Equipment, Weapons, and Armor: Full Reference
The gear a character carries in Dungeons & Dragons shapes every fight, every dungeon crawl, and every moment where the difference between a 1d6 dagger and a 1d12 greataxe is the difference between a close call and a clean kill. This reference covers the full mechanical framework of equipment, weapons, and armor as defined in the D&D 5th Edition rules — how items are categorized, how they interact with character stats, and where the meaningful choices actually live. Whether a player is outfitting a first character or optimizing a seasoned adventurer, the rules here reward attention.
Definition and scope
Equipment in D&D 5e encompasses three overlapping categories: weapons, armor, and adventuring gear. The Player's Handbook (Wizards of the Coast, 2014) devotes Chapter 5 to this material, and it's one of the denser mechanical chapters in the book — not because the rules are complex, but because the tables carry a lot of specific information packed into small cells.
Weapons are divided into two broad groups: simple and martial. Simple weapons — clubs, daggers, handaxes, light crossbows — can be used by nearly any class without penalty. Martial weapons — longswords, rapiers, heavy crossbows, halberds — require proficiency to avoid attacking at a disadvantage. Proficiency in specific weapon categories is determined by class at character creation (covered in detail at Choosing a Character Class).
Armor splits into three tiers:
1. Light armor (padded, leather, studded leather) — uses Dexterity modifier fully
2. Medium armor (hide, chain shirt, scale mail, breastplate, half plate) — caps Dexterity bonus at +2
3. Heavy armor (ring mail, chain mail, splint, plate) — grants a fixed AC with no Dexterity modifier applied
Shields are a separate category entirely — not armor, but an AC bonus of +2 when equipped in one hand.
Adventuring gear covers everything else: rope, torches, rations, thieves' tools, spellcasting focuses, component pouches, and roughly 100 other items. Most have no mechanical weight in combat but become load-bearing equipment in exploration and social encounters.
How it works
The core mechanical function of a weapon is its damage die and its damage type. A shortsword deals 1d6 piercing damage; a greatclub deals 1d8 bludgeoning. Damage type matters because some creatures have resistance or immunity to specific types — undead are frequently resistant to poison and often immune to necrotic, while constructs shrug off poison entirely.
Weapon properties add the real texture to combat choices. The 15 distinct weapon properties in the 5e Player's Handbook include:
- Finesse — allows the attacker to use either Strength or Dexterity modifier (the rapier and shortsword carry this)
- Thrown — permits ranged attacks using the melee weapon (handaxe, javelin, dagger)
- Versatile — deals higher damage when held two-handed (quarterstaff: 1d6 one-handed, 1d8 two-handed)
- Heavy — disadvantage on attack rolls for Small or Tiny creatures
- Light — eligible for two-weapon fighting without a special feat
- Loading — limits the wielder to one attack per action regardless of extra attacks (crossbows, unless the Crossbow Expert feat is in play)
- Reach — extends melee attack range to 10 feet instead of 5
Armor Class (AC) is the central defensive stat. Light armor provides AC 11 + Dex modifier. Medium armor like the breastplate gives AC 14 + Dex (max +2). Plate armor grants AC 18 with no Dexterity contribution — but it costs 1,500 gold pieces and imposes disadvantage on Stealth checks. The ability scores and modifiers reference explains how Strength and Dexterity feed into these calculations.
Common scenarios
A Fighter starting at level 1 with plate armor and a shield sits at AC 20 — the highest attainable AC without magic, class features, or spells. A Rogue wearing studded leather with 20 Dexterity reaches AC 17. Both are durable, but through completely different stat architectures.
A Wizard carrying only a dagger and no armor has AC 10 (plus Dex modifier) unless a spell like Mage Armor is active, which raises unarmored AC to 13 + Dex. This is why the spell slots and spellcasting resource matters for equipment decisions — spells and gear are not independent systems.
Two-weapon fighting deserves special mention because it's frequently misunderstood. When a character attacks with a Light weapon in their main hand, they can use a bonus action to attack with a different Light weapon in their off hand — but the ability modifier (Strength or Dexterity) is not added to the off-hand damage roll by default. Only the attack roll carries the modifier. The Dual Wielder feat removes the Light restriction and adds +1 AC when wielding two melee weapons simultaneously.
Decision boundaries
The clearest split in equipment choices is between damage output and AC ceiling. Great weapons — the greatsword at 2d6, the maul at 2d6, the halberd at 1d10 — deal significant damage but require two hands, eliminating the shield option entirely. Sword-and-board fighters trade damage per swing for survivability.
The second major boundary is Dexterity-based vs. Strength-based builds. Finesse weapons and light armor reward high Dexterity. Heavy armor rewards Strength (and often requires a minimum Strength score — plate demands Strength 15 or the character's speed drops by 10 feet). A character built for Dexterity who straps on chain mail without meeting its design assumptions ends up worse at everything.
Starting gold matters more than most new players realize. At level 1, the Player's Handbook assigns starting equipment by class, or players can roll gold and purchase gear. The character creation basics process covers this in full. A Fighter rolling well on starting gold could theoretically afford a longsword, a shield, and chain mail on day one — a significant mechanical advantage over a character who rolls poorly and starts with hide armor.
The full gear landscape connects to the broader D&D Authority reference index, which maps every mechanical system to the rules that govern it.