Containers

Basic Gear: Containers

Many characters have in-game bags on them, at encampments players keep in-game chests and boxes, there are a wide variety of ways characters store their stuff. These containers pose a weird rules complication: the container isn't lootable but the contents might be. Any character is welcome to rifle through an in-game container to find if there are lootable contents inside.

Taking a whole container can get more complex. Bandits strike and want to steal a bag from a player character. Before they have time to go through the bag, other pcs arrive, the bandits want to flee with the bag. The bag isn't lootable, so how should they handle this? Generally its accepted that you can run off with the container as long as it is ultimately returned to its owner. Keep in mind players may be keeping real world important things in a bag though like medication, wallets or keys. This is the kind of thing where a quick out of game communication with the owner can avoid serious issues later. If you have important personal items in a container it's appropriate to say something if someone tries to loot a container with that item in it.

The last important consideration about generic level 0 containers is that they should be accessible to anyone. Puzzle boxes are technically not locked, but a player can't easily open it and search it for lootable objects, and can't steal a non-lootable box, so these don't make appropriate containers. Even if it were treated as a locked box theres the problem that with an item like an explosive charge can't just instantly open it if they don't understand the puzzle. This sort of container is generally inappropriate for game for that reason.

Containers that have locks attached to them become new items that are lootable. See the tinkering entries for locks for more information.

Categories: Items | Basic Gear