Im running a fledgling system that doesnt have a lot in the way of potions, items and the like. Much of that must be created by the GM and in a logical sense I find that actually whipping up such items and their effects more or less when needed introduces a variability that many games lack and that I find refreshing.

Perhaps this healing potion, found on a Kobold Chieftain - will heal 8 points of damage but leaves the patient nauseous (-1 on abilities) for an hour afterward. Another healing salve, used by the rangers in a well known patch of woods, heals 5 points of damage but only after a nights rest once its applied. A poultice found in the hut of an old hermit miraculously heals 20 points of damage when applied but leaves the individual stinking so bad they have a negative modifier to almost any communication with others for a full day, not to mention can be smelled and located easily by anyone with a nose for a hundred yards.

This is all well and good and I believe my players enjoy the detail and color above the more conventional 4d4+4 standard healing spell in D&D or what have you. However, it does present the problem of tracking such things and remaining consistent. Ive had to start a list of such items, their backgrounds and uses, locations etc. but in most cases a bit of variation, even from the same source, is understandable. I make up far more than I refer. But when the party first comes upon the item they are logically limited in knowledge (unless informed) as to what it will actually do until they use it, unless they have been exposed to the exact same item before and can recognize it. I allow a skill/lore roll for a suitable knowledgeable individual to recognize the general intent of an unknown item (Oh, this smells a bit like Oleander, I imagine its some sort of magical resistance potion) for playability's sake but I dont reveal the details until more info is gathered or its used.

The trick then is to hold the specifics for a time, perhaps several sessions, until which time the item is used but make sure those specifics remain as planned and deviate due to bad memory or whatever.  

The idea Ive come up with then is to quickly jot down the specifics on an index card, fold it shut to conceal them and staple it closed. On the outside I write what they believe it is and where it came from. (Healing Drought, blue liquid, Alchemist shop in Arverton) Then when they use it or come across someone who can inform them of more info they simply open it up and read. Once its used I take the card back, they can make a note if they like or depend on their memory as they like.

Just curious as to your thoughts? Have any of you encountered this issue in your game?

Yes, I usually have relatively limited amounts of magic in my game worlds, and much less generic brand-name magic everyone knows about. I like to know who knows what spells and formulas and who makes what potions and items and who is familiar with them, and to make it non-trivial to determine what unfamiliar magic does, and to have possible side-effects and issues for use, misuse, and/or overuse.

I can usually track a pretty good amount of what's going on with magic effects using memory and notations, as I do for the many other things I tend to track (I tend to track more or less everything tangible about PCs myself - player character sheets are for their own reference, and are a secondary source which often may be inaccurate because the character doesn't know all the details), so spells are just another detail like the infection from that arrowhead stuck in a PC's leg...

But there's certainly a limit, and my brain tracks physical stuff better than magic stuff, especially if its complicated or needs to interact with other things. Which is part of why I prefer to have limited amounts of magic in my gameworlds, so I don't get overwhelmed keeping track of it and making sure it interacts properly and that NPC magic-users are doing sensible things with it (rather than just sitting around waiting to be abused and/or killed and looted by PCs).

I used index cards for items, mostly books, in Call of Cthulhu. I'd give the players a card with whatever info was obvious on inspection. I'd have a key of my own that detailed the properties of the item. It there are enough items for it to matter one can include an item number to track back to the GM index. As the players learned about the book or item they could jot down properties. Stapling could work and I could see where some folks would enjoy opening/un-stapling the card when they use the potion. But if it were me I'd stick with a card and a GM key.

I really like making magic items as well, but you're right: keeping track of them can really bog a GM down. Generally, how I approach it depends on whether the item is an ephemeral, one-time-use item, or if it's a permanent "keeper."

If it's a permanent magic item, I write it up and give a copy to the player once it's been identified.

If it's ephemeral, such as a potion, the player writes the info down in his notes. "If you don't write it down, you don't have it."

For healing potions, I also like varying their effects, especially because many of the healing potions, balms, salves, etc. are herbal or alchemical. One alchemist in the party's home base city puts his mark on his products, so the players generally know what to expect with those. This also allows me and the players to have a sense of stability amongst all the variation. (Clerical healing potions will usually have the holy symbol on them, too. This can have funny consequences, as when the players obtained a healing potion made by clerics of an evil deity; they didn't dare use it!)

A few times, the player wanted to use an item but couldn't find the details. We just rolled them up on the spot to keep it fun. For example, I had the player roll a d20. On a 1-14, it was a standard healing potion; 15-20, it was special. I have the players do the dice rolling because it's fun for them and because I'm usually having loftier thoughts at the time so lifting dice takes takes too much effort :-) .

I really like the idea of stapling index cards to hide the details! So simple, yet so effective.

Index cards are your friend.

I'm a hard-ass when it comes to the PCs finding out what an item does. That's what sages and trial-and-error are for. I also like to mix up what magic items do, even if it's just to give it a quirk that balances how useful it is with some negative feature (weapons that whistle when bored, for ex, or out of date healing potions that cause flatulence). One of the reasons I can stomach running fifth edition D&D is because magic items aren't included in the power curve, so I can hold back on the goodies and make it feel like a low-magic world. Chopping off spells after 5th level helps with this too, but I think the players feel the lack of 'standard' magic items more keenly.

This is why, as I've said before, D&D was more fun BEFORE the rules were published.

I really like your mechanic of a description on the outside stapled shut with details on the inside.  

But I really don't want to make the game about inventory management.  I don't want my PCs to be spending mental energy choosing between those 3 similar potions.  

Now if it was chosing between fire breathing with irrational anger, invunriblity with increadible magicsl wieght gain so you might fall thrpugh the floor and regeneration with the Tetsuo complications I might be interested.

Well, that's one way to do it, I guess.

In you setting constraints, how precise and repeatable is a given potion for a given creator.  If a kobold alchemist for a particular tribe makes healing potions, how sure is she about the effects?  How much of this does she communicate to the kobold chieftain?

Reason I ask, there are potentially 3 levels of knowledge on such things, rather than 2:

1. Vague hints as to it's abilities (probably meant to heal in some way, smelly)
2. Oh, it's a kobold thing, and their recipes tend to X, Y, or Z in addition to healing.  General ideas, but not precise details.
3. The parameters of the recipe, and the range of effects that you get from it, likely known only to those with a lot of experience dealing with multiple items from that source.

Depending upon your setting, you might be able to replace #3 with a random lookup table, upon which you only roll when someone makes a definitive effort to learn the effects or actually uses the thing.  That lets the stuff in level #2 be a little more vague, while still useful--whether you put it on the inside of the stapled card or something else.  But it also simplifies what you put on the card, and makes it easier to key, or even abandon the card altogether.  Of course, if the kobold alchemist has a more precise recipe, then that idea goes out the window.

Quote from: rgrove0172;1025859Just curious as to your thoughts? Have any of you encountered this issue in your game?

I do it all the time. And when I do it, I make sure I understand that by putting this into my game it's now a *thing* that needs to be developed exactly as you're saying. How is it made? How much does it cost? How available is it? Is this something the PC's can learn (which almost always is a yes - because that creates more gaming opportunity).

And then it becomes part of that setting. That's how you add your own little "things" to your world for color that matters.