Collegiate Cultural Gear

Many collegiate societies revolve around a university campus and even the exceptions have developed specialized equipment for speeding the acquisition, distribution and protection of knowledge as well as the comfort of the scholars who produce it.

Book Carrier. Typically made of waxed canvas or leather, this sturdy multi-layered case can hold up to 3 books, preventing water damage from anything short of actually being submerged in liquid.

Campus Umbrella. A cousin of the parasol, this is a small, lightweight umbrella with a sturdy waterproof canopy. It is designed to keep the user dry on short jaunts between buildings during rainy weather and is treated with an alchemical compound to aid in shedding water more efficiently, allowing it to be quickly shaken out and closed up without worrying about mildew. When using the umbrella, as long as precipitation is not accompanied by high winds, you can remain dry while traveling. Due to its lightweight construction, high winds negate the effectiveness of the umbrella.

Tracing Paper. This very thin, translucent paper is useful for making copies of diagrams or other images when it is not permissible or practical to bring the original along. They are especially favored by beginning artists who will make tracing of the works of various masters as a training technique.

If you have good light and charcoal, or some other similar means of tracing, you can quickly reproduce a low-detail approximation of a 2D artistic work in 1 minute using tracing paper. If you have 10 minutes, you can produce a more detailed copy. If you have an hour, you can make an extremely detailed reproduction.

In none of these cases can the tracing pass for the original, but the one-minute version will be enough to provide a general idea of the piece across to others, the 10-minute version will be good enough to capture some artistic nuance, and the 1-hour version can be used for detailed study.

Extremely complex or otherwise difficult works (ones rendered entirely in light colors or in watercolor, for example) may require more time, require a skill check, or be impossible to copy at the Narrator’s discretion.

Writer’s Case. A favorite of many different scholars across a wide array of disciplines, this small, but handsome leather case keeps the tools for writing and even a bit of field sketching close at hand in one convenient package. The case includes a compartment for paper, sleeves for two quill pens, a small compartment for extra nibs, a small bottle of ink, a sand shaker, and a pair each of sticks of chalk and charcoal. More well-to-do scholars will often have theirs personalized with monograms, their noble or academic house’s coat of arms or crest, or similar personal or organizational insignia.