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"Scabbards EVERYWHERE!" - Managing Carried Items
So, my PCs are starting to get into higher levels, and as such have begun to accumulate copious amounts of loot. This has caused me to become more concerned about tracking &/or making sure they track that loot.
I pose the following questions to my fellow GMs:
1. How concerned/strict are you about your players loot tracking? Do you limit the number of weapons they can have on their person or do you run a Goldeneye-style, "I have a rocket launcher, machine gun & 12 pistols in my pocket" sort of game?
2. What methods do you use to keep track of loot & gear
3. Whose responsibility is it to track these things in your game, you? your players? 1 record keeping player?
In my game, we currently have a couple house rules related to loot & carrying capacity:
1. Magical carrying spaces like a Bag of Holding or Heward's Hand Haversack are limited only in terms of weight. Trying to puzzle piece in all of the stuff that goes in there is just not fun.
2. Each player is limited to two belt pouches, each of which can hold up to 5 potions or grenade-like weapons.
3. Wearing a full backpack (not a haversack) automatically causes your movement to be restricted as though under medium encumberance. (backpacks are awkward, regardless of how full they are. While this awkwardness wont really affect someone in full plate, it will sure inhibit a monk's ability to backflip past an enemy.)
I am also in the process of adding a couple new elements that I should have thought of a LONG time ago.
1. Unique ID numbers for each item found. These numbers use a decimal system, so the first number is the average party level when it was found, and the second is the item number. (e.g. "9.3 scroll" would be a scroll found when the party was level 9) I am currently building a spreadsheet that will key each item to it's number and which will hopefully make it easier when someone says, "Hey I have this flask of unusual liquid written on my sheet. I don't know how long it's been there, but we haven't identified it yet. do you know what it is?" With the sheet, they can just give me the item number and I'll be able to ID it without poring over past session notes for possibilities.
2. I found a huge stack of notecards at home, and am considering using them to help players better track their stored items. My thought is to treat each card as a storage space - belt pouch, backpack, haversack main pocket etc. - on which players can write their items in hopes of doing away with some of the ambiguity about exactly WHERE someone is stowing the +2 flaming greataxe they just found without forcing them to actually do more writing of things down.
I pose the following questions to my fellow GMs:
1. How concerned/strict are you about your players loot tracking? Do you limit the number of weapons they can have on their person or do you run a Goldeneye-style, "I have a rocket launcher, machine gun & 12 pistols in my pocket" sort of game?
2. What methods do you use to keep track of loot & gear
3. Whose responsibility is it to track these things in your game, you? your players? 1 record keeping player?
In my game, we currently have a couple house rules related to loot & carrying capacity:
1. Magical carrying spaces like a Bag of Holding or Heward's Hand Haversack are limited only in terms of weight. Trying to puzzle piece in all of the stuff that goes in there is just not fun.
2. Each player is limited to two belt pouches, each of which can hold up to 5 potions or grenade-like weapons.
3. Wearing a full backpack (not a haversack) automatically causes your movement to be restricted as though under medium encumberance. (backpacks are awkward, regardless of how full they are. While this awkwardness wont really affect someone in full plate, it will sure inhibit a monk's ability to backflip past an enemy.)
I am also in the process of adding a couple new elements that I should have thought of a LONG time ago.
1. Unique ID numbers for each item found. These numbers use a decimal system, so the first number is the average party level when it was found, and the second is the item number. (e.g. "9.3 scroll" would be a scroll found when the party was level 9) I am currently building a spreadsheet that will key each item to it's number and which will hopefully make it easier when someone says, "Hey I have this flask of unusual liquid written on my sheet. I don't know how long it's been there, but we haven't identified it yet. do you know what it is?" With the sheet, they can just give me the item number and I'll be able to ID it without poring over past session notes for possibilities.
2. I found a huge stack of notecards at home, and am considering using them to help players better track their stored items. My thought is to treat each card as a storage space - belt pouch, backpack, haversack main pocket etc. - on which players can write their items in hopes of doing away with some of the ambiguity about exactly WHERE someone is stowing the +2 flaming greataxe they just found without forcing them to actually do more writing of things down.
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2. I use character sheets on OP to track encumbrance and practical overload. I look over players' sheets (especially low STR characters) to make sure they are taking their penalties.
3. I haven't gone the level of gear affecting movement just b/c of its bulk yet. That's on the margin for me in terms of rules overhead vs. roleplaying benefit. Players dressed up for the ball, however, better not show up with their muddy haversacks.
On the other hand, I've DM'd some campaigns where the players were very rules-oriented and appreciated the realism of encumbrance rules. In one such campaign I made a custom character sheets with an extended section pertaining to gear. I divided the gear into the following tables: magic items (where they were stored); Armor; Weapons; Consumable Items and Mundane Items. Each Item column included a row indicating the quantity and weight of each item. In the final column of each table I calculated the total weight for the items in that table. Below all these tables I inserted a Table on "Encumbrance and Weight". This sheet really helped my players and I to keep pretty consistent records.
That said, I like the backpack idea allot. It really simplifies things allot.
*EDIT*: There is another discussion on this topic "here":http://forums.obsidianportal.com/comments.php?DiscussionID=2383&page=1#Item_17.
I consulted with one of my more experienced players, who has spent significant time running games himself, about possibly creating a sort of expanded item slot template to track where characters were carrying their various weapons. He thought it was a great idea, having had to previously reign in a member of our gaming group during his own game for trying to overload her character with easily accessible weapons. By contrast, my girlfriend chastised me severely for considering this, because she is only really in to smashing faces. She hates any aspect of the game that seems like record-keeping - including leveling up her character!
I am definitely going to implement the item ID numbers, and may still create cards for people to use for their various packs. I'll probably just track item slots myself, and may assign circumstantial penalties to actions if someone starts abusing their carrying capacity.
Other slots are one or two pouch(es), and one backpack (total capacity determined by value of the pack and ability to carry it). Then you use your simple encumbrance for if they have the backpack on or not.
Also, instead of using encumbrance for the things they usually have on (their wands, swords, staffs, armor) just grant it that they live with those things and are used to them (within reason, people in full plate just should not swim). If they want to drop something to get a bonus to a check such as swimming or climbing, that is great.
I love realism as much as the next DM, but that doesn't mean the system needs as many variables as the chaos system that is the real world. :)
We generally allow spellusers to have all their material components with them, taking note of special things like diamonds, pearls, rubies, etc and some wierd stuff (e.g. giant squid tentacles for Evard's Black Tentacles.) I also allow every player to have a quickdraw belt which lets them draw two weapons, two potions, two wands, etc. as a free action.
I think you have to get the right balance between realism and ease of play, and this I guess, would change according to every group.
twiggyleaf
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Previous CotM Aug 2012: Shimring: High Level Multiplanar Campaign
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Just trying to help out.
This makes things very difficult for me at times, lol, but I think out of my 8 (or maybe it's 9) active players only one of them wouldn't mind keeping track of such things. All the rest don't care for the book-keeping that would be required, and half of them would forget anyway.
I figure I could "lay down the law" and enforce it too, but the players don't really abuse my trust in them too much, and I've even had a player or two a few times admit (without me having to prompt them to) that they had accidentally left some important item back on the ship.
Everyone has put their information up except for my wife :-). Not sure what I am going to do there :-)?
-Steve
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David
More often the issue is probably akin to "how many weapons can be stowed?" In which case I would definitely not allow such 'exotic' scabbards unless some _weird_ magic were in place. But the primary factor would be weapon size; you just can't tuck a greatsword into your boot, I'm sorry; it's just not possible. Daggers on the other hand can go all over the place, and even a couple dozen aren't beyond the imagination, even if they've got a greataxe across their back.
I also like the backpack idea - and typically do that by default when I play a character.
"Policy on Encumbrance":http://www.obsidianportal.com/campaign/metzger/wikis/encumbrance-and-storage-capacity
killervp
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Just trying to help out.
Then during the time between games I'll update their character sheets. If I find that they've become encumbered I'll mention it in a private note next game, something like "Upon putting on your pack your feel your legs wobble a bit and walking is a little harder".
This goes for all the small stuff they do, if they acquire a large item I'll visit it right at that moment. For instance, if a Warrior decides to start carrying a Two-Handed Axe I'll check how it affects his weight and let him know.
Two things that I like to do is have item saving throws when a character falls or is knocked down. Mostly for potions or other fragile items. I usually just roll the save and inform the player when they open their pack or check it that x number of items were destroyed in the fall. I've also had them begin smelling a strong odor after a bad fall and they realized potions had been destroyed and were now leaking in their packs.
Another small tweak I like to do is assign weight to coins carried. I find that this helps in limiting the amount of money they tend to carry with them. I've never liked that PC's walk around with all the money to their names, makes no sense. So I assign either .1 or .01 pounds to each coin, after awhile it starts to add up. Causes them to purchase gems of close value or find somewhere "Safe" to store it. It adds to the immersion in my mind.
A few things I've noticed. First, most games do have a rule for how many items can be used/carried at a time. Generally a couple of rings, a couple wrist items, neck item, head item, etc, so that should be easily managed.
I generally do keep track of encumbrance for my players, using HeroLab mostly, and a good reason why is this. Too many times, strength becomes a dump stat because people realize that encumbrance is a PITA for GMs to watch. That being said, I'm also pretty lenient on it, as long as encumbrance isn't abused. But when the rogue with 8 str lists about 150 lbs of gear on her character? I generally talk to her and ask what her character is bringing with her and what she's leaving at home. Also, as soon as you tell the rest of the group how the 1 day trip is now going to take 2-3 days because someone is carrying a bunch of stuff, the party starts to police its own gear. I'm also a proponent of making Bags of Holding and Handy Haversacks available for purchase.
The backpack as med encumbrance rule is rife for abuse. Pack a crapton of stuff in there if encumbrance is simply and on/off switch. I'd pack everything including the kitchen sink.
I also have a very simple way of tracking potions. There's a spreadsheet that I have that lists all the potions, their color, consistency, smell and taste, and I use the same description for that potion throughout the game. So if the party finds a yellow, watery, sour smelling liquid that tastes of lemon, and it's a cure light wounds potion? As soon as the party figures out its a CLW potion, they know if they run across that combo again, it's a CLW potion. Then if someone doesn't identify it and later says they have a potion with descriptors, I can easily look it up
Generally though, I give the PC a break when they list all their gear, and will tell them the first time they pass the encumbrance mark with no penalty. Usually the next session they'll say they leave a portion of their stuff behind. I do include coin weight in this as well, since it can make them make a decision on taking the coin, or that piece of armor, or artwork that may weigh around the same amount, but be more valuable. (or vice versa) All in all it's fairly easy to create a spreadsheet with the weights of items, and list them for each character. Do a sum for all the items in their column and it'll give weight.
Fate handles equipment with the assumption that you have any items necessary to do whatever your skills dictate. If you have a skill called Fight you are assumed to have a basic melee weapon of some kind. If you have Drive then you are assumed to have access to a car.
If you want to have some special equipment that gives you a unique advantage, you can take an Aspect or Stunt for it (similar to feats in d20 systems). Money is abstracted as a Resources skill (although some homebrewed games might use a Wealth track if money is a big part of the game).
This means the only items you need to actually keep specific track of are those that are significant to the story.
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each PC has 10 (or 5, or 20, or whatever suits your game best, perhaps modified for the strength bonus of the character, or by the ownership a cloak of many pockets) 'equipment slots'. It may be a set of lock picks, a bag of 50 coins or a bearded great axe, but it takes one equipment slot, and thats it. Ive run / played this a few times and it works very well.
I have seen other GMs modify this still further by having different sizes for stuff taking differnt numbers of slots; but in my experience that tends to revert to an equal level of complication to that of the old encumbrance rules and doesn't save you any time in game
Of course, the approach from the card game Munchkin is pretty good too! You've got two hands, one pair of feet, one body for clothing, etc... and you can carry one "Big" item. Ducks of Doom and Magnificent Hats optional.
...on second thought, Magnificent Hats are never optional! Always wear a Magnificent Hat!
Unconquered Kingdoms, July 2016 CotM