Equipment

A piece of **equipment** is an entity constructed by a civ which can be equipped to buildings or units in designated "equipment" slots.

A unit's equipment is the main distinguishing characteristic between different unit types. The only difference between a spearman and an archer is that the former is equipped with a spear (and perhaps a shield) while the latter is equipped with a bow and arrows.

Some buildings also have equipment slots: for example, a logging camp may be equipped with a tool (ideally an axe). In this case, the item represents something that will be used by the building's workers.

Types of Equipment

 * Tools
 * Pickaxe: mining.
 * Axe: harvesting wood.
 * Hammer: constructing buildings.
 * Hoe: farming.
 * Basket: foraging for wild food.
 * Pot: collecting water
 * Weapons
 * Spear
 * Bow & arrow
 * Sword
 * Shield
 * Clothing
 * Footwear
 * Sandals
 * Moccasins
 * Boots
 * Torso
 * Headgear
 * Adornment
 * Amulet
 * Body paint

Equipment Quality
Like all entities, equipment has a quality rating which determines its value and efficacy. The base stats of the equipment type (e.g. an iron axe) are multiplied by the specific item's quality to determine its effective stats.

Equipment quality is determined by the quality of its component resources, its construction quality, and its maintenance quality (initially 100%).,

"In-Reserve" Equipment
Units can typically carry one or two pieces of equipment in reserve, unequipped but swappable with the current loadout. This would allow a unit to carry cold-weather survival gear for an expedition to an arctic biome, or allow a unit to change between ranged and melee looadouts depending on the tactical situation.

Abstraction
A single item represents a sufficient quantity of that item type to supply all the laborers from a given unit. Since a unit represents a small clan or extended family, one axe would really represent a clan's worth of axes, or perhaps 20 or so in quantity.

Gameplay Rationale
Allowing the player to customize the equipment loadout of buildings and units is a way to personalize the gameplay and allow the player to create unique and unusual combinations. For example, one could create an armored scout unit for exploring potentially hostile territory (though at the cost of sacrificing some of its movement speed).

It also adds to the experience of grappling with the local environment, as the player is able to select weather-appropriate gear for their units.