2d6 Items In A Diplomat’s Pack
As part of my continued effort to make 5e’s starting equipment packs more interesting, today I present the Entertainer’s Pack!
The Diplomat’s Pack is an interesting one, because RAW it contains a chest – which you obviously aren’t going to be carrying with you. So for this one, I split it into two and wrote trinkets for the chest and for a smaller pack that you carry with you.
If you would like me to write a table of trinkets for you, leave me a tip on Ko-Fi!
The Pack Itself
The diplomat’s pack comprises a sturdy travelling chest sealed with a number of heavy locks, and a small leather briefcase. Both are of high quality materials and emblazoned with the coat of arms of the country or ruler you serve.
Inside The Chest
The chest contains the most valuable things you bring with you, and is generally left under lock and key in a safe place – an embassy, your rooms in a royal palace, etc. As well as the expected items – two cases for maps and scrolls, fine clothes, extra bottles of ink and sheets of paper, perfumes, a lamp and oil, etc. – it also contains the following items:
- A portfolio case containing generic “boilerplate” documents to use as templates when agreeing new treaties and agreements.
- A heavy ledger sealed with a padlock. This contains minutes of meetings and conversations you have had with rulers and leaders during your travels. The information contained in it could be very damaging if it fell into the wrong hands.
- A slim, flat case that is hidden inside a concealed compartment in the base of the chest. It contains documents with details of the information networks your employers have in place in the locations you are tasked to travel to – aliases and locations of informants, details of dead drops, and the like. It is written in a cipher you know how to decode.
- A pair of sandalwood boxes, finely crafted and inlaid with ivory with a red felt lining inside. These are used to present small gifts to rulers who you are meeting with, though the gifts themselves are left up to you to source.
- A thick, finely-crafted chain. One end has a strong manacle for your wrist, and the other can be fastened securely to your briefcase.
- A long velvet cape embroidered with the coat of arms of the ruler you serve. This is purely ceremonial, worn when you are representing your country at large events.
Inside The Case
The briefcase contains your day-to-day items – a bottle of ink, an ink pen, a small vial of perfume, sealing wax and a seal, and fine soap – along with the following items:
- A letter written on heavy parchment and treated with wax to protect it against wear. It serves as both a letter of introduction and proof of your position, and is signed with the official seal of the ruler you serve.
- A slim scroll tube. The lid locks with an intricate twisting mechanism that only you know how to release. You use it to hold vital documents as you go about your daily business.
- A letter-sized piece of slate mounted in a silver frame, with a piece of chalk mounted on a silver handle attached to it by a chain. This is magically twinned with an identical slate kept by the people you report to. Anything written on either slate appears instantly on its twin.
- A quill pen made from the tail feather of a bird native to your home lands. It is deep purple, streaked with mustard and iridescent silver.
- A pocket-sized leatherbound book that contains facsimiles of various official seals of the lands you are tasked to travel to, annotated with information about how to detect forgeries.
- A felt pouch containing 15gp worth of coin in various denominations and currencies. A small inner pocket contains a handful of coins that you find interesting or attractive and that you have kept aside so that you don’t spend them.
If you would like me to write a table of trinkets for you, leave me a tip on Ko-Fi!
If you would like more trinkets, check out my work on the DMs Guild.
Image Credit: Saint Wilfred (Wilfrid, Wilfrith) the Younger (of York): he petitions King Cædwalla of Wessex to grant him land, at Selsey, which is granted. Engraving by T. King, 1807. Credit: Wellcome Collection. Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)