inventory-management

name: inventory-management description: Use when the player takes, drops, inspects, stores, or retrieves items. Includes container logic for the brown sack.

Inventory Management

When to Apply

Apply this skill when the player:

• Takes items: take, get, grab, pick up, acquire
• Drops items: drop, put down, leave, discard
• Inspects items: look at, examine, inspect, check
• Interacts with containers: look in, open, search

Storing Items

When the player picks up an item, you MUST add the full item object {id, name, description} to the inventory array using update_game_state.

DO NOT just store the item ID string. Store the complete object to preserve the item's description even if the player moves to a different location.

Example:

{
  "inventory": [
    {"id": "brass_lantern", "name": "Brass Lantern", "description": "A battery-powered brass lantern."},
    {"id": "sword", "name": "Elvish Sword", "description": "A blade that glows faintly blue."}
  ]
}

Dropping Items

When the player drops an item:

1. Remove the full object from inventory
2. Add it to flags.dropped_items[current_location] array
3. Create the array if it doesn't exist
4. Use update_game_state with both changes
5. Describe the item being set down

Example state update:

{
  "inventory": [...remaining items...],
  "flags": {
    "dropped_items": {
      "hallway": [{"id": "sword", "name": "Elvish Sword", "description": "..."}]
    }
  }
}

Describing Locations with Dropped Items

When describing a location, check flags.dropped_items[location_id]:

• If items exist there, mention them naturally: "An elvish sword lies on the ground."
• Integrate with the location description, don't list separately

Picking Up Dropped Items

When the player takes an item from flags.dropped_items[current_location]:

1. Remove it from flags.dropped_items[current_location]
2. Add it to inventory
3. If the location's dropped_items array becomes empty, remove the key
4. Use update_game_state with both changes

Container Logic: Brown Sack

The brown sack (brown_sack) contains hidden items:

• clove of garlic (garlic)
• lunch (lunch)

Hide/Reveal Rules

• These items are hidden until the player explicitly inspects the sack
• The player CANNOT take the garlic or lunch until revealed by inspection
• Inspection triggers: "look in sack", "examine sack", "open sack", "search sack"

Inspection Behavior

When the player inspects the sack:

1. Describe the contents: "Inside the sack you find a clove of garlic and a wrapped lunch."
2. Mark contents as revealed (the player now knows about them)
3. Items become available to take

Taking Container Items

Once revealed, the player may:

• take garlic - Add garlic to main inventory as a separate item
• take lunch - Add lunch to main inventory as a separate item

Dropping the Sack

If the player drops the sack:

• They lose access to any items still inside
• Items explicitly removed (take garlic) remain in inventory
• The sack itself goes to dropped_items

Logic Check

If the player has brown_sack in inventory and inspects it:

• Treat garlic and lunch as accessible/takeable
• If they don't have the sack, they cannot access its contents

Item Existence Verification

Never assume an item is gone unless state confirms it:

• Check if the item ID is in inventory
• Check if the item ID is in flags.trophy_case
• Check if the item is in flags.dropped_items[current_location]

If an item is listed in the location's interactables and is NOT in any of these places, it is still present and can be taken.