History Main / BagOfSharing

* The adventure game ''ManiacMansion: Day of the Tentacle'' has the characters in three separate time zones, but they can share items by putting them into the time-travelling port-a-johns that are central to the plot. One of the first puzzles for the girl trapped in the future is how to GET to the port-a-john.

* ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIII'' lets you can any item you've acquired, unless its equipped on a character you're not currently controlling. The parties also share a ManaMeter, and LeakedExperience will make its way to every party member no matter where they are. This is very noticeable because the party is in various stages of split up for well over half of the game.

* ''VideoGame/StarTrekOnline'''s Fleet system allows you to be able to share items obtained from your fleetmates. Thankfully, there are a few ways to prevent a fleet member from stealing everything inside, including Fleet ranks and limiting how many items can be pulled a day.

* ''KnightsOfTheOldRepublic II'' does the same thing ''VideoGame/{{Final Fantasy VI}}'' does. At one point, three party members are dispatched on a mission, while the player and two other party members are dispatched on another mission. After completing the first mission, the player takes on the role of the second team, which has access to items collected by the first group, even though not only are the two teams on different ''planets'', but the events are happening simultaneously from a chronological standpoint, allowing Team 2 to use items Team 1 hasn't even collected yet.

* Averted in the ''VideoGame/{{MOTHER}}'' series, whose gameplay is based off that of ''VideoGame/DragonQuest''. Each character has his own inventory of up to 14 items (which don't stack). When a party member is [[NonLethalKO "unconscious"]], the text of the actions is also changed to reflect that the character can't access his inventory by himself.
** This is done however in the fangame ''[[VideGame/CognitiveDissonance Mother: Cognitive Dissonance]]'', where all the party's gear is in an unlimited storing space.

* In ''ShiningForce'', each character can only hold four items.

** The SpiritualSequel ''BetrayalInAntara'' has a shared inventory for food and money, but all other items are held by individual party members.

* {{Minecraft}} introduced ender chests. Each occurrence of those chests have the same inventory (for the same player). So two players opening the same chest see different inventories, but each player can open any of those chests anywhere to see the same inventory in all of them. This inventory is still safe, even if the very last chest is destroyed.

** You can't pass living things ([[spoiler:requiring you to [[HarmlessFreezing freeze]] them]]). For two other items, you actually need them to change, requiring the SlowPath ([[spoiler:the sweater needs to be washed a hundred thousand times in order to fit a hamster]] and [[spoiler:wine needs to spoil and turn into vinegar]]).

* {{Disgaea}} features a communal "Item Bag" of stuff taken into battle with you, and any character can access it. This allows one character to move all the way across the map using an item with a huge movement bonus, unequip it, and then another character to immediately put it on and do the same.

* ''Almost'' averted in ''NeverwinterNights2''. Each character has a separate inventory, but items can be freely and instantly moved mid-battle between characters at the opposite ends of the battlefield, even if one of them is dead... sorry, [[NonLethalKO unconscious]].
** What do you mean, "sorry"? This is ''TabletopGame/{{Dungeons and Dragons}}''! They're clearly alive, but stable with negative HitPoints!

*** However, ''[[VideoGame/FireEmblemTellius Radiant Dawn]]'' plays this straight when the parties team up, as they proceed to split again right afterwards and anything in the inventory is shared among the 3 parties, even though they're all far away of each other.

* ''StoneKeep'' lampshades this by giving the protagonist a magical scroll that can shrink items into a picture on said scroll. Therefore you can pick up every single rock, bone and other pointless object in the game. You can pick up a huge stone blocking your path and later use it to press a floortile.

** One of the older games (Gaiden) and the most recent (Radiant Dawn) had separate parties with separate inventories (until they united). In Gaiden, however, holding Start and Select when beginning a new game would enable easy mode, which allowed free sharing of items between the two parties on opposite ends of the continent, allowing for LevelGrinding with the Angel Ring in both parties.

* In ''AnimalCrossing,'' each player has his or her own storage... but said storage can be accessed from ''any'' storage-type item in your house, regardless of where it is, and it always goes to the same storage space. In ''City Folk,'' this gets even more absurd, as the Gyroid Lloid in the Auction House can ''also'' access the same storage space, even though you're miles and miles away from your house.

* {{Minecraft}} introduced enderchests. Each occurance of those chests have the same inventory (for the same player). So two players opening the same chest see different inventories, but each player can open any of those chests anywhere to see the same inventory in all of them. This inventory is still save, even if the very last chest is destroyed.

* ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIX'' partially averts it. You can't equip or dequip items from characters not in the group, but any items in the inventory can still be accessed by any characters, even those on different continents.
** ...even if the new party in focus is dealing with events chronologically ''before'' the last party.
** ...to the point where it'll switch focus from your main party deep in a dungeon, to Dagger, who is co-incidentally right next to an item shop.
** This also includes Mognet letters. Moogle X gives you (say, Zidane) a letter for Moogle Y, the game switches attention to another character in another place (and perhaps even an earlier time, see above), you (Dagger) deliver the letter to Moogle Y who is standing right next to where you start this part of the game.

* The ''{{Wizardry}}'' series is an example of Western [=RPGs=] using individual and limited inventories as early as 1981.

* Averted in ''VideoGame/AtelierAyeshaAlchemistOfDusk'', where only Ayesha ever has access to her handbasket. Her function in battle actually revolves around this, with items completely replacing magic on her battle menu. Though considering this is an ''Atelier'' game, with the iconic item crafting system being as deep as the Grand Canyon, it works perfectly.