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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Wolf118" data-source="post: 6513520" data-attributes="member: 72051">I hate to be the one to bring reality into a fantasy game...The US Army Field Manual states that a soldier's load should not be more than 60 lbs.  And studies have found that loads in Afghanistan often range 90-100 lbs.  Soldiers are complaining about the weight, that it causes slower reaction times, and impedes their ability to fight.  A study at the Joint Readiness Training Center showed that after a week in the field with 90+ lb loadouts, soldiers were exhausted, both physically and mentally."Day seven at the JRTC and it showed on the faces of the young infantrymen. Typical central Louisiana weather in November, the nights were turning, often marked by heavy rains. The platoon sergeant worked hard to keep the troops motivated and moving under their combat loads. No one wanted to be cold or wet, so the rucks were especially heavy. With ammo, rations, and water, each soldier carried well over 100 pounds of gear. After seven days of constant operations, the effects of that weight were showing. Even the fittest of the platoon were hollow-eyed with fatigue. Their reactions were slow and their minds fuzzy. They rucked up and moved on toward their next mission, an attack on a suspected strong point five clicks away. Less than 500 meters into the movement, the tired point man missed seeing movement ahead as he cleared the edge of a small grove. The opposing force (OPFOR) ambushed the platoon with complete surprise. No one survived."And that's just the equipment they need; no treasure carried.Back to the fantasy game.  A good idea posted earlier was dropping the pack when they went into combat; just common sense.  Here's also something I'm going to try with my group.  Work with your players on a 'basic load'; the pack that everyone is carrying that they drop going into combat.  Bedroll, rations, mess kit, waterskin, etc.  Figure out that weight and then don't worry about it.  Assume that load is only carried part of the time, since they're going to take it off when they take a short rest as well.  All the other stuff they consider they 'need' for combat is what is important to track, anyway; armor, weapons, ammunition, flasks of oil, etc.  That should cut down on some of the bookkeeping.I'd add treasure to what's dropped in combat.  If you're carrying a sack of coins, you're not going to hold onto that going into combat.  It gets dropped at the first sign of a threat (unless they're surprised).</blockquote>

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