D&D 3E/3.5 [3.5] - Hewards Handy Haversack to be toned down.

[Staffan]

I think this is an obvious result of lobbying by the Fearunian Potion Belt Maker's society.

Now only citizens of the Munchkin Realms will have quick access to magical elixrs.

I was kind of disappointed that Arms & Equipment guide did reprint some of the stupider things from splatbooks (like the Mercurial swords), but not the far more appropriate mundane equipment from FRCS, like potion belts and scroll organizers.

 

[Malin Genie]

No, "freely" meaning "for no cost" was the original intention, it just wasn't worded very well.

IIRC the designers had come out in favour of the "accepts freely |= costs nothing": as opposed to the FAQ.

I "freely" admit I could be wrong about this - do you have any direct information about it?

 

[Conaill]

Remember that it was a free Quickdraw for anything that wasn't pointy.

So where's the abuse?

The way I've used my HHH most often is to make a Move, pull out some alchemical preparation, and throw it. Does that sound abusive?

If they really wanted to restrict the blunt-weapon-quickdraw tactic, they could have specified the dimensions a little more, so Medium weapons don't fit. If someone wants to spend some money to be able to whip out a light mace, sap or set of nunchaku, I don't really have a probelm with that.

 

[JRRNeiklot]

Not provoking AoOs for rooting around in your stuff is pretty handy. I mean, if it's in a situation where it's that time critical and all.

And maybe - just maybe - they'll change 'retrieve a stored item' to something a little more realistic. (I defy anyone to go from backpack on their back to getting a specific something at the bottom in even 6 seconds, let alone 3.) I'm not holding my breath on this one, though.

J

Heh, if its a pack like the typical adventurer would have, it should be off limits for the duration of combat. I do some hiking, and other than maybe a water bottle in a side pocket, I can't get JACK out of my pack without taking the durn thing off.

 

[Malin Genie]

To retrieve the potion of healing deperately needed to stabilise the dying cleric frocing the character to spend a round taking the backpack off, a round rummaging, then a round to use ot - more realistic possibly, less fun definitely.

 

[GuardianLurker]

You know, I've always wondered what the fuss was about.

Sure, retrieving stuff was a free action if it was within reach. But you wear the thing on your back, and it isn't padded.

So...
Action 1: Lower HHH to ground in front of you carefully (MEA) - or - just drop it and risk breaking the fragiles (Free).
Action 2: Retrieve item from HHH as free action, provoking AoO - or - retrieve item from HHH while keeping your guard up (MEA)

As opposed to a normal backpack, where Action 2 is either a MEA or a Full-round Action.

 

[Hypersmurf]

But you wear the thing on your back, and it isn't padded.

It doesn't need to be padded. You're not dropping a bag full of items - you're dropping a portal to a non-dimensional space.

Moving the opening doesn't move the items inside.

-Hyp.

 

[Conaill]

But you wear the thing on your back, and it isn't padded.

And you don't carry it on your back either. A haversack is a bag with one strap, that you sling over your shoulder. KInda like a purse, but more manly It's as much within reach as, say, your belt pouch is.

Boy, you're batting two for two on this one.

 

[GuardianLurker]

Heh. Just working with different concepts, I guess.

I've always pictured the HHH as a magical version of the USArmy's rucksack/backpack, though it's apparently closer to the silly things I've been mentally calling one-strap backpacks that I've seen a lot of adolescent girls carry here in the DC Metro area.

The reason for that is that it's described as having multiple pockets on the outside. And the haversacks(?) I've seen the girls carrying are definitely worn on the back, and thus out of reach. In fact, if the haversack was worn like a purse, the openings would point towards the ground, not up. Much harder to access than a purse.

On the other hand, there's *ample* real-world justification for "purses of holding", I've just never pictured the HHH as such.

As for the extra-dimensional thing, I've always treated the exterior container as being the walls of the interior; any gross changes (like wringing a bag of holding like a towel, or stepping on a HHH) apply to the interior (and thus its contents) as well. In other words, they don't protect the contents any more than a normal container would, they just allow you to carry more.

Of course, I also return the contents to the game world instead of having them be permanently lost (under most conditions).

Shrug. It's never really been an issue in my games.

---- Edit -----

From the DMG:
Heward's Handy Haversack: A backpack of this sort....{snip}....and whatever it contains gain a +2 resistance bonus to all saving throws.

At least I'm not the only one to make those "mistakes".

 

[bret]

As already mentioned, the HHH is great for staying at light encumberance. The lightest Bag of Holding is 15 lbs, which is three times what the haversack weighs. Anyone with less than about a 13-14 Str is going to want the haversack instead.

As for the shape, I always imagined it to be like a sport bag or large camera case. A couple of pouches on the sides, and a central bag for most of the stuff. Not quite a carpet bag, but similiar.