• From: Perth, Western Australia
  • Registered: 2010-08-14
  • Posts: 42

Topic: Help with Encumbrance Please...

Hi folks,

I love the encumbrance rules. It's the only enc. system that's survived past the first session. It's great.

And I'm confused (it doesn't take much).

On p27 (print copy) the rules indicate that only worn chain and plate armour count towards encumbrance yet clothing types and leather armour are not italicised in the equipment lists (to indicate non-encumbering items) - should they be?

Also on p27 'Worn items, such as cloaks, jewelery, backpacks, etc. do not themselves count as items for enc....' Good, makes sense. When I check the equipment lists (containers, p19) some of those containers are italicised (non-encumbering) and some (like the backpack) aren't. I would have thought that the backpack and sack should be listed in italics (maybe even the saddlebags). In keeping with the logic of the rule, it's what you put in the container that generates the mass.

Now that I'm being vigilant about the stuff the characters and retainers are carrying, one item can make the difference between being lightly encumbered (and therefore not able to use class abilities).

Anyone wiser than I able to help out? I know I could just make a ruling and stick with it but I'd like to know what others think - I'm probably just missing something simple.

Many thanks

It's not the years, it's the mileage.

hogscape's Website

  • JimLotFP
  • Lord of All Fevers and Plagues
  • Offline
  • From: Helsinki, Finland
  • Registered: 2009-10-07
  • Posts: 613

Re: Help with Encumbrance Please...

Clothing (unless very bulky such as furs for extreme weather), leather armor, backpacks etc should not themselves be encumbering as per the rules.

Thinking about it a bit more now, perhaps leather should count as a single item, and backpacks and such should count as an item but then the first item in there replaces, not adds to, their slots but then we're getting into the overcomplication that makes people ignore most encumbrance systems in the first place. tongue

JimLotFP's Website

  • From: Perth, Western Australia
  • Registered: 2010-08-14
  • Posts: 42

Re: Help with Encumbrance Please...

Nice. Thanks Jim.

It's not the years, it's the mileage.

hogscape's Website

  • Registered: 2012-10-14
  • Posts: 2

Re: Help with Encumbrance Please...

I'm playing with pendants apparently.  I'm trying to import your encumbrance system into C&C.  Do you have any suggested guidlelines or explanations on what counts as a "very small item" that would then not count towards encumbrance?

I find myself getting peppered with questions.  An ink vial (very small?).  A potion vial (an item, definitely).  etc.

I'm looking for a couple of sentences to help them categorize.

  • From: West Seattle, WA, USA
  • Registered: 2011-02-12
  • Posts: 10

Re: Help with Encumbrance Please...

I've always assumed that anything you can easily hold in one hand should count as a small item. How big is a potion vial? Frex: I can hold a 20oz soda in one hand, but while I can hold up a 2-litre with one hand it's definitely not the same thing. So anything heavy enough that holding it up would be difficult or large enough that it's not obviously in-hand I would think should count for encumbrance. Either LotFP box set should count as a very small item, while more than one 1e book (or any GURPS main rulebook) would be a regular item.

re: Backpacks, I'd just say that the first one (or a slung sack, etc.) is free if you're wearing / using it as intended, but any further baggage (even empty) counts as an item.

I really have to say that LotFP has the best encumbrance system, practically slapped myself when I first saw it... Why did no-one else ever implement this?

  • From: West Seattle, WA, USA
  • Registered: 2011-02-12
  • Posts: 10

Re: Help with Encumbrance Please...

Ed Dove wrote:

I've been assuming...

That's a much better description, particularly since you remembered the distinction between small and very small items and I didn't... (d'oh)

  • Registered: 2012-10-14
  • Posts: 2

Re: Help with Encumbrance Please...

Ed Dove wrote:

I've been assuming...

Things which can be easily concealed within one hand are "very small items".

Things which more than one of can be easily held with one hand are "small items".

Things which only one of can be easily held with one hand are standard "items".

And things which require two hands to control are "oversized items".

Awesome.  Ok if I credit you in my house rules write up?