Charwoman Gene
Adventurer
On one of the podcast it was revealed that they forgot to put encumberance in the game till fall 2007.
Encumberance... In or Out?
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Moon-Lancer
First Post
as a player i think encumbrance is fun. Its not for everyone though.
IceFractal
First Post
Most of the time, it isn't needed, but when the PCs find a huge horde, it's useful to have a rule for how hard a time they'll have carrying it back. Or when someone gets knocked out in a fight, how fast can their friends pull them out of danger?
I could see it being an optional rule, used only when exceptional circumstances arise. And I wouldn't be surprised if it was simplified to just a carrying limit, although personally I'd prefer at least three levels - move normally, move slowly, and drag.
I could see it being an optional rule, used only when exceptional circumstances arise. And I wouldn't be surprised if it was simplified to just a carrying limit, although personally I'd prefer at least three levels - move normally, move slowly, and drag.
Too bad they remembered it...Charwoman Gene said:
4th edition is dropping all pretense of simulationism, why must we bother to keep track of pounds of equipment?
2eBladeSinger
First Post
Encumberance isn’t the most fun part of the game; in fact it ranks right up there with tracking arrows, cp and cleaning up the Taco Bell at the end of the night. However, I think it’s a necessary evil – it rewards players who plan well and prevents others from taking advantage of the system. The only alternative is DM fiat, and as long as we’re adjudicating, it would be nice to have some guidelines. In my own games I use the following method:
Take a piece of paper and fold it into quarters. The top right is for worn items, the top left is for your backpack, the bottom right is for your mount, the bottom left is auxillury (bag of holding or what not). On the back I have the players list their holdings (e.g. 1000gp and assorted gems back at the keep). I don’t like bean-counting, but the advantage of the quarter paper is that it’s easy to tell, at a glance, if a player might have too much stuff and if they have to, add it up in a couple of seconds.
Take a piece of paper and fold it into quarters. The top right is for worn items, the top left is for your backpack, the bottom right is for your mount, the bottom left is auxillury (bag of holding or what not). On the back I have the players list their holdings (e.g. 1000gp and assorted gems back at the keep). I don’t like bean-counting, but the advantage of the quarter paper is that it’s easy to tell, at a glance, if a player might have too much stuff and if they have to, add it up in a couple of seconds.
frankthedm
First Post
Because characters can not carry an infinite amount of stuff. Since it is not infinite; either A. they has to be a system to track it or B. The players are on the honor system which really means the DM now has to keep an eye on the stuff certain players try to accumulate.Nikosandros said:
If they find a huge treasure hoard, some folks will really think they are entitled to take everything if the DM had been taking it easy on encumbrance. 
Also some players are packrats. Odd mementoes, Trophies from kills, Weapons from foes all wind up in the backpack. Without encumbrance, they will be enough memories sitting in the backpack to fill a small keep. 
Sometimes having that odd item will be the difference between life and death. A few pounds of salt, a few hundred feet of rope and a dozen candles each could save the lives of creative PCs, but they have to have the items at the right time.That said, if the DM finds his players trustworthy, he can ignore encumbrance. But it is FAR easier to have the system, then ignore it, than it is to not have an encumbrance system and try to force one in.
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MindWanderer
Explorer
Encumbrance can't be out entirely; we have weight values for the War Pick and for coins (and Astral Diamonds specifically weigh less than other "coins").
