To all the Boy Scouts: What can you do with rope?

[Stalker0]

I'm thinking of making a character whose big into the use rope skill. So I'm curious, what can you do with all those clever knots and some rope?

 

[Gynsala]

hoist, pull, lower (over cliff), climb (up cliff), throw, tie together (in a bunch), tie together (like two things across a distance), hogtie, leash, set traps, or use as a belt. You'll want high ranged attack (for when you're throwing/shooting a grappling hook), you'll want to have trap finding/making skills (roguish), maybe get some survival skill if you're doing this in the forest, and some handle animal if you're going to use it on animals.

Since using rope just as rope tapers out pretty fast, you may want to consider going for a class that will give you a few spells to work with the rope (mage hand, etc).

 

[The Shaman]

Lessee...rope ladders, rope baskets, rope slings, rope litters (for raising or lowering a body or other large object), rope bridges, rope corrals (or for otherwise picketing stock), lassos, snares, trip-traps, rescue lines, lashing a pack load or a raft, tying up prisoners, bondage games (hey, you asked what you can do with a rope...).

I also give a synergy to Climb checks for five ranks in Use Rope, if the character is properly equipped with climbing gear.

Give me some more time and I' come up with some other uses for you.

 

[BiggusGeekus]

Quite a lot and not much.

Constructing things such as shelters or rafts
Climbing things
Using one hand to tie a knot to free up both hands while you're dangling from a cliff
Set small snares

Honestly, rope use could easily be dropped from the game and the various applications could be integrated into other skills. That said, I think some ENworlder out there has a huge chart of all the differnet knots and their difficulty, if you want to really get into it.

Here's an application from a genre novel:

A knot is used as part of a seal. Everyone knows what the knot looks like on the outside, but only the king and a trusted servant know how to tie it (in theory). So you can integrate rope use with forgery. That's the kind of thing that might come up often. Though once your PCs learn how to duplicate it you'll have to get used to them forging things in the king's name.

 

[Voadam]

Not much.

Create a rescue harness for rappelling rescues.

Lash down campign gear in a canoe.

Secure a canoe to a car roof

Make a suspension bridge using tons of rope, I did it once but I would personally need directions now.

Create a slip knot for various purposes.

Tie two pieces of similar rope together securely.

Knots can be important in sailing.

Make knots in a climbing rope for easier climbing.

Man I hated knots.

 

[Voadam]

Oh yeah,

Tieing off bandages.

Lashing sticks against a broken bone to create a splint.

 

[Snapdragyn]

Perform: er... 'Entertainment'.

I recommend silk rope for this use.

 

[billd91]

The most interesting uses of ropes I can think of I did NOT learn as a Boy Scout.

Something about them being too "morally straight" and all that...

 

[Voadam]

The most interesting uses of ropes I can think of I did NOT learn as a Boy Scout.

Something about them being too "morally straight" and all that...

"On my honor I will do my best . . .

To keep myself

Physically strong

Mentally awake

and

Morally straight"

yep, that's in the scout oath. But please don't let this turn into a paladin alignment thread of what that oath allows

 

[Chris Tavares]

In a long ago intro to Civil Engineering class, the teacher told us that there were only two things we needed to remember to pass the course:

1) F = ma (Newton's 3rd? law)

2) You can't push on a rope.