"Bulk" rules are needed

[vagabundo]

There was a bulk system in the 2e Skills and Powers, I was only reading it last week, but I've never used it and cannot comment.

 

[Chainsaw]

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".

Maybe the OP's player should just hire someone to haul all his equipment for him, perhaps someone like this 'adventurer,' heh! Dragging this NPC around could lead to all sorts of fun for the DM.

 

[Serendipity]

IMG one of my players is running a shooty elven ranger and is walking around with 20 quivers of arrows.

In all seriousness and I don't mean to be a smart@$$ but....just say no. If the player won't take your word as GM as final then you've got other problems. At least as I see it.
I have always wondered about the "bulk" factor though - I find that (to no real surprise) the people I've never had to worry about getting out of hand with that tend to have backpacking or military experience. Go figure.....

 

[Mark]

It is like asking someone who can lift 200 lbs to carry around 200 one-pound-pillows. It is impossible...

Unless it is pillow-armor!

 

[DEFCON 1]

One of the main functions of 4E was to get rid of all of those extraneous rules situations that just clutter and take up space in a rulebook, and put the power back into the DMs hands. So there's no point in complaining that there are no rules for encumberance... you either should just use your DM's prerogative to make a ruling, or come here and ask if anyone has some encumberance rules that they'd be willing to share.

 

[Delta]

D&D encumbrance is (or was) supposed to include bulk in the numbers. 1E DMG p. 225:

Many people looking at the table will say, "But a scroll doesn't weigh two pounds!" The encumbrance figure should not be taken as the weight of the object - it is the combined weight and relative bulkiness of the item. These factors together will determine how much a figure can carry.

 

[Calico_Jack73]

This isn't an edition rant but 3E got so many players used to the idea that there is a rule for everything that they take a dim view of "Rule 0". When I brought it up to my player he even told me a story about a player in a game that had a dwarf who carried an anvil and many other ridiculous items around simply because he had the strength to do it. There was no way he could physically have carried everything but he had such a ridiculous strength that he could lift an equivalent weight.

I don't really have a problem with the character having an almost unlimited supply of arrows. His character concept is an Archer... it is what his character is built around. Limiting him would be like taking a Fighter's only weapon away. I just want some consideration given to "reality".

 

[Plane Sailing]

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

I will subscribe you to my newsletter!



It is such a simple thing that it is pretty easy to eyeball for most things, with armour typically being one of the bulkier/heavier items. Essentially

Can you hold two in one hand easily? Enc = 0.5
Can you hold one in one hand easily? Enc = 1
Do you need two hands to hold it easily/wield it? Enc = 2

Set a suitable range for armour (no books handy at the moment), Str requirements for armour feats would probably give helpful guidelines for ensuring you don't set things too high).

Cheers

 

[WalterKovacs]

This isn't an edition rant but 3E got so many players used to the idea that there is a rule for everything that they take a dim view of "Rule 0". When I brought it up to my player he even told me a story about a player in a game that had a dwarf who carried an anvil and many other ridiculous items around simply because he had the strength to do it. There was no way he could physically have carried everything but he had such a ridiculous strength that he could lift an equivalent weight.

I don't really have a problem with the character having an almost unlimited supply of arrows. His character concept is an Archer... it is what his character is built around. Limiting him would be like taking a Fighter's only weapon away. I just want some consideration given to "reality".

As an archer give him some ability (maybe attach it to nature or dungeoneering) to make his own arrows. Voila, as long as he spends a little time each day (probably when he's on watch during an extended rest) he's able to resupply.

 

[Mark]

As some old time Gencon goers might tell you, there used to be a seminar about encumbrance where those giving the seminar would pick someone in fairly good shape from the audience and then outfit them for adventuring, beginning with the regular weighted stuff like armor and weapons and backpack, then adding waterskins, 50' of rope, rations, iron spikes, ten foot pole, etc. until the participant virtually collapsed under the bulk and weight of the gear.


Perhaps you could do a similar demonstration using some equivalent items? Bundles of sticks wrapped in cardboard?