The Rancor Pit Forum Index
Welcome to The Rancor Pit forums!

The Rancor Pit Forum Index
FAQ   ::   Search   ::   Memberlist   ::   Usergroups   ::   Register   ::   Profile   ::   Log in to check your private messages   ::   Log in

Inventory: equipement/munition tracking and management.
Post new topic   Reply to topic    The Rancor Pit Forum Index -> Gamemasters -> Inventory: equipement/munition tracking and management. Goto page 1, 2  Next
View previous topic :: View next topic  
Author Message
Antilles
Sub-Lieutenant
Sub-Lieutenant


Joined: 06 Feb 2021
Posts: 66

PostPosted: Tue Feb 09, 2021 3:34 pm    Post subject: Inventory: equipement/munition tracking and management. Reply with quote

Hi you all!

This is my first question in the forums! I'm mastering a game and I'm concerned about the ammo the blaster cell packs have, etc... (I usually consider that blaster pistol cells have a charge of 50 blaster shots, and the ones for blaster rifles 100; and some weapons, like the light repeating rifle blaster, consumes x4 instead x1 ammo... etc).

I play mostly "online" through an mobile app (that works surprisingly fine!), but managing inventories is a pain for me.

Do you use some web, program, app... or something to manage/track inventories or you stick to old good pencil and paper?

Any idea is welcome!

Thank you!
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Raven Redstar
Rear Admiral
Rear Admiral


Joined: 10 Mar 2009
Posts: 2648
Location: Salem, OR

PostPosted: Tue Feb 09, 2021 6:36 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I don't like worrying about ammo tracking unless I'm doing a very survival based game like Rebel SpecForce Wilderness/Pathfinder type stuff, so you could just ignore ammo consumption if you feel like the book keeping is becoming too much of a bother. Or, just have the players spend cash for blast packs for their guns they want to carry in between missions. If someone doesn't want to pay, let them know that a wild die complication could involve them running out of ammo in a fight.
_________________
RR
________________________________________________________________
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Antilles
Sub-Lieutenant
Sub-Lieutenant


Joined: 06 Feb 2021
Posts: 66

PostPosted: Tue Feb 09, 2021 8:11 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thanks! I take note of that. It is a great idea! Idea
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Mamatried
Commodore
Commodore


Joined: 16 Dec 2017
Posts: 1822
Location: Norway

PostPosted: Wed Feb 10, 2021 1:06 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I was intoduced to a system the GM called "Flex"
it is basically a way to not worry too much about gear and such.

you apply a flex point, and you have the gear you need.

in the start of the mission it is decided how much flex the group/player have, then how much flex each thing cost.

in this example a pair of grenades cost 1 flex. (1 felx = 3 grenades)

We are in combat and I decide that I need a greade, I have a flex left and I call the felx, I now have two greadaes, I had them on my belt, we just didn't mentioned it until needed.

I now toss my greandes, but I am also out of flex points, I can not use more flex this misssion, and thus next battle I may have to rely solely on my hold out.

so the felx as I understood it was basically that you need not detail your gear, and that with a few "flex" points. you can have the things you "logically" brought with you, and lessens the need for the detailed book keep.

there are naturally limits to flex, and things maybe cost differently depenting on what is agreed on.

With our group it was 2 grenades is 1 felx, the same can be said for an explosive charge, a repaeter blaster could be 2 flex, and maybe even 3,
again all depending on what is agreed upon.

you then set out with tha total group flex of lets say 8 , 4 players with 2 flex each.

as a group they can get anything upto 8 flex cost, individually they can get anything costing 2 flex.


the value of 1 flex is aggian agreed upon, and the limits as to how far you can push flex, meaning it make little sense that a trooper brought a starfighter, but the chances that he actually forgot his grenades are slim, even if his grenades are not listed for the mission, and thus he uses his flex to get the grenades whrn he needs them.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
garhkal
Sovereign Protector
Sovereign Protector


Joined: 17 Jul 2005
Posts: 14021
Location: Reynoldsburg, Columbus, Ohio.

PostPosted: Wed Feb 10, 2021 4:11 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Raven Redstar wrote:
I don't like worrying about ammo tracking unless I'm doing a very survival based game like Rebel SpecForce Wilderness/Pathfinder type stuff, so you could just ignore ammo consumption if you feel like the book keeping is becoming too much of a bother. Or, just have the players spend cash for blast packs for their guns they want to carry in between missions. If someone doesn't want to pay, let them know that a wild die complication could involve them running out of ammo in a fight.


Also since most troops they fight, Carry their own power packs (usually 2 per storm trooper), often even IF in the field, they won't have to worry that much, cause they can scrounge up the packs the enemy has...

NOW I DO TRACK IT for weapons such as most heavy pistols (25 shots on ave) or hold outs (most carry only 5 to 7 shots a pack)..
_________________
Confucious sayeth, don't wash cat while drunk!
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Antilles
Sub-Lieutenant
Sub-Lieutenant


Joined: 06 Feb 2021
Posts: 66

PostPosted: Wed Feb 10, 2021 7:29 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Wow! All great ideas.

Thank you all!
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
CRMcNeill
Director of Engineering
Director of Engineering


Joined: 05 Apr 2010
Posts: 16163
Location: Redding System, California Sector, on the I-5 Hyperspace Route.

PostPosted: Thu Feb 11, 2021 12:15 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

We've discussed this (ammo, at least) in the past. You may find some interesting ideas...

Link
_________________
"No set of rules can cover every situation. It's expected that you will make up new rules to suit the needs of your game." - The Star Wars Roleplaying Game, 2R&E, pg. 69, WEG, 1996.

The CRMcNeill Stat/Rule Index
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail Visit poster's website
Antilles
Sub-Lieutenant
Sub-Lieutenant


Joined: 06 Feb 2021
Posts: 66

PostPosted: Thu Feb 11, 2021 2:03 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

CRMcNeill wrote:
We've discussed this (ammo, at least) in the past. You may find some interesting ideas...

Link


Wow! I didn't see it! Thank you.

I like the "wild die" solution variants.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Kytross
Line Captain
Line Captain


Joined: 28 Jan 2008
Posts: 773

PostPosted: Thu Feb 11, 2021 7:42 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I have my players keep track of their own ammo. If they're going to lie about that, what's the point of playing?
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Antilles
Sub-Lieutenant
Sub-Lieutenant


Joined: 06 Feb 2021
Posts: 66

PostPosted: Fri Feb 12, 2021 8:06 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Kytross wrote:
I have my players keep track of their own ammo. If they're going to lie about that, what's the point of playing?


Good point.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
MrNexx
Rear Admiral
Rear Admiral


Joined: 25 Mar 2016
Posts: 2248
Location: San Antonio

PostPosted: Fri Feb 12, 2021 12:22 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I, on the other hand, don't bother with ammo tracking, and somewhat like how the Powered by the Apocalypse games handle it. A character might start out with 3 chunks of ammo, but that's not "three shots", but rather "three places your ammo can mess up." In PbtA games, a low-successful roll indicates a complication, which might include "losing your ammo" (which can range from "Just shot your last arrow" to "you forgot to recharge your power pack"... however the character and GM want to play it).

Tracking every shot and credit bores me. I get that some folks like it, but I'd rather get to the GAME, and with Star Wars, I want it to cinematic, not bureaucratic.
_________________
"I've Seen Your Daily Routine. You Are Not Busy!"
“We're going to win this war, not by fighting what we hate, but saving what we love.”
http://rpgcrank.blogspot.com/
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Visit poster's website
Whill
Dark Lord of the Jedi (Owner/Admin)


Joined: 14 Apr 2008
Posts: 10286
Location: Columbus, Ohio, USA, Earth, The Solar System, The Milky Way Galaxy

PostPosted: Fri Feb 12, 2021 8:08 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

MrNexx wrote:
Tracking every shot and credit bores me. I get that some folks like it, but I'd rather get to the GAME, and with Star Wars, I want it to cinematic, not bureaucratic.

garhkal wrote:
Raven Redstar wrote:
I don't like worrying about ammo tracking unless I'm doing a very survival based game like Rebel SpecForce Wilderness/Pathfinder type stuff, so you could just ignore ammo consumption if you feel like the book keeping is becoming too much of a bother. Or, just have the players spend cash for blast packs for their guns they want to carry in between missions. If someone doesn't want to pay, let them know that a wild die complication could involve them running out of ammo in a fight.

Also since most troops they fight, Carry their own power packs (usually 2 per storm trooper), often even IF in the field, they won't have to worry that much, cause they can scrounge up the packs the enemy has...

NOW I DO TRACK IT for weapons such as most heavy pistols (25 shots on ave) or hold outs (most carry only 5 to 7 shots a pack).

CRMcNeill wrote:
We've discussed this (ammo, at least) in the past. You may find some interesting ideas...

Link


What these guys said, except that I usually don't even bother requiring players to track ammo for heavy blaster pistols. It is a given that PCs recharge their blaster packs when back at the ship—I do not require players to state they are doing that. I don't even require any sort of strict inventory of ship supplies—special items in storage should be noted but I'm often ok with the ship just happen to having reasonable items and equipment that might be there, maybe able to be found with a search roll. I'm all about minor retcons to keep things moving...

PLAYER: Waitaminute. I had to have fired more than 25 times since we left the ship. Remember, the goon took my extra power pack in my vest pocket before I escaped with only my gun.
GM: You had found another blaster pack in your pants pocket that the goon didn't search while you were captured.
PLAYER: Really?
GM: The species doesn't wear pants, so he may have forgotten that pants even have pockets.
PLAYER: Do my pants even have pockets?
GM: They do now.

A wild die complication can be an empty blaster pack...

GM: You hit your target, but that '1' means the pack is now empty.
PLAYER: But this is the first firefight of the adventure. You said recharging ammo is a given.
GM: You forgot this time. Remember, you were in a firefight on the last planet.
PLAYER: Don't you think forgetting is unrealistic for my character since this is his home planet and he knew he had to go to crime alley?
GM: You're right. It's a defective pack that didn't recharge correctly or display that it hadn't.
PLAYER: Bummer. OK, rolling for damage.

These examples are (paraphrased) bits of actual adventures I ran.
_________________
*
Site Map
Forum Guidelines
Registration/Log-In Help
The Rancor Pit Library
Star Wars D6 Damage
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Visit poster's website
Mamatried
Commodore
Commodore


Joined: 16 Dec 2017
Posts: 1822
Location: Norway

PostPosted: Fri Feb 12, 2021 8:45 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

GM you are behind the counter securing the entrance of the office when troopers attack.
Player I took the other trooper's armor earlier on the landing pad when we infiltrated, he has a grenade he did not use, I use a flex to have brougght them along, and I thow one at the entrance.
GM Ok, deduct one flex form your pool and remember that a trooper only carries teo grenades.

I mean a too detailed logging of inventory is to me counter productive.
I can not by heart name every single item in a stormtrooper's blet, his pack and how many rations he generally wears.
Should I as a player then be penalized for this?

Or should I be allowed to assume my character is capable of logic and when he takes an armor he also takes the belt and the imtem therin?

Would I even run into battle with an empty pack, or would be one of those, not need to show in a scene each round I laod into a magazine.

I mean we have a ton of movies where you see they load 5 rounds in a magazine, then go on and shoot up 5-6 magazines, since assume they are full.

I am thinkingg much like this with armor and ammo, and a power pack for a DL44 or an E11 os neither the same or have equal amounts of shots, how would I as a player and not a detail expert know the difference between the two.

you have the situation where I take over a small freighter, and it is combat, I naturally arm the weapons, and go to combat, do I count the shots, yes only when it is relevant.
The story the GM narrates have given me 5 shots, I have to count them, should I count ever shot every time? not if I want time for other things

so to me inventory logging is all about simplicty and logic, more so than micro management
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Antilles
Sub-Lieutenant
Sub-Lieutenant


Joined: 06 Feb 2021
Posts: 66

PostPosted: Fri Feb 12, 2021 11:42 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I understand it.

Naturally my players and I always tend to be reasonable: things like the items that a stormtrooper belt can have, or if an Imperial Officer ID can open this or that door... They are always responsable in this sense and we are more or less flexible when an action/object/tool seems to be reasonable for something. As the Rulebook says: it is more important the story than a dice roll or a rule –to an extent, I agree with this.

Related with what have been said: items or resources that they could have in their ship... One of my players (a young senatorial) thought that taking a walk on Tatooine with elegant clothes was not the best idea. He asked "It is possible that there is something in the ship?". I answered: "I don't know. Search for it". Searching roll. "Ok, you have found a brown old dirty and oil-stained blanket in the cargo hold, under a toolbox... You could use it as a 'poncho'". That was "realistic" and we all had fun. If he had had an awful roll (1,1,1) or something like that, it would had created a very interesting situation too: "It is better you find something in the town...". And you know: Mos Eisley, thugs everywhere... From that it could have been resulting a good street fight scene or whatever. When GM and players are reasonable, it is always a win/win situation.

So:
I think that all the solutions you have gave to me are valid and very good, sensitive ideas. I specially like the mix of: 1) "ok, guys. Remember from time to time that you should get a couple of magazines for your weapons" (it is one of the things they do regularly, searching in dead stormtroopers or buying them) and 2) wild die rolls, that reminds them that the magazines drain empty from time to time (and that gives to the combats a bit more "spicy taste" to the combats too).
It is a fast, easy and uncomplicated solution that I am sure will work for my group.

So thank you again! I'm "beginning" as a GM –and this is my 4th adventure with my group (we returned to Star Wars D6 after years –in the past, I had only been a player–, and it is a great success that in less than a year, since march 2020, we have managed to keep the roleplay live online. Almost every day all of us leaves a message in the app) and –I was saying– all these advices are very useful. Much more coming from experienced GM as you all.

PS.: that young senatorialkeeps in his inventory the "SoroSuub chewing gum's wrapper that he found in the adventure "Tatooine Manhunt" . Laughing
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
CRMcNeill
Director of Engineering
Director of Engineering


Joined: 05 Apr 2010
Posts: 16163
Location: Redding System, California Sector, on the I-5 Hyperspace Route.

PostPosted: Sat Feb 13, 2021 9:40 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Antilles wrote:
Wow! I didn't see it! Thank you.

I like the "wild die" solution variants.

I'm partial to them myself. As a cinematic universe, my take is that this stuff should only become relevant when the plot requires it to.

For example, one of my many, many projects (most of which can be found on the link in my signature) is the conversion of Ship Consumables to Endurance Dice. The premise here is that, rather than tracking consumables consumption over the course of the game, the various actions that would reduce consumables are tallied up after the game to generate a Difficulty against which the ship's Endurance Dice is rolled to determine what the ship's fuel state is from a purely cinematic standpoint at the beginning of the next session or adventure.
_________________
"No set of rules can cover every situation. It's expected that you will make up new rules to suit the needs of your game." - The Star Wars Roleplaying Game, 2R&E, pg. 69, WEG, 1996.

The CRMcNeill Stat/Rule Index
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail Visit poster's website
Display posts from previous:   
Post new topic   Reply to topic    The Rancor Pit Forum Index -> Gamemasters All times are GMT - 4 Hours
Goto page 1, 2  Next
Page 1 of 2

 
Jump to:  
You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot vote in polls in this forum


Powered by phpBB © 2001, 2005 phpBB Group


v2.0