[Thinktank] Encumbrance

[Jal Dorak]

I admit, as a DM and player I am a stickler for encumbrance. I keep track of it as carefully as I track my hp or spells. But it is a bit of work, and many players don't care.

I would appreciate suggestions for Jason to include a new encumbrance system in Pathfinder. One that is easier but a bit more realistic.

1. The Strength probably can't be changed too much without affecting compatability, but maybe it can simplified.

2. Need some sort of limit on how much of certain types of items a character can carry (ie. one suit of armor, X number of one-handed weapons...).

3. Clarify how much some items weigh (for example, potions or wands can have an impact, such as when a character carrying 10 potions in a pouch makes a tumble check.

These are my sticking points, but feel free to add others. I know Jason is working on the Equipment section for Beta, so let's give him some useful ideas.

And please, no flaming on "encumbrance is a waste of time" or "encumbrance doesn't need to be realistic". This is a thread for generating interesting ideas, whether or not Pathfinder uses them.

[Archade]

Well, encumberance needs a table look up, so if it could be 20 lbs x Str for medium encumberance, 30 lbs x Str for heavy encumberance, or some sort of variant formula, that would be easier and more intuitive.

However, does encumberance really end up as an issue past 5th level? By that point, in my campaigns, everyone has their requisite mithril shirt and Hewards' Handy Haversacks ...

[JoelF847]

Archade wrote:

Well, encumberance needs a table look up, so if it could be 20 lbs x Str for medium encumberance, 30 lbs x Str for heavy encumberance, or some sort of variant formula, that would be easier and more intuitive.

However, does encumberance really end up as an issue past 5th level? By that point, in my campaigns, everyone has their requisite mithril shirt and Hewards' Handy Haversacks ...

Maybe I'm missing something, but isn't there already a table?

Also, if you're going to go with a straight linear model of a multiple of strength, then I'd think you shouldn't go higher than 5xSTR for a light load, 10xSTR for medium, and 15xSTR for heavy. That would put an average STR 10 character at 50/100/150 lbs for light/medium/heavy loads, which is pretty reasonable. Anything more begins to stretch the imagination. I'd say that I'm probably about a STR 10, and I can't imagine going anywhere other than staggering around with a 300 lb load.

[Jal Dorak]

I like the idea of a simple formula, and the 5x rule works fairly well.

I mainly deal with encumbrance because I enjoy low-magic settings and low-level play. But even still, I have had players try to put 3 sets of fullplate into a Haversack...

[Baquies]

If they keep the current system I would just be happy if they would include the numbers for Small characters so I dont have to do the 3/4 math. Yeah it doesnt come up much, and it is not that hard to do, but it would save some trouble.