Do you keep track of normal ammunition?

[WanderingMonster]

yes. always have. always will.

[bait]So, uh, how long have you been doing this?[/bait]

 

[diaglo]

[bait]So, uh, how long have you been doing this?[/bait]

Since Original D&D...the 70's version.



before the players revolted and made me add elements of 1edADnD.


edit: i've done it even while playing other editions... part of what irks me about the "New Age" gamers. they have no sense of history.

 

[Djeta Thernadier]

I do my best to keep track of crossbow bolts and arrows and other such things as a player. Occasionally I miss one but for the most part, I know how many I have. If we find some along our way, I add them. If I take a few shots I subtract them. I just write it down in a notebook.

 

[DragonLancer]

As DM I always have my players keep track of ammunition, after all its going to dig into their gold stash to replace them.

 

[Numion]

edit: i've done it even while playing other editions... part of what irks me about the "New Age" gamers. they have no sense of history.

Shouldn't you then try to stimulate our sense of history .. instead of our sense of irritation, like you've done for past, say, 4000 posts? :\

 

[wedgeski]

Ammunition should be tracked because it's a limited resource exactly like spells and hit points are a limited resource. If the wizard has to rest and the cleric has to pray, why shouldn't the ranger have to refill his quiver? If you don't enforce it, it is IMO unbalancing the game.

Having said that... we always assume that arrows can be recovered from fallen foes. Situations where they can't (the foe escapes, or is a attacking from a lake of acid or a bottomless pit ) tend to be pretty obvious.

Edit: Do I even remember, in some far-off Edition, rolling for every arrow to see if it broke and therefore couldn't be salvaged...?

 

[diaglo]

Edit: Do I even remember, in some far-off Edition, rolling for every arrow to see if it broke and therefore couldn't be salvaged...?

yeah, the 2000ed had automatic destruction of arrows upon a hit. and a 50% loss/destruction if you missed.

 

[WanderingMonster]

Shouldn't you then try to stimulate our sense of history .. instead of our sense of irritation, like you've done for past, say, 4000 posts? :\

Tucks Pads. Barring that, some witch hazel and cotton balls. That'll cut down on the inflammation of the irritated spot(s). I'm assuming you're geting chafed in a specific area.

 

[JDJarvis]

I keep track of the ammo. Even if the players figure out a method to carry 1000 arrows they are going to have to keep track of those 1000 arrows.


I also keep track of the capacity and locations of containers and items. I don't let players treat four quivers like they are one giant quiver.

 

[kigmatzomat]

When my players are in their home turf under normal circumstances (decent sized villages with guard outposts in a 1-2 days ride) I don't sweat it anymore. Until they got packhorses it was an issue for the archers, but not really anymore. They usually have a small cart and pack horses with a small arsenal of spare weapons and ammunition.

The fact that everyone uses a different ammo makes it fun. There's a Large longbow, two medium longbows, a medium shortbow, a small shortbow, and a medium crossbow. And the monk uses a sling. They look like hardened mercenaries just from the 600-ish arrows/bolts they cart around. (50 of each, plus an extra 200 medium longbow and 200 small shortbow) Four oversized quivers of arrows plus two barrels of arrows is a decent amount of stabby-pokey.

Right now it's a different story while they're in the arctic regions. Sure, they've got a wizard with teleport but do you want to waste your teleports on arrow runs? Sure, it takes quite a bit of combat for someone to churn through 250 arrows, but 15th level characters do it quite well. It gets worse when you have to leave your pack horses behind. Well, the halfling's okay since his wardog is pretty mobile and has a decent amount of carry capacity free. I'm sure the halfling and elf dumped at least two dozen arrows each into opponents during the last combat alone.