Equipment for the merfolk differs from traditional adventuring supplies. For purposes of the Waves of Sorrow tournament, these differences will be as follows.
Metal armor is almost totally unavailable. In general, merfolk wear one of the following types of armor:
Shields will usually be made from large sea shells, or occasionally carved from wood or coral.
Many types of weapons familiar to land-based players simply do not function well underwater. Cutting, slashing, and bludgeoning weapons, for instance, will do at most 1 point of damage per successful hit, with no Strength bonus applying (magical weapon bonuses do apply, however). Bows, slings, and most other range weapons are useless in the depths. Crossbows will function, but their ranges are cut to one-fourth of normal. Thrown javelins and tridents will likewise do standard damage, but their range is reduced to one-fourth of normal as well.
Piercing weapons are the the most common tools of war for merfolk and most other underwater races. Spears, tridents, and daggers all function normally in hand to hand combat. Merfolk weaponry is typically made from bone, coral, and wood. Often the teeth and horns of dangerous underwater animals are used for spear and trident heads.
Paper is rare among the merfolk, and usually not long-lasting unless magically protected. Writing is normally done by carving on the interior of large sea shells and smooth stones. The merfolk written language is a very terse system of heiroglyphs and runes. Story telling is very popular with the undersea people, as they have few written works. Merfolk mages rely on memory and personal teaching much more than their human counterparts. Magic shell-scrolls are very rare and not used lightly.