D&D 5E The Beauty of Encumberance

[Cyrinishad]

So am I doing this at the table with my handwritten character sheet? Am I emailing the DM between sessions to ask how heavy the set of gold goblets we found are because it didn't come up (and now she needs to take tiem to figure it out), and then to the other players to juggle who's carrying what treasure around so someone can carry it?

What is the reward for all of this? If it's just stopping STR from being a dumpstat then any accounting is too much work to inflict on all of the players for that minuscule bit of reward.

I have found that in practice, there is some minor accounting that takes place at character generation... But, in the midst of the game session or an encounter, I haven't found that it slows down game-play at all. However, it does impact how the group plans for their adventure or quest by making them mindful to be organized, consider their transportation options, and bring extra horses/vehicles/hirelings/etc.

 

[Kobold Stew]

Thank you, sir!

You know that's a great point... So, I figure this is as good a thread as any to quantify the weights for the standard packs for everyone's convenience.

Burglar's Pack = 48 lbs.
- Backpack = 5 lbs.
- Bag of Ball Bearings = 2 lbs.
- 10ft. String = 0 lbs.
- Bell = 0 lbs.
- Candles = 0 lbs.
- Crowbar = 5 lbs.
- Hammer = 3 lbs.
- 10 Pitons = 3 lbs.
- Hooded Lantern = 2 lbs.
- 2 Flasks of Oil = 2 lbs.
- 5 Rations = 10 lbs.
- Tinderbox = 1 lbs.
- Waterskin = 5 lbs.
- 50ft. Rope = 10 lbs.

Diplomat's Pack = 36 lbs.
- Chest = 25 lbs.
- 2 Scroll Cases = 2 lbs.
- Fine Clothes = 6 lbs.
- Bottle of Ink = 0 lbs.
- Ink Pen = 0 lbs.
- Lamp = 1 lbs.
- 2 Flasks of Oil = 2 lbs.
- 5 Sheets of Paper = 0 lbs.
- Perfume = 0 lbs.
- Sealing Wax = 0 lbs.
- Soap = 0 lbs.

Dungeoneer's Pack = 62 lbs.
- Backpack = 5 lbs.
- Crowbar = 5 lbs.
- Hammer = 3 lbs.
- 10 Pitons = 3 lbs.
- 10 Torches = 10 lbs.
- Tinderbox = 1 lbs.
- 10 Rations = 20 lbs.
- Waterskin = 5 lbs.
- 50ft. Rope = 10 lbs.

Entertainer's Pack = 38 lbs.
- Backpack = 5 lbs.
- Bedroll = 7 lbs.
- 2 Costumes = 8 lbs.
- 5 Candles = 0 lbs.
- 5 Rations = 10 lbs.
- Waterskin = 5 lbs.
- Disguise Kit = 3 lbs.

Explorer's Pack = 59 lbs.
- Backpack = 5 lbs.
- Bedroll = 7 lbs.
- Mess Kit = 1 lbs.
- Tinderbox = 1 lbs.
- 10 Torches = 10 lbs.
- 10 Rations = 20 lbs.
- Waterskin = 5 lbs.
- 50ft. Rope = 10 lbs.

Priest's Pack = 26 lbs.
- Backpack = 5 lbs.
- Blanket = 3 lbs.
- 10 Candles = 0 lbs.
- Tinderbox = 1 lbs.
- Alms Box = 1 lbs.
- 2 Blocks Incense = 0 lbs.
- Censer = 1 lbs.
- Vestments (Fine Clothes) = 6 lbs.
- 2 Rations = 4 lbs.
- Waterskin = 5 lbs.

Scholar's Pack = 12 lbs.
- Backpack = 5 lbs.
- Book of Lore = 5 lbs.
- Bottle of Ink = 0 lbs.
- Ink Pen = 0 lbs.
- 10 Sheets of Parchment = 0 lbs.
- Bag of Sand = 1 lbs.
- Small Knife (Dagger) = 1 lbs.

 

[MNblockhead]

So am I doing this at the table with my handwritten character sheet? Am I emailing the DM between sessions to ask how heavy the set of gold goblets we found are because it didn't come up (and now she needs to take tiem to figure it out), and then to the other players to juggle who's carrying what treasure around so someone can carry it?

What is the reward for all of this? If it's just stopping STR from being a dumpstat then any accounting is too much work to inflict on all of the players for that minuscule bit of reward.

I'm with Blue on this. I use spreadsheets all day long, but I don't want to deal with them in my game.

The only way I would enforce encumbrance is if all the players were using something like Hero Lab, which takes care of the calculations for you (as well as what is in what container). Hero Lab kinda makes inventory management fun.

In my current campaign I didn't make my players buy Hero Lab as my campaign started before the SRD.

If DnD Beyond is any good and if the DM licensing allows me to share it with a number of players AND HAVE ACCESS to their character sheets, I could see requiring players in my game to use it. Though, it would really need to have a combat tracker.

For now, encumbrance is a challenge-specific concern. I'll give loose reality checks on what the players are carrying around, but I've not had an issue with players carrying ridiculous amounts of gear.