Do you keep track of normal ammunition?

[Nytmare]

It really depends on the game, I've run the full spectrum.

I've run "extreme" accounting games where food, water, and ammo are tracked continuously, and I've run abstract fumble chart games, where the only time you don't have ammunition is when you reach up to your quiver and realize that you're drawing your last arrow.

It really depends on what the focus of that particular campaign is, and whether anything is going to be gained from that sub game.

In my last run of 4E we tracked ammunition because the archer had a magic quiver on his wish list. We didn't track arrow for arrow, we tracked it by power usage; and when they found loot, I'd just give the group a coin amount, and the ranger and wizard could "find" ammo and spell components as part of their share.

 

[Gilladian]

We track, but loosely.

My pcs will tick off almost every arrow shot (I know they must forget once in a while) and then if they are not rushed, they can recover half of them afterwards. They can also use "captured" arrows as long as the other bow was a similar size (no, no goblin shortbow arrows in your elven longbow).

For masterwork, magic and specialty arrows; they'd better be tracking! And for things like charges on a wand, if I catch them "cheating" too often, the wand would somehow disappear. But I've never had that be a problem.

90% of the time it has not been a concern as they're able to restock easily. But once in a while the "low arrows" warning is fun.

 

[JiffyPopTart]

In our 3e and 4e games, no arrow counting as the price of arrows is miniscule compared to starting equipment guidelines.

In our newly started 1e game, however, my assassin/illusionist started out poorer than dirt and I could only afford to buy some studded leather and a dagger at creation. Since then I have picked up a goblin made shortbow and less than a full quiver of arrows in three adventures. IIRC my count sits at 13 as I have to share found arrows with the elf.

We DID just finish the last evening by finding a huge hoard of 3000 silver pieces (300 lbs of treasure!) which we had to lug out in a fighting retreat from the cave system assaulted by kobolds and orcs. Up arriving in town with my share (350 silver after paying back debts incurred) I realized it would take me 50 of that hard won silver just to get 20 more arrows.

I *DID* upgrade 7 of my arrows to germ warfare arrows by rubbing them in the spittle of the rabid raccoon we vanquished (in 3 rounds!!!)

DS

 

[Rechan]

As the DM I ignore anything that isn't plot relative. If the players aren't lost in the wilderness or aboard a stalled ship, then food and other mundane resources just aren't worth tracking.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

In all honesty, we do it by an honor system. I'm not tracking every little thing on your PCs sheet- I expect you to do it.

However, if you don't track the mundane stuff, you can miss out on some real fun. As a player, I was in a campaign in which we were all keeping track of our ammo...and so I got to participate in The Battle of the Brutal Slaughter of the Harpies:

We were attacked by Harpies, and the quick-thinking Druid hit them with an Entangle as they did a strafing run through some foliage- snagged them all!

That was when the dice went sour.

We only had a few PCs with ranged weaponry- a guy with a bow, a guy with a throwing hammer, one with a sling, and the Wiz had a dagger.

The guy with the Hammer is venturing into the area of the Entangle to retrieve his hammer and the Wiz' dagger.

Most of the to-hit rolls were low. When we did hit, no attack did more than 3HP damage. We finish off the first Harpy just as the Entangle is starting to expire...

So the Druid does Entangle #2...and our futility continues. The dice continue to stay as low as a soldier under fire.

The guy with the Hammer is, by now, having to venture into the area of the Entangle to retrieve arrows that have missed. The PC with the sling is now using rocks.

Harpy #2 is near death but still fighting and Harpy #3 is untouched when Entangle #2 is expiring, so the Druid pops Entangle #3.

My PC and the hammer-thrower are apologizing to the Harpies- in character- for the cruel deaths that we are inflicting upon them...especially after the hammer-thrower retrieved the Wizard's dagger out of the still-living Harpy#2 so the Wizard could throw it again. But he doesn't leave the Entangle area until after he stabs the dying Harpy with that dagger to finish it off.

By now, all of the arrows have been used, either striking the Harpies or being broken downrange. EVERYONE ELSE IS THROWING ROCKS.

The last Harpy dies just before Entangle #3 does.

All of this time, our DM has been flabbergasted- absolutely red faced and flustered- at the action. "F$%^&ing Entangle! That spell is broken!" *rant*rant*rant*

To which the Druid's player huffily responded "Well, it was either that or Create Food & Water! The Harpies could have had a meal and a bath!"

LOLs abounded.

 

[was]

Yes, we keep track of ammunition.

 

[Greg K]

Yes, we always keep track of ammunition. Furthermore, Bags of Holding and Quivers of Ehlonna are either non-existent or special items that must be found (random rolled item) depending upon the campaign.

 

[Ahnehnois]

As a DM, I let players worry about those sorts of things.

Sometimes, they draw a surprising amount of pleasure from rolling their 50% chance to see if fired ammo is reusable.

 

[The Human Target]

We used to track things like ammo and food costs and stuff.

Then we realized it wasn't really bringing us any kind of joy 95% of the time, so why bother?

Especially when after the first level or three in the average game money for mundane things is plentiful.

Now I think there is an argument to be made for arrow tracking, in that it helps balance long rang archers. But I feel like there has to be a better way to do that anyway. After all, I've never seen anyone force their melee players to track whetstones and armor polish.

I am however all for dramatically screwing over the PCs with hand waved resource management sometimes.