"Bulk" rules are needed

[Calico_Jack73]

Okay... enough is enough. Encumberance rules are fine and good but I think even more needed are rules for "Bulk". IMG one of my players is running a shooty elven ranger and is walking around with 20 quivers of arrows. How on earth does someone run around with all of the usual adventuring gear, including backpack & bedroll, and have the ability to carry 20 quivers? It is like asking someone who can lift 200 lbs to carry around 200 one-pound-pillows. It is impossible... not from a strength perspective but from the perspective that they just don't have enough surface area on their body to carry 200 pillows no matter how much they weigh. I've offered my player a magical quiver that refills after each extended rest on the condition that he ditch the idea of carrying around a crazy number of arrows.

 

[Byronic]

I think it's called common sense. 5 quivers max

 

[Plane Sailing]

RQ2 had the best encumbrance rules I've ever seen.

Items were given an 'encumbrance' value which encompassed the weight and the unwieldiness of the object in one figure. Most 1handed things were Enc 1, most two handed things were Enc 2.

Your maximum encumbrance was average of Str+Siz (you could just use flat Str in D&D).

So an elven ranger with Str 13 might have leather armour (3 Enc), longbow (2 Enc), quiver of 20 arrows (1 Enc), Longsword (1 Enc), Bedroll (2 Enc), Backpack with sundry stuff (3 Enc) for a total of 12 Encumbrance. Maybe give him room for a Handaxe (0.5 Enc) and a potion flask (0.5 Enc) or an extra quiver before he tips over into a heavy load.

Cheers

 

[WalterKovacs]

I think the "Quiver of Holding" or something like that is the best idea. Ultimately, once you get a magic ranged weapon, you shouldn't have to deal with ammunition much ... the idea that every thrown (magic) weapon, every melee weapon, every spell ... all don't care about "ammo" makes ammunition based ranged weapons an exception. The tons of quivers is an attempt to avoid "running out of ammo". If the player doesn't feel the need to be overly prepared against running out of ammo (i.e. they know they'll be able to get more arrows before they run out) they won't have to go doing weird things just to avoid it.

 

[doctorhook]

Okay... enough is enough. Encumberance rules are fine and good but I think even more needed are rules for "Bulk". IMG one of my players is running a shooty elven ranger and is walking around with 20 quivers of arrows. How on earth does someone run around with all of the usual adventuring gear, including backpack & bedroll, and have the ability to carry 20 quivers? It is like asking someone who can lift 200 lbs to carry around 200 one-pound-pillows. It is impossible... not from a strength perspective but from the perspective that they just don't have enough surface area on their body to carry 200 pillows no matter how much they weigh. I've offered my player a magical quiver that refills after each extended rest on the condition that he ditch the idea of carrying around a crazy number of arrows.

I think you've already solved the problem, Jack.

FWIW, the system that Plane_Sailing mentions above sounds pretty intuitive, and I wish to learn more!

 

[Dausuul]

RQ2 had the best encumbrance rules I've ever seen.

Items were given an 'encumbrance' value which encompassed the weight and the unwieldiness of the object in one figure. Most 1handed things were Enc 1, most two handed things were Enc 2.

Your maximum encumbrance was average of Str+Siz (you could just use flat Str in D&D).

So an elven ranger with Str 13 might have leather armour (3 Enc), longbow (2 Enc), quiver of 20 arrows (1 Enc), Longsword (1 Enc), Bedroll (2 Enc), Backpack with sundry stuff (3 Enc) for a total of 12 Encumbrance. Maybe give him room for a Handaxe (0.5 Enc) and a potion flask (0.5 Enc) or an extra quiver before he tips over into a heavy load.

Cheers

Ooh, I like this. It even offers a mechanic for backpacks, belt pouches, and the like; a backpack might be 3 Enc but have room for 5 Enc inside.

 

[Rechan]

Even as a DM I hate tracking ammunition, encumbrance, and other misc boring accounting. I'd just say "You have enough ammunition, until I tell you how many you have left and you will track that number."

This way, the only time one has to worry about ammo is when it is pertinent to the situation, such as the party being stranded, lost for days, or otherwise in dire straits.

 

[el-remmen]

What's wrong with saying, "You cannot reasonably carry around 20 quivers," and leave it at that?

No need for a rule when you have Rule 0 to cover the weirdness of the rules.

Personally I would say no more than 2 quivers, maybe three.

And for the record, yes - I believe in tracking ammo.

 

[thecasualoblivion]

This reminds me of an old pewter miniature I used to see in hobby stores. It was a guy, hunched over with so much gear it looked like he had a house on his back. The overall effect looked like the peons who followed King Arthur and the knights around in Monty Python and the Holy Grail. The miniature was called: "The Adventurer".

 

[Daniel D. Fox]

Look at the Magic Item slots and use that for reference. It pretty much covers the Bulk issue you describe. Have players assign their equipment to slots, and create a few extra ones if necessary.