Starting Gear - first four

In the 5e game I run, replacement characters etc start at 5th level. The median party level is probably around 8 or 10, so that's a significant bump down, but it's also at the point where the Backgrounds in the Player's Handbook don't always cut it. Plus, and this is the real headache, character creation takes way too long. Stuff like this 'retroactive backstory' table speed things along, but not enough.

I'm almost tempted to make people start at level one, but I know I'd have a  mutiny on my hands (perfectly justifiable at this point in the campaign)

So instead, I want to make 'Level 5' as much like 'Level 1' as possible. This will include beefed up backgrounds, semi-randomized starting gear and magic items, and set spell lists for wizards and their ilk- so you're a 5th level wizard, well I can just hand you a spell list, I guess that was on the curriculum. And you can tweak it from there

Not all of this is binding of course, customization is encouraged, but this way you don't have to hem and haw over stuff you don't care about (you can keep your valuable hemming and hawing to stuff you really do care about!), and anyway, 5th-level characters need some place in the world, otherwise how did they get to 5th level? That's the added advantage, it gives a chance to embed context and world building into the character creation process


Here are the first four- I'm aiming for at least eight or twelve, and Backgrounds to go with them, but I'm writing kinda slow at the moment so I figure I better just get these out there for starters


Legionnaire's Pack
depending on your standing with the army, you might have kinda sorta 'stolen' these items when you were discharged. Or maybe you were gifted them in honor of your excellent service! Probably stolen, tho.

• Armour of the Legion- slightly mechanized armour, AC 16, grants advantage on Athletics checks (also disadvantage on swimming, because of the encumbrance)
• Legionaire's Helm, provides reverse-telepathy (others can send messages to you, you can block them out if you choose)
• Magetouched sword - minor enchantment, counts as magic but that's about it. Immune to most damage, especially acid and fire. Appears to be made of a strange grey ceramic material. Has a rune near the crossgaurd that you can command to glow, as a candle. 
• Jump Boots- 4 charges, return in an hour. Spend 1 charge to cast jump.

Tower Mage 
used by the official, kinda stuffy charter mages

• Beautiful robes that denote your school and rank. Warded to give you a +1 to AC and to all saving throws.
• A brass-tipped staff, which functions as a spell focus, and lets you know fireball and can cast it once per day without using a spell slot.
• A belt with several raven and owl feathers and strings of beads hung from it, used as impromptu foci for spells. 
• A pouch filled with little bundles of rocks, when thrown creates a cloud of incense smoke, most wizards use this to obscure escape. 1d4 depletion die.
• The Charter of the Arcane, a book of fussy magical rules that you're supposed to memorize.

Adept of Zulin

priests and particularly religious people

• Small blue pet snake. Likes to live in your sleeves or sit on top of your head, which you probably keep shaved for this purpose.
•  Incense of dream-binding: can bind any spirit into a dream, provided the dreamer stays asleep. A dreamer must be properly trained to a degree appropriate for the power of the spirit, and several properly trained dreamers can share responsibilities.
• Staff of Holding- Enchanted to count as magic and cold iron. Can switch between +2 attack and +2 defence as a bonus action. Weilder knows hold person and can cast it 1/day without using a spell slot. Also works like a bag of holding, but can only hold light or negligible items (items appear and disappear from weilder's hand, when they're holding the staff)
• Prayer Beads (roll three times, can have duplicates): 1-Purify Food and Drink; 2- Calm Emotions; 3- Detect Evil and Good; 4- Gentle Repose; 5- Zone of Truth; 6- Sanctuary. Spells can be cast from the beads as a bonus action, once cast they can't be used again until the adept prays over them at the next dawn.

Azure Pirate

There are many scoundrels in the world, but you are one of the most feared

• Gold earring- worth 2 gp, but you won't sell it because it's supposed to pay for your funeral or disability retirement.
• Eyepatch with an eye design embroidered into it-prevents you from being blinded by light effects, and lets you see in dim light as if it were brightly lit
• Cutlass of sky-blue metal, can be commanded mentally to float in water, slightly corrosive so kept in a ceramic sheath, has 4 charges and can expend a charge on a hit to 'tag' a target with acid, dealing 2d4 damage every turn for a minute, or until washed off by alcohol or seawater.
• Feather Token (roll 3 times, keeping duplicates): 1- Control Weather (Fog); 2- Call Wind; 3- Shark; 4- Wings; 5- Phoenix Down; 6- Rogue Wave; 7- Feather Fall; 8- Sympathy