Verb:RECOVER
RECOVER allows one to retrieve items that were DISARMed, HURLed, or otherwise forced to the ground from one's hands, usually during the course of combat.
Using the RECOVER verb, players may attempt to find their dropped items with-in 90 days of dropping them, provided they are in the same room the lost item was originally dropped. It is not necessary to kill whatever creature caused the player to drop the item, though it is advisable to at least wait for the creature to move on.
Usage
Recover:
>recover USAGE: RECOVER [option] Options: ITEM - Attempt to recover a missing item of yours that may be in this room. HURL - Recover your hurled weapon. LIST - View your list of recoverable items. FORGET [#] - Permanently remove an item from your list of recoverable items.
RECOVER ITEM - While kneeling with both hands empty, RECOVER ITEM will allow a character to attempt to find their lost item. Success is not guaranteed, but each attempt will be easier then the last until there is a 100% chance to find the item. Difficulty of finding a lost item is dependent on the manner it was lost.
The success formula for RECOVER ITEM is primarily dependent on Perception and Intuition, as well as the terrain and visibility of the room. Presence (402) provides a bonus. Every search attempt provides a stacking bonus, ensuring that repeated attempts will always eventually find the item.
RECOVER HURL - Used to recover weapons HURLed by the player. Does not require kneeling or empty hands, but one will need to wait approximately 20 seconds after the weapon was HURLed to use. Generally much easier to find weapons lost this way then in other manners.
RECOVER LIST - Lists all items you may currently attempt to RECOVER. Items will be removed from this list once they are recovered or after 90 days, whichever comes first.
RECOVER FORGET - Used to remove items you do not intend to recover from your RECOVER LIST. Once removed from the list, they will no longer be recoverable
Applicable Loss
The following actions will result in an item being added to one's recovery list:
- Disarm Weapon: Combat Maneuver
- Itchy curse: The "itch" variant of the Curse (715) spell, which forces a player to empty their hands and scratch themselves.
- Hand loss: Attacks (maneuver or otherwise) that cause hand loss may result in a held item to be dropped
- Corpse loot: Some creatures can loot items off your dead body.
- Tough skin: Some creatures are covered in hard hide or scales which can cause melee weapons to vibrate out of an attacker's hands upon impact.
- Outright theft: Some creatures can steal items from the containers of living characters
- HURL: HURLed weapons that miss or bounce off their target will fall into the shadows
Any other action which causes an item to fall from one's hand with a message about it falling into the shadows should also result in the item appearing on RECOVER LIST.
Alternative
If one does not wish to go out to the field to RECOVER their item(s) for whatever reason (too dangerous, forgot what room it's in, just can't be bothered), they may go to the Adventurer's Guild and pay the headmaster to have their item recovered for them. The cost of this method will be between 100 silvers and 500,000 silvers, depending on the character's level and frequency of use.
Miscellaneous Notes
- Only 20 items may be on one's recovery list at any given time. If a player's list is already full and another item is lost due to disarm mechanics, the oldest item on the list will be removed and the new item added. Items removed in this manner will no longer be eligible for RECOVER.
- Items which were lost in a manner that involves a d100 roll (ex. Disarm Weapon) will have their difficulty to be RECOVERed set by the endroll, items lost in other manners (ex. the itchy curse) will have a set difficulty.
- Items not recovered with-in 90 days will be lost permanently.
- Spirit Servants can be told to recover an item on your list provided the item was lost with-in the last hour, they were active when the item was lost, and they have not been refreshed/recast since the item was lost.
- Certain creatures (Ithzir, gremlins, etc) or areas (Cavernhold) can loot items from you via various means. For creatures that can loot weapons, armor, and other non-gem items, they will now stash the items locally (possibly the room you died in, but not always). These items will be RECOVERable, though you may need to unlock/open a chest/door/etc. first to be able to RECOVER your item successfully.
- Only the player that lost an item will be able to retrieve it, either via RECOVER or the alternative.
Background
Previously, weapons or other items forced from a player's hands during combat would simply drop to the ground, able to be picked up by the first character or creature able to get their hands on them. In an effort to eliminate item loss, "disarm" mechanics were changed so that effects which cause a character to drop weapons no longer make them fall to the ground, but cause them to get lost in the "shadows".