D&D 5E Item-tracking system

[DRF]

Hi,

I've finished my first session of ToA and I'm preparing Port Nyanzaru and the rest of Chult now. Since there's such a great focus on navigation, foraging, water consumption and general preparedness, I'd really like to introduce a more sophisticated inventory system instead of just hammerspace.

I came across the following: http://rottenpulp.blogspot.dk/2012/06/matt-rundles-anti-hammerspace-item.html

I like the idea of a visual inventory that is still easy to keep track of. This should be easy for the players to manage, but my problem is how I can reward strong characters (who should be able to carry more) or "punish" less-than-10-str characters.

What do you think of the linked system? Or do you have other ideas/experiences? I know encumbrance gets boring and frustrating fast, and that's why I am looking for a simple and elegant solution. We're playing Meatgrinder mode, so my players are up for a challenge.

Thanks!

 

[Yes]

My take on the managing of inventory, encumbrance and provisions in TOA was the following.

First I took into account that the PHB states that each player can carry his str score x15 pounds in weight before being encumbered, wich means the weight of stuff is barely a problem. You'd have to carry a lot of stuff to exceed this limit, and if you start your players at lv1, they will simply not have enough money to buy enough stuff to get encumbered.

When they got to port Nyanzaru I decided that If they actively sought information about the jungle ( weather, insects, provisions... ), and bought stuff accordingly, I would leave the managing of those provisions to them and mostly forgo the mentioning of the use of this provisions during the travel - except if a particular incident makes them lose part of their stuff - and I'd focus on encounters and orientation rather than mundane problems

If they didn't worry about the travel, then I'll be a bit more harsh and use food, insects and weather to get things interesting.

I thought that If they took precautions accordingly, I'd reward them with not houding them about food or insect repellent and stuff... that seemed only fair to me.

Honestly, as a DM, I find that the precise tracking of food and provision count seems like a good idea at first but I find it becomes rapidly bothersome.

Plus if you want to use provisions to create tension and get things to be interesting, it's very easy. It's very binary, food and water are either a problem, or they're not. At some point you just have to decide that they enter a zone where foraging is much harder because of reasons, and you can get them in a pinch. Otherwise I'd rather focus on other events.

 

[DRF]

I would leave the managing of those provisions to them and mostly forgo the mentioning of the use of this provisions during the travel - except if a particular incident makes them lose part of their stuff

I quite like the idea of once or twice having the players lose a lot of their camping equipment (tent, raincatcher, bedrolls etc) in a heavy, brutal flood. Just to put them in a precarious situation and force them to gather new supplies. That's why I want at least some kind of system for tracking items.

I think you make great points, and I'll have to assess on the go whether this stuff is something I want to highlight daily, or only once in a while. My players do seem intent on a challenging and fairly "realistic" (i.e. focus on food, water, general management) adventure, and it seems that ToA is great for this. They're not scared of character death, and while I certainly don't want to punish them unduly, I also want to make sure that even small mistakes can have very serious consequences. In other words, there'll be lots of ways to die that don't involve getting eaten by a zombie t-rex.

 

[delericho]

The linked system is basically fine. If you want to reward strong characters or punish weaker ones, just adjust the number of slots they're allowed to fill before dropping down to misc.

That said, I've generally found that the more detail gets put into encumbrance, the more inventive the players will be at finding ways around it. It just seems to be one of those "nods to realism" that it's kind of nice to have in the game... but is better off just mostly being ignored.

Beyond that, I'm inclined to agree with [MENTION=6912978]Yes[/MENTION] - the issue with food and water is pretty binary (either it's a problem, or it's not). And even that's probably interesting once in the campaign, and only very early on (before the Cleric can just magic up whatever food they need). So at some point early on, either instead of a random encounter or as a consequence of one, have something happen to the PCs' food and water - maybe it spoils unexpectedly, or it gets stolen/eaten/whatever... and have the players deal with the consequences. And then don't do it again.