Apr 22

Apr 22 Keeping Track of Your Stuff

As players, we rely on the DM to keep track of countless things. They keep track of everything from the monster hit points and ability usage during a battle to mundane things like the passage of time in hours, days, and weeks. Players have three major things they are required to track; their hit points, gold, and spell slots. I’ll say that most of us are good at this, but things still fall between the cracks. As players, we can take for granted all the work a DM will put into this aspect of the game.

We as players need to step it up and assist, especially when tracking simple yet often-forgotten mundane things. While your DM may not care about some of the items listed below, I will argue to my last breath that they are an essential part of any campaign. Some of this comes from playing 1e back in the stone age, where my DMs made me keep a careful inventory of all my consumable items. I, in turn, did the same when I was a DM, and it made for some hairy situations. I remembered being on a long outdoor campaign and hadn’t bothered to craft or buy any arrows while we were stomping through the forest. I was displeased when my ranger reached into his quiver for another arrow only to find none left.

Here are four everyday things that many people don’t keep track of but, in my opinion, should. Your DM may not care about some of them, so you may not have to either. I do guarantee that there is at least one thing below that they very much do care about, and the onus is on us to manage it.

Rations - Everyone short of the undead needs to eat every day. Some need to eat more than others, but going without food has actual consequences. Starvation is listed as one of the ways to suffer the effects of Exhaustion. There is no way to measure starvation anywhere in the rules, but I know I feel as if I’ve lost half my hit points if I go longer than a day without food. If I’m being honest, it’s more like eight hours, but you get what I’m trying to say.

When you build your character and select an equipment pack, you receive ten days’ rations. I’m willing to bet that very little if any thought is given to rations for most people after that. Maybe it’s just assumed that catching a rabbit or killing a deer every night is a simple feat because you are a mighty hero, but what about when you are deep in a dungeon? The nearest tavern is miles away, and owlbear meat isn’t the tastiest.

You’ll be giving the DM one more thing to figure out how to measure, given the lack of rules, but players should be the ones taking responsibility for this. It’s an easily fixable problem by creating simple rules the players would be responsible for following when there is no food in their bellies. A character could go 24 hours without food, after which they suffer a level of Exhaustion each day they go without food. Before gobbling them up, make sure that your druid identifies the moss and berries you find when you haven’t eaten for days.

Ammunition - Unless you have a magic quiver of neverending arrows, you’ll have to buy additional ones beyond the twenty you get in your starting inventory. While they aren’t going to send you to the poorhouse, one gold for twenty arrows is an actual cost, and we’ll get into the next. Arrows can be reused, but they will eventually y break or become lost. I’ve always used the simple idea that an arrow that hits a creature can be recycled, but a wayward one is lost or breaks.

Characters can create their arrows, but there is no existing system on how to. You have to think you’ll need some simple materials and tools, so it could be left up to the DM which ones can be used. If that’s too much work, you’re in luck since Dump Stat has created a Fletcher’s Kit with simple rules for your campaign.

Other consumable ammunition also needs to be taken into consideration. Sling stones are probably the easiest since you can say that finding a rock to whip at someone’s head shouldn’t be hard. Crossbow bolts are similar to arrows and possibly a bit more resilient. The flip side is the dart, so it’s a good thing that very few people use them. Bullets are the most expensive of all ammunition. You cannot recycle a bullet as it is destroyed once used, and buying them can get costly. If you’re looking for an alternative to creating bullets beyond what’s in the Gunslinger’s description, look no further than the Dump Stat Gunsmith’s Kit.

Copper and Silver - I know plenty of people that eliminate these coins from their game. My question is this; Does everything that typically costs five copper pieces or two silver pieces just one gold them? The gold economy in the 5th edition isn’t the best, but capitalism is alive and well in this fantasy world. Things cost money, and unless you want to inform your players that a single torch is now a gold piece due to inflation, I recommend keeping copper and silver in your game.

I understand that I’m talking about adding more math to your game, for which I am genuinely sorry.

Magic Item Charges - I imagine this isn’t an issue, but you’ll be surprised. I’ve seen many a player get called out by the DM when they gleefully pull out their wand of fireballs only to be informed there are no more charges. Keeping track of your magical items charges is your responsibility, not the DM’s.

This includes remembering to roll for your charges each day. If you forget, most DMs will allow you to roll when you realize that you failed to do so in the middle of combat. If you were playing in a game run by Gary Gygax, you’d be screwed because I guarantee he would tell you the wand failed to recharge due to your forgetfulness.

Whether eat rations or firing off arrows, you need to keep track of what you’re using. The DM has enough to worry about and shouldn’t have to be the one to tell you that the party’s dead rogue is shit out of luck because there are no charges left on your rod of resurrection.

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