Best bag for roleplaying games?

[alanshutko]

The old bag I have using to shuttle my D&D and other materials around is falling apart. It was never perfect for what I need, so I'm looking for something new. It's a bit of a niche use case, so I'm hoping to get advice from others when I look at the dizzying array of options.

Here's what I need to carry around:

• A couple hardbound books. RPG books are usually around 8.5"x11"x¾".
• A couple hardbound notebooks, a bit smaller.
• A half dozen pencils
• A roll of fountain pens
• A small bag of dice

Some sort of internal organization to separate the books/notebooks from the other stuff would be handy. Right now, they're all in a big compartment and I need to dig for things. I am in several campaigns, so it would be an option to pull out different books/notebooks and just toss in the ones I need for the day, but I can also just leave everything in there because there isn't too much.

I don't really want a backpack for this. It's not enough stuff for me to want to wear it on my back.

Who has some great ideas?

[x3n0n]

I think you've got lots of choices.
Assuming you only intend to carry a couple of handbooks at a time, I think nearly any of the messenger or briefcase bags would work: Daylight Briefcase, Pilot, Co-Pilot, Cadet, Ristretto, Medium Cafe, and Makers Bag all look reasonable to me.
In addition, I think the Pop Tote and Pick-Up Truck are pretty popular for this kind of thing, or maybe a Shop Bag (any variant).
If you change your mind about the backpack, the Daylight Backpack and Luminary 15 also sound like candidates to me.

I'm sure that is overload. Personally, I'd probably use a Daylight Briefcase or Co Pilot, and my daughter would use a Ristretto.

[DQBunny]

I feel like a Maker's Bag is perfect for what you want to carry. The notebooks could go in the zippered pouch in the back of the bag, and the hardcovers can go in the main compartment. The pouches can handle the pens/pencils/dice.

[ArdeaAbe]

Well, if you're looking for something a little different, the Truck may be a good choice. Are you alright with a tote style bag?

As a DM I cart around a lot of books, generally the PHB, MM, DMG, XGtE and the Ravnica book as well as handouts, dice, miniatures and wet erase markers. I've been using a duffel bag but after seeing a recent post on this forum I'm going to be giving the Truck a shot. The middle section of the truck is perfect for D&D books. They don't stick out and they don't misshape the bag. The side pockets can then be used for snacks or beverages.



After just playing around, the end pocket fits two books easily with room for a smaller 6x9 or A5 notebook. That would leave the middle section open for a lot of stuff, bags of chips, or anything else.

[alanshutko]

Thank you so much for the ideas, and I loved ArdeaAbe's pictures! It's given me a lot to think about! I'm going to try to wait a couple days to order something in case anyone else chimes in. But it's tough when there are so many great options.

[Rocks]

I’ve used both a Pickup Truck and Pop Tote for DnD nights. The Pickup Truck is a bit small, so the Truck or Monster Truck is probably better for DM’s. The Pop Tote holds a lot but the side pockets are small. I really like the way the Truck bags are laid out. The compartments make things easy to organize.

[ArdeaAbe]

Oh, and Rocks had this great thread earlier with pictures of a Pick-Up Truck full of their D&D stuff. You should check that out too!

[MatthewR]

Since I'm not DMing I currently just put my stuff in my Pilot (which is what I carry EDC currently) on game days since I really only bring a notebook for in-game notes, a tablet with the rulebooks on it and a digital copy of my character sheet (my DM prefers to keep the paper versions of the character sheets so he can review where we're all at and plan for next session -- this is my Call of Cthulhu game), a pencil, a small shop bag, and my dice, but I only play in one game that takes place in the meatspace, all my others are through Discord nowadays, but my favorite bag for this is the Maker's Bag -- I made a post when it first came out about the Maker's Bag and what I think of it as a roleplaying bag.

The Maker's Bag has a big ole open pocket for the books (which tended just to live in there and serve as a backup if a player needed to reference the book and didn't have a copy, see my tablet spiel), my tablet (which is where most of my books reside nowadays, PDF search is powerful and digital bookmarking and tables of contents are extremely useful and in my opinion bring more value to the book than a simple hardback could ever hope to, though it doesn't look as fun/nice on the shelf), and a small shop bag for the inevitable pre-game snack/beer run, the zippered pocket at the back of the main pocket is where I put folders with character sheets and handouts, and the pockets lining the "front" of the bag is where I put all the smaller stuff -- chargers and cables, dice, pens/pencils).

[Kaadk]

It's been years since I've been able to D&D (we're talking 2nd gen here), but if I had the opportunity today, I'd probably use my Daylight Briefcase to hold everything. Mind you, we're going off 2nd gen rulebook sizes, but I could easily see being able to pack everything I ever used for DMing into that bag, with plenty of organization to support what I'd normally carry. Books (Manuals, Duotangs with character sheets, DM Screen and notebooks) could go in the main centre compartment. The front divided section could easily hold the various pencils, dice, etc... leaving the rear pocket for holding some snacks, cliff bars, etc...

[twosandalz]

I like the shop bags. One pocket for dice, pens, etc. One for smaller snacks, and a large center space to stand books up in and for bags of smartfood. Or the bagged snacks of your choices.

[alanshutko]

Thanks for the suggestions everyone! I ended up picking the Maker's bag. The pockets should fit the existing Nock cases I'm using for fountain pens, pencils, and dice. Standing on its own will be a very convenient thing in the particular space we game.

[Bogiesan]

The Boise (Idaho) Go Club meets at All About Games. The store's large gaming area is usually crowded with role players and card payers. Most of those guys haul their massive collections and accoutrements around in wheeled tool boxes from Stanley, Milwaukee, and Craftsman. Others use their favorite branded cases or whatever they have left over from their misspent youth like old gym bags and suitcases. I carry my club go set in an REI duffle that has been padded with an old yoga mat. My nicer go board fits perfectly in an REI cooler and my bowls and shell stones fit perfectly in a classic Filson canvas camera bag.