ACCESS TO STORED ITEMS
In order to get an item which has been stored in a container, the character must get access to the container, open it and sort the desired item out from the other items in the container. The time taken in doing this can be of serious importance if this is being done in the middle of a desperate situation. The player should state that the character is beginning to get an item and inform the Gamesmaster of where it is kept. The character will then be engaged in the process for a number of Actions. The exact number should be known only to the Gamesmaster. The [sic] will announce to the player that he has found the item at the end of the Action on which it is “found”.
Thanks, 1981′s Aftermath!. That should clear up a few container-related rules arguments in my campaign.
OK, maybe they were trying to say “finding something and taking it out of a backpack can take a fair bit of time. The GM shouldn’t just let characters find what they want instantly.” But, damn. If it’s that important put a random table in or something.
Ah, the progress we’ve made since those dark days. Although, I have had players try out some pretty crazy stuff, just because ‘it doesn’t say I can’t in the rules’. Maybe we need more of this kind of thing.
“Sleeping in full plate armour, whilst an effective way of being ready for a late night attack, is stupid to the point of hilarity. When you wake up in the morning, you will barely be able to move, and as such it will take you D6+3 combat rounds to do anything. You will also have had no opportunity to void your bowels during the night without waking up half the world taking your armour off while trying to be quiet. This will need be done very swiftly after waking up, D4+1 combat rounds, or you will soil yourself. This is not good for your armour, or your relationships with other adventurers…”
I don’t even mind having a rule for finding stuff at short notice.
It’s just that this isn’t a rule. It’s like someone introducing the concept of things being stored in, and removed from, containers, as if they thought the audience hadn’t encountered the idea before.