Equipment & Slots

Purpose

This document defines the equipment system in TDGS: how entities wear, wield, and carry items.

It establishes:

• Canonical slot types
• Equipped vs Carried distinction
• Item structure requirements
• Carrying capacity
• Slot management rules

This document builds upon Document 9 (Entities) and Document 11 (Races). Races define what slots an entity has. This document defines how those slots work.

Measurement Units

TDGS uses abstract units. The engine calculates in units and is agnostic to measurement systems.

This allows the same rules to work for any setting without conversion. Content creators choose the scale that fits their world.

Slot Types

Slots represent where equipment can be worn or wielded. TDGS defines 14 canonical slot types.

Content MAY add additional slot types for exotic creatures or settings (Wings, Horns, Tentacle, etc.), but these 14 form the canonical base.

"Fourteen places to hang your hopes. The system doesn't assume symmetry - it assumes variety. Four arms? Covered. No legs? Covered. A tail that grips? Covered. The slots are patient. They'll wait for whatever walks through your door."

Racial Slots

Each race defines its own complete slot list. There is no universal baseline - each race specifies exactly what slots it has.

Example - Human

Example - Centaur

Example - Serpentfolk

Rule: If a slot type is not listed in a race's definition, that race has 0 of that slot.

Equipped vs Carried

Every item an entity possesses is either Equipped or Carried.

Only Equipped items grant their mechanical effects - stat bonuses, abilities, absorption, damage bonuses. Carried items exist for narrative, trading, and future use.

Example

Only the Longsword, Chainmail, and Ring provide benefits. Everything else is just inventory.

"When the charge comes and everything hangs on the next swing, will you reach for the blade in your hand or fumble through your pack? Heroes don't rummage. Heroes act."

Item Structure

Every item in TDGS follows a consistent structure.

Required Fields

Required If Equippable

Optional Fields

Slot Cost

Items define which slots they require and how many.

Rule: Entity must have ALL required slots available to equip an item.

A Human with Hand: 2 cannot equip a weapon requiring Hand: 4. A four-armed creature with Hand: 4 can.

Some items span multiple slot types. Full Plate requires Torso AND Arms AND Legs. All must be available.

"THE MATH IS SIMPLE. THE ITEM SAYS WHAT IT NEEDS. YOU HAVE IT OR YOU DON'T. A GIANT'S GAUNTLET DOESN'T CARE ABOUT YOUR AMBITIONS. IT CARES ABOUT THE SIZE OF YOUR HAND."

Slot Changes

Managing equipped items during play.

Swap: Replaces an equipped item with a new one in a single Action. The replaced item goes to Carried (not dropped) unless the player chooses to drop it.

Quick Swap: Some class abilities or item traits grant the ability to swap equipment as a Free action.

Design Note

"One motion. Old blade stowed, new blade drawn. Smooth as rolling. Hesitate for two beats while the ogre winds up? That's not tactics. That's a death wish."

Carrying Capacity

How much an entity can carry (Equipped + Carried combined).

Formula

Example: A Medium creature with STR 10 can carry 100 WU.

Containers

Containers (backpacks, bags, pouches) add to carrying capacity while equipped.

Encumbered

If total weight exceeds carrying capacity, the entity is Encumbered.

Effect: Cannot take the Move action.

This is a simple binary rule. Content MAY define more granular penalties (half speed, stat penalties, etc.) but the engine only mandates: over capacity = no Move.

Slot Loss

When an entity loses a slot (arm severed, hand destroyed, etc.):

• Items equipped in that slot are immediately unequipped (go to Carried)
• The entity cannot equip items requiring that slot until the slot is restored

Example: A character loses their left arm. Items equipped in that Arm slot and Hand slot go to Carried. They cannot equip two-handed weapons (Hand: 2) until the arm is restored.

Restoration methods (healing magic, prosthetics, etc.) are content concerns.

Content Layer Extensions

The engine provides the framework. Content extends it.

Cursed Items: The engine does not define a "Locked" property. Content MAY create abilities or traits that prevent unequipping (e.g., Trait "Cursed" - cannot be unequipped by normal means).

Attunement: Item bonding mechanics are not engine-level. Future extensions or content may add attunement systems.

Inventory Limits: Beyond weight, some settings may limit item count or require specific containers. This is content-layer concern.

Banking/Storage: External storage (vaults, banks, stashes) is a future extension.

Example Items

These examples demonstrate the system. They are not canonical content.

"Seven shapes in the dark. Enough to know what waits beneath. The rest you will discover when you step on them."

Summary

Document Status

This document defines the equipment and slot system for TDGS. All items and equipment in the system conform to the structures established here.

Specific item lists, weights, and values are defined in content documents, not in this core rules document.