Are there warm clothes in 5e?

Question

During my 5e game, one of my players wants to get warm clothes for a trip up to the cold mountains. He found "Warm Clothes" in a reference for another D&D edition (not sure which one) but I couldn't find it in 5e.

Is there a reference for warm clothes or similar clothing variants in 5e?

Answer 1

The best I can find right now is in the DMG on page 110 under "Extreme Cold":

Whenever the temperature is at or below 0 degrees Fahrenheit, a creature exposed to the cold must succeed on a DC 10 Constitution saving throw at the end of each hour or gain one level of exhaustion. Creatures with resistance or immunity to cold damage automatically succeed on the saving throw, as do creatures wearing cold weather gear (thick coats, gloves, and the like) and creatures naturally adapted to cold climates.

(Emphasis Mine)

Another thing that I found is in one of the functions of Boots of the Winterlands, described in the DMG on page 156 (emphasis mine):

You can tolerate temperatures as low as -50 degrees Fahrenheit without any additional protection. If you wear heavy clothes, you can tolerate temperatures as low as -100 degrees Fahrenheit.

This second piece of information is very minor, however.

At any rate, I don't see any price listings on adventuring gear tables or what have you. So it's definitely there, but it's probably just a minor detail that can be dealt with through narrative.

Answer 2

No, there's no listing for warm clothes.

The equipment list in 5e is pretty sparse; clothes are listed as common, costume, fine, or traveller's and aren't even given their own description (PHB pp.150-151, "Adventuring Gear.")

One might argue that the "traveller's clothes" one buys in colder climes should be enough to withstand the cold temperatures your player is expecting. Or you might want to play a bit more of the "resource game" than that.

But don't make it too hard on them.

I want to direct your attention to the Adventurer's League module DDEX2-4 Mayhem in Earthspur Mines. I think its treatment of travel through cold weather can serve as a good touchstone as to how impactful--or not--to make players' clothing choices.

There's nowhere in the adventure to pick up any special "cold weather gear," and the characters find themselves trekking three days through a blizzard at one point. It's a DC12 CON save against 1d4 levels of exhaustion after those three days, which means that in "regular" gear the effects of a three-day blizzard are likely shaken off by a good night's sleep.¹

To me, this means that "traveller's clothes" should be assumed to be locally weather-appropriate, even for trekking through snowy mountains. Truly extreme weather--such as that described on DMG p.110--may call for extreme preparation.

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^{1 - that's a roughly 50% chance of failing the save (assuming everyone's third-favorite stat is CON), with an expected 2.5 levels on a fail. roughly 1.25 levels of exhaustion expected, with one level cleared by a subsequent long rest with food and drink.}

Answer 3

The adventure Icewindale: Rime of the Frostmaiden provides the most accurate information for what you seek.

Page 20 reviews Winter Survival Gear as:

• Cold weather clothing: 10 gp, 5 lb.
• Snowshoes: 2gp, 4 lb.
• Crampons (2): 2gp, 1/4 lb.