I want to use encumbrance so badly, but I don’t know how. As alluded to in my post about house rules, I have used them all. Diablo-style Tetris inventory, slots, coins, pounds, and none at all. Tetris is too gamey, slots lead to arguments and have the “really small items” problem, coins are obtuse, and pounds are hard to constantly recalculate. None of them make sense in the fiction, but I have come to believe that it is an issue rooted in context, or lack thereof. To that end I present what I am currently piloting at my table which focuses on creating context around what characters can carry and how they are carrying it.
How do we create context?
First we need to define our units of measurement. Things are measured in swords, daggers, and coins as outlined below.
Swords: A typical sword weighs between three and four pounds, but the weight isn’t the most important part. I have context from art, movies, television, and literature how a sword is carried. Are these sources historically accurate? Probably not, but that is not important for *my* style of D&D. I am more interested in being true to Appendix N than I am to historical fact.
Swords can be grokked. Therefore, so can battle axes, maces, spears, shields, and 50’ lengths of rope. These are all functionally swords. They can be held in one hand and swung, but occupy the entire arm. They can be attached to a belt or slung across the back, but cannot be concealed or stowed in a pack. They are all swords.
Something that is two swords is therefore also easy to contextualize. A two-handed sword is the easiest example, but that can be expanded to all weapons that require two hands including bows. A ten-foot pole, while probably lighter (remember weight doesn’t actually matter) fits nicely in this category due to its awkward length.
Swords can be carried on their own.
Daggers: Smaller than swords, daggers occupy an entire hand but can also be thrown, concealed, and stowed. Waterskins, slings, flasks of oil, crowbars, potions, grappling hooks, lanterns, rations, flint/steel, and torches are all daggers. Daggers need a container to be carried, otherwise they take up a sword spot.
Coins: The smallest unit of measure is a coin. If you could swallow it whole, it is a coin. 50 coins = 1 dagger. Coins always need a container to be carried. Any total quantity of coins less than 50 is “free.”
Now what?
The second issue of encumbrance is how it is carried. My wife’s encumbrance is lower than mine and it has little to do with our strength scores. She does not carry purse and because of some strange twist in western culture her clothes often don’t have pockets! A driver’s license and credit card are often an encumbrance problem that requires creative problem solving on her part. Therefore, it is important to define containers which enable you to carry things without occupying your hands.
Note: Empty containers weight “nothing.”
Backpack: RAW a backpack holds 400 coins
or 40 lbs. It is worn across the back. In my system a backpack cannot hold
swords, but it can hold 20 daggers or 1,000 coins. Counts as a sword.
Satchel: A satchel is work across the
shoulder and rests at a person’s side or on their hip. A satchel can hold 5
daggers or 250 coins. Counts as a sword.
Quiver: A quiver holds arrows or sling
stones. It cannot hold swords or daggers, but can hold 50 coins. It is
generally worn at the hip. Counts as a sword.
Large Sack*: A large sack is slung over the shoulder or dragged. A large sack can carry 30 daggers or 1,500 coins. A large sack with inventory counts as 2 swords.
Small Sack*: A small sack requires 1 hand to use. A small sack carries 10 daggers or 500 coins. A small sack with inventory counts as a sword.
*These containers are not worn and thus always require a hand to use (which is why they are equated to one or two swords).
Putting it all together
- A character can carry 5 swords or containers in any combination without being encumbered and maintaining 1 free hand.
o Example: Sword, Shield, Satchel, Backpack, Rope
- A character can carry 6 swords or containers in any combination without being encumbered but will not have a free hand.
o Example: Bow (2 swords), Quiver, Backpack, Rope, Small Sack
- A character can carry 7 swords or containers in any combination but will be encumbered (-30’ base movement) and have no free hands. This is the max.
o Example: Polearm (2 swords), Satchel, Quiver, Backpack, Large Sack (2 swords)
So how much can my character carry using this system?
Converting this all back to RAW, a character will probably have roughly following encumbrance max
- Backpack (400 coin) + Satchel (100 coin) + Large Sack (600 coin) + Small Sack (200 coins) = 1,300 coins. This is in addition to Basic Equipment (80 coins), 2 swords (~120 coins), and armor (500 coins). This puts total max encumbrance using this method (assuming plate mail) at 2,000 coins or +400 coins (40 lbs) from RAW “Option 2: Detailed Encumbrance” in OSE.
What about armor?
Armor already has a pretty a clean offset by reducing speed: No Armor: 120’, Light Armor: 90’, Heavy Armor: 60’, Encumbered -30’.
What does it look like on a character sheet?
Why do it like this?
1. It makes it easy for the referee to contextualize the size of objects that a character might pick up as a coin, dagger, sword, or two-swords. Larger objects would obviously require more specialized treatment to move.
2. It allows players to quickly pick up and drop items. Meaningful decisions about what is being carried is what makes encumbrance fun. As things are used (like torches and food) it frees up space for things like treasure.
3. It provides granularity to a slot system by eliminating “bunches” of items subdividing slots.