So I know if a player uses supplies to aid with a test, he gets +1D and the supplies are consumed.
In a dungeoneer test, if the player has rope I would want to make the test easier. Rope is also listed in the book as a supply for Dungeoneer. I just find it hard to justify the rope being consumed to my players. Using a rope to climb doesn’t destroy it. By its nature it’s reusable. People untie it and keep going.
How do you generally handle rope as a climbing supply?
Dungeoneer skill tools: Not consumed; “You have the bare minimum tools needed for your skills in your pack.”
Rope used as tools: +1D, re-usable
Rope as supplies: +1D, consumed (GM’s call on how much of that 50’ is used up)
Rope used during a Good Idea: No test, may be consumed
Okay, apologies for the thread necromancy here. It was my understanding from the book that the “tools” required for skills don’t provide a bonus, they just count as a factor if they are absent. Based on that reading, in order to get a +1D bonus form using rope, a dungeoneer would have to consume some of it, as a supply. I’m looking at page 34, “Necessary tools for skills”.
I am hung up a bit (har har) on the rope rules as well.
I’d think in a dungeoneering climbing situation, not having rope at all would be a -1D (inadequate tools). It’s hard to call when it should give a +1D and be used as a supply however. I suppose it comes down to what the players describe they doing.
As a rock climber who owns no ropes, I think there’s a fundamental flaw in ‘rope is a tool’ thinking. Only climbing or rappelling the most sheer surfaces requires it… and also requires a means to top- or bottom-belay yourself, which means grappling hook or spikes with loops. Show up with just a rope, and it’s not so much “helping” you or being a tool as it is inherently required to lower you at a rate safer than falling velocity.
Further, I’d say something like a “Climbing Kit” would be logical for providing an actual bonus… but only for tests to avoid damage from a fall!
Summary:
Without a partner and/or additional gear, rope isn’t going to actually help you climb in most situations; and in those where it does actually help you climb, it’s mandatory (implying no +1, much like Shield Use doesn’t get a bonus if you use a shield).
As for descents, a slip-knot, a ‘pulley-like’ fulcrum (e.g., a tree or stalagmite) or a partner and a rope is sufficient kit, if the rope is long enough–greater than double the height of the current pitch. The rope is never consumed unless it is rigged as a permanent anchor (i.e., no fulcrum, not double-length of pitch) and you never go back up it.
