Weapons and armor are not all there is to survival — effective medical care, reliable communication, or the right cyberware at the right time can all mean the difference between living to share stories at the end of the day or being sent home in a small box. While most of the items found in Adventurer’s Guide are still available if one knows where to look, many of them have modernized versions listed here. The following section describes general and specialized gear commonly used by voidrunners.

Technology advancements do not bypass the humble garment, and never had. Throughout time people have sought to make their clothing more suited to the way they live their lives, and with the improvement of technology, more specialized garments emerge.

Diver's Suit. This kit includes a wetsuit, swim fins, an oxygen tank, and a diving mask with rebreather. It allows a diver to stay submerged for an hour before needing to change oxygen tanks and gives them advantage on Athletics checks related to swimming. Light armor can be worn with a diving suit, without issue but medium armor tends to make swimming exhausting, requiring a DC 13 Constitution save every minute to avoid gaining a level of fatigue. Heavy armor generally sinks the character wearing it, rendering swimming impossible.

Ghillie Suit. Favored by snipers and others highly-reliant on stealth in natural surroundings, a ghillie suit is made up of shaggy-looking fabric strips hanging from a mesh suit. It makes the wearer look like a pile of loose vegetation when still. A ghillie suit only works in the environment it was designed for, but in that environment, it grants advantage on Stealth checks. It is worn over armor.

Optical Camouflage Cloak. This hooded cloak contains an array of sensors and a fiber optic mesh that mimics the look of whatever the user is standing in front of. It does not grant true invisibility, but the wearer has advantage on Stealth checks based on sight and can use the Hide action even when directly observed. The user has a passive Stealth score of 17 even in open environments and bright light as long as the cloak is active. It is worn over armor.

Tactical Clothing. Favored by militaries, emergency services personnel, and field repairmen alike, this clothing comes in a variety of colors and camouflage patterns and has a large number of convenient pockets to keep equipment in. A camouflaged version grants an expertise die to Stealth checks in a corresponding terrain type.
It includes pants and a shirt worn underneath armor and a vest which fits over body armor, allowing the wearer to keep up to 8 lbs. of items with individual weights of no more than 1 lb. easy at hand. Retrieving an item stored this way can be done as a bonus action or action.

Weapons and armor are not all there is to survival — effective medical care, reliable communication, or the right cyberware at the right time can all mean the difference between living to share stories at the end of the day or being sent home in a small box. While most of the items found in Adventurer’s Guide are still available if one knows where to look, many of them have modernized versions listed here. The following section describes general and specialized gear commonly used by voidrunners.

Clothing . It is assumed that all voidrunners have basic clothing, or the uniform of an organization to which they belong. For those who wish to spend a little more, the following options are available.

Communications and Computing . Arguably the key technologies of not only the modern world, but most science fiction ones as well, communications and computing are all about data: generating, transmitting, interpreting, manipulating, storing, and concealing it as the need arises. 

Containers . Containers don’t change much in their shapes and sizes as technology advances, but they do get lighter, stronger, and sometimes less expensive.

Drones . From tiny friendly orbs to autonomous death machines, drones are simple mechanized creatures that dutifully carry out their digital orders.

General Gear . Technological equipment, vehicles, and even beings need to be maintained and built, and those with the knowledge — and implements — to do so have a hand in shaping the future.

Jetpacks . They’re dangerous and impractical, but still the dream of freeform personal flight has always been a technological penultimate goal. Unless otherwise noted, the jetpacks provided here can be worn alongside light or medium armors, but do not provide enough lift for takeoff when wearing heavy armors.

Medicine . Advanced medicine is another hallmark of many science fiction settings, with medical technology and procedures that can cure many ailments and injuries.

Security Gear . Police, soldiers, spies, and similar professions are frequently thought of mostly in terms of weapons and armor, but there is a lot of other specialized equipment in the arsenal of these types of professionals.

Scientific Gear . Heroes are not always made so because of their ability to fight; scientists have long been revered by sapient societies who admire those who push the frontiers of knowledge past their current boundaries. Like any task, doing so is easier with the right tool.

Survival Gear . The universe is a big place, and those who wish to see unexplored parts of it would do well to pack accordingly. As technology advances, so too do the means to traverse and survive in hostile environments.

Toolkits . In addition to the less-technological tools in Adventurer’s Guide, these toolkits allow you to perform specialized tasks such as repairs on the specific type of equipment or vehicle or the collection and interpretation of detailed scientific data.

Musical Instruments . The musical arts grow and innovate as artists gain access to new technologies and new potential sounds. Musical instruments are a type of tool, and the following instruments have been added to the list of instruments found in Adventurer’s Guide.

Every spacefarer knows that their suit is the one thing that stands between them and hard vacuum. For some, that’s all it does, but others have turned their suit into a toolbox equipped for their every need; while the most feared combatants are those for whom their suit itself is a weapon. However, such suits are not known for their comfort or maneuverability, and as such many adventurers have multiple sets of armor for different occasions; what may resist hard vacuum is hardly ideal for exploring a verdant alien world, and vice versa.

Shield Types

Shields have come a long way since medieval times, and while putting a big sturdy slab in between yourself and danger is still a valid tactic, many combatants choose to utilize forcefields which envelope the wielder in a protective barrier. Despite these advancements, timing their projection to coincide with oncoming danger without draining power still takes training and attention. The shields presented here are still regarded as traditional shields for the purposes of proficiency requirements, can still be used for a shield sacrifice, and require a free hand to don and utilize.

Breaching Shield. This shield gives you a +2 to your AC and adds an expertise die to your Maneuver DC when you attempt to Shove another creature.

Duranium Shield. Shields made of duranium are similar to those used hundreds of years ago, albeit lighter.

Force Shield. A force shield is generated from a wrist-mounted shield generator and can absorb a limited amount of damage before it needs to recharge. The size of the shield determines how many temporary hit points it grants, as seen in Table: Shields. It takes a short rest for a force shield to recharge.

Riot Shield. This shield gives you a +2 to your AC and an expertise die on saves made to resist being shoved.