventory and use again later. Variably consumable items include things like torches, lock picks, wound kits, healing waters, etc. As long as there is some left of an item, it can even be sold for full price! BONUS!
Utility Items: There are a lot of utility items in the items deck that serve valuable purposes for adventurers in their travels. Most of them may be used indefinitely as long as they remain in your inventory. These items include rope, instruments, lanterns, weapons, armor, bed rolls, etc.
Heavy Items: These are the massive weapons and armor that some hero types use to survive epic battles. Though most weapons and armor are not considered heavy, the really massive stuff is. If a heavy item is not equipped on your hero, you are only allowed to carry one in your pack or travel would be impractical. Other than the one (unequipped) heavy item rule, a hero may equip as many heavy weapons and armor as they can use (based on racial and role restrictions).
Limits To Items
Heroes may carry up to ten non-heavy items that are not equipped in their pack as well as one heavy item. There are two slots on the Hero Dashboard for items. Unequipped or general inventory items go in the slot on the top left of the dashboard above where you track your stats. Equipped items go in the slot at the top right of the dashboard above the Skill Card slots. This helps heroes keep track of what is and is not equipped. A torch in hand is considered equipped. A weapon not currently being used in not equipped.
The Special Items Deck
In addition to the Items Deck there is a Special Items Deck. The Special Items Deck, instead of being randomly drawn from as the Items Deck is, is a curated deck. That means when you get a card from the Special Items Deck, you will be told which specific card to find and place in your inventory. Most items from the Special Items Deck result from questing and getting a reward as part of that quest. The balance of random and curated items makes the experience of playing in the Vrahode Game System exciting and different each time you play!