Actions: Detail view  Back to full view A single action in detail. About the action rulebooks

Standard actions concerning the actor's vision
Looking , Examining , Looking under , Searching , Consulting it about 

Searching something (requires light) (past tense searched)

Searching looks at the contents of an open or transparent container, or at the items on top of a supporter. These are often mentioned in room descriptions already, and then the action is unnecessary, but that wouldn't be true for something like a kitchen cupboard which is scenery - mentioned in passing in a room description, but not made a fuss of. Searching such a cupboard would then, by listing its contents, give the player more information than the ordinary room description shows.

The usual check rules restrict searching to containers and supporters: so the Standard Rules do not allow the searching of people, for instance. But it is easy to add instead rules ('Instead of searching Dr Watson: ...') or even a new carry out rule ('Check searching someone (called the suspect): ...') to extend the way searching normally works.

Typed commands leading to this action

"look inside/in/into/through [something]"

"search [something]"

Rules controlling this action

before    an actor doing anything   

instead of    an actor doing anything with the dummy_lift   

check    an actor searching  can't search unless container or supporter rule   name  unlist

check    an actor searching  can't search closed opaque containers rule   name  unlist

report    searching a container  standard search containers rule   name  unlist

report    searching a supporter  standard search supporters rule   name  unlist

report    an actor searching  report other people searching rule   name  unlist