Equipment and supplies for traveling around killing monsters (inc. ammo questions)

[tamtrible]

Time: nearish future, maybe 15 years from now. Place: continental US, possibly also Canada and/or Mexico. Our Heroine does have a passport, if that's relevant

Comments

[tamtrible]

Supernatural is probably not a wholly inapt comparison.
Well, the sword is from her being a roughly Olympic-caliber fencer, who's turned her moves into useful combat skill.

Any particular reason for the notebook/pens?

She'll likely sleep in her clothes in the rough, or nekkid/in her t-shirt in hotels and the like.

The Dr. Bronner's sounds like a good idea, though not as toothpaste (I doubt it has fluoride)

The sleeping bag liner's a good idea. Also for sleeping in areas too warm for the sleeping bag.

She likely has a gadget to make her cell phone talk to her computer, so she has "wi fi" wherever she has a cell signal. Cost isn't a big issue (her parents are rich, she'll occasionally run across treasure, and so forth), so she has a good data plan, probably unlimited. But, spare batteries, maybe even a solar or wind-up charger, check.

The problem with even a small tent is that I'm worried about space. Apart from the weaponry, she'll probably have less stowage space than the average backpacker.

Water purification, check.

She (likely) can't over-heat (I'll probably give her the boon Fire Immunity), so she can just dress for the coldest weather she's likely to run across and deal with the hot weather. But some kind of rain gear shouldn't add too much volume.

A rechargeable LED flashlight's probably my best bet. Better if it's one where you can charge it while aiming, like the kind you squeeze.

Backpack, check. Also gives her more place to Put Stuff.

Probably relies more on the computer than actual paper books. Classes, e-books, downloaded movies...

if I understand how shot gun shells work, I think she can buy silver beads or the like, and put them in a shell, without needing the ability to "work" silver. Actual bullets would be a little more fiddly. But I'll talk to my GM, she could plausibly have a supplier.

I wasn't thinking in terms of squeamishness, I was thinking more in terms of not (generally) considering washing her hair to be an essential part of bathing. Of course she'd scrub down in a stream if she got all bloody (and there was a stream nearby, and the blood wouldn't kill everything in the stream or whatever), but unless she had blood in her hair that wouldn't come out with rinsing, she probably wouldn't wash it.

[indian_skimmer]

Re: hair washing, it's probably a very minor and personal thing but I'm outdoors and working with animals a lot and my hair is the one thing I *do* keep clean and will wash under the tap even if I can't be arsed to have a proper bath or shower. Partly my hair feels gross and itchy much more quickly than the rest of me, partly people notice if you've got crap (or blood) smeared in your hair. The rest of you you can vaguely cover it up with a clean shirt and some deodorant.

[parmalokwen]

Sword: Sabre like this? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sabre If she's using it for slashing and hacking, edgework rather than pointwork, a machete will work just fine. And since it's a little shorter, it can be hidden in her baggage more easily. Also, it'll be much more replaceable than a sword, as well as more plausible for her to have in the first place. Most of the swords you see in shops these days are wall ornament garbage that will snap if you try to use it, and often aren't even sharp. But you can get a machete at a hardware or camping supply store.

The notebook is for writing stuff down in. She can take notes and record signs on whatever creature she's hunting. Consulting Dad's Journal was something Sam and Dean did all the time in the earlier seasons of SPN-- it had notes from 22 years of hunting. Also, it's good to have a place to write stuff down, all kinds of stuff, like addresses and directions and shopping lists and contacts and such. And she can tear out a sheet and leave notes for people, or use a sheet for starting a fire.

Personally I find jeans really uncomfortable to sleep in, but whatever, so long as it's clean.

She'll have MORE space than the average backpacker, because she isn't limited to what she can carry on her back. She can fill a large backpack (and the army surplus backpacks are ENORMOUS), then strap it down over the back of her motorcycle, and she'll also have saddlebags. There's also bags that can strap over the gas tank. This one guy straps his tent in front of the handlebars: http://www.motorcycle-touring-the-good-life.com/motorcyclecampingtent.html
actually I do recommend wandering around that site for a bit. http://www.motorcycle-touring-the-good-life.com/motorcyclecamping.html

Wearing winter clothes in summer draws attention. All those layers are rather cumbersome to move in, too. She at least needs to be able to unlayer. On winter riding: http://www.motorcycle-touring-the-good-life.com/winterridinggear.html

Rechargeable, yes, but she should keep it charged before she goes into a situation that might require stealth. The squeezing/cranking types are not quiet.

I highly recommend some form of non-electronic entertainment for when she needs to save battery power. Research is the priority function of that computer, and if I were her I wouldn't use it for anything else while there was any doubt of being able to recharge. I have two laptop batteries and a UPS, and I still avoid using my laptop more than I have to during power outages, because I don't know how long I have to stretch that power. This is why I recommend a book: she can read it by the light of her rechargeable flashlight when she doesn't have a place to plug in her laptop, and when she's done with it she goes to a used book store, sells it, and buys a new one. Concerned with space? That's why she keeps just one at a time.

If most of the creatures are harder to kill than a bear, why would your character be carrying a shotgun for anything but salt and iron rounds? Can all of the silver-sensitive beasts be killed with silver anywhere, or do some of them need heart shots? Those will need silver bullets, not silver shrapnel from a shotgun. The other thing is that although I think beads will probably work as shotgun shell filler, it'll be much more expensive than making silver bullets. Google around for sterling silver beads, and you'll see what I mean-- silver is almost $40 per ounce right now, so the less silver she needs per shot the better. If your character can turn found treasure into ammo on her own, she will be much better off- at the very least, she needs some kind of shears that will slice a silver spoon into tiny pieces to pack into shells. For bullet making, look at the youtube videos I linked to earlier in this thread. She'll need a steel bullet mold (not aluminum, which melts before silver), a propane torch (she could probably find something that attaches to her propane camping stove, and save space thereby), a small crucible for melting the silver in, a bit of flux, and steel or iron tongs. Total added volume: Less than a quarter cubic foot, and that's a very generous estimate. All other materials can be scrounged or improvised.

[tamtrible]

Well, she does some stabby work, some slicey work. And it's possible her saber may be non-mundane. But, she may at least have a machete as a backup.

Point on the notebook.

I said she'd probably have less space after counting in the weapons. Those trailers for motorcycles aren't *that* big, and she'll have her sword, a few guns, some knives, her bullet-making gear, ammo, and probably at least half a cubic foot of Assorted Other Things, like silver to turn into bullets. And she can't wear a really large backpack while riding, though I guess she could just strap it down over the back.

She'd be able to unlayer to just her leathers and a t-shirt, at least, pretty easily.

Of course she'd usually keep it charged, if nothing else it's a little hard to aim it well if you're squeezing it. Though she may not need it, if I give her one of the boons I'm considering (she'd be able to see in the dark).

I'll throw a paperback in there, then. For some reason I'm seeing her tastes running to slightly pulp/bad sci fi.

I'll have to look at those vids when I'm not pretending to be working , but it sounds like she really would need bullet-making gear, and it won't take up *too* much room. Definitely goes in the trailer, though, not on the bike.

[parmalokwen]

The enormous backpack is very much meant to be strapped down over the saddlebags. Make sure it matches the color scheme of the bike if she wants to maintain the cool factor. ;)

Oh, and all of the bags should be waterproof. Sooner or later she's going to have to ride through a rainstorm...

"For some reason I'm seeing her tastes running to slightly pulp/bad sci fi."
A very convenient choice! The really good sci fi and fantasy tends not to show up in a used book store. People hold on to it. I'm always surprised if I see anything by Bujold, and I NEVER see Pratchett.

[tamtrible]

Cheerful tropical print it is [g]
(her divine parent *is* the head of the Hawaiian pantheon)

Yeah, waterproof. With the things inside in plastic bags, if they're water-sensitive, in case of leaks.

There's usually at least one Bujold at the big used bookstores I go to, but... yeah, Pratchett's more rare. And there's never *many*.

[corvideye]

Modern tents for backpackers can take up less space than a pillow. I think the tradeoff in weather survivability would be worth it; it's a lot easier to create warmth in an enclosed space. She would also want a groundcloth/ plastic and a rainfly (even in dry areas, there can be dew).

If no tent, then she'd want to be versed in the methods of building a lean-to from available materials. Tom Brown Jr's Wilderness Survival books are excellent guides... for all of this, in fact (he's the guy who survived for a year in the wild starting with only a pocketknife - no clothes, no gear).

[tamtrible]

So I may actually have a tent on the 'cycle, and have her sleeping bag in the trailer. The tent may be more useful for "I need shelter right now".

But she definitely needs some general survival training (one way or t'other), too. She's likely picked up and pretty nearly memorized one of those books.

[parmalokwen]

No, the sleeping bag stays ready to hand. A "shelter now" situation will also be a "warmth now" situation. That, dry clothes, and some of those instant chemical heat packets that skiers put in their pockets, placed at her neck, armpits, and groin, are what stands between her and death by hypothermia.

A sleeping bag these days can be a remarkably compact bundle-- I have a mummy bag that squashes down into something only a bit larger than a 2 liter soda bottle. Also, synthetic is much better than cotton or down insulation, which is worse than useless than wet.

[tamtrible]

How... bad when wet is leather, in terms of temperature? I know wool is a not-much-worse insulator when wet, but I don't know about leather.

So, well-squished sleeping bag. I think I'll do a second post in a little while that's "Ok, so, if I have these things, what goes in the trailer and what doesn't", or figuring out if I can forgo the trailer altogether. Also figuring out what, exactly, she should have by way of pointy objects and boomsticks.

[parmalokwen]

I have absolutely no idea what leather is like to wear, either dry or wet, except on my feet.

I was talking about what kind of sleeping bag she should have. It should be all synthetic, not a natural/synthetic blend-- if there's natural fibers in a sleeping bag, it's likely to be cotton. And yes, wool is the best natural fiber for warmth when wet. Wool socks are nice when it's cold. I walked home in a snowstorm last February, and my boots were soaked and my feet were soggy, but I was wearing wool socks, so it felt squishy and unpleasant but didn't really matter, if you know what I mean.

As for what goes in the trailer, you might seriously think about not having it. Because much of this packing list is for the possibility of camping, there won't be much that can be left behind when she follows monsters into the bush. The extra weapons (IF she's figured out what she needs), the bullet making supplies, her laptop cord, her laptop if there's no cell phone signal, and her "polite company" clothes if she bothers with them (how much subterfuge does Scion-verse hunting require? Does she ever have to pretend to be someone else to get into a haunted house?) are about all she can leave behind.

That heat immunity thing you've chosen-- can you do the opposite instead, and she can ignore cold? Say she's got volcano powers and can generate magic heat or something? Because she can forget about a lot more stuff if she doesn't have to plan for cold than if she doesn't have to plan for heat. The sleeping bag, the tent (you can go back to your tarp idea) the winter riding clothes...

[tamtrible]

Synthetic sleeping bag, and at least one pair of wool socks. Check.

For the most part, she won't need elaborate camouflage a la Supernatural in order to get at her targets, but she may occasionally need to pass as "typical" instead of some kind of weird biker chick. I'm waffling on the trailer, but if it exists it will definitely only have things that she could easily live without for a while, and/or extra spares of the things she desperately needs--spare clothes, her "nice" clothes, the spare power for the laptop (though likely not the laptop itself, it might have sensitive info), the bullet-making gear, extra ammo

I can easily justify her having the "fire" purview, and thus the heat immunity. But the "frost" purview would be... pretty weird for a Hawaiian scion to have, and it's fairly rare overall.

[parmalokwen]

She'll HAVE as many pair as she has changes of winter clothing. She'll BRING at least two when she leaves the trailer if the weather's appropriate, or could become so. Perhaps three-- for all its virtues, wool is not fast-drying material. One pair on her feet, one dry pair for later, one drying in the wind, pinned to something (that isn't meant to be waterproof, don't puncture anything that should be waterproof).

Actually, the problem with leaving the laptop in the trailer is that summer heat will destroy the laptop and freezing temperatures will destroy the battery-- it won't hold a charge anymore. The only reason I mentioned a spare laptop battery is because I have one because mine only last 3 hours if I'm very careful with my power use, and I need every minute for class. Some laptops are much more efficient than that-- I think there are some 6 or 8 hour laptops out there.

I don't recommend that she store her data on the laptop, sensitive or otherwise. Laptops are prone to all kinds of failures. Flash drives (or future equivalent) are the way to go. Right now they go up to64GB. Those are expensive, but they won't always be.

It will mean sacrificing some of the entertainment potential (smaller screen, no optical drive), but she might want a netbook-sized laptop.

If she can pack everything she needs on the bike alone, then she can keep her trailer space for stuff that will make her life more comfortable. For instance, an external mouse, keyboard, dvd drive, and little projector for using her laptop in a motel. Hair conditioner. Some technically replaceable but very awkward hunting things. That secret compartment for her weapons. Her next paperback. And so on.

[marycatelli]

I add that when trying on shoes, she tries them on with the socks she wants to wear with them.

Especially if she goes for heavy rag socks. Many hikers wear rag socks over ordinary socks in hiking boots, and you have to try the boots on over the socks. Otherwise, what the socks win you in warm because they are wool, they lose you because the boots will constrict your feet.

[tamtrible]

Then she likely has winter boots (designed for thick socks) and summer boots (for thinner socks)...