How strict is your DM with mundane equipment?

[kigmatzomat]

Lemon Juice is that hard to get hold of?

Actually....yes. If you are in an area likely to see snow, you are in an area unlikely to see lemons. We modern folk take much for granted; like the ability to ship produce more than a thousand miles in just one day. In medieval times that would be a journey of more than a month (which means dried out lemons).

 

[arwink]

I don't track encumbrance. Hell, I don't even track ammunition.

I do track visuals, though. A greatsword, longsword, pick and glaive? No problem. Two greatswords? Cheesy.

Jeez, how do your players get to dual-wield monkey-gripped greatswords then?

Like most folks, I tend to focus on what's on the sheet, but I have an ambivalent relationship with encumberance. So many magic items exist just to bypass the rules (bags of holding, hewards handy haversack, portable holes, etc) that it ceases to be an issue by the time they hit 7th or 8th level and bring home the big hauls anyway. As long as I don't feel like the rules of logic are being abused any more than they are in your average fantasy novel/manga/film, I'll let them carry as much as they want.

 

[Rothe]

If its not on your sheet you don't have it.

I expect players to keep decent track of encumbrance, but only remind people to check it when they either pick up a bunch of potentially heavy stuff, I know they have been weakened (e.g. by a shadow or the like) or when they level up.

Pretty much the same here, unless a small and common item your character inherently carries, for example mundane spell components, flint & steel, etc., if not on your sheet you don't have it.

I'm pretty picky on how much rope you have. Most of my experience is with nylon climbing rope and a couple hundred feet of it is pretty encumbering, you won't be carrying a a sword, axe, a bow, quiver, backpack and other gear with that on your back. Hemp rope is even worse. So right after gold, rope is often the biggest "heavier than you think" items.

 

[Abe.ebA]

I'm generally of the 'it has to be on your sheet' persuasion, but I also assume that any adventurer over 1st level is going to know he needs to pack rope, a hatchet, a tinderbox, his mess kit, and a bedroll if he's going further than the farms outside of town.

When I'm playing rather than DMing I like to have as detailed a list as possible of equipment carried, despite that most of the games I've played in the DM has worried little if at all about mundane eq. I like to have a list regardless just because it yields so many more options ready-to-hand. Not every situation calls for feats and spells. Having a sack with a pound or two of flour in your bag to make breakfast can come in awful handy with invisible creatures and, combined with a good whack with a mace, makes a nifty incendiary device. I played a rogue once in 2nd edition who billed himself as a wizard but just used a collection of odds and ends in a Heward's Handy Haversack for his 'spells'.

If you'd like to keep track of mundane gear but don't want to wait around for your players to sift through the price lists in the PHB, I recommend coming up with an 'adventurer's pack'. List all of the gear an adventurer is likely to have and note the average price out beside it. They can then just pay a lump sum to get the whole thing and only worry about replenishing whatever gets used up. I keep meaning to, but haven't gotten around to as yet, make up a modular version with 'cleric's pack', 'thief's pack', etc. portions.

 

[lonesoldier]

My group is of the "it has to be your sheet" variety, but we came up with the idea of an Adventurer's Kit. A 5lb container with the little basics no one wants to keep track of. We prefer to focus on the heroic side of the game, but we understand the necessity of keeping track of ammo/rations/etc.

It also makes for some great situations when the ranger reaches for his quiver and the DM says, "I'm pretty sure that was your twentieth arrow. Did you bring more?"