DOES AMMO WORK THE WAY I THINK IT DOES?!?
OK so correct me if I am mistaken, but here is my understanding of AMMO:
*AMMO* is not an actual representation of the number of arrows/bullets/sling stones/bolts you have at all. You in fact have, technically, an infinite supply of those items. AMMO is just the currency you spend to avoid having to do something worse, like put yourself or someone else in danger, etc.
Once you are out of AMMO you are actually out of the supply of whatever it is you are loading/firing/throwing.
Is this correct? I was explaining it to a friend last night and realized I might be mistaken about the finer points, also I got the feeling some players might not “get it” so wanted to highlight it.
So please let me know if I am wrong/right/somewhere in the middle? Thanks!
that is basically it yes
The way I think about it is that you have enough ammo and you’re picking your ammo up as you go along. Ammo represents the number of times you can break, lose, or fail to retrieve your ammo during a fight without running out.
Yeah, I was just hearing “What! I only have three arrows? That’s BS!” from a player. Once he “got it” all was good.
The Thief’s 2 throwing knives are only 2 throwing knives, but AMMO is a more abstract representation of your ammunition.
Can i jump in on your ammo question? Is money the only way to regain ammo, or does them resupply (ie at the end of the fight, when you camp…)?
I’ve been running that you don’t need Ammo to use Volley, but if you lack Ammo “You have to take several shots, reducing your ammo by one” isn’t an option. So Ammo reflects enough ammunition to fire wildly, and when you’re out of Ammo you’re down to few enough that you need to make every shot count.
That said, this thread has caused me to review the rules and reconsider and I’m no longer certain. I think my view was informed by a discussion online, but I can’t remember for sure.
I suppose it’s not a big deal either way; the way I’ve been running is identical to having 1 extra Ammo that the PC never uses in how you’ve run it.
Daniele Frizzi i’d say you can’t really loot your own arrows enough to get ammo back BUT you can loot the quivers of enemy archers!
Yeah looting of AMMO was something else I was wondering about. Also how do you handle it if a character simply picks up a dead goblins short bow? How much AMMO will that provide? How does being able to purchase AMMO affect classes like Arcane Archer or Ranger who rely on it when most other classes have a resources currency (i.e. HOLD) that is generated randomly when moves are used?
If you get ammo in the fiction, you get it on paper too.
Well the arcane archer has a way to deal with not having ammo
Marshall Miller
Yes but # of arrows on the ground/in the quiver isn’t the same as AMMO, which was the point of my original post.
Tim Franzke
yeah but that’s my point. It’s a resource you can spend money to acquire, but no other class has that option. You can’t convert coin into hold, but you can for AMMO. Giving a class additional uses for AMMO beyond the basic volley move gives that class a buyable resource that most other classes do not have. I don’t think it’s game breaking, it’s a minor exploit at best, IMHO. Just wondering what other folks think or how it’s used on other players games.
What about healing potions or books then? Same thing basically
Eric Lochstampfor By class you mean type of variable, right?
Marshall Miller
Well I guess I mean “move” not nessecarily class. And there aren’t classes that have special moves that provide additional use for healing potions or books. But maybe there could or should be? A potion master or sage class?
I guess I’m just weary of the “buy your way to greatness” path that a lot of RPGs seem to have baked into them (cough Pathfinder cough). If no one is having an issue or had a bad encounter with it maybe I am worrying too much? Probably.
I think its up to the GM to decide if recovered arrows are broken or too few, a single missile (fictionally relevant but expended no matter the roll), or enough to constitute 1 Ammo.
The GM can take all your ammo away with a Use Up Their Resources move or Show Them the Limitations of Their Gear. It’s not really much of an exploit.
Salvaging arrows works like this. Is it a move? No? Everyone looks at the GM to find out what happens. The GM decides, but if they just took away some your ammo they’re probably not going to undo that. Unless of course it IS a move, like say Defying Danger. Then sure, on a 10+ you get 1 ammo back from scrounging and are prepared when the bugbear jumps out from behind the rock…
Beeing able to pick up your own arrows to get ammo back seems kind of backwards. Spending 2 ammo in the fight and then getting one back turns the 1 7-9 into a 10+.
So only picking up unused arrows i think.
Tim Franzke
I agree. Picking up unused arrows doesn’t constitute regaining AMMO.
If it was a case where some character arms themselves with the bows & arrows of dead enemies I would say a melee centric class would get 2 AMMO, everyone else would get 1. I don’t think scavenged parts should outshine the fancy store bought ones, nor should the player who did buy them be penalized.
Tim Franzke Sure, on a 7-9 your arrows are gone or broken, unrecoverable. Picking some up after a later fight with archers, GM’s discretion. That’s all I’m saying… 🙂
It’s just part of the fiction like everything else. The ranger goes scrounging for arrows, the GM makes a move. Separate them. Put them in a spot. Tell them the consequences or cost and ask. Show a grim portent if impending Doom. Make a monster move. Etc.