Encumbrance and Tactics

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spielemusik
Posts: 18
Joined: Wed Jan 20, 2021 11:09 pm

Encumbrance and Tactics

Post by spielemusik »

Hi everyone. I had posted this on the facebook group page, and wanted to post here as well. I'll just copy and paste the topic.

To those that extend that labor of love we call game mastering, how do you use encumbrance in your game, if you do at all? I've found that I enjoy the tactical nature of the game, but I don't want to get too bogged down with too much book keeping or granularity.
I've seen that the old-school rpgs emphasize time and resource management in the dungeon, and when coupled with the possibility of random encounters, these elements of the game provide tension and a sense of danger in the dungeon. I think part of the tension of dungeoneering is how much treasure the party can drag out of the dungeon - thus entering encumbrance.
I like a game that prioritizes xp for treasure along with the xp gained by defeating monsters. Too me this is an important part of the game that I think is even more explicitly emphasized in the games that BFRPG draws its inspiration from. There is a section in the BFRPG core rules that mentions xp for treasure, but in some of the other games it's so ingrained in the game play that weight is even measured in coins.
So I'm trying to employ a type of encumbrance in the game that doesn't focus on the weight of gear, as much as the weight of treasure. I like using the type of armor worn to determine movement rates, but then also want to account for treasure being carried. Some other games give some options on this topic. 10 coins (all coins are the same for weight) = 1 lb. A player can't carry more than 1,600 coins. I like this approach. One other thing I've thought about though is keeping track of the weight of rations and water along with treasure to prevent players from bringing a ridiculous amount of food and water that would take away from some of that tension of traveling in the wilderness or spending too much time in a dungeon. Then again, most characters aren't going to be able to survive a lot of time spent in a dungeon because of the monsters - not because they starve to death.
How do you guys use encumbrance or weight in your games?
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feveredmonk
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Joined: Sat Jan 09, 2021 9:19 pm
Location: Colorado, USA

Re: Encumbrance and Tactics

Post by feveredmonk »

My player's character sheets are on Google Sheets, so we track encumbrance of treasure and gear. This is handled by including the weight of each item, then using a formula that updates their character's movement on the spreadsheet.

Rounds are tracked as are turns, using another spreadsheet.

FWIW this seemed way too onerous back in the day of D&D BECMI, but with spreadsheets it's nearly automated and adds an element of pacing.
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Tazer_The_Yoot
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Joined: Thu Feb 07, 2019 6:24 pm

Re: Encumbrance and Tactics

Post by Tazer_The_Yoot »

I find that with Basic Fantasy in particular, since it's an old school game written with old school play procedures in mind, tracking encumbrance closely is a must for me because that tension of being over-burdened in an environment with wandering monsters and the need for a potential speedy getaway informs the fiction.

On the other hand, in practice, stopping to tally up precise weight being carried multiple times per session can really kill the pace and the flow of the game. I've settled into a houserule wherein, at points during the adventure when a character picks up a lot of treasure, I'll call for a Strength check, and if they fail, I'll have them count out their gear and treasure and rearrange it, even if they're not encumbered. I find that players knowing this could happen to them encourages them to track things more closely on their own initiative without having to be explicitly told to, and saves me some book-keeping.
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