I'm preparing to DM my first Pathfinder game and one of the major issues I've always had as a player keeps popping up in my brain, so I'd like to put it to the community to see how different groups deal with encumbrance.
The issue revolves around the practicalities of encumbrance vs. the idea of encumbrance. On the one hand, players are allowed to carry x/y/z pounds, in accordance with their strength, and this can be dealt with in a very straight forward manner according to the rules. However, I've always had a problem with the idea that a PC can lug around multiple sets of armor, an arsenal of weapons, and all the other assorted things that may come up in an adventure, such as materials, clothes, food, crafting tools, etc...
So my question is, do any groups use a more restrictive or 'realistic' system to deal with encumbrance and items in place of the straight up weight/strength system?
Thanks.
