diff --git a/test/common b/test/common
index 0d61ec2..4c140cc 100644
--- a/test/common
+++ b/test/common
@@ -1,5 +1,16 @@
 #!/bin/bash
 
+# init the "game" and profile
+export GSGP_ID=gsgptest
+export GSGP_TITLE="Test Suite"
+export GSGP_PROFILE=TEST
+
+. "$( dirname $0 )/../util/common"
+
+# annihilate profile to start fresh
+rm -rf "$GSGP_PROFILE_PATH"
+mkdir -p "$GSGP_PROFILE_PATH"
+
 lastgiven=''
 lastexpected=''
 
@@ -24,10 +35,15 @@ assert-eq()
 }
 
 
-fail()
+simplefail()
 {
     echo "FAILURE: $1" >&2
+}
+
+
+fail()
+{
+    simplefail "$1"
     echo "Expected '$lastexpected', but received '$lastgiven'" >&2
     echo >&2
 }
-
diff --git a/test/test-inv b/test/test-inv
new file mode 100755
index 0000000..e219fa6
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/test-inv
@@ -0,0 +1,54 @@
+#!/bin/bash
+
+mypath=$( dirname $0 )
+. "$mypath/common"
+
+add="$mypath/../util/inv-add"
+count="$mypath/../util/inv-count"
+
+# the item _foo does not exist
+$add 1:_foo 2>/dev/null && {
+    simplefail "Should not be permitted to add unknown items to inventory"
+}
+
+# count should be 0 if we have none of the item in the inventory
+assert-equal $( $count _foo ) 0 || {
+    fail "Should return 0 if item is not in inventory"
+}
+
+# let's create our dummy item
+itemfile="$mypath/../items/_foo"
+cat > "$itemfile" <<'EOF'
+NAME Test Foobar
+EOF
+
+# now, let's give that another shot.
+$add 1:_foo 2>/dev/null || {
+    simplefail "Should be able to add item to inventory if it exists"
+}
+
+# one should have been added
+assert-equal $( $count _foo ) 1 || {
+    fail "Should add item to inventory"
+}
+
+# number should be required
+$add _foo 2>/dev/null && {
+    simplefail "Item quantity should be required"
+}
+
+# let's try adding another and ensure it's appended
+$add 1:_foo
+assert-equal $( $count _foo ) 2 || {
+    fail "Items should be appended to inventory"
+}
+
+# now let's try to add multiple
+$add 2:_foo
+assert-equal $( $count _foo ) 4 || {
+    fail "Should be able to add multiple items to inventory"
+}
+
+# we no longer need our test item
+rm "$itemfile"
+
diff --git a/util/common b/util/common
index 7095e64..c979675 100644
--- a/util/common
+++ b/util/common
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-#!/bin/sh
+#!/bin/bash
 
 if [ ! "$GSGP_ID" ]; then
     echo "ID unavailable" >&2
@@ -9,3 +9,9 @@ if [ ! "$GSGP_PROFILE" ]; then
     echo "Profile unavailable" >&2
     exit 2
 fi
+
+# path to current profile
+export GSGP_PROFILE_PATH="$HOME/.$GSGP_ID/profiles/$GSGP_PROFILE"
+
+# create path in case it does not yet exist
+mkdir -p "$GSGP_PROFILE_PATH" 2>/dev/null
diff --git a/util/common-inv b/util/common-inv
index 5ee0f67..bec2070 100644
--- a/util/common-inv
+++ b/util/common-inv
@@ -1,4 +1,24 @@
 #!/bin/bash
+#
+# Common inventory commands
+#
+#   Copyright (C) 2011 Mike Gerwitz
+#
+#   This file is part of gsgp. This program is free software: you can
+#   redistribute it and/or modify it under the terms of the GNU General Public
+#   License as published by the Free Software Foundation, either version 3 of
+#   the License, or (at your option) any later version.
+#
+#   This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
+#   but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
+#   MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the
+#   GNU General Public License for more details.
+#
+#   You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License
+#   along with this program.  If not, see <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.
+##
+
+. "$mypath/common"
 
 itemdir="$( dirname $0 )/../items"
 
diff --git a/util/getinvpath b/util/getinvpath
new file mode 100755
index 0000000..1380c1b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/util/getinvpath
@@ -0,0 +1,6 @@
+#!/bin/bash
+
+. "$( dirname $0 )/common"
+
+echo "$GSGP_PROFILE_PATH/_inv"
+
diff --git a/util/inv-add b/util/inv-add
new file mode 100755
index 0000000..cc6fbdf
--- /dev/null
+++ b/util/inv-add
@@ -0,0 +1,63 @@
+#!/bin/bash
+#
+# Adds an item to the inventory, given the item tag
+#
+#   Copyright (C) 2011 Mike Gerwitz
+#
+#   This file is part of gsgp. This program is free software: you can
+#   redistribute it and/or modify it under the terms of the GNU General Public
+#   License as published by the Free Software Foundation, either version 3 of
+#   the License, or (at your option) any later version.
+#
+#   This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
+#   but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
+#   MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the
+#   GNU General Public License for more details.
+#
+#   You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License
+#   along with this program.  If not, see <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.
+##
+
+mypath=$( dirname $0 )
+
+. "$mypath/common-inv"
+
+if [ $# -lt 1 ]; then
+    echo "Usage: $0 ITEM"
+fi
+
+# we should be provided with the item "tag", which identifies the item itself as
+# well as additional metadata
+tag="$1"
+
+inv_path=$( $mypath/getinvpath )
+item_path="$mypath/../items"
+item_id=$( inv-item-id "$tag" )
+item_count=$( inv-item-count "$tag" )
+item_file="$item_path/$item_id"
+inv_item_file="$inv_path/$item_id"
+
+# use -gt rather than -lt to ensure we'll still fail if $item_count is not an
+# integer
+[ $item_count -gt 0 ] || {
+    echo "Item count required" >&2
+    exit 1
+}
+
+# does the item we're attempting to access actually exist?
+[ -r "$item_file" ] || {
+    echo "Item does not exist" >&2
+    exit 1
+}
+
+# attempt to create the inventory in case it does not exist
+mkdir -p "$inv_path" 2>/dev/null
+
+# currently unused
+attr=''
+
+# append item(s) to inventory
+for i in $( seq 1 $item_count ); do
+    echo "$sttr" >> "$inv_item_file"
+done
+
diff --git a/util/inv-count b/util/inv-count
new file mode 100755
index 0000000..6fd8440
--- /dev/null
+++ b/util/inv-count
@@ -0,0 +1,40 @@
+#!/bin/bash
+#
+# Counts number of items in the inventory
+#
+#   Copyright (C) 2011 Mike Gerwitz
+#
+#   This file is part of gsgp. This program is free software: you can
+#   redistribute it and/or modify it under the terms of the GNU General Public
+#   License as published by the Free Software Foundation, either version 3 of
+#   the License, or (at your option) any later version.
+#
+#   This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
+#   but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
+#   MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the
+#   GNU General Public License for more details.
+#
+#   You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License
+#   along with this program.  If not, see <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.
+
+mypath=$( dirname $0 )
+
+. "$mypath/common-inv"
+
+if [ $# -lt 1 ]; then
+    echo "Usage: $0 ITEM"
+fi
+
+# we should be provided with the id, not the tag
+item_id="$1"
+inv_item_file="$( $mypath/getinvpath )/$item_id"
+
+# if the file does not exit, then we clearly have 0 of the item in our inventory
+if [ ! -r "$inv_item_file" ]; then
+    echo 0
+    exit
+fi
+
+# count the number of items in the inventory
+wc -l < "$inv_item_file" || echo 0
+