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

Standard actions concerning the actor's possessions
Taking inventory , Taking , Removing it from , Dropping , Putting it on , Inserting it into , Eating 

Taking inventory (past tense taken inventory)

Taking an inventory of one's immediate possessions: the things being carried, either directly or in any containers being carried. When the player performs this action, either the inventory listing, or else a special message if nothing is being carried or worn, is printed during the carry out rules: nothing happens at the report stage. The opposite happens for other people performing the action: nothing happens during carry out, but a report such as 'Mr X looks through his possessions.' is produced (provided Mr X is visible).

The exotic 'use inventory to set pronouns rule' allows the inventory listing to change the current meanings of IT, HIM, HER, and so on for the player's future commands. Thus if the player is carrying a certain female cat, say, taking inventory might print up the name 'Missee Lee', and this would set HER to refer to Missee Lee. Some IF authors dislike this convention: it can be abolished by writing 'The use inventory to set pronouns rule is not listed in any rulebook.'

Typed commands leading to this action

"take inventory"

"inventory"

Rules controlling this action

before    doing anything   

carry out    print empty inventory rule   name  unlist

carry out    print standard inventory rule   name  unlist

carry out    use inventory to set pronouns rule   name  unlist

report    an actor taking inventory  report other people taking inventory rule   name  unlist