Inventory: equipement/munition tracking and management.

[Antilles]

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!

[Raven Redstar]

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.
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[Antilles]

Thanks! I take note of that. It is a great idea!

[Mamatried]

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.

[garhkal]

[Antilles]

Wow! All great ideas.

Thank you all!

[CRMcNeill]

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

Link
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"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

[Antilles]

[Kytross]

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

[Antilles]

[MrNexx]

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.
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[Whill]

[Mamatried]

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

[Antilles]

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" .

[CRMcNeill]